CONSUMER GROUPS FEEL UNPROTECTED BUSINESS-MINDED ADVISERS ON TRANSITION TEAM WANT TO WIELD AX.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: RICK KARLIN Staff writer

ALBANY Telephone and electric rates. Real estate, insurance, and banking

regulations.

These and other consumer issues probably affect more New Yorkers than

hot-button campaign topics such as welfare reform or the death penalty.

Yet consumer advocates said they don't know how Gov. George Pataki will handle such issues. Consumer issues per se didn't come up during his campaign and he made no specific mention of them during Wednesday's State of the State address.

In light of this information void, consumer advocates could be described as cautiously pessimistic.

The caution …

Flake-Wilkerson Market Insights.(Marketing/Media)(Brief Article)

Farrell Wilson has joined Flake Wilkerson Market Insights in Little Rock as a corporate technology architect. Donna Kantak also has joined the staff at …

Farm Bill Bogs Down in Senate

Partisan differences over taxes, spending and other matters stopped Senate debate on a $286 billion farm bill just as it got underway Tuesday, signaling that progress on the measure will be protracted and difficult.

Republicans bristled when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., slapped limits on their ability to offer amendments. Reid said he had no choice because Republicans refused to restrict amendments to issues clearly related to the bill.

GOP leaders vowed to block further action until Reid relented. "We're not going to let him pick our amendments," said Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Reid said he was willing to …

American dream trip ; In brief

SEPTEMBER 1971: A group of 11 pupils from Brentwood's HedleyWalter School returned from a threeweek trip to the US.

The schoolchildren stayed with families from the small towns ofMayfield, Broadalbin and Gloversville in the state of New York. Thetrip was organised by the Experiment of …

AM Best keeps Flagstone Reinsurance Africa's A- FSR.

(ADPnews) - Nov 19, 2009 - AM Best confirmed Thursday its A- (excellent) financial strength rating (FSR) and the "a-" issuer credit rating (ICR) on South African Flagstone Reinsurance Africa Ltd.

The ratings reflect the company's strong risk-adjusted capitalisation, as well as the explicit support provided by its parent, Flagstone Reassurance Suisse SA, the rater explained.

Offsetting factors include the execution risks associated with the company's business plan given the rapid growth, the competitive South …

FUNNY CIDE SETS PACE FOR THE SEASON.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: TIM WILKIN Staff writer

It's all about Funny Cide. That's what the buzz is as the 135th season of racing at Saratoga Race Course looms on the thoroughbred horizon.

Funny Cide, of course, has become a favorite son of Saratoga Springs. He was born there and some of his owners live there.

The New York-bred gelding put a jolt into the sport of kings earlier this year when he won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness before being denied the Triple Crown when he lost to Empire Maker in the Belmont Stakes, finishing third. Funny Cide is expected to run at the Spa, in the $1 million Travers on Aug. 23. It is expected that Empire Maker will be there too, …

IFC plans 'Greg the Bunny' DVDs.(FAST TRACK)(Independent Film Channel)(Brief Article)

The Independent Film Channel has a new appreciation for Greg the Bunny. In January, IFC will release a two-disc DVD set with characters from Greg the Bunny, the adult puppet show it picked up from New York public-access cable in 1999; Fox aired a Greg sitcom in 2002 but cancelled it after 11 episodes.

IFC picked it up again after Fox found a cult following for the show on DVDs, selling more than 100,000 units in its first few months on the market.

Now IFC will release a 198-minute DVD …

Granger's big night helps Pacers down Magic 106-85

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Danny Granger scored 24 points, and David West and George Hill each had 16 as the Indiana Pacers ran past the Orlando Magic 106-85 on Sunday night.

The Pacers snapped a six-game losing streak to the Magic and avoided losing consecutive games for the first time this season.

Indiana had a 16-2 edge in second-chance points and got 42 points from its bench. …

350 CUBAN SCHOLARSHIPS.(Guyana's indigenous Indian communities)(Government Activity)(International Pages)(Brief Article)

Cuba is giving Guyana 350 scholarships over the next five years, some of which will target the indigenous Indian communities, said President Bharrat Jagdeo, just back from an Oct. 25-28 visit to Cuba, reports CMC (Oct. 29, 2001). Next year's …

Producers, Comcast Sound Off.(FCC to allow advanced wireless devices to operate on broadband)

By John Eggerton

Unlicensed wireless devices and set-top boxes stir industry ire

It's 2010, and Prince is headlining the half-time show at Super Bowl XLIV when, suddenly, his mike begins to crackle with interference from the unlicensed wireless broadband devices filling the stadium.

That is the nightmare scenario being floated in Washington by a trio of veteran program producers and engineers hoping to dramatize the potential disaster of allowing such devices as smart radios to share the same band used by wireless microphones in event programs like the Grammy Awards and NFL games.

The FCC is laying the groundwork to allow advanced wireless …

TCI raises curtain on six more Encores. (Tele-Communications Inc.; Liberty Media Corp. cable channels)

Ushered in by compression, low-cost pay services to offer mix of films and TV series

Tele-Communications Inc. spin-off company Liberty Media Corporation has announced plans to launch not one but six cable networks as soon as digital compression technology begins to roll out on cable systems next year.

The new networks will be a low-cost multiplex version of Encore, Liberty's two-year-old mini-pay movie channel. Each of the six channels will feature a different genre of entertainment programming and will offer a mix of theatrical movies, made-for-TV movies and older TV series.

The launch of the services is expected to cost "in the nine digits," …

Nation & world

Records wiped clean for

most in tainted drug bust

LUBBOCK, Texas - Thirty people convicted in a discredited drugbust that sent dozens to prison on bogus charges had their criminalrecords wiped clean.

Visiting Judge Ron Chapman ordered the records expunged Tuesday.At an evidentiary hearing in June 2003, the judge called theundercover agent who built the cases, Tom Coleman, "simply not acredible witness under oath."

Coleman arrested 46 people, most of them black, in this small,predominantly white farming community, leading civil rights groups toquestion if the busts were racially motivated.

Coleman worked alone and no drugs were ever found, but …

RICHEST AMERICANS PAY HIGHEST SHARE OF TAXES.(MAIN)

Byline: -- Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Another way the rich are different: They pay the lion's share of the nation's income tax bill. The wealthiest 5 percent pay more than half the taxes, while people in the bottom half pay just 4 percent.

Two-income households are increasing, putting more families in the top slice of taxpayers. Millions of small businesses and …

TAKE NOTE

CHANGES

AFM CANADIAN OFFICE-Effective July 15, 2011, new address: Canadian Federation of Musicians; 150 Ferrand Dr., Ste. 202; Toronto, ON M3C 3E5; Tel and Fax remains the same.

LOCAL 16, Newark, NJ-Effective June 4, 2011, the IEB has placed the local in Trusteeship. Trustee Eugene Tournour; Contact info remains the same.

LOCAL 301, PEKIN, IL- New Pres/Sec Kim Streenz; New Tel: 301-210-8812; Email: local301@itv-3.com

LOCAL 618, ALBUQUERQUE, NM-New address: 130 Alvarado Dr. NE, Ste. #200; Albuquerque, NM 87108; Email: Local618@comcast.net

Members and officers can access the List of Locals book online at http://www.afm.org/member/library/. Information changes, such as new local officers, addresses, phone/fax numbers, etc, are updated montly on the AFM website. Officers should send information changes/updates to ofcrchg@afm.org. Change of officers and addresses will continue to be listed here each

TAPS

LOCAL 3, INDIANAPOLIS , IN-Gerald H. Doty*, Betty L. Zimmer*

LOCAL 4, CLEVELAND, OH-Dominic Caristo*, Maggie Falcone*, Jerome Zaremba*

LOCAL 5, DETROIT, MI-Tony Dannon*, Edward Nuccilli*, Weldon Petz*, Theodore Schwartz

LOCAL 6, SAN FRANCISCO, CA-William Bardin*, Frank 'Dante' Orsolini*, Roy Peretto*, Henry Phillips, Jr.*, Jim Rothermel*, Rudy Salvini*, Donald Wolery*

LOCAL 10-208, CHICAGO, IL-Leland K. Baska*, Warren E. Bills*, Rudolph Bilotta*, Frank J. Boker*, Anton Braun*, Robert Centano*, Irving I. Citron*, Edward Druzinsky*, Hal Erwin*, Lawrence J. Giannini*, Ronald Harkala, Eugene J. Heineman*, Robert E. Jensen*, Theodore S. Kay*, Charles F. Mach*, Henry S. Malek*, Robert E. Marsh*, Frank Moravec*, Alice Render, Patrick Trapani*, Victor F. Zaro*, John A. Zuffrano*

LOCAL 20-623, DENVER, CO-George Appelhanz*, John Zink*

LOCAL 30-73, MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, MN-Leonard P. Hausam*, Carolyn D. Smothers, Richard H. Reimer*

LOCAL 40-543, BALTIMORE, MD-Anthony Dardozzi*

LOCAL 47, LOS ANGELES, CA-Walter B. Anderson*, Hugh T. Bell*, Norton Brodsky*, Roy V. Caton*, John E. Chech*, Bernard Cutler*, Felipe De La Rosa*, William A. Drazga*, Steven R. Goldstein, Robert J. Grundy*, Michael L. Guess, Stanley N. Keen*, Helen Knox*, Roy G. Main*, Bob Manners*, Wilee McEwen*, Marion McKinstry*, Clarence E Milovich*, Ralph E. Mooney*, Duke K. Parkening*, Stanley H. Ross*, Leland S. Scott*, June E. Smith*Richard Thurik*, Robert F. Williams*

LOCAL 60-471, PITTSBURGH, PA-Daniel Mastri*, Dominic E. Scacchitti*, Herman J. Vallecorsa*

LOCAL 62, TRENTON, NJ-Anthony L. Mennella Jr*

LOCAL 67, DAVENPORT, IA-Rosemary C. Gast*

LOCAL 76-493, SEATTLE, WA-Stan Keen

LOCAL 78, SYRACUSE, NY-Peter N. Gaskin*

LOCAL 92, BUFFALO, NY-Max Thein*

LOCAL 101-473, DAYTON, OH-Jack L. Drake*

LOCAL 142, WHEELING, WV-Andrew J.(Doc Williams) Smik Jr.*, Charles A. Kobasko*

LOCAL 148-462, ATLANTA, GA-Wolfgang Laufer

LOCAL 149, TORONTO, ON-Ron Andrusco, Victor E. Bridgewater*, Robert Watt Brown*, Gary Lorne Cameron*, Terry Allan Clements, Richard M. Homme, Daniel J. Mastri*, Minnie Mccurdy*, Dave Mcmurdo*, James Thos. Pyper, Robert Arthur Raines, J.A. Richardson*, Mark Rutherford, Bluma Schonbrun*, Jack Wilson*

LOCAL 159, MANSFIELD, OH-Doris Beugger*

LOCAL 248, PATERSON, NJ-Wilfred J. Doyle Jr*, Peter J. Nicola*, Manfred Knoop, Anthony Warwick*

LOCAL 257, NASHVILLE, TN-Jack Linneman*, Harland W. Powell*, Matthew Graham Williamson, Jimmy Dale Woodard*

LOCAL 298, NIAGARA REGION, ON-Howard Bradley*

LOCAL 369, LAS VEGAS, NV-Robert J. Grundy*, Richard Iborra

LOCAL 399, ASBURY PARK, NJ-Clarence Clemons

LOCAL 547, CALGARY, AB-Janice Waite

LOCAL 571, HALIFAX, NS-Joseph Skowronski

LOCAL 596, UNIONTOWN, PA-Glenn "Toby" Lyons*, Lori M. Martin

LOCAL 802, NEW YORK CITY, NY-Harold Seletsky*

*Indicates Life Member

KEEP THE IM COMING-Your local reports all address changes to the Federation, which insures uninterrupted delivery of the IM. The sooner you tell your local you're moving, the faster your address is changed, especially now that many locals report address changes via the Internet. Members who are suspended for non-payment of dues in any local they belong to aren't entitled to receive the IM, even if they're in good standing in another local. Receiving the IM is a membership benefit and, as with all union benefits, it isn't extended to musicians who don't pay their dues.

Unfair List Policy & Procedures

To make the AFM's International Unfair List an even more effective way to support musicians during primary labor disputes, the International Executive Board revised the policy and procedures for placing and maintaining employers on the International Unfair List. As a result, the AFM's International Unfair List will be published in its entirety in the International Musician on a monthly basis, so that members may be aware of all employers maintained on the International Unfair List.

PLACEMENTS

Under the terms of the new policy, a primary labor dispute must exist between the union and the employer at the time of placement on the International Unfair List. Such disputes may include, but are not limited to:

1) Lawful strikes in support of the union's bargaining demands and/or demands for union recognition;

2) Employer-initiated lockouts of musicians represented by the AFM or any of its locals;

3) Union protests against employer unfair labor practices.

An employer that is openly anti-union but is not the subject of concerted activity by the union will not be placed on the International Unfair List.

An employer placed on the International Unfair List will remain on the list only as long as a primary labor dispute exists, and the local provides written evidence of ongoing concerted activity against the employer.

The Federation will publish the names of employers that are removed from the International Unfair List at the time of removal.

MEMBERS' RESPONSIBILITIES

Members are reminded that, in accordance with Article 8, Section 3 of the AFM Bylaws, "Members shall not render musical services for organizations, establishments, or people who have been placed on the International Unfair List. Any member who violates this Section shall be subject to penalties in accordance with Article 11, Section 13 [of the AFM Bylaws]."

In addition, according to Article 13, Section 4 of the AFM Bylaws, "Before accepting any Traveling Engagement, members shall be responsible to ascertain that the organization, establishment, or person for whom they propose to render musical services has not been placed on the International Unfair List."

INTERNATIONAL UNFAIR L IST

CALIFORNIA: Cypress Pops Orchestra: P.O. Box 434; Cypress, CA 90630

Placed at the request of Local 7 (Orange County, CA)

HAWAII: Honolulu Symphony Society; 875 Waimanu St. # 614; Honolulu, HI 96813

Placed at the request of Local 677 (Honolulu, HI)

NEVADA: Wayne Newton dba Erin Miel, Inc.; 6730 S. Pecos Rd.; Las Vegas, NV 89102

Placed at the request of Local 369 (Las Vegas, NV)

TEXAS: Dallas Bach Society; P.O. Box 140201; Dallas, TX 75214

Placed at the request of Local 72-147 (Dallas-Fort Worth, TX)

Richardson Symphony; 2100 North Collins Blvd., Ste. 310; Richardson, TX 75080

Placed at the request of Local 72-147 (Dallas-Fort Worth, TX)

Environmental students in ivory tower, says prof

Argues fieldwork is being neglected

Today's environmental students are not gaining the practical experience needed because they spend too little time outdoors and outside the city, says a University of Manitoba biologist.

Prof. Gordon Goldsborough said environmental students are increasingly taught they can become environmental experts from books and the Internet, instead of doing fieldwork.

"How can you make well-informed policy decisions without having any real experience? I don't think they can possibly be true environmental scientists without having the background in environmental work outdoors," said Goldsborough, former director of the Delta Marsh Field Station.

In 2009, U of M cut back the station's operations, and it now closes for most of the winter.

His comments come at a time when enrolment in environmental studies at the U of M "is rocketing," in the words of one professor. The faculty of environmental studies was gorged with more than 420 students as of 2009, the most recent figure provided by the university.

Goldsborough first made his criticism at the annual Manitoba Conservation Districts Association annual meeting in Brandon in December, then elaborated in an interview.

"Would you want to fly in a plane where the pilot has never actually flown a plane except in a flight simulator? Why would you want someone working for your environmental organization who has barely worked outdoors?" he asked.

Students lacking fieldwork aren't prepared when they graduate, Goldsborough said. It opens up tomorrow's environmental leaders to charges of hypocrisy and could promote an overly idealistic view of nature.

"One of the difficulties I have is recruiting good students, because when they hear they have to go outdoors, particularly in a marsh where they might get rained on or bug-bitten, most of them would just as soon have a nice comfortable desk job in Winnipeg," he said.

You can't be a proper environmental expert from an office cubicle, he maintained.

"When I'm hiring students and they tell me they're from a farm background, automatically they go up a rung in my ranking. Then I know they have some experience, they're grounded, they know that things aren't always going to be pleasant."

Goldsborough said he's taken flak for his comments from colleagues.

Funding and increased sensitivity to liability insurance have impacted fieldwork for students across the country, said Norman Halden, dean of the Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment Studies at U of M.

Students today must sign waivers containing long lists of potential dangers they might be exposed to on an excursion outside the city.

But Halden disagreed that students are doing less fieldwork. He said it may seem that way because the types of fieldwork are much more diverse than 10 years ago. He listed examples from Arctic research to working with Manitoba Conservation, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and FortWhyte Alive. There's also the new Northern Manitoba Mining Academy in Flin Flon.

"I don't necessarily agree (Goldsborough) is accurately reflecting what's going on," Halden said.

Goldsborough's criticism extended to government, too.

"Most of the civil servants have to sit at their desks because there's no budget to pay for the fuel in their cars. It's ridiculous," he said.

"Conservation. Water Stewardship. You name the department. They don't have a budget to do fieldwork. At some point, you have to get outdoors."

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca

Have Your Say

Build affordable housing

Re: City's refugees live in misery, Aug. 23.

I am appalled that newcomers to our city should live in such hideous conditions. No one should. However, millions are being designated to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. How about putting that money into a real human rights issue and build affordable or subsidized housing? That would really be doing something. What the museum will offer can be found in history books, movies, documentaries, etc. A monster building taking up green space won't do much for anybody. Come on Winnipeggers, push for the right thing.

VICKI VARGA

Winnipeg

Work for world peace

Re: Canada needs a better peace movement, Aug. 26.

We agree with J.L. Granatstein that a larger peace movement is desirable. Winnipeggers can find out how to get involved locally at http://peacealliancewinnipeg.ca. More importantly, we need a Parliament that is more responsive to the will of Canadians. Despite polls that consistently show that most Canadians oppose the war in Afghanistan, the Liberals and Conservatives voted to extend our military intervention. We call on Parliament to listen to Canadians, to stop wasting Canadian lives and to work for world peace.

What Granatstein laments as the "anti-Americanism" of the peace movement is really the desire for a foreign policy that is made in Canada.

Glenn Michalchuk

Chairman, Peace Alliance

Winnipeg

Defend the Arctic

The pacificist nature of Canadians is reflected in our anemic military budget of $19 billion per year. The amount is sufficient to fulfil our mandate in Afghanistan but insufficient to carry out our responsibilities for national defence. We need a third full command, in the Arctic, with full air, sea, and land capacity in order to physically defend our claimed territory. Alliances with the U.S. and NATO will not make this expenditure unnecessary, as they are the ones with whom we are potentially in conflict.

The Arctic command should include the latest fighter jets, nuclear attack submarines or state-of-the art diesel electric submarines and bases, main battle tanks and air transport, troop carriers and vehicles that can operate in combat in the Arctic as well as giant combat icebreakers and carriers with joint-strike fighters. This will require doubling our meagre military budget from $19 billion a year, or two per cent of GDP, to $40 billion plus.

Four per cent of GDP is a very common, conservative and reasonable amount to budget for a resource-rich nation that is in contention with powerful rivals who have displayed aggression in the past.

ROSS MacDONALD

Winnipeg

Let Afghans run country

I support the publicly stated purposes of the NATO mission in Afghanistan; i.e., in general, to improve the life of the people.

Second, I admire the courage and dedication of the troops who have been assigned the task of accomplishing the mission's purposes. But is this going to work? A brief reading of the Afghan wars of the last century does not lead to a sense of optimism. In the late 20th century, the Afghans managed to demoralize the Soviet troops and the Soviet government enough to force them to withdraw.

What should be done? First, it should be recognized that the Afghans are perfectly capable of ruling their own country. The war would be best ended by negotiations as has been suggested by President Hamid Karzai. This would mean that the Afghans be allowed to work out their own peace agreement and the governance of the country.

Once this has been accomplished, we could make known to the Afghan government that our NGOs would welcome an invitation from them to assist, as best we know how, and under the direction of the Afghan government, in accomplishing the stated purposes of the NATO mission.

Jim Suderman

Winnipeg

Honouring loved ones

I read Public grief (Aug. 24) regarding roadside memorials on your website with great interest. It was well-written and informative. Your readers would benefit from the knowledge there is an alternative to displaying a roadside memorial on public roads or rights-of-way. The National Memorial Registry (www.nationalmemorialregistry.com) is Internet-based and offers free of any charge the opportunity for any individual to dedicate a memorial location to a loved one. With the help of our extensive database of mapping software, a person can dedicate a specific address, site or location in honour of, or to validate, the life of an individual that has an influence on their lives. Every memorial dedication is displayed on our maps for the world to view.

Robert Sergent

President, National Memorial Registry

Spring, Texas

Remembering my son

I was taken aback by your article on roadside memorials on Highway 59. Obviously we have a problem with this stretch of highway. My question is, why are some people allowed to have a memorial for their loved one and not others? My son was murdered at the former Empire Cabaret and I cannot put up any wreath or anything. I tried at the six-month anniversary of his death and within minutes it was removed. I want to know why I can't have even some small memorial of where my son was during his last moments.

CHRISTINE ENGEN

Winnipeg

It's 15 items or less!

Re: Restless consumers run out of patience, Aug. 27.

A story outlined customer or client concerns about wait times/customer service. My frustration is particularly with grocery store express checkouts, where the 15-items-or-less tills are populated by customers who don't seem to be able to count. Instead, they have too many items, which slows down the process and clerks are too polite to let the offender know.

BOB PALLANIK

Winnipeg

GE Healthcare Launches 'Get Fit' Competition Worldwide

GE Healthcare launched a global competition on Twitter to raisepublic awareness about cancer prevention and healthy living.

For the next two months, the "Get Fit" campaign, according to theCompany, will encourage people from all over the world to tweetabout their own health and fitness activities that have been shownto reduce the likelihood of developing cancer.

GE said continents will compete against one another to racetowards fitness. At the end of the competition, one country's RedCross or Red Crescent Society, on the winning continent, willreceive a donation of $20,000 based on an open vote.

"GE Healthcare has a long history of creating medical solutionsthat enable physicians to discover, diagnose and treat cancer," saidJohn Dineen, CEO of GE Healthcare. "And while 'Get Fit' is afriendly competition, there is a serious message behind it - inaddition to all the initiatives launched by the company such ashealthymagination and Health Ahead, GE Healthcare is committed tomaking a significant change in the fight against cancer. We believethat combining a healthy lifestyle with earlier detection of cancerthrough the development of technology breakthroughs will make a realimpact on a person's likelihood of developing cancer."

The World Health Organization reports that nearly 30 percent ofall cancer deaths can be prevented, and research confirms that ahealthy diet and regular exercise can help reduce the risk ofcancer. For information about activities that people can do topotentially reduce their risk of cancer, refer to this article onthe GE Healthcare Newsroom.

The Rules of the Game

Participants in the competition need only to have access to theinternet and a Twitter account. They simply 'tweet' a comment aboutwhat they are doing to strive for a healthier lifestyle - e.g.,cycling to work, cutting out smoking or eating a healthy meal. To berecognized as part of the "Get Fit" competition, each tweet mustinclude the specific "Get Fit" hash tag for the participant'scountry, which can be found on the "Get Fit" web page at ge.com/getfit. As long as the hash tag is included in the tweet, then itdoesn't matter which language is used for the tweet.

The "Get Fit" web page will show the progression of thecompetition on a world map showing which continents are generatingthe most 'healthy tweets.' As participants tweet about their healthyactivities, the cells hovering over each continent will graduallychange from a 'risky red' to a 'healthier green' color. The map alsoshows how many tweets have been generated by each country, and thecountry's ranking among its continental neighbors.

The winning continent will be the first to turn its cells green,or the continent that has progressed furthest down the colorspectrum outlined on the map. At the end of the competition, an openvote will be held to determine which country on the winningcontinent will receive a $20,000 donation to the Red Cross or RedCrescent Society operating in that country.

GE Healthcare provides medical technologies and services forpatient care.

More Information:

www.gehealthcare.com

((Comments on this story may be sent tonewsdesk@closeupmedia.com))

Friends call Giffords hard-working, a fighter: ; Many say even after just meeting congresswoman,; they felt like her friend

TUCSON, Ariz. - She loves motorcycles and yoga, and is ascomfortable in a business suit walking the halls of Congress as sheis in leather riding gear at the famed Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Sheholds a master's degree from an Ivy League university, yet can mounta tire in a flash.

Pretty and petite, sometimes soft-spoken, she will take on evenher most ardent adversaries and try talking them down with a firmhand but also a smile.

Said one friend of Gabrielle Giffords: "She really pretty muchdefies a lot of description."

She has also defied the odds in the days since a would-beassassin's bullet left her fighting for her life - and still somehowhanging on.

A week ago, few outside of Arizona or the Beltway had heard ofthe 40-year-old congresswoman who has, in tragedy, become a rallyingpoint for unity and peace over the ugliness of politics. Now anation grieves for her, a community prays for her, and friends shiftbetween laughter and tears as they share memories of the Gabby theyknew before - and anguish over her unknown tomorrow.

"I was driving back from California when I got the phone callabout what was going on. It kicked you in the stomach," said thelocal sheriff, Clarence Dupnik. "I was told she probably wasn'tgoing to survive, and then I got very angry, and I'm still angry."

Dupnik met Giffords a decade ago when she first ran for a seat inthe Arizona House of Representatives. "I thought at that time thatthis was a young lady that was going to go somewhere. I became oneof her supporters, she became one of mine," he said. "And we becamefriends."

It was like that with so many who met Giffords during her ascentfrom Tucson businesswoman to state representative and senator andthen, beginning in 2006, Congress.

Acquaintance or "colleague" were never words that seemed to fitGiffords, a politician who prefers hugs over handshakes. Even voterswho met her only a few times, if ever, came to feel as though shewere a friend.

"She's very real," special-ed teacher Denise Woods said aftervisiting a memorial outside of the congresswoman's office laden withcandles, flowers and photographs of Giffords with women in labcoats, a veteran at a motorcycle rally and standing with an elderlycouple.

"She was just a beautiful person," said Woods. "She is, not was... She is a beautiful person."

She is a local girl through and through, a third-generationTucsonan who attended public high school here. She went on to biggerthings elsewhere - a Fulbright scholarship in Mexico, graduateschool at Cornell University, a position at Price Waterhouse in NewYork City - but returned home when her father fell ill to take overthe family's chain of tire repair shops, which her grandfatherfounded in the late 1940s.

She was 26 at the time, and immersed herself in learning thebusiness, said Mark Kimble, one of Giffords' Tucson staff members.

"She didn't know anything about cars and the tire business, andshe really threw herself into it. She went out into the tire baseand learned how to mount tires, learned everything about how to workon a car. And she was very proud of that, that she knew thatbusiness from the ground up, that she wasn't just a figureheadrunning it," he said.

Later, when Kimble invited Giffords to the Indianapolis 500, shewas almost more interested in the race car tires than the raceitself.

She could be a bit of a "nerd" that way, said former Arizonastate Sen. Ken Cheuvront, who shared a house with Giffords andfellow lawmaker Linda Lopez when they served together in theLegislature.

Giffords was the policy wonk in the group, often working late toread up on favorite issues such as the environment and solar energywhile Cheuvront and Lopez gathered for fun and drinks during theirMonday "family" nights.

"She'd always be late. We'd always yell at her," said Cheuvront."It was like, `Enough already.' She just worked, worked, worked,worked."

Friends were always trying to set Giffords up on dates, but noone ever seemed quite the right fit for the sharp politician whoalso shot guns, rode horses, owned a motorcycle and fantasized aboutgoing to the big Sturgis rally in South Dakota. (When she finallydid make it there, she called Kimble and told him to go to theInternet. There was Giffords, clad in black leather, waving over aWebcam.)

Soon, Cheuvront and other friends began hearing about someone new- an astronaut named Mark Kelly, whom Giffords met in 2003 during ayoung leaders' forum in China. For a while they were just friends,exchanging e-mails and phone calls long-distance between his home inHouston and hers in Arizona. After a first "date" that seemed inevery way Giffords (she invited Kelly to join her on a tour of astate prison), the romance blossomed.

"He's a man's man," said Cheuvront, "and that's exactly what shewas looking for."

They married on a November evening in 2007 at an organicvegetable farm amid the mesquite and desert mountains of the SantaCruz Valley, south of Tucson. It was a modest ceremony, with maybe150 people in attendance, including some dignitaries - Kelly'sfellow astronauts and one of Giffords' mentors, former U.S. LaborSecretary Robert Reich.

Carol West, a former Tucson city councilwoman who once recruitedGiffords to serve on the public water board, was also there.

"I was laughing my head off when I was reading the paper aboutthis 'prestigious' wedding," she said, recalling the banquet ofsteaks, salad and baked potatoes. Most of the guests, she said, were"people like us. Ordinary people. People who meant a lot to Gabby.She wasn't into fame."

By then Giffords was in Congress, splitting her time betweenWashington, D.C. and Arizona. Kelly still lived in Houston. They saweach other whenever, and wherever, they could.

Kimble once asked his boss about that - how the couple couldendure careers that kept them apart so much. She told him they didit because both were dedicated to their jobs and to "doing things toimprove this country."

"It wasn't some speech," he added. "This was just to me."

In his only statement since Saturday's attack, Kelly said thathis wife was "doing what she loved most - hearing from herconstituents" when a gunman opened fire, wounding her, 13 others andkilling six people. "Serving southern Arizonans is her passion, andnothing makes her more proud than representing them in Congress."

Until this last election, Giffords, a three-term Democrat, hadgarnered easy victories in a congressional district that can leanconservative. She maintained that popularity by staking out centristviews on a number of issues and sometimes bucking the party line.

On illegal immigration, a huge issue in a district that stretchessouth to the Mexico border, Giffords placed a premium on increasingborder security through the deployment of National Guard troops aswell as more Border Patrol agents.

But she also was highly critical of a state law that wouldrequire police, while enforcing other laws, to question a person'simmigration status if there's reasonable suspicion the person is inthe country illegally. She supported legislation called the DREAMAct that would grant young illegal immigrants a route to legalstatus.

Giffords backed the stimulus package designed to jump-start theeconomy. She said it wasn't a perfect bill, but that standing bywasn't an option. She also voted for legislation designed to expandhealth insurance coverage, a vote that the National RepublicanCongressional Committee likened to "pulling the plug on her ownpolitical career."

In the past two years, Giffords chaired a House subcommittee onspace and aeronautics where she was a strong defender of NASA'shuman space program, saying its work helped define America in theeyes of the rest of the world.

She praised the Obama administration's budget request for NASAfor the current fiscal year because it included more funding for keyprograms, but took issue with a decision to do away with the goal ofreturning astronauts to the moon. The administration sought toreplace the effort with one that would send astronauts to anasteroid and then on to Mars. Giffords complained that thereplacement effort was poorly defined.

"It's simply unfair to ask the American people to hand overbillions of dollars for something that isn't even detailed enough toqualify for a loan from a loan shark," she said in February.

After barely holding onto her seat in last year's race against atea party-backed candidate, Giffords appeared to start the new yearout by trying to put a little distance between herself andDemocratic Party leaders.

When it came time to vote for a new House speaker, a job thatwent to Republican John Boehner, Giffords supported Rep. John Lewisover outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She also introduced a bill thatwould reduce the salary of members of Congress by 5 percent.

"Every piece of legislation she supported, it wasn't of apartisan nature; it was what she felt was in the best interest ofher constituents," said former U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell.

In a November victory speech posted on YouTube, Giffords pointedto her own family as the source of her not-easy-to-pigeonhole views.

"It's the values that I grew up with - from very conservativegrandparents on one side and very liberal grandparents on the other,a mother and father who taught me that you've got to respect oneanother, and you work together, and you collaborate," she said.

On Jan. 5, Giffords took the oath of office for her third term inCongress. The following day when House members, many of themRepublicans, took to the floor to read the Constitution, Giffordsjoined in, reciting the First Amendment that promises all Americansthe right to free speech and to assemble "peaceably."

Some friends now see that as an ironic precursor to what happenedSaturday, when she was gunned down in front of a supermarket whiledoing just that - meeting one-on-one with constituents to allow themto have their say, for better or worse.

Kimble stood only a few feet from his friend when she was shotthrough the head. In the hours that followed, law officersapproached him - their eyes filled with tears - to express theircondolences and disbelief.

"One deputy said, 'I can't understand why anyone would want toshoot her. She was such a nice person,'" Kimble recalled. "He hadmet her at some event as a private citizen and was so moved - justby meeting her once."

"People aren't reacting here because she's a congresswoman,"added Democratic state Rep. Steve Farley of Tucson. "It's becauseshe's one of us."

As a sign hung at her district office reads, "No one here is astranger, for Gabby is Arizona's favorite daughter."

Those who knew her, and many who didn't, flock to the memorial.They bring flowers and stand in silence, some wiping tears. Driverswho pass by tap their horns. One held up a peace sign. Among thecandles and teddy bears and pictures are dozens of cards and lettersand signs, most addressed to "Gabby."

The nickname wasn't just an abbreviation of her given name butalso a nod to the congresswoman's tendency to talk and thefamiliarity so many felt with her, Kimble said.

"Everyone who meets her feels like they've known her forever, andthey are the single most important person in her life," he said.

Kimble and Giffords' other friends aren't all that surprised bythe doctors' reports these past days, that Giffords has been able toraise two fingers and even gave surgeons at University MedicalCenter a thumbs-up. Nor are they surprised that she's tried to pullout her breathing tube or that she has so far held stable, despite atrauma that can kill instantly. It's just Gabby, they said.

The tough tomboy they all know is still fighting, so very hard.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is known as a womanof many talents, who is friendly, yet firm, beloved by her friendsand respected by colleagues.

ONLINE CALENDAR ON ASIAN ARTS LAUNCHED

According to news.gov.hk: The ArtSIA Calendar has been launched,offering the latest information on signature arts events in 11 Asianeconomies - the Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Japan, SouthKorea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam-online. Launching the website at the Asia Cultural Co-operation Forum2007 Asian Cultural Ministers' Meeting today, Secretary for HomeAffairs Tsang Tak-sing said it will arouse wider public interestinAsia's arts programmes, strengthen the flow of cultural informationamong participating Asian countries and create a clustering effect inpromoting cultural tourism in the region. The ArtSIA Calendarwillencourage cultural exchange among artists and arts organisations andshowcase Asian talent on a wider global stage. "The launch of thewebsite today is only a start. We will continue to fine-tune it tomake it even more user-friendly and appealing to [Internet] surfers,"he said.

NT: Police officer faces court over shooting death in remote NT

AAP General News (Australia)
04-27-2004
NT: Police officer faces court over shooting death in remote NT

By Karen Michelmore

DARWIN, April 27 AAP - A policeman fatally shot a teenager who was fighting over a
shotgun with another man in a remote Northern Territory community, a court was told today.

Sergeant Robert Gregory Whittington, 38, is charged with two counts of committing an
act causing danger and death.

The charges relate to the death of an 18-year-old man, who cannot be named, and injury
to another, Tobias Worumbu, at Wadeye, 350 km south-west of Darwin, on October 23, 2002.

Wadeye resident William Parmbuk told Darwin Magistrates Court the two victims were
among 100 young men from different gangs fighting on the oval at the remote Aboriginal
community when they were shot.

Mr Parmbuk said there were three police present but the situation soon spun out of
control as gang members began chasing each other.

"The police couldn't do anything," Mr Parmbuk said.

At one stage, he said he saw Mr Worumbu run from a house with a shotgun, and the other
victim tried to take the gun from him.

Mr Parmbuk said he feared for his life, and believed Mr Worumbu would start shooting
at the group that had gathered.

The two victims were struggling over the shotgun when Mr Parmbuk heard five shots fired
from behind him.

"It just went bang, bang, bang, bang," he said.

The teenager then ran about 40 metres after Mr Worumbu before he grabbing at his own neck.

He was taken to the local health clinic, where he later died.

Nurse Justine Miller said the bullet entered the man's back and exited through his neck.

"He was still conscious, he was trying to say things but there was blood in his mouth,"

she told the court.

She said there were regular riots in the community, and the staff had been locked inside
the clinic during the incident for their own safety.

A large number of workers fled the community fearing for their safety after the shooting,
she said.

AAP km/cjh/br

KEYWORD: WHITTINGTON

2004 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

ACT: Main stories in today's Canberra Times

AAP General News (Australia)
12-22-2003
ACT: Main stories in today's Canberra Times

CANBERRA, Dec 22 AAP - Main stories in today's Canberra Times:

Page 1: RAAF surveillance flights over Iran (AAP); Prosecutor appointed ACT magistrate.

Page 2: NRMA calls for speed camera audit (AAP); Unionist John Halfpenny dies (AAP);
Rescuers label Czech tourists' survival in Snowy Mountains extraordinary (AAP).

Page 3: Aranda could be at serious fire risk; Latham promises to read to his kids over
Christmas (AAP). Howard calls for more land releases to drop housing prices.

WORLD: Osama bin Laden calls Iraq war a new crusade against Muslims; British and American
diplomacy praised over Libya's pledge to renounce weapons.

BUSINESS: Murdoch takes control of DirecTV(AAP/Reuters); Analysts confident major indices
will continue to rise in new year (AAP);

SPORT: Peter lonard completes treble of Australia's three biggest golf tournaments;
Sourav Ganguly gives seal of approval to Michael Clarke's test ambitions.

AAP rmg/maur

KEYWORD: FRONTERS ACT

2003 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

WA: Husband of murdered jeweller was a suspect, court told

00-00-0000
WA: Husband of murdered jeweller was a suspect, court told

By Tim Clarke

PERTH, Aug 14 AAP - The husband of murdered Perth jeweller Pamela Lawrence was considereda suspect by police at the time of her killing, an appeal court was told today.

Andrew Mallard, now 41, is appealing against his conviction for murdering Mrs Lawrence,who was killed with repeated blows to the head in her Mosman Park jewellery store in May1994.

Superintendent Malcolm Shervill, who took charge of the murder hunt, told Western Australia'scourt of criminal appeal that Peter Lawrence had been treated as a "person of interest"

by detectives after his wife's killing.

Asked today by Mallard's counsel Malcolm McCusker QC whether Mr Lawrence had been asuspect at the time, Supt Shervill said: "He had been a person of interest, yes."

Supt Shervill said some officers had doubts about Mallard's confession because of its"rambling" nature.

A note made by Supt Shervill about the progress of the investigation, read out in court,revealed how some officers felt.

"His rambling admission left doubt in the minds of some investigators as to whetherMr Mallard had killed Mrs Lawrence," the note said.

Earlier in the hearing, Mr McCusker said photographs of the crime scene revealed "distinctand important" inconsistencies in Mr Lawrence's original statement.

The photographs, only made available in the past month, showed a large pool of bloodby the back door the jewellery shop.

The court was told Mr Lawrence would not have been able to avoid stepping in the bloodif he had gone through the back door to the shed after finding his wife, as he told thepolice.

Yet there was no blood on the stairs outside the back door.

"The evidence of the pool of blood at the back door raised the real question as tohow anyone could have left through the back door, leaving no footprints and no blood,"

Mr McCusker said.

Relatives and supporters of Mallard say there was no physical evidence to prove hewas the killer, the murder weapon was never found and his "confession" to police was capturedon a 20-minute recording after he was given a cocktail of drugs.

Mallard, who had been in a psychiatric facility with bipolar disorder and was a heavymarijuana user, was vulnerable and confused at the time he admitted the crime, say hisfamily.

The appeal continues.

AAP tc/cjm/jlw

KEYWORD: MALLARD

Qld: Fraser says he will deny any murder until the day he dies

00-00-0000
Qld: Fraser says he will deny any murder until the day he dies

By Ainsley Pavey

BRISBANE, April 4 AAP - Alleged multiple murderer Leonard Fraser said he would denykilling anyone until the day he died, a court was told today.

Fraser, 51, who is facing a Brisbane Supreme Court trial accused of murdering fourwomen in the Rockhampton area, made the statement in one of several taped interviews withpolice.

In the interview with Detective Senior Sergeant David Hickey played to the court today,Fraser said: "To the day I die, I still deny that I done any murder.

"I might be capable of it but why should I commit a murder."

Fraser has pleaded not guilty to murdering Julie Dawn Turner, 39, Beverley Doreen Leggo,37, Natasha Ann Ryan, 14, and Sylvia Marie Benedetti, 19, between August 1998 and April1999.

The court has heard Fraser also murdered nine-year-old Rockhampton schoolgirl KeyraSteinhardt and that each of his alleged victims was attacked for a "sexual purpose".

In the interview in jail, Fraser admits to dumping the bodies of four women but deniesany involvement in their deaths.

The jury heard Fraser telling Det Snr Sgt Hickey he didn't do a "good job" at dumpingone of the bodies.

"If you're going to dump a body, you're not going to dump it near a walking track," he said.

Fraser also urged Det Snr Sgt Hickey to investigate a person called "Squeaky" in connectionwith the murders.

When Det Snr Sgt Hickey asked if he was talking about a person called "Sticksy", Frasersaid that person also used the name "Squeaky" sometimes.

"Should I be looking at Sticksy," Det Snr Sgt Hickey asked Fraser in the interview.

Fraser replied: "You can if you want to."

When pressed about dumping Ms Benedetti's body, Fraser told Det Snr Sgt Hickey he didn'tknow much.

He was then asked if he was on any drugs at the time and Fraser admitted to being acasual cannabis smoker and that he took heart drugs.

Under cross-examination, Det Snr Sgt Hickey told the court Fraser also had "somewhatof a fixation with paedophiles and child abusers".

He told the court Fraser said during an interview in Moreton Bay Correctional Centreof a hideout in the Rockhampton area frequented by paedophiles.

Fraser drew a map on a hand towel of a tin shed where young teenage runaways were preyedon by paedophiles.

The trial before Supreme Court Justice Brian Ambrose is continuing.

AAP ap/sc/nw/de

KEYWORD: FRASER

NSW: Mototcyclist killed in South Coast accident

00-00-0000
NSW: Mototcyclist killed in South Coast accident

SYDNEY, Jan 10 AAP - A 49-year-old man died on the NSW South Coast today in a collisionbetween his motorcycle and a truck on the Princes Highway.

A police spokeswoman said the bike rider collided with the truck about 6km south ofBega shortly before 1pm (AEDT) just as …

Qld: Boarding house damaged by fire

00-00-0000
Qld: Boarding house damaged by fire

BRISBANE, Aug 25 AAP - A boarding house in Brisbane's south-eastern suburbs was severelydamaged by fire overnight.

Fire officers received a report of the blaze at the two-storey timber boarding housein Kingsbury Street, Norman Park, about 9.20pm (AEST) yesterday.

Queensland Fire and Rescue Service spokesman Tom Jones said the five boarders and twovisitors at the house were not injured.

Mr Jones said the house did not have smoke detectors.

"Smoke detectors are very helpful at alerting people to fires," Mr Jones said.

"I know of cases where residents themselves have been able to put out a fire beforeit spreads because they have alarms."

It was the second fire at a Brisbane boarding house in a week, with one at Sandgatelast Sunday claiming three lives.

AAP pjo/cd

KEYWORD: BOARDING

NSW: Pedestrian dies in hit-and-run incident

00-00-0000
NSW: Pedestrian dies in hit-and-run incident

SYDNEY, April 17 AAP - A man from Sydney's northern beaches died early today when hewas struck by a car in a hit-and-run incident, police said.

Police said a man, aged in his 40s from Killarney Heights, was walking in a southerlydirection on Victoria Road near the intersection with Salter Street in Gladesville, whenhe was struck by a blue Hyundai, travelling east.

The man died on arrival at St Vincent's Hospital, a police statement said.

It said the driver of the vehicle, a man in his early 20s, allegedly failed to stopat the scene and his vehicle was later seen to drive on to a median strip in GoulburnStreet, Surry Hills, and overturn.

The driver was taken to Sydney Hospital with minor injuries. He was later releasedand will be interviewed by police.

Traffic diversions are in place at Manning Street and Salter Street in Gladesville, police said.

Paramatta Crash Investigation Unit are continuing their inquiries.

AAP as/arb/mjm

KEYWORD: PEDESTRIAN

NSW: Seven sailors treated after navy gas spill

00-00-0000
NSW: Seven sailors treated after navy gas spill

SYDNEY, Feb 3 AAP - A sailor has been airlifted to hospital in a serious conditionand six other crew members are being treated after a gas leak on board an Australian navyship.

A Westpac LifeSaver rescue helicopter spokesman said the seven sailors were taken offthe frigate HMAS Melbourne, anchored off Jervis Bay on the NSW south coast, after beingexposed to hydrogen sulphide gas this morning.

Five sailors were admitted to the navy's land base hospital HMAS Creswell and one otherwas taken to the local hospital at Jervis Bay after complaining of chest pains.

The spokesman said …

NSW: Major release of housing lots

AAP General News (Australia)
12-05-2001
NSW: Major release of housing lots

SYDNEY, Dec 5 AAP - Sydney is about to get bigger with the NSW government today announcing
a major release of land for housing.

More than 17,000 hectares of land is being investigated to provide more than 89,000
housing lots over the next 15 years.

The release areas are located in Sydney's south-west near Harrington Park and Bringelly,
in the west near Glenmore Park and Marsden Park and in the north-west near Alex Avenue
and the Schofields Aerodrome.

Existing land already earmarked for housing will be fast-tracked, including in areas
near Riverstone in the north-west and Menangle Park in the south-west.

NSW Housing Minister Andrew Refshauge said new lots would be serviced with roads, public
transport options, health services and schools.

However the exact detail of transport arrangements were yet to be finalised.

Dr Refshauge said the government had learned from past errors, where new developments
had led to congested roads.

"This is a 15-year blueprint for Sydney," Dr Refshauge told reporters.

"This isn't just a land release program. This is a plan to make sure that we do it
better than we've done before.

"We don't want the people of these areas to be short-changed."

MORE ls/arb/las/bwl

KEYWORD: HOUSING

2001 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Toomey flags expansion of Ansett s capacity

AAP General News (Australia)
04-22-2001
Fed: Toomey flags expansion of Ansett s capacity

Ansett chief executive GARY TOOMEY is focusing on future growth once the beleagured
airline deals with its safety problems.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority grounded Ansett's fleet of 10 Boeing 767s just
before Easter over concerns about the safety of the planes.

CASA cleared one plane on Friday and lifted the threat of a show cause notice, which
would have given the airline two weeks to prove why it should be allowed to keep flying.

Mr TOOMEY has acknowledged on Channel Seven that the past couple of weeks have been
trying but says they'll likely stay with the Ansett brand.

He's dismissed speculation that Ansett's promise to replace its 767s will cost $5 billion.

Instead he says he's focusing on expansion on key domestic routes and into some of
the overseas markets.

AAP RTV eg/jmt

KEYWORD: ANSETT TOOMEY (CANBERRA)

2001 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

AAP National News Wire Round Up for Evening, Feb 7

AAP General News (Australia)
02-07-2001
AAP National News Wire Round Up for Evening, Feb 7
EVENING ROUND-UP: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AAP RTV FILE AT 1630


RATES RBA (SYDNEY)

The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut interest rates citing low inflation and slowing
economic growth as its reasons.

The move drew a quick reaction from banks which cut home loan interest rates by half-a-percentage
point.

In a widely anticipated move, the RBA has cut the cash rate by 50 basis points to 5.75 per cent.

Treasurer PETER COSTELLO says the banks should move quickly to pass on the rate cut
to mortgage holders.

The average …

Fed: People s movement for reconciliation unstoppable

AAP General News (Australia)
12-07-2000
Fed: People s movement for reconciliation unstoppable

Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation deputy chairman Sir GUSTAV NOSSAL says the people's
movement for reconciliation is unstoppable.

Sir GUSTAV says although reconciliation between black and white Australians hasn't
yet been achieved he's confident it will happen.

He's told ABC radio he has every confidence the new body being launched today, called
Reconciliation Australia, will continue the good fight.

The council is due to wind up on December 31.

Sir GUSTAV says he hopes the new organisation will come up with all kinds of new policies
and strategies.

He says the council's final document, to be handed over today to the HOWARD government,
has much on which all Australians can agree.

Sir GUSTAV says his final words to the HOWARD government will be to keep up its magnificent
support of practical reconciliation.

He says the government should also look with sympathy and compassion at the more symbolic
aspects of reconciliation where there's still a certain distance to travel.

AAP RTV eg/jtb

KEYWORD: RECONCILE NOSSAL (CANBERRA)

2000 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Boy, aged 9, run over by a trailer with firewood

AAP General News (Australia)
04-25-2000
NSW: Boy, aged 9, run over by a trailer with firewood

A nine-year-old who slipped under a trailer full of firewood at a campsite in the central
west of New South Wales is in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

The young boy from near Parkes suffered abdominal and internal injuries in the camping
accident about 50kms south-east of Condobolin.

The NRMA Careflight medical team have flown the boy from Orange Base Hospital to the
New Children's Hospital at Westmead tonight.

AAP RTV alt/dmc/wz

KEYWORD: TRAILER (SYDNEY)

2000 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: BHP to start legal action today

AAP General News (Australia)
02-09-2000
Qld: BHP to start legal action today

BRISBANE, Feb 9 AAP - Mining giant BHP will go to the Federal Court in Brisbane today
to begin contempt of court proceedings against striking coal miners.

The miners went on strike yesterday in protest at BHP's move to discount the price
of coking coal to Japanese customers.

Production at 12 BHP coal mines stopped after 2,500 workers in Queensland and 900 in
New South Wales defied a court order and walked off the job.

The workers at seven Queensland mines returned to work yesterday, but in …

Qld: Broadcast inquiry into Liberal candidate

AAP General News (Australia)
12-07-1999
Qld: Broadcast inquiry into Liberal candidate

The Australian Broadcasting Authority has launched a "cash for comments" style investigation
into a paid commercial television interview with the Queensland Liberals' Brisbane lord
mayoral candidate.

The interview with Brisbane businesswoman GAIL AUSTEN appeared on Channel 7's The Great
South-East program last Thursday.

ABA media manager DONALD ROBERTSON has confirmed a complaint, made by the Australian
Labor Party, has been received.

He says Channel 7 will be investigated for possible breaches of the Australian Broadcasting
Services Act 1992.

He says if found guilty of a breach, the network could face a fine.

However, in a copy of the complaint, the ALP's lawyers, Carne and Herd, say the ALP
is not seeking any monetary penalty to be imposed on the licencee.

AAP RTV ap/rad/jfs/wz/jn

KEYWORD: AUSTEN ( BRISBANE)

1999 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

FED: CASA calls on aviation industry to lift Y2K preparation

AAP General News (Australia)
04-22-1999
FED: CASA calls on aviation industry to lift Y2K preparation

CANBERRA, April 22 AAP - The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) today called on the
Australian aviation industry to lift its level of planning for the Y2K or millennium bug.

The bug refers to possible problems from computers failing to recognise 2000 when their
in-built clocks tick over to January 1, which may affect aircraft computer systems.

Computers need checking and possibly fixing to avoid potential disastrous consequences.

CASA aviation safety promotion assistant director Mike Smith said thorough contingency
planning by all sections of the industry will ensure flying was safe at the turn of the
century.

He said 43 per cent of aviation organisations had drawn up Y2K fail-safe plans.

Mr Smith told a national Y2K aviation conference in Sydney today that aviation was leading
the way in Australia in contingency planning.

"But this doesn't mean we can be complacent. Aviation needs a 100 per cent Y2K planning
scorecard," he said.

"CASA is very confident this goal can be achieved because back-up systems and contingency
planning are already the bywords of everyday aviation operations.

"To help the aviation industry reach Y2K compliance and contingency planning goals CASA is
running a $400,000 awareness and education campaign.

"The campaign targets Australia's 1,200 flying, maintenance and aerodrome licence holders."

Mr Smith said the industry also needed to raise its awareness of the importance of Y2K
readiness by suppliers and business partners.

"CASA is confident the large aviation operators, including the major airlines, will be Y2K
compliant and will have fail-safe plans to deal with any supplier or partner failures," he
said.

"But we know that about 20 per cent of the smaller aviation organisations have yet to fully
address Y2K issues and they must start working on compliance and contingency right now."

Boeing said yesterday it had cleared its aircraft models under development, in production
or in use as Y2K ready and completed a testing progam with a one-hour flight of a Boeing 767
last week.

AAP fh/pa

KEYWORD: Y2K CASA

1999 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

WA: Diesel bus decision ill informed = 2

AAP General News (Australia)
01-14-1999
WA: Diesel bus decision ill informed = 2

Transport Minister Murray Criddle defended the decision to go with diesel by saying
gas-driven technology had not stood up to detailed scrutiny.

"Euro2 diesel power units are environmentally and economically superior to gas and it would
have been folly to opt for anything …

FED:What the Papers Say

AAP General News (Australia)
12-21-2011
FED:What the Papers Say

Main stories in today's papers:





THE AUSTRALIAN:



Nth Korea's Kim Jong-Un visits his father's body and all eyes turn to China to see
what they're going to do now; proportion of students studying science has almost halved
in past two decades; 100 years after Douglas Mawson's first Antarctic expedition was almost
defeated by thick ice, the very same problem stumps those trying to recreate it;



THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:



Police say Michael McGurk's would-be murderer got cold feet and failed three times;
former immigration minister Philip Ruddock says Malaysia plan is still possible; kelpies
have become instant celebrities since the release of the Australian movie Red Dog, but
vets are concerned in lead-up to Christmas that pups will be dumped once the demands of
their upkeep are realised;



THE AGE:



Indian traders in (Dandenong) in outer Melbourne have taken a local planning issue
to Indian government, as Premier Ted Baillieu about to visit India; Bairnsdale on brink
of having hospital with no doctors; VCE results are out and contain big surprise - the
No 2 school in state Huntingtower School at Mt Waverly;



THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW:



N/A;



THE WEST AUSTRALIAN:



WA families living on minimum wage are reportedly $12 a week worse off than a year
ago; mosquitoes look set to plague holidaymakers heading to WA's south-west for Christmas;



THE BRISBANE COURIER MAIL:



It's been revealed a convicted paedophile is in a top Qld health job that helps some
of the state's most vulnerable children; findings of damning report into January floods;



THE ADELAIDE ADVERTISER:



A record 92pc of students in Year 12 have earned their certificate of education; SA
Museum is fighting a losing battle against cannibalistic carpet beetles which are eating
the museum's insect collection;



THE HOBART MERCURY:



Tasmania police defend actions of an officer who shot a burglar at an IGA store in
Georgetown in the state's north; Tasmania's apricot harvest almost wiped out by half-hour
torrential rain storm;



THE CANBERRA TIMES:



Canberra's housing affordability crisis is causing increasing hardship for the city's
poor; its been revealed that the man accused of sneaking into the grounds of parliament
house and making a hoax bomb threat was already on bail for alleged burglary and theft
when the incident occurred;



THE NORTHERN TERRITORY NEWS:



Cyclone tipped to form off the Territory coast this week has a 50 per cent chance of
developing by Friday; fire fighters battle through the night to bring three massive blazes
under control that are now threatening Alice Springs.



AAP RTV psm/

KEYWORD: MONITOR PAPERS (SYDNEY)

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

FED: Blood pressure medications cut kidney disease risk

AAP General News (Australia)
02-19-2009
FED: Blood pressure medications cut kidney disease risk

By Danny Rose, Medical Writer

SYDNEY, Feb 19 AAP - Diabetics can cut their risk of suffering potentially fatal kidney
complications by one fifth by taking two drugs to lower their blood pressure.

Australian researchers have found people with type 2 diabetes who used two anti-hypertensive
medications together had lower levels of kidney disease, and it could even repair earlier
kidney damage.

"Our research demonstrated that lowering blood pressure with an ACE inhibitor (and
a) diuretic ... reduces the risk of kidney complications by 20 per cent," says Dr Vlado
Perkovic, of The George Institute for International Health.

"And (it) even resolves some early manifestations of kidney disease in people with
diabetes, regardless of whether their blood pressure is normal or elevated."

The finding is important because more than half of all those with the condition go
on to suffer kidney impairment, and 20 per cent will then die of renal failure.

An estimated 250 million people are living with diabetes around the world.

The George Institute, based in Sydney, designed the study and it involved a group of
independent medical researchers from 20 countries worldwide.

It took in 11,140 patients with type 2 diabetes who were treated and followed up for five years.

One group took the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor perindopril and the
diuretic drug indapamide while another group, who instead took a placebo, showed no drop
in kidney disease.

"For all people with diabetes, reducing their risk of kidney disease is imperative,"

Dr Perkovic also says.

"Individuals who develop kidney disease are at significantly increased risk of developing
cardiovascular complications, which is the major cause of death in these patients," Dr
Perkovic.

The research is published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

AAP dr/ss

KEYWORD: DIABETIC

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

FED:Qantas pilots may stop work within month

AAP General News (Australia)
07-19-2011
FED:Qantas pilots may stop work within month

By Lema Samandar

SYDNEY, July 19 AAP - Qantas international long-haul pilots have not ruled out a nationwide
work stoppage as they begin industrial action for the first time in 45 years over job
security.

The Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) said its members would begin
30 days of protected industrial action by trying to win the support of the airline's customers.

From Friday, pilots will make "brief and positive" in-flight announcements to passengers
in a campaign to stop any attempt by Qantas to shift their jobs offshore.

AIPA spokesman and Qantas pilot Nathan Safe said captains would talk to passengers
about the safety culture and their skills.

"We'll make it quite clear that we feel that those services are under threat," Mr Safe
told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.

On long-haul flights from Sydney to London the union message can be expected to be
heard twice, while some domestic pilots will also address their passengers.

The union will also mount a national billboard and internet website campaign to back
its pursuit of a "Qantas flight/Qantas pilot" clause in a new enterprise agreement.

Mr Safe said action had to be taken because management still refused to discuss a written
agreement to ensure pilots' jobs wouldn't be sent offshore.

"We've seen some very minor offshoring numbers to New Zealand, around 100 pilots fly
out of New Zealand under a sham company called Jetconnect that markets and presents itself
as genuine Qantas when in fact it isn't," he said.

"We've seen in Jetstar the setting up of bases in Singapore marketed as Jetstar International,
and we think the next step will ultimately be to set up a Qantas mainline base in Asia,
and that'll see hundreds or thousands of jobs in Australia lost to Asia.

"We think the thin edge to the wedge has begun."

Qantas has rejected the offshoring concerns, saying all Qantas-operated flights will
be flown by the company's pilots.

It says the union campaign is aimed at requiring pilots flying for Qantas affiliates,
including Jetstar, to be paid at the same high rates.

"The claim, if it were ever conceded, would drive up airfares, cost jobs and make Qantas
airlines and routes unprofitable," it said in a statement, adding that it would seek clarification
from the union over the action.

The company says its long-haul pilots are among the best paid in the business, with
an average Boeing 747 captain earning $350,000 a year while its best paid Airbus A380
captain was on $500,000 a year.

The union will have to implement a range of protected industrial actions within 30
days as part of industrial legislation but hopes to do it with little disruption.

"(The approved actions) can be done in very minor ways - we could have one pilot perform
a stop-work action for one minute on one day," Mr Safe said.

"We have no intention or no desire to disrupt Qantas passenger's travel plans."

Asked how likely it was that the Qantas pilots would hold a 48-hour work stoppage,
Mr Safe said: "I can't predict how likely or unlikely it is. It is certainly undesirable."

Last week Qantas engineers stopped work for 60 seconds as part of their ongoing dispute
with the airline.

AAP lxs/klm/jl

KEYWORD: QANTAS WRAP

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

FED:Govt silent on compulsory arbitration

AAP General News (Australia)
12-08-2011
FED:Govt silent on compulsory arbitration

CANBERRA, Dec 8 AAP - Federal Workplace Relations Minister Chris Evans will not be
drawn on whether a review of labour laws could lead to the return of compulsory arbitration.

An independent review of the Fair Work Act begins early next year.

Employers are concerned compulsory arbitration will wind back the clock.

Senator Evans would not speculate on the review's findings other than to say it would
be independent and evidence-based.

"There's a lot of rhetoric in this field, a lot of ideology, a lot of false claims,"

he told ABC Radio on Thursday.

The minister declined to predict how much change might come from the review but said
Labor was committed to the principles of the Fair Work laws.

The ALP national conference last weekend changed the party's policy platform to include
a requirement for enterprise agreements to provide for last-resort arbitration.

Senator Evans said the recent Qantas scandal had put attention on the use of arbitration.

"People are rightly focused on whether a dispute has to get to the stage of a lockout
of employees before arbitration is required," he said.

"It's something the Fair Work review ought to look at."

Meanwhile BHP chief Marius Kloppers has publicly criticised the Fair Work Act.

Labor's industrial relations laws had made workplace negotiations more complicated
and it was easier for workers to strike, he told The Australian Financial Review.

BHP has been subject to six months of industrial action at its coking coalmines in Queensland.

AAP lpm/rl/jmt

KEYWORD: WORKPLACE

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

WA:Cyclone alert for Kimberley

AAP General News (Australia)
04-04-2011
WA:Cyclone alert for Kimberley

Communities on the Kimberley coast are on cyclone alert as a tropical low tracks southwest
.. just offshore.

The weather bureau's cyclone warning is current for coastal areas from Kuri Bay to
Bidyadanga while a cyclone watch is in place from Bidyadanga to Whim Creek.

The bureau says gales with gusts of up to 100 kilometres an hour may develop between
Kuri Bay and Cape Leveque .. before extending further southwest to Broome and Bidyadanga.

Tides may be higher than normal and heavy rain is expected to cause flooding over the
north and northwest Kimberley.

A low-level blue alert is in place from the Mitchell Plateau to Bidyadanga including
Kuri Bay, Cockatoo and Koolan islands, Cape Leveque, Beagle Bay, Broome and Bidyandanga.

AAP RTV ldj/jmt

KEYWORD: CYCLONE (PERTH)

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.