A jury began deliberations on Tuesday in the case of a former Nevada developer and political powerbroker who was called a greedy "ultimate insider" by prosecutors accusing him of illegally funneling nearly $150,000 in campaign money to U.S. Sen. Harry Reid
Harvey Whittemore, 59, a former lobbyist and head of a billion-dollar real estate company, faces four felony counts tied to claims that he gave money to family members and employees to make contributions he had promised to Reid without revealing himself as the source.
"He kept his promise and he broke the law to do it," Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan said during final arguments before the case went to the jury.
"This wasn't just any old promise. This was a promise to Harry Reid, the most powerful man in the U.S. Congress," Olshan said. "When he made these contributions, he was the ultimate insider. He was making millions of dollars and getting personal thank-you notes from the most prominent politicians in the country. Harvey Whittemore was the king of the hill."
Whittemore's lawyers said he broke no laws by giving $5,000 checks as gifts to family members and as gifts or bonuses to 29 employees and their spouses, who then wrote checks for the maximum allowable $4,300 to the campaign group Friends of Harry Reid.
The lawyers said Whittemore, former chief of the Wingfield Nevada Group, suggested the employees and family members contribute to Reid, but made it clear that was voluntary.
"None said they were coerced," Dominic Gentile, Whittemore's lead defense counsel, said in his closing argument. "All knew him as a man of integrity. All said they trusted him."
Whittemore has pleaded not guilty to making excessive campaign contributions, making contributions in the name of another, causing a false statement to be made to the Federal Election Commission, and making a false statement to the FBI. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.
U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks gave the jury of six men and six women 36 specific instructions before the two sides made closing arguments.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre said Whittemore used "straw donors" or conduits to contribute illegally to Reid. He said that while most claimed they couldn't recall details of their encounters with Whittemore, federal investigators pieced together a detailed paper trail of the transactions.
"The beauty of this case is the documents don't forget," Myhre said. "He paid the conduits extra money. He solicited the contributions and added a little sweetener. ... And everybody worked in lock step. There is no deviation. This is a highly orchestrated, planned event that shows he was up to no good."
Gentile told the jury it was an important distinction that Whittemore wrote the checks to employees out of his personal account entitled H. Harvey Whittemore attorney fund, not Wingfield Nevada Group, because the law at the time forbid employers from reimbursing workers for such contributions.
"Wingfield Nevada Group was their employer. He was their boss, but he was not their employer," he said. He said Whittemore encouraged them to become politically involved and helped make it possible for some to do so financially.
"Some could not have made the size of contribution they made. He empowered them to do it," Gentile said. "But did he use them as conduits? They don't think so."
Gentile said Whittemore's motive was to help re-elect Reid and other Congress members who helped secure federal funding for a university medical research center that Whittemore and his wife Annette helped found to seek cures for diseases, including one their daughter has.
"Does it make sense he would throw Annette Whittemore and his other children and his father and his employees under the bus?" he said. The man is either smart or he's not. He's either honest, or he's not."
But Myhre said Whittemore was driven solely by greed.
"Not to get more money but greed in the sense of more power. It's about trying to be on the short list that senators and congressmen call when they need money," he said. "It's about him, it's about his power, his prestige. That's why he did it."
2013年5月28日星期二
The transcripts were released over the objections of numerous
Some wanted lobster. Some wanted campaign cash. At least one wanted
no part of the gifts and dinners and trips that were routinely paid for
by contractors doing business with South County schools.
According to thousands of pages of grand jury testimony released Tuesday, Sweetwater schools and Southwestern College operated a brazen pay-to-play contracting practice that saw millions of dollars of work go to contractors willing to pick up the tab for trustees and administrators.
“I know for a fact that, for a fact that they selected contractors that were contributing to their, to their re-election, and doing whatever they wanted them to do,” contractor Hector Romero testified at one point.
At another point, he said some of the dinners were excessive.
“They drank all my liquor,” he testified about one August 2010 gathering.
The transcripts were released over the objections of numerous defense attorneys, who argued that allowing the public to see the witness testimony could undermine their clients’ right to a fair trial.
But the judge hearing the South County corruption case rejected those arguments and ordered the release of the testimony from dozens of trustees, contractors, district employees and others involved in the case.
U-T San Diego scoured hundreds of pages that detailed much of what already has been reported in the bribery scandal that led to indictments of 15 educators and contractors.
The documents, which could only be read in person and not photocopied, portray an interlinking network of elected officials and administrators who made no secret of requesting food, travel and other amenities from people who did business with the district.
“Do you recall who paid for any food and beverages that you may have ordered?” prosecutor Leon Schorr asked contractor Rene Flores at one point.
“We always pay,” Flores responded.
Flores’ company was in charge of managing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of construction projects approved by the Sweetwater board.
Flores, who was not among the 15 people facing charges in the case, said he pursued the same business practices as most contractors seeking to work with South County school officials.
“To be honest, it’s always done that way in all the agencies,” Flores testified. “They meet outside for dinners. Not just with me, with other consultants.”
Not everyone accepted gifts or campaign donations from contractors.
Former Sweetwater Trustee Jaime Mercado testified that he ran for office in 2004 in an attempt to put a stop to what he heard was a culture of corruption at Sweetwater.
“One of the things I really, really objected to, and I told that to the superintendent at the time, was stop buying board members, stop co-opting their votes, stop getting gifts for them, contributions, donations,” he told the grand jury.
In all, about 3,000 pages of the 4,200 pages of testimony were released Tuesday. Most of the rest will be made available in a week or two, once about 18 pages of redacted materials are blacked out.
According to thousands of pages of grand jury testimony released Tuesday, Sweetwater schools and Southwestern College operated a brazen pay-to-play contracting practice that saw millions of dollars of work go to contractors willing to pick up the tab for trustees and administrators.
“I know for a fact that, for a fact that they selected contractors that were contributing to their, to their re-election, and doing whatever they wanted them to do,” contractor Hector Romero testified at one point.
At another point, he said some of the dinners were excessive.
“They drank all my liquor,” he testified about one August 2010 gathering.
The transcripts were released over the objections of numerous defense attorneys, who argued that allowing the public to see the witness testimony could undermine their clients’ right to a fair trial.
But the judge hearing the South County corruption case rejected those arguments and ordered the release of the testimony from dozens of trustees, contractors, district employees and others involved in the case.
U-T San Diego scoured hundreds of pages that detailed much of what already has been reported in the bribery scandal that led to indictments of 15 educators and contractors.
The documents, which could only be read in person and not photocopied, portray an interlinking network of elected officials and administrators who made no secret of requesting food, travel and other amenities from people who did business with the district.
“Do you recall who paid for any food and beverages that you may have ordered?” prosecutor Leon Schorr asked contractor Rene Flores at one point.
“We always pay,” Flores responded.
Flores’ company was in charge of managing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of construction projects approved by the Sweetwater board.
Flores, who was not among the 15 people facing charges in the case, said he pursued the same business practices as most contractors seeking to work with South County school officials.
“To be honest, it’s always done that way in all the agencies,” Flores testified. “They meet outside for dinners. Not just with me, with other consultants.”
Not everyone accepted gifts or campaign donations from contractors.
Former Sweetwater Trustee Jaime Mercado testified that he ran for office in 2004 in an attempt to put a stop to what he heard was a culture of corruption at Sweetwater.
“One of the things I really, really objected to, and I told that to the superintendent at the time, was stop buying board members, stop co-opting their votes, stop getting gifts for them, contributions, donations,” he told the grand jury.
In all, about 3,000 pages of the 4,200 pages of testimony were released Tuesday. Most of the rest will be made available in a week or two, once about 18 pages of redacted materials are blacked out.
2013年5月26日星期日
Today Cleopatra still influences the range
Draped in stunning golden cloaks and impeccably made up with shimmering metallics, emerald greens, heavily-lined eyes and plaited hair, Taylor is forever synonymous with the young queen of Egypt.
Perhaps most eye-catching about Taylor’s Cleopatra was the vast array of decadent jewels she wore on and off screen, most of which were designed by exclusive Italian jewellery maker Bulgari.
During the three-year filming period Taylor famously fell head over heels in love with co-star Richard Burton and it was that love affair that was responsible for bringing the Bulgari brand and Taylor together. The lovers often visited the famous jewellery boutique in Rome and Burton showered Taylor with jewels, including an iconic emerald and diamond necklace.
Taylor’s adoration of the Bulgari brand helped form the sumptuous, affluent atmosphere evoked within the film after she used her extravagant gifts in her scenes, including a gold and turquoise Cleopatra mirror given to her by the film crew.
In 20ll Bulgari acquired some of the actress’s personal jewellery collection and it is now proudly showcased at their headquarters in Rome.
Today Cleopatra still influences the range, most notably as part of the Serpenti collection, an exquisite set of gold and jewelled snakes which wrap around wrists, arms and necks. It is the best-selling collection in store.
In the Sixties, amid excitement about the filming of Cleopatra, Bulgari was leading the way in innovative jewellery creations, moving from the traditional combinations of emeralds, sapphires and diamonds instead using violet, turquoise and greens.
It was these daring creations that attracted the attention of its most famous customer Elizabeth Taylor.
A stunning black and white photograph of her bedecked in jewels still hangs in the office where the Bulgari creative process begins.
The brand has long been a byword for glamour. In the Fifties stars such as Sophia Loren and Audrey Hepburn delighted in visiting the boutique and today Nicole Kidman, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Rachel Weisz are fans.
Clients in search of Hollywood-worthy jewels travel from Russia, China and the Middle East to be the first to see the company’s new pieces.
Perhaps they also secretly hope to capture the spirit of Elizabeth Taylor’s timeless Cleopatra-esque beauty.
Perhaps most eye-catching about Taylor’s Cleopatra was the vast array of decadent jewels she wore on and off screen, most of which were designed by exclusive Italian jewellery maker Bulgari.
During the three-year filming period Taylor famously fell head over heels in love with co-star Richard Burton and it was that love affair that was responsible for bringing the Bulgari brand and Taylor together. The lovers often visited the famous jewellery boutique in Rome and Burton showered Taylor with jewels, including an iconic emerald and diamond necklace.
Taylor’s adoration of the Bulgari brand helped form the sumptuous, affluent atmosphere evoked within the film after she used her extravagant gifts in her scenes, including a gold and turquoise Cleopatra mirror given to her by the film crew.
In 20ll Bulgari acquired some of the actress’s personal jewellery collection and it is now proudly showcased at their headquarters in Rome.
Today Cleopatra still influences the range, most notably as part of the Serpenti collection, an exquisite set of gold and jewelled snakes which wrap around wrists, arms and necks. It is the best-selling collection in store.
In the Sixties, amid excitement about the filming of Cleopatra, Bulgari was leading the way in innovative jewellery creations, moving from the traditional combinations of emeralds, sapphires and diamonds instead using violet, turquoise and greens.
It was these daring creations that attracted the attention of its most famous customer Elizabeth Taylor.
A stunning black and white photograph of her bedecked in jewels still hangs in the office where the Bulgari creative process begins.
The brand has long been a byword for glamour. In the Fifties stars such as Sophia Loren and Audrey Hepburn delighted in visiting the boutique and today Nicole Kidman, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Rachel Weisz are fans.
Clients in search of Hollywood-worthy jewels travel from Russia, China and the Middle East to be the first to see the company’s new pieces.
Perhaps they also secretly hope to capture the spirit of Elizabeth Taylor’s timeless Cleopatra-esque beauty.
The cause of action for an insurance claim is the grievance
Prabodh Kothari had an Oriental Insurance householder's policy. In a housebreaking case, Kothari lost items worth Rs 18.16 lakh, including jewellery worth Rs 16.96 lakh. After Kothari filed a claim, CP Mehta & Co, the surveyor appointed by the insurance company, reported the loss included items worth Rs 13.38 lakh belonging to Kothari's wife. It added this amount could not be considered, as she was not the insured under the policy. The insurance company agreed to pay only a paltry sum of Rs 31,186.
Subsequently, Kothari filed a consumer complaint against the insurance company and the surveyor before the Mumbai District Forum. The forum said under a householder's insurance policy, the items of all family members were covered. Therefore, the jewellery belonging to Kothari's wife, listed in the policy taken by her husband, would be covered. Accordingly, it directed the insurance company to pay an additional Rs 13.38 lakh.
After an appeal by the insurance company, the Maharashtra State Commission said the complaint was time-barred, as the limitation would be considered from the date of the 'cause of action'- the date when the burglary took place. The commission added there was no deficiency in service, as the initial First Information Report (FIR) lodged with the police didn't include the jewellery belonging to Kothari's wife. Therefore, it set aside the forum's order and dismissed the complaint.
Then, Kothari approached the National Commission. His lawyer,
A A Pirani, argued the limitation wouldn't be considered from the date of the burglary but from the date the claim was repudiated. In this case, though the burglary took place in 2001, part of the claim for the jewellery was repudiated by a letter dated December 4, 2006. To arrive at the limitation, the initial date to be considered would, therefore, be December 4, 2006. As the complaint was filed two years after this, it would be within the limitation.
The commission said the term 'cause of action' was a 'bundle of facts' entitling a person to legal proceedings. For an insurance claim, it would first arise when the incident of loss occurred. The 'bundle of facts' includes the process of assessment of the loss and the admission or rejection of the claim, either wholly or partly. So, the cause of action would arise again when the claim is rejected. Therefore, the commission concurred with the arguments of Kothari's advocate, saying the limitation would commence from December 4, 2006, when the claim was partly rejected. It also said the state commission had overlooked the repudiation letter and arrived at an erroneous conclusion.
The National Commission said though the initial FIR didn't record the loss of the jewellery of Kothari's wife, it was later included and was part of the police investigation. The contract of insurance was a 'householder's insurance policy' that covered various risk heads, including fire and housebreaking. The coverage was for the entire household; it wasn't restricted to an individual. Therefore, the claim for jewellery belonging to Kothari's wife, included in the policy taken by her husband, would be payable, it said.
Accordingly, the National Commission set aside the order of the state commission and restored the order of the district forum, directing the insurance company to pay an additional amount of Rs 13.38 lakh for the loss of the jewellery.
The cause of action for an insurance claim is the grievance about its rejection; therefore, limitation is computed from the date when the claim is repudiated. Also, a claim cannot be simply rejected on the grounds that the loss isn't included in the initial FIR; what is necessary is it should form a part of the police complaint and the investigation. The benefits of a householder's insurance policy extend to the entire family and cover all the items included in the policy.
Subsequently, Kothari filed a consumer complaint against the insurance company and the surveyor before the Mumbai District Forum. The forum said under a householder's insurance policy, the items of all family members were covered. Therefore, the jewellery belonging to Kothari's wife, listed in the policy taken by her husband, would be covered. Accordingly, it directed the insurance company to pay an additional Rs 13.38 lakh.
After an appeal by the insurance company, the Maharashtra State Commission said the complaint was time-barred, as the limitation would be considered from the date of the 'cause of action'- the date when the burglary took place. The commission added there was no deficiency in service, as the initial First Information Report (FIR) lodged with the police didn't include the jewellery belonging to Kothari's wife. Therefore, it set aside the forum's order and dismissed the complaint.
Then, Kothari approached the National Commission. His lawyer,
A A Pirani, argued the limitation wouldn't be considered from the date of the burglary but from the date the claim was repudiated. In this case, though the burglary took place in 2001, part of the claim for the jewellery was repudiated by a letter dated December 4, 2006. To arrive at the limitation, the initial date to be considered would, therefore, be December 4, 2006. As the complaint was filed two years after this, it would be within the limitation.
The commission said the term 'cause of action' was a 'bundle of facts' entitling a person to legal proceedings. For an insurance claim, it would first arise when the incident of loss occurred. The 'bundle of facts' includes the process of assessment of the loss and the admission or rejection of the claim, either wholly or partly. So, the cause of action would arise again when the claim is rejected. Therefore, the commission concurred with the arguments of Kothari's advocate, saying the limitation would commence from December 4, 2006, when the claim was partly rejected. It also said the state commission had overlooked the repudiation letter and arrived at an erroneous conclusion.
The National Commission said though the initial FIR didn't record the loss of the jewellery of Kothari's wife, it was later included and was part of the police investigation. The contract of insurance was a 'householder's insurance policy' that covered various risk heads, including fire and housebreaking. The coverage was for the entire household; it wasn't restricted to an individual. Therefore, the claim for jewellery belonging to Kothari's wife, included in the policy taken by her husband, would be payable, it said.
Accordingly, the National Commission set aside the order of the state commission and restored the order of the district forum, directing the insurance company to pay an additional amount of Rs 13.38 lakh for the loss of the jewellery.
The cause of action for an insurance claim is the grievance about its rejection; therefore, limitation is computed from the date when the claim is repudiated. Also, a claim cannot be simply rejected on the grounds that the loss isn't included in the initial FIR; what is necessary is it should form a part of the police complaint and the investigation. The benefits of a householder's insurance policy extend to the entire family and cover all the items included in the policy.
2013年5月22日星期三
The Miss Glasgow competition featured a charity
Merissa Lennon, 24, reached the finals of various beauty contests over the last three years before finally getting her moment in the spotlight.
She said: “I have competed in loads of competitions, like Miss Earth and Miss Universe Scotland, and had a few nearly moments.
“So I was treating the Miss Glasgow contest as my one last shot and didn’t even tell anyone I was entering it.
“But I was over the moon to win and it still hasn’t sunk in entirely.
“I am so grateful for the support from my family and friends who have travelled around Scotland and the UK supporting my modelling career.
“And it has finally paid off, which proves the old saying ‘if at first you don’t succeed try and try again’.”
The Miss Glasgow competition featured a charity–shop round, which saw Merissa wear a dress made from wallpaper bought in a St Andrew’s Hospice shop and shoes purchased from Macmillan Cancer Support.
Both charities hold special significance for Merissa.
She said: “My aunt died of lung cancer a few years ago and since school I have always taken part in runs and other hospice events.
“So I was delighted to be able to incorporate both charities into my winning effort.”
The former St Bartholomew’s Primary and St Ambrose High pupil decided to embark on her modelling adventure after taking advice from her loved ones.
Merissa said: “My family were always telling me to get into modelling from a youngage because I was slim and tall.
“Then when I was 17 I made the decision to just go for it and haven’t looked back since.
“The Advertiser has followed my progress over the years, competing in all of the shows, and it is great to finally reach a point where the paper can report on me winning a crown.”
Merissa has been very busy since her Miss Glasgow triumph – and could be set to retire from beauty contests and concentrate on her blossoming modelling career.
She said: “I am constantly busy just now as I am holding down a full-time job too.
“Since winning Miss Glasgow I have got a lot more model-ling jobs and public appearances.
“I am in a few wedding shows in the summer and also hosted the Scottish Hotel Awards.
“I also won a sponsorship with Bycaprice Lingerie by Caprice Bourret – a role-model of mine – and after winning I have also been awarded ￡500 worth of underwear, a teeth whitening package and the opportunity to be an ambassador of Glasgow.
“Being optimistic, I don’t think I will enter any more beauty competitions and I’m looking to push on now with all sorts of things.”
She said: “I have competed in loads of competitions, like Miss Earth and Miss Universe Scotland, and had a few nearly moments.
“So I was treating the Miss Glasgow contest as my one last shot and didn’t even tell anyone I was entering it.
“But I was over the moon to win and it still hasn’t sunk in entirely.
“I am so grateful for the support from my family and friends who have travelled around Scotland and the UK supporting my modelling career.
“And it has finally paid off, which proves the old saying ‘if at first you don’t succeed try and try again’.”
The Miss Glasgow competition featured a charity–shop round, which saw Merissa wear a dress made from wallpaper bought in a St Andrew’s Hospice shop and shoes purchased from Macmillan Cancer Support.
Both charities hold special significance for Merissa.
She said: “My aunt died of lung cancer a few years ago and since school I have always taken part in runs and other hospice events.
“So I was delighted to be able to incorporate both charities into my winning effort.”
The former St Bartholomew’s Primary and St Ambrose High pupil decided to embark on her modelling adventure after taking advice from her loved ones.
Merissa said: “My family were always telling me to get into modelling from a youngage because I was slim and tall.
“Then when I was 17 I made the decision to just go for it and haven’t looked back since.
“The Advertiser has followed my progress over the years, competing in all of the shows, and it is great to finally reach a point where the paper can report on me winning a crown.”
Merissa has been very busy since her Miss Glasgow triumph – and could be set to retire from beauty contests and concentrate on her blossoming modelling career.
She said: “I am constantly busy just now as I am holding down a full-time job too.
“Since winning Miss Glasgow I have got a lot more model-ling jobs and public appearances.
“I am in a few wedding shows in the summer and also hosted the Scottish Hotel Awards.
“I also won a sponsorship with Bycaprice Lingerie by Caprice Bourret – a role-model of mine – and after winning I have also been awarded ￡500 worth of underwear, a teeth whitening package and the opportunity to be an ambassador of Glasgow.
“Being optimistic, I don’t think I will enter any more beauty competitions and I’m looking to push on now with all sorts of things.”
What you have seen is beyond human imagination
Muslim leaders from across the globe knelt in prayer for the Holocaust dead at the Auschwitz's notorious Wall of Death on Wednesday, in an emotional visit to the Nazi German death camp in southern Poland.
Imams from Bosnia, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States offered traditional Muslim "salat" prayers facing south towards their holy city of Mecca, shoes removed, during a Holocaust awareness visit to the site.
Thousands of Auschwitz prisoners perished at the wall, which is grey and still riddled with bullet holes. It is a stone's throw from the infamous wrought iron "Arbeit macht frei" (Work makes you free) gate at the camp's entrance.
"What can you say? You're speechless. What you have seen is beyond human imagination," a visibly moved Imam Mohamed Magid, President of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), told AFP after prayers and viewing the camp's infamous gas chamber and crematoria. "Whether in Europe today or in the Muslim world, my call to humanity: End racism, for God's sake, end anti-Semitism, for God's sake, end Islamophobia for God's sake, end sexism for God's sake... Enough is enough," he said.
"When I saw what happened for the people here, I tried to prevent my tears from my eyes because it’s very difficult to see how many people were killed without any reason," Palestinian Imam Barakat Hasan from Ramallah said.
"I am from Palestine and my people are suffering now since 65 years until now, so of course I feel for others who have suffering," he added.
The visit was part of a Holocaust awareness and anti-genocide programme organised in part by the US State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom. Of the six million Jews killed by the Nazis during World War II, a million were murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau, mostly in its notorious gas chambers, along with tens of thousands of others including Poles, Roma and Soviet prisoners of war.
Part of an exhibition displaying outfits and photographs of Marilyn Monroe was stolen while being transported to the Czech Republic from Italy, the event's curator said on Wednesday.
The exhibition, commemorating the 50th anniversary of her death, was created by the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo in Florence last year.
Ferragamo was the actress' favorite shoemaker and she owned a dozen pairs of his hand-made shoes.
Curator Jan Trestik said a truck carrying mannequins and photographs was raided in an apparently coordinated attack in the central Czech Republic on trucks carrying luxury goods from Italy.
David Sebek, spokesman for Prague Castle, which is due to host the show, said most of the exhibits, including her dresses, had already arrived intact.
Imams from Bosnia, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United States offered traditional Muslim "salat" prayers facing south towards their holy city of Mecca, shoes removed, during a Holocaust awareness visit to the site.
Thousands of Auschwitz prisoners perished at the wall, which is grey and still riddled with bullet holes. It is a stone's throw from the infamous wrought iron "Arbeit macht frei" (Work makes you free) gate at the camp's entrance.
"What can you say? You're speechless. What you have seen is beyond human imagination," a visibly moved Imam Mohamed Magid, President of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), told AFP after prayers and viewing the camp's infamous gas chamber and crematoria. "Whether in Europe today or in the Muslim world, my call to humanity: End racism, for God's sake, end anti-Semitism, for God's sake, end Islamophobia for God's sake, end sexism for God's sake... Enough is enough," he said.
"When I saw what happened for the people here, I tried to prevent my tears from my eyes because it’s very difficult to see how many people were killed without any reason," Palestinian Imam Barakat Hasan from Ramallah said.
"I am from Palestine and my people are suffering now since 65 years until now, so of course I feel for others who have suffering," he added.
The visit was part of a Holocaust awareness and anti-genocide programme organised in part by the US State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom. Of the six million Jews killed by the Nazis during World War II, a million were murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau, mostly in its notorious gas chambers, along with tens of thousands of others including Poles, Roma and Soviet prisoners of war.
Part of an exhibition displaying outfits and photographs of Marilyn Monroe was stolen while being transported to the Czech Republic from Italy, the event's curator said on Wednesday.
The exhibition, commemorating the 50th anniversary of her death, was created by the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo in Florence last year.
Ferragamo was the actress' favorite shoemaker and she owned a dozen pairs of his hand-made shoes.
Curator Jan Trestik said a truck carrying mannequins and photographs was raided in an apparently coordinated attack in the central Czech Republic on trucks carrying luxury goods from Italy.
David Sebek, spokesman for Prague Castle, which is due to host the show, said most of the exhibits, including her dresses, had already arrived intact.
2013年5月20日星期一
Bulldogs account for Vulcans in an entertaining affair at Belmore
Canterbury have recorded their first win since Round Two of the VB NSW Cup with an entertaining 38-30 victory over the Auckland Vulcans at Belmore Sports Ground.
With both teams coming off narrow four point losses at home last weekend the 2011 grand final rematch promised to be a close contest, especially with the inclusion of Kris Keating, Tim Lafai and Martin Taupau for the Bulldogs.
Not reknowned for playing well away from home, the Vulcans got off to a promising start in the 6th minute when Auckland second-rower Agnatius Paasi made an attacking raid down the blindside and offloaded to his left winger Atelea Nafetalai who then stepped inside the Bulldogs fullback to cross in the corner to give them an early 4-0 lead.
However three tries in the space of nine minutes to the home team gave the small but vocal Bulldogs fans something to bark about.
In the 13th minute Canterbury speedster Corey Thompson showed some fancy footwork to evade five Vulcans defenders on a 20 metre angled run from the grandstand touchline back inside to the score left of the post.
Former Rooster and Jets playmaker Jack Littlejohn added the extras to make it 6-4 to the Bulldogs.
Four minutes later new recruit Littlejohn combined with Canterbury’s most consistent player all season, Lachlan Burr, and the Bulldogs backrower got the ball down on his second attempt to extend their lead to 10-4.
Canterbury halfback Littlejohn decided to take a gamble in the 22nd minute by running it on the last and it paid off when he found centre Ed Murphy down the right edge and he barged over in the corner.
Tim Lafai, the classy Bulldogs centre took over the goalkicking duties with immediate success nailing the sideline conversion and all of a sudden the home team had blown out to a 16-4 lead.
A few elementary errors from the Bulldogs and a string of penalties midway through the first half invited the Vulcans back into the game and they responded by also scoring three tries between the 28th and 37th minute mark.
A great one-handed pass from fill-in fullback Tangi Ropati to his winger Nafetalai saw him crash over in the left corner for his second try of the half and eighth try of the season.
A late hit from Bulldogs enforcer Taupau on Vulcans playmaker Harry Siejka on the last tackle after getting a bomb away earnt Auckland another set of six in the Doggies danger zone and interchange hooker Siliva Havili made them pay by sneaking over from dummy half and scoring a soft try fromclose range.
Former Panther Siejka finally landed a conversion and it was a two point ball game with seven minutes left in the first half.
Three minutes before the break Canterbury five-eighth Kris Keating had a moment he would rather forget when he threw an intercept 35 metres out from his own tryline and Vulcans winger Ngani Laumape latched on to it to streak away and score untouched under the posts.
With Coach Barry Ward’s job and the Bulldogs season on the line Canterbury needed to score first after the break but after being on the wrong end of a few debatable refereeing decisions Canterbury found themselves further behind in the 49th minute when former Titan Dominique Peyroux combined with his winger Nafetalai who then found fullback Ropati backing up on the inside to dive over for a try and give the Vulcans some breathing space.
Yet just like in the first half the Bulldogs bounced back with a rapid-fire tryscoring blitz midway through the second stanza which changed the complexion of the game.
In the 58th minute Canterbury reduced the deficit to 24-20 when Lafai steamed onto a Keating flat ball from 10 metres out but he failed to convert his own try.
Two minutes later Taupau, who had been having a great game in attack with numerous offloads and strong charges, got another left handed offload away to his backrower Paul Carter and he crossed for the first of his two tries down the left side.Lafai’s conversion gave the Bulldogs a slender two point lead 26-24.
Carter was in again three minutes later when he finished off the try of the match. Starting in their own half, the Bulldogs went from touchline to touchline with prop Junior Palau popping a nice ball in traffic out the backs and although Keating and Lafai’s passes were both borderline, quick hands along the backline saw Thompson into some open space down the left flank and then as he got to the fullback he showed great skill to kick the ball infield off the outside of his right foot and Carter got a lovely bounce to win the race to the ball and score. Lafai’s third conversion extended the Doggies lead to 32-24.
Cook Islands International Drury Low then put the issue beyond doubt in the 68th minute when he sliced through some tiring Vulcans defence to score the match winner under the posts. Lafai converted Canterbury’s fourth try in ten minutes to give them a 38-24 lead.
Although Auckland prop Daniel Palavi scored a late consolation try from close range in the 77th minute and Siejka converted to reduce the margin to 38-30 the Bulldogs hung on to win their first home game of the season and begin their long climb back up the NSW Cup ladder.
This round the Vulcans will host the Knights at Mt Smart Stadium while the Dogs will have their hands full with a talented Wenty side at Ringrose Park on Sunday.
With both teams coming off narrow four point losses at home last weekend the 2011 grand final rematch promised to be a close contest, especially with the inclusion of Kris Keating, Tim Lafai and Martin Taupau for the Bulldogs.
Not reknowned for playing well away from home, the Vulcans got off to a promising start in the 6th minute when Auckland second-rower Agnatius Paasi made an attacking raid down the blindside and offloaded to his left winger Atelea Nafetalai who then stepped inside the Bulldogs fullback to cross in the corner to give them an early 4-0 lead.
However three tries in the space of nine minutes to the home team gave the small but vocal Bulldogs fans something to bark about.
In the 13th minute Canterbury speedster Corey Thompson showed some fancy footwork to evade five Vulcans defenders on a 20 metre angled run from the grandstand touchline back inside to the score left of the post.
Former Rooster and Jets playmaker Jack Littlejohn added the extras to make it 6-4 to the Bulldogs.
Four minutes later new recruit Littlejohn combined with Canterbury’s most consistent player all season, Lachlan Burr, and the Bulldogs backrower got the ball down on his second attempt to extend their lead to 10-4.
Canterbury halfback Littlejohn decided to take a gamble in the 22nd minute by running it on the last and it paid off when he found centre Ed Murphy down the right edge and he barged over in the corner.
Tim Lafai, the classy Bulldogs centre took over the goalkicking duties with immediate success nailing the sideline conversion and all of a sudden the home team had blown out to a 16-4 lead.
A few elementary errors from the Bulldogs and a string of penalties midway through the first half invited the Vulcans back into the game and they responded by also scoring three tries between the 28th and 37th minute mark.
A great one-handed pass from fill-in fullback Tangi Ropati to his winger Nafetalai saw him crash over in the left corner for his second try of the half and eighth try of the season.
A late hit from Bulldogs enforcer Taupau on Vulcans playmaker Harry Siejka on the last tackle after getting a bomb away earnt Auckland another set of six in the Doggies danger zone and interchange hooker Siliva Havili made them pay by sneaking over from dummy half and scoring a soft try fromclose range.
Former Panther Siejka finally landed a conversion and it was a two point ball game with seven minutes left in the first half.
Three minutes before the break Canterbury five-eighth Kris Keating had a moment he would rather forget when he threw an intercept 35 metres out from his own tryline and Vulcans winger Ngani Laumape latched on to it to streak away and score untouched under the posts.
With Coach Barry Ward’s job and the Bulldogs season on the line Canterbury needed to score first after the break but after being on the wrong end of a few debatable refereeing decisions Canterbury found themselves further behind in the 49th minute when former Titan Dominique Peyroux combined with his winger Nafetalai who then found fullback Ropati backing up on the inside to dive over for a try and give the Vulcans some breathing space.
Yet just like in the first half the Bulldogs bounced back with a rapid-fire tryscoring blitz midway through the second stanza which changed the complexion of the game.
In the 58th minute Canterbury reduced the deficit to 24-20 when Lafai steamed onto a Keating flat ball from 10 metres out but he failed to convert his own try.
Two minutes later Taupau, who had been having a great game in attack with numerous offloads and strong charges, got another left handed offload away to his backrower Paul Carter and he crossed for the first of his two tries down the left side.Lafai’s conversion gave the Bulldogs a slender two point lead 26-24.
Carter was in again three minutes later when he finished off the try of the match. Starting in their own half, the Bulldogs went from touchline to touchline with prop Junior Palau popping a nice ball in traffic out the backs and although Keating and Lafai’s passes were both borderline, quick hands along the backline saw Thompson into some open space down the left flank and then as he got to the fullback he showed great skill to kick the ball infield off the outside of his right foot and Carter got a lovely bounce to win the race to the ball and score. Lafai’s third conversion extended the Doggies lead to 32-24.
Cook Islands International Drury Low then put the issue beyond doubt in the 68th minute when he sliced through some tiring Vulcans defence to score the match winner under the posts. Lafai converted Canterbury’s fourth try in ten minutes to give them a 38-24 lead.
Although Auckland prop Daniel Palavi scored a late consolation try from close range in the 77th minute and Siejka converted to reduce the margin to 38-30 the Bulldogs hung on to win their first home game of the season and begin their long climb back up the NSW Cup ladder.
This round the Vulcans will host the Knights at Mt Smart Stadium while the Dogs will have their hands full with a talented Wenty side at Ringrose Park on Sunday.
There can be no possible justification for such an overbroad
Two weeks after the press partied hearty with President Barack Obama at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, the administration admitted that federal authorities had secretly combed through phone records for dozens of Associated Press journalists.
If ever there has been a reason to abolish this embarrassing display of fake camaraderie between journalists and the government officials they cover, this is it.
The Department of Justice didn’t stop at authorizing subpoenas for the journalists’ office phone records. As The New York Times reported, “the dragnet covered the work, home and cellphone records used by almost 100 people at one of the oldest and most reputable news organizations,” and it went on for months. Among the targeted phone lines: AP general office numbers in Washington, New York and Hartford, Conn., and the main number for reporters covering Congress.
“There can be no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters,” Pruitt wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder. “These records potentially reveal communications with confidential sources across all of the newsgathering activities undertaken by the AP during a two-month period, provide a road map to AP’s newsgathering operations and disclose information about AP’s activities and operations that the government has no conceivable right to know.”
The next day, more than 50 news organizations — including The New York Times, NPR and The Washington Post — signed a letter to the Justice Department protesting the decision to secretly obtain AP’s phone records. It read, in part:
“In the thirty years since the Department issued guidelines governing its subpoena practice as it relates to phone records from journalists, none of us can remember an instance where such an overreaching dragnet for newsgathering materials was deployed by the Department, particularly without notice to the affected reporters or an opportunity to seek judicial review.”
Steven Aftergood, a government secrecy expert at the Federation of American Scientists, told The Washington Post, “This investigation is broader and less focused on an individual source or reporter than any of the others we’ve seen.
“They have swept up an entire collection of press communications. It’s an astonishing assault on core values of our society.”
Deputy Attorney General James Cole, who ordered the subpoenas, tried to explain away spying on a major news organization as part of a “criminal investigation involving highly classified information.” The feds were investigating leaked details of a CIA operation in Yemen that foiled an al-Qaida plot last year to set off a bomb on an airplane headed to the United States.
Holder said he couldn’t comment on the subpoenas but went on and on about how he trusts his peeps:
“The people who are involved in this investigation, (whom I’ve known) for a great many years and whom I’ve worked with for a great many years, followed all of the appropriate Justice Department regulations and did things according to DOJ rules,” Holder said. “Based on the people that I know — I don’t know about the facts, but based on the people I know — I think that that subpoena was done in conformance with DOJ regs.”
He added: “I don’t know all that went into the formulation of the subpoena. This was a very serious leak, a very, very serious leak. ... It put the American people at risk, and that is not hyperbole. It put the American people at risk, and trying to determine who was responsible for that, I think, required very aggressive action.”
In other words, just trust him.
Meanwhile, journalists around the country are asking, “What the heck is going on?”
It should be the question on every concerned citizen’s mind. It breaks my heart that we need this reminder: A thriving — and free — press is often the only check on representative government. Already, potential government whistle-blowers have lost their nerve and never will pick up that phone.
Last month, the president took a serious turn at the end of his speech at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner and paid tribute to journalists’ efforts during the recent tragedies in our country:
“We also saw journalists at their best — especially those who took the time to wade upstream through the torrent of digital rumors to chase down leads and verify facts and painstakingly put the pieces together to inform and to educate and to tell stories that demanded to be told.”
If ever there has been a reason to abolish this embarrassing display of fake camaraderie between journalists and the government officials they cover, this is it.
The Department of Justice didn’t stop at authorizing subpoenas for the journalists’ office phone records. As The New York Times reported, “the dragnet covered the work, home and cellphone records used by almost 100 people at one of the oldest and most reputable news organizations,” and it went on for months. Among the targeted phone lines: AP general office numbers in Washington, New York and Hartford, Conn., and the main number for reporters covering Congress.
“There can be no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters,” Pruitt wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder. “These records potentially reveal communications with confidential sources across all of the newsgathering activities undertaken by the AP during a two-month period, provide a road map to AP’s newsgathering operations and disclose information about AP’s activities and operations that the government has no conceivable right to know.”
The next day, more than 50 news organizations — including The New York Times, NPR and The Washington Post — signed a letter to the Justice Department protesting the decision to secretly obtain AP’s phone records. It read, in part:
“In the thirty years since the Department issued guidelines governing its subpoena practice as it relates to phone records from journalists, none of us can remember an instance where such an overreaching dragnet for newsgathering materials was deployed by the Department, particularly without notice to the affected reporters or an opportunity to seek judicial review.”
Steven Aftergood, a government secrecy expert at the Federation of American Scientists, told The Washington Post, “This investigation is broader and less focused on an individual source or reporter than any of the others we’ve seen.
“They have swept up an entire collection of press communications. It’s an astonishing assault on core values of our society.”
Deputy Attorney General James Cole, who ordered the subpoenas, tried to explain away spying on a major news organization as part of a “criminal investigation involving highly classified information.” The feds were investigating leaked details of a CIA operation in Yemen that foiled an al-Qaida plot last year to set off a bomb on an airplane headed to the United States.
Holder said he couldn’t comment on the subpoenas but went on and on about how he trusts his peeps:
“The people who are involved in this investigation, (whom I’ve known) for a great many years and whom I’ve worked with for a great many years, followed all of the appropriate Justice Department regulations and did things according to DOJ rules,” Holder said. “Based on the people that I know — I don’t know about the facts, but based on the people I know — I think that that subpoena was done in conformance with DOJ regs.”
He added: “I don’t know all that went into the formulation of the subpoena. This was a very serious leak, a very, very serious leak. ... It put the American people at risk, and that is not hyperbole. It put the American people at risk, and trying to determine who was responsible for that, I think, required very aggressive action.”
In other words, just trust him.
Meanwhile, journalists around the country are asking, “What the heck is going on?”
It should be the question on every concerned citizen’s mind. It breaks my heart that we need this reminder: A thriving — and free — press is often the only check on representative government. Already, potential government whistle-blowers have lost their nerve and never will pick up that phone.
Last month, the president took a serious turn at the end of his speech at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner and paid tribute to journalists’ efforts during the recent tragedies in our country:
“We also saw journalists at their best — especially those who took the time to wade upstream through the torrent of digital rumors to chase down leads and verify facts and painstakingly put the pieces together to inform and to educate and to tell stories that demanded to be told.”
The House also voted to send Dayton a bill to allow union
A few final debates echoed through the state Capitol Monday, as lawmakers haggled over tax increases and union organizing in a session that's already seen a big spike in spending on schools and a landmark law legalizing gay marriage.
A session that started in January ended in a rush toward the finish line: a midnight deadline to adjourn for the year. It was the finale of four months of Democratic control of the Legislature, and members seized the chance to set a $38.3 billion budget that increases spending on schools, colleges and other programs and helps pay for it with $2.1 billion in tax increases primarily on the wealthy and smokers.
"There is no glee or joy in doing the difficult work of raising revenue," said Rep. Ann Lenczewski, DFL-Bloomington. The House narrowly passed the tax bill at about 2 a.m., and the Senate was expected to follow suit Monday night.
Lenczewski, who wrote the bill, framed it as a responsible approach to erasing a $627 million deficit and fashioning a two-year budget that includes the targeted spending increases. Republicans warned the new taxes would backfire, and chase the wealthy and business owners out of the state.
"Money talks and money walks," said Rep. Peggy Scott, R-Andover.
It's the first state-level tax increase approved by lawmakers since the gas tax went up five years ago. Some 54,400 taxpayers would pay a higher income tax, averaging $7,200 more per year. The new 9.85 percent upper income tax level is 2 points higher than the current top tier. The tax on a pack of cigarettes goes up $1.60. Corporations lose some tax preferences. And some businesses see more transactions subjected to the sales tax.
The bill contains $570 million in new credits and local government exemptions that backers frame as property tax relief. Some money flows into aid programs that give breaks directly to homeowners.
Upon Senate passage, the bill heads to the desk of Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton, who is on board.
The House also voted to send Dayton a bill to allow union organizing drives among two groups of workers: in-home daycare providers and personal care attendants to the elderly and disabled. The legislation injected the contentious divide between Republicans and Democratic-allied labor unions into the session's final days. The 10-hour debate was strung out over more than two days, as Republicans blasted what they called a union power grab and Democrats defended it as giving workers an option to unite over common issues.
"We are not forming a union here today," said Rep. Carly Melin, DFL-Hibbing. "We are authorizing people the right to vote about whether they want to enter a collective bargaining unit."
The House passed the bill by one vote, 68-66, with five Democrats defecting. Its passage prompted an eruption of cheers in the House gallery, which provoked angry shouts from several Republican lawmakers.
"This looks like union payback. What a blight on the process," said Rep. Kathy Lohmer, R-Lake Elmo. "This isn't what people want."
Another labor-backed bill to raise the state's minimum wage was alive in the session's final hours, but barely. A House-Senate conference committee convened briefly on the bill, which now stands at $6.15 per hour, but took no action.
The wage hike was a top Democratic priority at the start of session, but stalled after House and Senate members couldn't agree how big it should be. The House approved a bill raising the minimum in three stages until it reaches $9.50 by 2015. The Senate's bill topped out at $7.75. If they agree on a number, legislative negotiators also must decide if the wage will rise by an inflationary amount in future years.
Smaller policy bills flew through under the wire, including an election bill that authorizes no-excuse absentee voting and a campaign finance bill to increase the size of contributions that Minnesota candidates can accept from individuals.
Democrats reluctantly declared a bill aimed at school bullying a casualty of the dwindling clock.
Sen. Scott Dibble, the Minneapolis Democrat pushing for the new bullying policy, complained that Republicans stonewalled his bill by pledging a lengthy debate. "This is a political agenda and kids lose out," he said.
Senate Minority Leader David Hann and his fellow Republicans said they feared it would burden schools with new state requirements and open them up to potential lawsuits. A few dozen supporters of the bill rallied at the Capitol Monday and vowed to push it again next year.
The Senate found harmony on a few issues. A 43-26 vote sent a proposed constitutional amendment to the 2016 ballot that asks voters if an independent council should set legislator pay; that decision now rests with lawmakers, who haven't touched salaries since 1999 for fear of a political backlash.
A unanimous vote came in the Senate on a borrowing measure that would generate $131.6 million for the next phase of a state Capitol fix-up and related parking structure. Hann and Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk said they worried about a costly lapse in the project by doing nothing on the financing this year.
"I know a little something about construction," said Bakk, a carpenter. "It doesn't make any sense to ask the contractor to leave and pay for the cost of remobilizing to come back here and start up again."
But the House rejected that approach Monday, setting up a potential last-minute conference committee on the issue. The borrowing bill takes a super-majority to pass, making some Republican support necessary. The Capitol project was contained in a much larger construction borrowing bill that fell a handful of votes short of a passing margin late last week.
A session that started in January ended in a rush toward the finish line: a midnight deadline to adjourn for the year. It was the finale of four months of Democratic control of the Legislature, and members seized the chance to set a $38.3 billion budget that increases spending on schools, colleges and other programs and helps pay for it with $2.1 billion in tax increases primarily on the wealthy and smokers.
"There is no glee or joy in doing the difficult work of raising revenue," said Rep. Ann Lenczewski, DFL-Bloomington. The House narrowly passed the tax bill at about 2 a.m., and the Senate was expected to follow suit Monday night.
Lenczewski, who wrote the bill, framed it as a responsible approach to erasing a $627 million deficit and fashioning a two-year budget that includes the targeted spending increases. Republicans warned the new taxes would backfire, and chase the wealthy and business owners out of the state.
"Money talks and money walks," said Rep. Peggy Scott, R-Andover.
It's the first state-level tax increase approved by lawmakers since the gas tax went up five years ago. Some 54,400 taxpayers would pay a higher income tax, averaging $7,200 more per year. The new 9.85 percent upper income tax level is 2 points higher than the current top tier. The tax on a pack of cigarettes goes up $1.60. Corporations lose some tax preferences. And some businesses see more transactions subjected to the sales tax.
The bill contains $570 million in new credits and local government exemptions that backers frame as property tax relief. Some money flows into aid programs that give breaks directly to homeowners.
Upon Senate passage, the bill heads to the desk of Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton, who is on board.
The House also voted to send Dayton a bill to allow union organizing drives among two groups of workers: in-home daycare providers and personal care attendants to the elderly and disabled. The legislation injected the contentious divide between Republicans and Democratic-allied labor unions into the session's final days. The 10-hour debate was strung out over more than two days, as Republicans blasted what they called a union power grab and Democrats defended it as giving workers an option to unite over common issues.
"We are not forming a union here today," said Rep. Carly Melin, DFL-Hibbing. "We are authorizing people the right to vote about whether they want to enter a collective bargaining unit."
The House passed the bill by one vote, 68-66, with five Democrats defecting. Its passage prompted an eruption of cheers in the House gallery, which provoked angry shouts from several Republican lawmakers.
"This looks like union payback. What a blight on the process," said Rep. Kathy Lohmer, R-Lake Elmo. "This isn't what people want."
Another labor-backed bill to raise the state's minimum wage was alive in the session's final hours, but barely. A House-Senate conference committee convened briefly on the bill, which now stands at $6.15 per hour, but took no action.
The wage hike was a top Democratic priority at the start of session, but stalled after House and Senate members couldn't agree how big it should be. The House approved a bill raising the minimum in three stages until it reaches $9.50 by 2015. The Senate's bill topped out at $7.75. If they agree on a number, legislative negotiators also must decide if the wage will rise by an inflationary amount in future years.
Smaller policy bills flew through under the wire, including an election bill that authorizes no-excuse absentee voting and a campaign finance bill to increase the size of contributions that Minnesota candidates can accept from individuals.
Democrats reluctantly declared a bill aimed at school bullying a casualty of the dwindling clock.
Sen. Scott Dibble, the Minneapolis Democrat pushing for the new bullying policy, complained that Republicans stonewalled his bill by pledging a lengthy debate. "This is a political agenda and kids lose out," he said.
Senate Minority Leader David Hann and his fellow Republicans said they feared it would burden schools with new state requirements and open them up to potential lawsuits. A few dozen supporters of the bill rallied at the Capitol Monday and vowed to push it again next year.
The Senate found harmony on a few issues. A 43-26 vote sent a proposed constitutional amendment to the 2016 ballot that asks voters if an independent council should set legislator pay; that decision now rests with lawmakers, who haven't touched salaries since 1999 for fear of a political backlash.
A unanimous vote came in the Senate on a borrowing measure that would generate $131.6 million for the next phase of a state Capitol fix-up and related parking structure. Hann and Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk said they worried about a costly lapse in the project by doing nothing on the financing this year.
"I know a little something about construction," said Bakk, a carpenter. "It doesn't make any sense to ask the contractor to leave and pay for the cost of remobilizing to come back here and start up again."
But the House rejected that approach Monday, setting up a potential last-minute conference committee on the issue. The borrowing bill takes a super-majority to pass, making some Republican support necessary. The Capitol project was contained in a much larger construction borrowing bill that fell a handful of votes short of a passing margin late last week.
2013年5月13日星期一
They are a symbol of style and grace
When Mumbai-based jewellery designer Nitya Arora started working on this year's Spring Summer collection, her plan was to design contemporary pieces that would blend with modern ensembles. "I thought of the peplum dresses that have now made a comeback. Almost immediately after, it struck me that I could achieve a similar cinched waist effect with a peplum waist belt. I strung together colourful tassels to make these belts," she recalls.
Much like this waist belt, several other body accessories have now garnered popularity. For instance, the label Outhouse has come up with ornate body harnesses this season; fashion designer James Ferreira has ventured into jewellery designing with a line of nail jewellery and three-in-one rings that drop on the side (around the knuckles), while Shruti Bheda's label Blur Designs has a collection for ear cuffs and elaborate hair accessories. Suhani Pittie too has been winning people over with her metal belts, hairbands and ear buttons. Meanwhile, the haathphool designed by Eina Ahluwalia, Amrapali and others — is become sought-after.
Today, jewellery designers are creating accessories that look beyond the usual. This shift, Pittie believes, is part of an attempt to reconnect with our cultural heritage. "There is a certain revisiting of history happening through jewellery ideas, whether it's war-inspired knuckledusters or body harnesses or romance-inspired ear cuffs and hathphool," she says. According to Arora, body jewellery has been part of tradition across countries and cultures. "For the longest time, gypsies have been flaunting their love for body jewellery items that are available in flea markets of Rajasthan and Goa. Similarly, in places such as Turkey, women are known to wear bold jewellery, including necklaces that travel from the collarbone to the navel. Rajeev Arora, founder of the brand Amrapali, concurs that jhoomars, maang tikas, haathphools and hair accessories have been part of Indian bridal wear for long but are now being contemporised. "With these items getting reinvented, they are now being worn not just with Indian dresses but also with Western ensembles," he points out.
Gemstones are not only very powerful sources of energy, stones but also beautiful in itself. They are a symbol of style and grace. Bello Jewels brings forth the stunning collection of exquisite blue sapphire gemstones. The jeweller has an extensive range of blue sapphire gemstones in different shapes and sizes. It is one of the leading online stores of gemstone jewellery in India. Its exotic collection of precious gemstones leaves you enthralled.
Bello Jewels houses exceptional gemstones like blue sapphire, emerald, ruby, garnet, yellow sapphire, quartz, malachite, jade, agate, pearl, jasper, coral, opal, turquoise, topaz, tanzanite, lapis lazuli, Aquamarine and many more. Bello Jewels has beautifully made use of the color, sparkle, and shape of these stones to create jewellery with aesthetic perfection. All jewellery and gemstones here are works of art that are lustrous and captivating. Their designs are striking statements of distinction. Customers can create designs of their choice as Bello Jewels also specialises in custom made jewellery.
Traditional elegance and contemporary creativity are merged to create unique pieces of gemstone jewellery. The creative designer’s skilled artisanship generates some of the finest jewellery collection at Bello Jewels that takes your breath away. Their jewellery collections include outstanding 925 Sterling Silver Jewellery, designer gemstone necklaces, semi-precious stones, gold & diamond gemstone jewellery. All gemstones at Bello Jewels meets strict quality standards and are certified to be authentic. The jeweller also assures a 100 % money refund guarantee.
Bello Jewels offers reliable and durable jewellery pieces as they make use of natural gems in their jewellery. Quality and value are their prime concerns. The quality expert conducts several rounds of evaluation during the production process and ensures that each product manufactured at Bello Jewels is in line with customer expectations. Bello Jewels offers worldwide delivery of its products. The delivery destinations include UK, Canada, USA, China, Australia, Russia, Africa, Japan,Middle East Block, Eastern Europe Countries and Entire Europe. Customers can make payments via Bank Wire, International Money Order, Paypal, Visa, Visa Delta, and all Major Credit Cards.
Much like this waist belt, several other body accessories have now garnered popularity. For instance, the label Outhouse has come up with ornate body harnesses this season; fashion designer James Ferreira has ventured into jewellery designing with a line of nail jewellery and three-in-one rings that drop on the side (around the knuckles), while Shruti Bheda's label Blur Designs has a collection for ear cuffs and elaborate hair accessories. Suhani Pittie too has been winning people over with her metal belts, hairbands and ear buttons. Meanwhile, the haathphool designed by Eina Ahluwalia, Amrapali and others — is become sought-after.
Today, jewellery designers are creating accessories that look beyond the usual. This shift, Pittie believes, is part of an attempt to reconnect with our cultural heritage. "There is a certain revisiting of history happening through jewellery ideas, whether it's war-inspired knuckledusters or body harnesses or romance-inspired ear cuffs and hathphool," she says. According to Arora, body jewellery has been part of tradition across countries and cultures. "For the longest time, gypsies have been flaunting their love for body jewellery items that are available in flea markets of Rajasthan and Goa. Similarly, in places such as Turkey, women are known to wear bold jewellery, including necklaces that travel from the collarbone to the navel. Rajeev Arora, founder of the brand Amrapali, concurs that jhoomars, maang tikas, haathphools and hair accessories have been part of Indian bridal wear for long but are now being contemporised. "With these items getting reinvented, they are now being worn not just with Indian dresses but also with Western ensembles," he points out.
Gemstones are not only very powerful sources of energy, stones but also beautiful in itself. They are a symbol of style and grace. Bello Jewels brings forth the stunning collection of exquisite blue sapphire gemstones. The jeweller has an extensive range of blue sapphire gemstones in different shapes and sizes. It is one of the leading online stores of gemstone jewellery in India. Its exotic collection of precious gemstones leaves you enthralled.
Bello Jewels houses exceptional gemstones like blue sapphire, emerald, ruby, garnet, yellow sapphire, quartz, malachite, jade, agate, pearl, jasper, coral, opal, turquoise, topaz, tanzanite, lapis lazuli, Aquamarine and many more. Bello Jewels has beautifully made use of the color, sparkle, and shape of these stones to create jewellery with aesthetic perfection. All jewellery and gemstones here are works of art that are lustrous and captivating. Their designs are striking statements of distinction. Customers can create designs of their choice as Bello Jewels also specialises in custom made jewellery.
Traditional elegance and contemporary creativity are merged to create unique pieces of gemstone jewellery. The creative designer’s skilled artisanship generates some of the finest jewellery collection at Bello Jewels that takes your breath away. Their jewellery collections include outstanding 925 Sterling Silver Jewellery, designer gemstone necklaces, semi-precious stones, gold & diamond gemstone jewellery. All gemstones at Bello Jewels meets strict quality standards and are certified to be authentic. The jeweller also assures a 100 % money refund guarantee.
Bello Jewels offers reliable and durable jewellery pieces as they make use of natural gems in their jewellery. Quality and value are their prime concerns. The quality expert conducts several rounds of evaluation during the production process and ensures that each product manufactured at Bello Jewels is in line with customer expectations. Bello Jewels offers worldwide delivery of its products. The delivery destinations include UK, Canada, USA, China, Australia, Russia, Africa, Japan,Middle East Block, Eastern Europe Countries and Entire Europe. Customers can make payments via Bank Wire, International Money Order, Paypal, Visa, Visa Delta, and all Major Credit Cards.
Jewellers expect Akshaya Tritiya to reap gold
A month after gold slumped to its lowest in over 15 months, jewellers are expecting a rise of 15 to 30 percent in sales during the auspicious occasion of Akshaya Tritiya May 13 - given the plethora of offers to woo customers.
Jewellers - online as well as those selling through brick-and-mortar stores - hope for brisk business around the Hindu festival when purchase of gold or other valuables is considered to bring good fortune. It is also said to be one of the most auspicious days for Hindu marriages.
"Last year we saw 25 to 30 transactions on this day. This year we are offering huge discounts and promotions and expect the sales to go up by at least 25 to 30 percent,"told agency.
The perennial appetite of customers for gold pushes up sales of the yellow metal by 10 to 15 percent on Akshaya Tritiya, said Suvankar Sen, executive director of Kolkata-based jewellery retailer Senco Gold Ltd.
"The demand is high for both gold jewellery and coins even a day before Akshaya Tritiya. So, gold sales this year will definitely be higher than last year, around 18 to 20 tonnes. We believe business will be good for the industry. I think sales will be high in terms of value and also volume," Sen said.
Economically, the day is productive for marketers as they cash in on the festivity to boost their sales.
"Marketers indulge in high voltage advertisement campaigns, especially the jewellery stores. Sales on Akshaya Tritiya day usually increase four to five times compared to normal days," added Sen.
Lightweight jewellery is always an option, but gold coins almost top the list of offerings and purchases.
Websites like 21Diamonds have special offers - buy a 20 gram gold coin and get a 10 gram Lakshmi silver coin, gift box, ladies watch, key chain and a pen free. Or, buy an 8 or 10 gram gold coin and get a five gram Lakshmi silver coin, gift box, ladies watch, key chain and a pen free.
There are more such promotional offers to lure customers across online platforms.
"Five, eight or 10 gram gold coins see the most sales since people mostly buy in small quantities on Akshaya Tritiya. Also, gold coins are bought as an investment product and require no particular selection; so people prefer to buy conveniently at the click of a mouse rather than rush to the shops in the sweltering heat," said Issar.
But how comfortable is the Indian consumer about purchasing gold online?
It very well is, if prices continue to be low. Last month, the yellow metal touched Rs.27,600 per 10 gram from an alltime high of Rs.32,500 last September.
"Usually the months of March and April are considered to be low on sales, but this dip in prices, though it was temporary, has brought cheer on the faces of vendors. If these prices remain low, it will be double the sales from last year during Akshaya Tritiya," Issar said.
The country's largest jewellery retail chain Tanishq, part of Titan Industries, hopes to lure customers by offering a free gold coin on purchase of Titan Nebula watches in 18- karat gold. The offer is valid in select stores across the country.
"We understand the emotion and sentiment linked with gold and Akshaya Trithiya and it is our aim to provide an opportunity for our consumers to own exclusive Tanishq jewellery at better rates along with a free gold coin on every jewellery purchase," Tanishq vice president Sandeep Kulhalli told reporter.
Jewellers - online as well as those selling through brick-and-mortar stores - hope for brisk business around the Hindu festival when purchase of gold or other valuables is considered to bring good fortune. It is also said to be one of the most auspicious days for Hindu marriages.
"Last year we saw 25 to 30 transactions on this day. This year we are offering huge discounts and promotions and expect the sales to go up by at least 25 to 30 percent,"told agency.
The perennial appetite of customers for gold pushes up sales of the yellow metal by 10 to 15 percent on Akshaya Tritiya, said Suvankar Sen, executive director of Kolkata-based jewellery retailer Senco Gold Ltd.
"The demand is high for both gold jewellery and coins even a day before Akshaya Tritiya. So, gold sales this year will definitely be higher than last year, around 18 to 20 tonnes. We believe business will be good for the industry. I think sales will be high in terms of value and also volume," Sen said.
Economically, the day is productive for marketers as they cash in on the festivity to boost their sales.
"Marketers indulge in high voltage advertisement campaigns, especially the jewellery stores. Sales on Akshaya Tritiya day usually increase four to five times compared to normal days," added Sen.
Lightweight jewellery is always an option, but gold coins almost top the list of offerings and purchases.
Websites like 21Diamonds have special offers - buy a 20 gram gold coin and get a 10 gram Lakshmi silver coin, gift box, ladies watch, key chain and a pen free. Or, buy an 8 or 10 gram gold coin and get a five gram Lakshmi silver coin, gift box, ladies watch, key chain and a pen free.
There are more such promotional offers to lure customers across online platforms.
"Five, eight or 10 gram gold coins see the most sales since people mostly buy in small quantities on Akshaya Tritiya. Also, gold coins are bought as an investment product and require no particular selection; so people prefer to buy conveniently at the click of a mouse rather than rush to the shops in the sweltering heat," said Issar.
But how comfortable is the Indian consumer about purchasing gold online?
It very well is, if prices continue to be low. Last month, the yellow metal touched Rs.27,600 per 10 gram from an alltime high of Rs.32,500 last September.
"Usually the months of March and April are considered to be low on sales, but this dip in prices, though it was temporary, has brought cheer on the faces of vendors. If these prices remain low, it will be double the sales from last year during Akshaya Tritiya," Issar said.
The country's largest jewellery retail chain Tanishq, part of Titan Industries, hopes to lure customers by offering a free gold coin on purchase of Titan Nebula watches in 18- karat gold. The offer is valid in select stores across the country.
"We understand the emotion and sentiment linked with gold and Akshaya Trithiya and it is our aim to provide an opportunity for our consumers to own exclusive Tanishq jewellery at better rates along with a free gold coin on every jewellery purchase," Tanishq vice president Sandeep Kulhalli told reporter.
2013年5月8日星期三
conviction of crimes in both state and federal court
For the third time in a more than six-year prosecution effort in the torture slayings of a young Knox County Couple, Davidson County will provide the pool from which potential jurors will be selected.
The clerk’s office in Nashville has summoned 480 people to appear Thursday in Davidson County Criminal Court to fill out questionnaires in the upcoming retrial of George Thomas, one of four defendants in the January 2007 deaths of Channon Christian, 21, and Christopher Newsom, 23.
The questionnaires are designed to help both prosecutors and defense attorneys to ferret out potential bias among the jury pool in a case that has been labeled one of Knoxville’s most horrific crimes and spurred extensive local media coverage and at least one national television documentary.
This is the third time Davidson County has been asked to serve up a jury pool in the case. Jurors in the original trials of co-defendant Letalvis Cobbins and his girlfriend, Vanessa Coleman, hailed from Nashville.
Thursday’s jury selection process is one more twist in what has proved a torturous legal road.
Four defendants were originally charged in the kidnapping, carjacking, rape, beating and slaying of Christian and Newsom — Thomas, Cobbins, Coleman and Cobbins’ brother and alleged ringleader Lemaricus Davidson. Prosecutors Leland Price and TaKisha Fitzgerald demanded death as punishment for each.
All but Davidson demanded a jury from outside Knox County, convincing then-Judge Richard Baumgartner publicity surrounding the case had made it all but impossible to seat a fair jury in Knoxville.
A Davidson County jury in the fall of 2009 convicted Cobbins but spared his life. A Hamilton County jury also rejected death in Thomas’ 2009 trial. In 2010, a separate Davidson County jury acquitted Coleman of any role in the crimes against Newsom and deemed her a facilitator only in the crimes against Newsom. She racked up a 53-year prison term.
Davidson, on the other hand, made a tactical decision to opt for a Knox County jury pool in hopes of weeding out enough biased potential jurors to prompt a trial delay. It didn’t work, and a Knox County jury sentenced him to death.
Until January 2011 when Baumgartner abruptly left the bench without having affirmed the verdicts in the Christian/Newsom case as the so-called “13th juror,” a legal provision peculiar to Tennessee law. Baumgartner would later confess a pill addiction that has since led to his conviction of crimes in both state and federal court.
His confession led to the upending of the verdicts in the cases against Coleman and Thomas. In Coleman’s case, Baumgartner confessed he was high. In Thomas’ case, Senior Judge Walter Kurtz ruled the lack of forensic proof against Thomas made it impossible for him to step into Baumgartner’s shoes as 13th juror. Kurtz left intact the convictions against Davidson and Cobbins, both of whom left behind forensic proof of their involvement.
Coleman was retried by a jury from Jackson, Tenn., in November. That jury cut her a break on lesser charges and she is now facing a 35-year sentence.
Potential jurors for Thomas’ retrial will be vetted Thursday and Friday in Davidson County. Once a final jury is chosen, the panel will be bussed back to Knox County on Sunday and housed in a hotel throughout the trial, which begins Monday.
The clerk’s office in Nashville has summoned 480 people to appear Thursday in Davidson County Criminal Court to fill out questionnaires in the upcoming retrial of George Thomas, one of four defendants in the January 2007 deaths of Channon Christian, 21, and Christopher Newsom, 23.
The questionnaires are designed to help both prosecutors and defense attorneys to ferret out potential bias among the jury pool in a case that has been labeled one of Knoxville’s most horrific crimes and spurred extensive local media coverage and at least one national television documentary.
This is the third time Davidson County has been asked to serve up a jury pool in the case. Jurors in the original trials of co-defendant Letalvis Cobbins and his girlfriend, Vanessa Coleman, hailed from Nashville.
Thursday’s jury selection process is one more twist in what has proved a torturous legal road.
Four defendants were originally charged in the kidnapping, carjacking, rape, beating and slaying of Christian and Newsom — Thomas, Cobbins, Coleman and Cobbins’ brother and alleged ringleader Lemaricus Davidson. Prosecutors Leland Price and TaKisha Fitzgerald demanded death as punishment for each.
All but Davidson demanded a jury from outside Knox County, convincing then-Judge Richard Baumgartner publicity surrounding the case had made it all but impossible to seat a fair jury in Knoxville.
A Davidson County jury in the fall of 2009 convicted Cobbins but spared his life. A Hamilton County jury also rejected death in Thomas’ 2009 trial. In 2010, a separate Davidson County jury acquitted Coleman of any role in the crimes against Newsom and deemed her a facilitator only in the crimes against Newsom. She racked up a 53-year prison term.
Davidson, on the other hand, made a tactical decision to opt for a Knox County jury pool in hopes of weeding out enough biased potential jurors to prompt a trial delay. It didn’t work, and a Knox County jury sentenced him to death.
Until January 2011 when Baumgartner abruptly left the bench without having affirmed the verdicts in the Christian/Newsom case as the so-called “13th juror,” a legal provision peculiar to Tennessee law. Baumgartner would later confess a pill addiction that has since led to his conviction of crimes in both state and federal court.
His confession led to the upending of the verdicts in the cases against Coleman and Thomas. In Coleman’s case, Baumgartner confessed he was high. In Thomas’ case, Senior Judge Walter Kurtz ruled the lack of forensic proof against Thomas made it impossible for him to step into Baumgartner’s shoes as 13th juror. Kurtz left intact the convictions against Davidson and Cobbins, both of whom left behind forensic proof of their involvement.
Coleman was retried by a jury from Jackson, Tenn., in November. That jury cut her a break on lesser charges and she is now facing a 35-year sentence.
Potential jurors for Thomas’ retrial will be vetted Thursday and Friday in Davidson County. Once a final jury is chosen, the panel will be bussed back to Knox County on Sunday and housed in a hotel throughout the trial, which begins Monday.
What does Miller feel about being a master artist?
An artist who first worked as an architectural draftsman and now creates solely in black-and-white graphite will be the master artist featured in this year’s Birds in Artexhibition at Wausau’s Woodson Art Museum.
Terry Miller, 67, was born in Iowa and now lives in Maryland, and he has had his art displayed in the annual exhibition 21 times. One of his pieces first was chosen for Birds in Art in 1991, and his work has been a part of the show for every year since except 1997. His artwork also was featured in a solo exhibition at the Woodson in 2008. That exhibition, Unknown Bridges, featured the elements of bridges, with birds or other animals taking a secondary theme.
“Birds in Art” is a world-famous exhibition that draws hundreds of artist entries every year. More than 100 paintings, drawings, sculptures and other works are part of the Sept. 7 to Nov. 10 show, and all must have been created during the preceding two years.
What does Miller feel about being a master artist? “Panic,” he said Wednesday afternoon in a telephone interview. “Having had 32 master artists coming before me, I have very large shoes to fill, I think. My medium is such a radical departure from what’s been chosen before.”
A master artist typically, but not always, is chosen with each Birds in Art exhibition. The choice is made with input from preceding master artists and staff and board members of the Woodson, said museum Director Kathy Foley.
“Terry Miller is the consummate artist — a keen observer, articulate spokesman and superb draftsman,” Foley said. “While he is differentiated by his medium, he has mastered it, yielding graphite works that are without equal.”
As a master artist, Miller will receive a medal, speak on the opening Saturday and be able to submit recent works for future Birds in Art shows without having to go through the usual jury selection process.
Miller graduated from the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts, and as he attended college, his fine arts interests were in abstract, colorful paintings.
He left that genre behind as he worked as a architectural draftsman, and later as a teacher, he said. When he returned to fine art in 1990, he found drawing was his preferred genre, Miller said. He now uses the precision of architectural drawing, but it often blends with some of the abstract concepts he loved as a young man.
The shock retirement of legendary Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson Wednesday sent the team's US-traded shares lower as analysts and fans awaited to see who would succeed as the team boss.
Earlier Wednesday, the Premier League champions shocked the sporting world when they announced that Ferguson will retire at the end of the season, ending the most successful managerial reign in English football.
Ferguson, 71, guided United to 13 Premier League titles and two European Champions League crowns in 26 years in charge at Old Trafford.
He will remain at United as a director and club ambassador, and said he was confident he was stepping down with the team in good shape.
"The decision to retire is one that I have thought a great deal about and one that I have not taken lightly. It is the right time," Ferguson said in a statement.
United, owned by the family of US investor Malcolm Glazer, did not immediately name a replacement, but most speculation focused on Everton's David Moyes to fill Ferguson's seat.
Despite the fall, the shares were still trading more than 30 percent above the $14.00 initial public offering price last August.
"Sir Alex Ferguson's departure from Manchester United at the end of the season will leave a chasm, which the replacement may find impossible to fill," Richard Hunter of Hargreaves Lansdown said.
Even so, he said, "The Manchester United merchandising machine will not grind to a halt overnight, and there is little reason to suspect that the club will not build further on the impressive third quarter results announced last week."
Terry Miller, 67, was born in Iowa and now lives in Maryland, and he has had his art displayed in the annual exhibition 21 times. One of his pieces first was chosen for Birds in Art in 1991, and his work has been a part of the show for every year since except 1997. His artwork also was featured in a solo exhibition at the Woodson in 2008. That exhibition, Unknown Bridges, featured the elements of bridges, with birds or other animals taking a secondary theme.
“Birds in Art” is a world-famous exhibition that draws hundreds of artist entries every year. More than 100 paintings, drawings, sculptures and other works are part of the Sept. 7 to Nov. 10 show, and all must have been created during the preceding two years.
What does Miller feel about being a master artist? “Panic,” he said Wednesday afternoon in a telephone interview. “Having had 32 master artists coming before me, I have very large shoes to fill, I think. My medium is such a radical departure from what’s been chosen before.”
A master artist typically, but not always, is chosen with each Birds in Art exhibition. The choice is made with input from preceding master artists and staff and board members of the Woodson, said museum Director Kathy Foley.
“Terry Miller is the consummate artist — a keen observer, articulate spokesman and superb draftsman,” Foley said. “While he is differentiated by his medium, he has mastered it, yielding graphite works that are without equal.”
As a master artist, Miller will receive a medal, speak on the opening Saturday and be able to submit recent works for future Birds in Art shows without having to go through the usual jury selection process.
Miller graduated from the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts, and as he attended college, his fine arts interests were in abstract, colorful paintings.
He left that genre behind as he worked as a architectural draftsman, and later as a teacher, he said. When he returned to fine art in 1990, he found drawing was his preferred genre, Miller said. He now uses the precision of architectural drawing, but it often blends with some of the abstract concepts he loved as a young man.
The shock retirement of legendary Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson Wednesday sent the team's US-traded shares lower as analysts and fans awaited to see who would succeed as the team boss.
Earlier Wednesday, the Premier League champions shocked the sporting world when they announced that Ferguson will retire at the end of the season, ending the most successful managerial reign in English football.
Ferguson, 71, guided United to 13 Premier League titles and two European Champions League crowns in 26 years in charge at Old Trafford.
He will remain at United as a director and club ambassador, and said he was confident he was stepping down with the team in good shape.
"The decision to retire is one that I have thought a great deal about and one that I have not taken lightly. It is the right time," Ferguson said in a statement.
United, owned by the family of US investor Malcolm Glazer, did not immediately name a replacement, but most speculation focused on Everton's David Moyes to fill Ferguson's seat.
Despite the fall, the shares were still trading more than 30 percent above the $14.00 initial public offering price last August.
"Sir Alex Ferguson's departure from Manchester United at the end of the season will leave a chasm, which the replacement may find impossible to fill," Richard Hunter of Hargreaves Lansdown said.
Even so, he said, "The Manchester United merchandising machine will not grind to a halt overnight, and there is little reason to suspect that the club will not build further on the impressive third quarter results announced last week."
2013年5月1日星期三
Efforts underway at Nanakuli Elementary could help improve
Tulsi Gabbard was a long way from Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, visiting low-income, low-performing Hawaii schools that stand to suffer the most if the state loses a $75 million Race to the Top federal grant.
The congresswoman visited Keaau schools on the Big Island on Tuesday. The next day, she toured three campuses in west Oahu's Nanakuli.
"I felt it was important for me to have a firsthand understanding of what's working and what's not," she said. "There are very few schools that have the country's eyes on them."
The U.S. Department of Education warned the state that it hadn't made acceptable progress on a reform plan that won Hawaii the grant. They warned Hawaii could lose the money if progress isn't made. The pressure is especially felt by schools in Waianae and Nanakuli and in Kau, Keaau and Pahoa, which make up the zones the reforms are targeting. Last year, teachers in the zones approved an agreement for extended learning time, a key element of the grant.
"It's helpful for me to hear directly from the teachers, the principals, the coaches," Gabbard said.
At Nanakuli High and Intermediate, she listened to Principal Darin Pilialoha explain state math and reading scores. During the 2011-12 school year, 18 percent of seventh-graders tested proficient in math. This year, that figure reached 24 percent. Tenth-graders in 2011-12 tested 43 percent proficient in reading and then reached 52 percent after three attempts this school year. But a key challenge is eighth-grade reading scores, which have dropped since 2011-12.
Efforts underway at Nanakuli Elementary could help improve scores for students when they get to the intermediate school level. Principal Wendy Takahashi explained to Gabbard that taking the test three times a year under adaptive online testing is giving children a good motivation to improve. "If it was only one time, they could care less," she said. "The scores come in the summer and no one looks at it."
Beyond the scores, teachers in Nanakuli have to adapt to students' unique needs. "They're so insular," explained Jessica Breslin, a sixth-grade teacher. The kids who grow up in the Nanakuli valley tend to be shyer than students elsewhere along the coast, she told Gabbard as they sat in a room full of donated shoes for the children. Breslin also works as a coach for other teachers, a position made possible by the Race to the Top money.
Complex Area Superintendent Ann Mahi said the struggle for teachers on the coast is to teach students living in an isolated part of the island to be "curious about the world they'll be moving into." She shared with Gabbard how one elementary school started a slipper exchange program for children to trade in broken footwear for new slippers. Something as basic as proper footwear goes a long in helping students focus on learning, she said.
Former Waianae Elementary School principal John Wataoka quietly watched Gabbard tour the Nanakuli schools, set against the mountains and overlooking the ocean. He's now the Race to the Top manager.
"It's very invigorating that fact that she's here," he said. "As principals, we've been tasked with the challenges of implementing the deliverables. It's a lot of responsibility."
The congresswoman visited Keaau schools on the Big Island on Tuesday. The next day, she toured three campuses in west Oahu's Nanakuli.
"I felt it was important for me to have a firsthand understanding of what's working and what's not," she said. "There are very few schools that have the country's eyes on them."
The U.S. Department of Education warned the state that it hadn't made acceptable progress on a reform plan that won Hawaii the grant. They warned Hawaii could lose the money if progress isn't made. The pressure is especially felt by schools in Waianae and Nanakuli and in Kau, Keaau and Pahoa, which make up the zones the reforms are targeting. Last year, teachers in the zones approved an agreement for extended learning time, a key element of the grant.
"It's helpful for me to hear directly from the teachers, the principals, the coaches," Gabbard said.
At Nanakuli High and Intermediate, she listened to Principal Darin Pilialoha explain state math and reading scores. During the 2011-12 school year, 18 percent of seventh-graders tested proficient in math. This year, that figure reached 24 percent. Tenth-graders in 2011-12 tested 43 percent proficient in reading and then reached 52 percent after three attempts this school year. But a key challenge is eighth-grade reading scores, which have dropped since 2011-12.
Efforts underway at Nanakuli Elementary could help improve scores for students when they get to the intermediate school level. Principal Wendy Takahashi explained to Gabbard that taking the test three times a year under adaptive online testing is giving children a good motivation to improve. "If it was only one time, they could care less," she said. "The scores come in the summer and no one looks at it."
Beyond the scores, teachers in Nanakuli have to adapt to students' unique needs. "They're so insular," explained Jessica Breslin, a sixth-grade teacher. The kids who grow up in the Nanakuli valley tend to be shyer than students elsewhere along the coast, she told Gabbard as they sat in a room full of donated shoes for the children. Breslin also works as a coach for other teachers, a position made possible by the Race to the Top money.
Complex Area Superintendent Ann Mahi said the struggle for teachers on the coast is to teach students living in an isolated part of the island to be "curious about the world they'll be moving into." She shared with Gabbard how one elementary school started a slipper exchange program for children to trade in broken footwear for new slippers. Something as basic as proper footwear goes a long in helping students focus on learning, she said.
Former Waianae Elementary School principal John Wataoka quietly watched Gabbard tour the Nanakuli schools, set against the mountains and overlooking the ocean. He's now the Race to the Top manager.
"It's very invigorating that fact that she's here," he said. "As principals, we've been tasked with the challenges of implementing the deliverables. It's a lot of responsibility."
If you take any section and you look at it intensely
While appearing monolithic from a patio in town, it's an amazingly complex mountain, with long sloping valleys, pine-studded hills, forbidding cliffs, hidden hollows and miles of wind-swept tundra and rocky spires, with views from the 'purple mountain majesties ' to the 'amber waves of grain. '
As a symbol and rallying cry of westward expansion and tourism for 150 years, the peak has a lot of stories to tell for those willing to step off Barr Trail, the hiker superhighway from Manitou Springs to the summit.
'Look at all this country - how could you in a lifetime master this country? ' said Bob Houdek, designer of the Pikes Peak Atlas, who has been roaming and mapping the peak for 35 years. 'There is some real rugged stuff in places nobody goes.
'If you take any section and you look at it intensely, you are going to find trails that are not on any map. '
So this summer, lace up your hiking boots, clip in your mountain-biking shoes and go beyond Barr Trail to some of the peak's greatest 'secrets. '
In 1896, while Cripple Creek was booming with gold fever, speculators from the German National Bank of Cincinnati thought they had a good idea that gold could be found on the peak's east face. So for several years, miners bored an adit 1,600 feet into granite at 11,800 feet.
Four miners died, the price of gold plummeted and the venture was abandoned, though the road the miners built became Elk Park Trail, one of the finer paths on the peak. In this secluded spot, towered over by high cliffs, you can enjoy the quiet and imagine what it must have been like to live and work here. You can almost sense the frustration and heartbreak these miners must have felt.
The mine has been sealed with a gate, but much of the equipment remains, as do the remnants of some cabins, a testament to the hardiness of these miners and to the lack of mine reclamation laws in the early 20th century.
To get there: The easiest way to reach the site is to drive the Pikes Peak Highway, park at the Elk Park trailhead, hike 2 miles, most of which is flat or downhill, and turn right at the sign. From Barr Trail, it's a 4.5-mile up-and-down hike. Turn off just after Barr Camp. Bring an overnight pack, as the campsites along this stretch are some of the better spots to be found on Pikes Peak.
Located halfway up the Cog Railway line, on non-holidays you can buy a $12 hiker ticket and get dropped off here, saving your legs about 3,000 feet of climbing. Most people use this as a launching point for other adventures on the peak or as a shortened climb to the summit, but hike north for a few minutes and you'll come to a clearing on the right.
Here on a gravelly knoll, you'll see why the area is called 'Mountain View, ' as the peak, Almagre Mountain in the distance and the entire region open up before you. It's a great spot for a picnic or overnight camp, and tiny spring-fed creeks in the area flow most of the year for water to filter.
In the late 19th century, outfitters offered sunrise burro trips, in which tours camped at Mountain View until midnight and then headed along the train route to the summit to watch the sun rise over the plains. One contemporary likened the ride back down to Napoleon's retreat from Moscow, with riders so exhausted they barely could stay in the saddle.
To get there: Take the Cog or hike up Barr Trail, turning left on trail No. 671 just before reaching Barr Camp.
Some of the oldest trees in the region can be found on this shoulder of Pikes Peak.
The Cog runs past here - but doesn't stop - so you won't have total solitude, but the vast expanse of the peak's tundra is open for you to explore, with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and other high peaks of the Rockies glittering in the distance.
Houdek said if you follow the faint trail running parallel with the train tracks, bring a good map and compass as the trail can be faint or nonexistent at times. Your reward, along with the views, is a spring flowing with water that, Houdek said, can be drank straight from the ground.
To get there: Follow the directions to Mountain View. Cross the tracks to the south and follow the trail west and uphill. Going east will take you onto closed Colorado Springs Utilities property.
Hurricane Canyon Research Natural Area
Hurricanes don't hit Colorado, but in the 1920s or 30s a wind storm struck the eastern foothills of the peak with enough force to blow down all the trees. The area has two canyons, with steep slopes, boulder-covered canyon bottoms and loose rocky soil.
It became a designated natural research area in 1931. Though it's less than a mile from U.S. Highway 24 west of Manitou Springs, few visit here for good reason.
Houdek describes the route up the canyon from the highway as hand-over-hand climbing, 1,000 feet in a quarter-mile, with drop-offs and caves ready to punish the misstep. But the rugged setting is worth it.
'You feel like you're deep in the Rocky Mountains even though you're in the foothills, ' he said.
To get there: Houdek suggests appraching the area by hiking up Long Ranch Road and turning right on Forest Service Road 329 to the Fremont Experimental Forest. Head north on the French Creek Trail, No. 703.
Despite the name, this cirque below the summit does have a bottom, and if you make the effort to get there, you'll see a side of Pikes Peak that looks more like Longs Peak than the gentle mountain we know and love.
There are many snow-climbing routes running more than 2,000 feet to the summit, but they aren't for novices and are only climbable a couple of months a year. Use caution.
Thousands of people on the Pikes Peak Highway look down at the Bottomless Pit each year, but far fewer see this majestic cirque from below. In early summer, the ground is often a sea of wildflowers.
It's also one of the more haunted places on the peak. Early Colorado Springs lore tells of a Ute woman, murdered by a jealous suitor, whose cries can be heard here. Another legend says a miner fell in the pit and on stormy nights his ghost walked along the edge, warning people to stay away, with a lantern that could be seen for miles.
Sentinel Point: On the west flank of the peak, not visible from town, this pointy heap of boulders is actually the second-highest point in the Pikes Peak massif. Start at the trailhead for Horsethief Park along Colorado Highway 67, turn north on trail no. 708 and follow cairns to a ridge above timberline. Sentinel Point rises a short distance to the south. Get an early start as this route is very exposed if there are thunderstorms.
The Crater: Way off the beaten path, you'll have to bushwhack to reach this depression in the earth at 11,500 feet, south of Cabin Creek. Houdek suggests approaching it from higher on the mountain, as a faint trail climbs into the valley from near Windy Point.
A fantastic shuttle loop can be done from Cascade, through some of the peak's more scenic and unvisited terrain, and back down Barr Trail into Manitou Springs. Follow the Heizer Trail from Cascade to the top of Cascade Mountain, head into open meadows and turn right below Manitou Reservoir (a left turn would take you to Hurricane Canyon) and take trail no. 638 as it winds up and down secluded valleys before joining Barr Trail.
As a symbol and rallying cry of westward expansion and tourism for 150 years, the peak has a lot of stories to tell for those willing to step off Barr Trail, the hiker superhighway from Manitou Springs to the summit.
'Look at all this country - how could you in a lifetime master this country? ' said Bob Houdek, designer of the Pikes Peak Atlas, who has been roaming and mapping the peak for 35 years. 'There is some real rugged stuff in places nobody goes.
'If you take any section and you look at it intensely, you are going to find trails that are not on any map. '
So this summer, lace up your hiking boots, clip in your mountain-biking shoes and go beyond Barr Trail to some of the peak's greatest 'secrets. '
In 1896, while Cripple Creek was booming with gold fever, speculators from the German National Bank of Cincinnati thought they had a good idea that gold could be found on the peak's east face. So for several years, miners bored an adit 1,600 feet into granite at 11,800 feet.
Four miners died, the price of gold plummeted and the venture was abandoned, though the road the miners built became Elk Park Trail, one of the finer paths on the peak. In this secluded spot, towered over by high cliffs, you can enjoy the quiet and imagine what it must have been like to live and work here. You can almost sense the frustration and heartbreak these miners must have felt.
The mine has been sealed with a gate, but much of the equipment remains, as do the remnants of some cabins, a testament to the hardiness of these miners and to the lack of mine reclamation laws in the early 20th century.
To get there: The easiest way to reach the site is to drive the Pikes Peak Highway, park at the Elk Park trailhead, hike 2 miles, most of which is flat or downhill, and turn right at the sign. From Barr Trail, it's a 4.5-mile up-and-down hike. Turn off just after Barr Camp. Bring an overnight pack, as the campsites along this stretch are some of the better spots to be found on Pikes Peak.
Located halfway up the Cog Railway line, on non-holidays you can buy a $12 hiker ticket and get dropped off here, saving your legs about 3,000 feet of climbing. Most people use this as a launching point for other adventures on the peak or as a shortened climb to the summit, but hike north for a few minutes and you'll come to a clearing on the right.
Here on a gravelly knoll, you'll see why the area is called 'Mountain View, ' as the peak, Almagre Mountain in the distance and the entire region open up before you. It's a great spot for a picnic or overnight camp, and tiny spring-fed creeks in the area flow most of the year for water to filter.
In the late 19th century, outfitters offered sunrise burro trips, in which tours camped at Mountain View until midnight and then headed along the train route to the summit to watch the sun rise over the plains. One contemporary likened the ride back down to Napoleon's retreat from Moscow, with riders so exhausted they barely could stay in the saddle.
To get there: Take the Cog or hike up Barr Trail, turning left on trail No. 671 just before reaching Barr Camp.
Some of the oldest trees in the region can be found on this shoulder of Pikes Peak.
The Cog runs past here - but doesn't stop - so you won't have total solitude, but the vast expanse of the peak's tundra is open for you to explore, with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and other high peaks of the Rockies glittering in the distance.
Houdek said if you follow the faint trail running parallel with the train tracks, bring a good map and compass as the trail can be faint or nonexistent at times. Your reward, along with the views, is a spring flowing with water that, Houdek said, can be drank straight from the ground.
To get there: Follow the directions to Mountain View. Cross the tracks to the south and follow the trail west and uphill. Going east will take you onto closed Colorado Springs Utilities property.
Hurricane Canyon Research Natural Area
Hurricanes don't hit Colorado, but in the 1920s or 30s a wind storm struck the eastern foothills of the peak with enough force to blow down all the trees. The area has two canyons, with steep slopes, boulder-covered canyon bottoms and loose rocky soil.
It became a designated natural research area in 1931. Though it's less than a mile from U.S. Highway 24 west of Manitou Springs, few visit here for good reason.
Houdek describes the route up the canyon from the highway as hand-over-hand climbing, 1,000 feet in a quarter-mile, with drop-offs and caves ready to punish the misstep. But the rugged setting is worth it.
'You feel like you're deep in the Rocky Mountains even though you're in the foothills, ' he said.
To get there: Houdek suggests appraching the area by hiking up Long Ranch Road and turning right on Forest Service Road 329 to the Fremont Experimental Forest. Head north on the French Creek Trail, No. 703.
Despite the name, this cirque below the summit does have a bottom, and if you make the effort to get there, you'll see a side of Pikes Peak that looks more like Longs Peak than the gentle mountain we know and love.
There are many snow-climbing routes running more than 2,000 feet to the summit, but they aren't for novices and are only climbable a couple of months a year. Use caution.
Thousands of people on the Pikes Peak Highway look down at the Bottomless Pit each year, but far fewer see this majestic cirque from below. In early summer, the ground is often a sea of wildflowers.
It's also one of the more haunted places on the peak. Early Colorado Springs lore tells of a Ute woman, murdered by a jealous suitor, whose cries can be heard here. Another legend says a miner fell in the pit and on stormy nights his ghost walked along the edge, warning people to stay away, with a lantern that could be seen for miles.
Sentinel Point: On the west flank of the peak, not visible from town, this pointy heap of boulders is actually the second-highest point in the Pikes Peak massif. Start at the trailhead for Horsethief Park along Colorado Highway 67, turn north on trail no. 708 and follow cairns to a ridge above timberline. Sentinel Point rises a short distance to the south. Get an early start as this route is very exposed if there are thunderstorms.
The Crater: Way off the beaten path, you'll have to bushwhack to reach this depression in the earth at 11,500 feet, south of Cabin Creek. Houdek suggests approaching it from higher on the mountain, as a faint trail climbs into the valley from near Windy Point.
A fantastic shuttle loop can be done from Cascade, through some of the peak's more scenic and unvisited terrain, and back down Barr Trail into Manitou Springs. Follow the Heizer Trail from Cascade to the top of Cascade Mountain, head into open meadows and turn right below Manitou Reservoir (a left turn would take you to Hurricane Canyon) and take trail no. 638 as it winds up and down secluded valleys before joining Barr Trail.
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