civility nembutal: August 2013

Monday, August 5, 2013

Union says strike by Dublin Bus drivers now ?99% certain?

Christopher McKinley

In anticipation of possible strike action tomorrow Dublin Bus have announced that no Nitelink services will operate toninght.

In a statement on Twitter the company said that ?due to probable industrial action (whereby) services may not operate tomorrow, no Nitelink services will operate tonight?.

The Irish Times takes no responsibility for the content or availability of other websites.

The announcement comes after Siptu transport organiser, Willie Noone, said it?s now ?99 per cent certain? that Dublin Bus drivers will go on strike tomorrow.

?I can?t see how anything is going happen between now and midnight,? he said. Siptu and National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) drivers at the State company are set to go on strike tomorrow in a long-running row over ?11.7 million in cost saving measures.

An expectation that talks between both sides could take place at the Labour Relations Commission today is receding.

Mr Noone said members of Dublin Bus had already taken pay cuts and had not been given many options regarding the cost savings.

Last night Dublin Bus wrote to all their employees urging them not to engage in industrial action.

If the industrial action does go ahead the strikers will start picketing outside bus garages at midnight.

Public demand for bus services was also expected to be high this weekend with both the Oxegen festival and All-Ireland football quarter finals taking place tomorrow.

The strike will affect an estimated 200,000 public transport users and cost Dublin Bus approximately ?200,000 per day.

The halting of bus services in the capital is also expected to disrupt businesses.

Unions have overwhelmingly rejected a Labour Court supported plan which includes reduced overtime, reductions in bank holiday payments and in annual leave.

Dublin Bus said that they have no choice but to implement the measures in order to stabilise the company?s finances.

A Dublin Bus spokeswoman said that the strike would cause disruption to customers and further losses for the company.

She said her information was that the unions planned to strike and said the company was urging them strongly not to.

?It?s really, really, disappointing, counterproductive and damaging?.

?We?d be hopeful that common sense would prevail,? she said. ?Striking is not going to solve the problem and the financial situation will worsen as a result of the strike?.

She said Dublin Bus was willing to enter talks if they were ?constructive around achieving the savings necessary?.

?Dublin Bus does not have a problem with talking,? she said. ?We?ve had exhaustive talks. We?ve exhausted the industrial relations mechanism?.

The company said that bus drivers? core pay of around ?40,000 per annum would not be cut while management and executives faced pay cuts of 3 per cent to 5 per cent. She also said that only about 25 per cent of drivers opted for overtime.

?We have nowhere else to go. We have met the unions 60 times and were at the LRC seven times and at the Labour Court,? she said.

There are also concerns the dispute may affect train users. NBRU assistant general secretary Dermot O?Leary said Irish Rail members would not stand ?idly by? while cuts were imposed on employees at their sister company Dublin Bus.

Both Siptu and the NBRU have said drivers had lost up to ?250 a week from cuts in 2009 and faced a ?94 cut for each day of the six Bank Holidays they worked per year, along with a cut of ?35 if they work a rest day.

Fianna Fail transport spokesman Timmy Dooley urged Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar to intervene and said an ?act of leadership? was required to bridge the divide.

On Thursday the Minister urged both sides to do everything to agree the necessary savings and avoid disruption. ?Payroll savings are needed to protect existing service levels. There have already been substantial fare increases,? he said.

Source: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/851/f/10838/s/2f82f4dd/sc/8/l/0L0Sirishtimes0N0Cnews0Cireland0Cirish0Enews0Cunion0Esays0Estrike0Eby0Edublin0Ebus0Edrivers0Enow0E990Ecertain0E10B1484187/story01.htm

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Sunday, August 4, 2013

From soybeans to baseball, Henry has had success

Boston Red Sox majority owner John Henry watches a baseball game between the Red Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks during the second inning at Fenway Park in Boston, Friday, Aug. 2, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

BOSTON (AP) ? John W. Henry took a backward ballclub in a dilapidated park and transformed it into a two-time World Series champion that is one of baseball's model franchises.

As the owner of The Boston Globe, he will try to turn around a newspaper that ? like many other major metro dailies ? is shedding staff, subscribers and advertisers as it makes the transition into the Internet age.

Henry agreed to buy the Globe along with the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and the Boston Metro for $70 million, a fraction of the $1.1 billion The New York Times Co. paid 20 years ago. Henry apparently made this deal without his Red Sox partners, though he said in a statement that more information will soon be available "concerning those joining me in this community commitment and effort."

The son of southern Illinois soybean farmers now worth an estimated $1.5 billion, Henry was a minority owner of the New York Yankees and the sole owner of the Florida Marlins when he led a group that bought the Red Sox for $660 million in 2002. (The original group included The New York Times, which sold the last of its 17.5 percent ownership last year.)

They soon set out to preserve Fenway Park while taking a wrecking ball to most everything else that had mired the franchise in failure for more than eight decades.

Henry, who made his money by taking a mathematical approach to the commodities markets, brought a similar method to the baseball diamond, hiring the statistically savvy Theo Epstein, then 28 years-old, as the youngest general manager in baseball history. They hired statistical pioneer Bill James as a consultant, putting the Red Sox at the forefront of the revolution that had just begun to take hold in front offices long dominated by old-time and hidebound scouting types.

But, perhaps more importantly, the new owners turned what had long been a stagnant family business into a revenue spigot.

They took NESN, which had been almost exclusively an outlet for Red Sox and Boston Bruins games, into a full-fledged sports network. (Not every effort ? like the sports-themed dating show "Sox Appeal" ? was a success.) And they spent more than $285 million turning the once-doomed Fenway Park into a modern ? well, as modern as a 100-year-old ballpark can be, anyway ? sporting venue.

With seats above the Green Monster and a roof deck in right field, a high-tech scoreboard and new concourses and concessions, Fenway sold out 820 consecutive games ? by official count, anyway ? the longest such streak in professional sports history. Thousands more file through the turnstiles 12 months a year, paying up to $16 just to see the park when it is empty.

Though fans sometimes chafed at the team's new businesslike approach, the initiatives helped pay for a player payroll that grew from $75.5 million in 2000 to more than $130 million by 2004. That year, the Red Sox won the World Series for the first time in 86 years, ending one of the longest title droughts in sports.

They won again three years later.

Henry was also a different kind of owner than Bostonians had grown accustomed to.

While most owners of the local franchises had treated their teams like family fiefdoms or corporate cash registers ? or both ? Henry engaged with fans, chatting with them on Internet message boards (he would also became an early adopter on Twitter). He spent less time in his luxury box and more in his dugout-side seats, and was once seen running the bases on the Fenway diamond with the woman who is now his wife.

And Henry kept looking beyond baseball.

Through a sister company, the Red Sox owners bought into NASCAR as co-owners of Roush Fenway Racing; soccer, by purchasing the Liverpool FC of the English Premier League; and basketball, through a sponsorship deal with LeBron James. Their business offshoot, known as New England Sports Ventures, has also dabbled in marketing for college sports and professional golf.

In buying a newspaper, Henry enters an industry in turmoil and joins a progression of publishers who have tried to figure out how to balance the free-flowing information of the internet with the costs of quality journalism.

While providing no clues, Henry vowed to try.

"The Boston Globe's award-winning journalism as well as its rich history and tradition of excellence have established it as one of the most well-respected media companies in the country," he said in his statement. "This is a thriving, dynamic region that needs a strong, sustainable Boston Globe playing an integral role in the community's long-term future."

___

Follow Jimmy Golen on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jgolen.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-08-03-Boston%20Globe-Henry/id-3f31d85c0e3f401eafec2ac0dd4fe85e

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7 new members set to enter NFL Hall of Fame

The past meets the present this weekend at the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Enshrinement Festival.

Seven new members will be welcomed into the institution on Saturday headlined by the outspoken Cris Carter, who will speak last despite being the only enshrinee in the year's group without a Super Bowl championship on his resume.

Carter will be joined by offensive lineman Larry Allen, defensive tackles Curley Culp and Warren Sapp, left tackle Jonathan Ogden, linebacker Dave Robinson and head coach Bill Parcells in making up the 2013 class.

Carter was unceremoniously dumped by the Philadelphia Eagles and Buddy Ryan back in 1989 with Ryan firing off his now famous quip "all he does is catch touchdowns." In truth Carter was having off-the-field problems with drugs and alcohol, but turned his life around in Minnesota, which picked up the Ohio State product for a paltry $100 waiver fee.

"Minnesota fans didn't judge me when a lot of bad things were being said about me," Carter said on Friday as the gold anniversary festivities for the Hall of Fame kicked off. "They always cheered for Cris. The only thing I really wish is we could've won that championship for those people. What they did for my life, every day I went out there, I played for those people."

Carter now credits Ryan's decision to cut him from the Eagles for helping him turn his life around and has said the Vikings helped him kick a cocaine addiction and get his drinking under control.

"That day, September 19, 1990, when I stopped drinking, that life choice I made on that day is the most significant thing to getting here," an emotional Carter said. "I just started on that day trying not to have a drink for one week ... and here I am, August 1, 2013, and I still haven't had that drink. And I could have ended doing so many different things than what I am right now."

Parcells, who was the coach of the New York Giants at the time, was actually the first to contact Carter after he was released by the Eagles, but Minnesota was ahead of "Big Blue" in the waiver process. When Carter retired after the 2002 season he was behind only Jerry Rice in all-time receptions and touchdowns.

Some claim Carter was even better than Rice.

"The guy I knew would never drop a ball," Chris Spielman, who played with Carter at Ohio State and against him for 10 seasons as a linebacker with the Detroit Lions, told the Akron Beacon Journal. "If I saw it going his direction when we were playing the Vikings, I said, 'Hopefully we'll knock it down before it gets to him.'"

Carter's college roommate William White, an 11-year NFL player, added: "If you put Cris Carter with Joe Montana for 15 years, what do you think he would have done?"

Two of this year's inductees have Dallas Cowboys connections. The 'Boys and Miami Dolphins will help culminate this weekend's festivities at the 50th Hall of Fame Game at Fawcett Stadium on Sunday night.

Allen was a 10-time Pro Bowl selection and seven-time All-Pro with Dallas after being drafted by the club in the second round of the 1994 NFL Draft out of tiny Sonoma State. The Los Angeles native was so dominant he's was named to both the NFL's 1990s All-Decade Team as well as the 2000s All-Decade Team.

Parcells, meanwhile, although better known for being the two-time Super Bowl- winning coach of the Giants, coached the Cowboys from 2003 to 2006, compiling a 34-30 mark with the team and piloting Dallas to two postseason appearances. Parcells, though, is probably most respected for his willingness to take on rebuilding projects.

"I hate routine. I really do, even it's a successful routine, I don't like it," Parcells said. "I'm just a little ... impatient for the next challenge. That grew as I went along. It did. I can't say that's a great quality."

Ogden was one of the elite left tackles of his generation. He was the first draft pick ever by the Baltimore Ravens and now the franchise's first Hall of Famer after earning a Super Bowl ring in 2000.

"It's somewhat overwhelming," said Ogden. "You look around and there's Joe Greene and Joe Namath. You can't stop naming names."

Sapp, meanwhile, was a standout defensive tackle, who captured a title in 2002 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while Robinson was a big part of Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packer teams and was a part of the first two Super Bowl winning teams. Culp was a pass-rushing marvel at defensive tackle for Kansas City who brought home a championship with the Chiefs in 1969.

Source: http://chicagotribune.feedsportal.com/c/34253/f/622872/s/2f84aa90/sc/13/l/0L0Schicagotribune0N0Csports0Cbreaking0Cchi0Enfl0Ehall0Eof0Efame0E20A130Eclass0E20A130A80A30H0A0H8161930Bstory0Dtrack0Frss/story01.htm

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Twins to host baseball provincials

The Mission Twins boys baseball team is hosting the mosquito AAA Tier 2 provincial championship this week, Aug. 1-4, at Mission Sports Park.

The Twins, comprised of boys age 10 and 11, are coached by Ryan Steele, Chad Barker and Yuki Fujie. The team is coming off a terrific regular season where they went undefeated, posting a 6-0 record. They will take on teams from across B.C. at the provincial championship.

Source: http://www.missioncityrecord.com/sports/217419191.html

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Saturday, August 3, 2013

Stamkos, St. Louis invited to Team Canada camp

Tribune staff

Published: July 22, 2013

Steven Stamkos and Marty St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning were invited to an orientation camp for the Canadian national team, Hockey Canada announced Monday.

A total of 47 players were invited to the camp, the first step in assembling the team that will represent Canada in the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russa. The camp is Aug. 25-28 in Calgary.

Stamkos and St. Louis were among 25 forwards invited. St. Louis played for Canada in the 2006 Olympics.

Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Stve Yzerman is Team Canada's executive director.

"I would like to congratulate the players being invited today to our orientation camp," Yzerman said in a statement. "This marks an important step for this program, as it is our only opportunity to be together as a group before Sochi."

The team will be coached by Mike Babcock, coach of the Detroit Red Wings.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tbo/bolts/~3/cMZ0rFkjc6A/

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Friday, August 2, 2013

Washington laments loss of ag trade with Cuba - Fri, 02 Aug 2013 PST

HAVANA ?The aisle of a Havana grocery store is lined with shelf after shelf of cheddar-flavored Pringles. At the deli counter, there are dozens of boxes of frozen fish sticks. Down another aisle, a brand of baby wipes fill the?shelves.

The produce section, meanwhile, is almost bare. A few bags of frozen fruits and vegetables sit in a glass?case.

These limited choices underscore Cuba?s struggle ? it?s a country unable to feed itself but whose political history makes leaders reluctant to work with the United?States.

About a third of Cuba?s land is dedicated to agriculture??

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The produce section, meanwhile, is almost bare. A few bags of frozen fruits and vegetables sit in a glass?case.

These limited choices underscore Cuba?s struggle ? it?s a country unable to feed itself but whose political history makes leaders reluctant to work with the United?States.

About a third of Cuba?s land is dedicated to agriculture, most of it to grow sugar. Cuban farmers also grow tobacco, citrus, coffee, rice, beans and potatoes. But it?s not enough to feed 11.2 million?people.

For years, Washington farmers have?helped.

Cuba imports about 80 percent of its food.In spite of an embargo against the communist country, Cubans depend increasingly on imports from the United States. For years, the U.S. was the main provider of food to Cuba. While the U.S. hasn?t boasted that title since 2010, a representative from the U.S. Interests Section in Havana said American agricultural exports to Cuba have increased by about 15 percent per year during the last three?years.

But that growth left out Washington, which once counted Cuba among its top five export markets for peas. The state hasn?t sent fruits or vegetables there since 2007 when a crackdown on the 51-year-old embargo that occurred in 2004 helped dry up Washington?exports.

Former U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt, R-Wash., and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., were among those who pushed to reopen trade routes between Cuba and the U.S. in the late 1990s. That resulted in an exception applied to the embargo in 2001 allowing the United States to ship food and medicine to Cuba in exchange for cash paid?upfront.

After that trade deal, Washington exports of peas, lentils, cherries and apples steadily?increased.

?I think it was good for Americans, good for farmers, good for Cubans, and I thought it was good policy,? Nethercutt?said.

Now, it?s too expensive for Washington farmers to ship produce to Cuba due to added costs , said Robert Hamilton, Gov. Jay Inslee?s trade policy?advise.

?It?s not worth it,? Hamilton?said.

Nethercutt maintains that reopening trade with Cuba would benefit Washington?farmers.

?The best thing any member of Congress or the Senate can do is assist the people you represent,? Nethercutt said. ?If it?s been restricted, it?s a function of ? members of our state delegation to fight like crazy for the Obama administration to take action to encourage?sales.?

And even though Cuba?s market is small, with a population of about 11 million people, Hamilton said the agriculture sector isn?t going to refuse that market. ?Every little bit helps,? he?said.

Only a few blocks from the Havana grocery store stands a small fruit stand, bustling with Cubans doing their shopping. There are no apples or peas here; this is all locally grown fruit that thrives in the?Caribbean.

All the produce sold here goes through the government, the owner said. Business has been steady in the three years she?s run the shop. But, ?My business would be better if more of the product came from other countries,? she?said.

Editor?s Note: City desk intern Kaitlin Gillespie studied in Havana, Cuba in May with The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State?University.

Source: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/aug/02/washington-laments-loss-of-ag-trade-with-cuba/

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Welcome Judge Chen! - Patent Law Blog (Patently-O)

This morning the Senate unanimously confirmed Raymond T. Chen for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.? Soon-to-be Judge Chen comes to court with extensive experience in patent law including both private practice and governmental service (most recently as the Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property Law and Solicitor for the United States Patent and Trademark Office).?

Congratulations Judge Chen!

A brief bio from a February 2013 White House press release:

Raymond T. Chen currently serves as the Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property Law and Solicitor for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), a position he has held since 2008.

Chen received his B.S. in electrical engineering in 1990 from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his J.D. in 1994 from the New York University School of Law. ?After graduating from law school, he joined Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear, a boutique intellectual property law firm in Irvine, California, where he prosecuted patents and represented clients in intellectual property litigation.? From 1996 to 1998, Chen served as a Technical Assistant at the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, performing the functions of a staff attorney.? At the end of his two-year term, he joined the USPTO as Associate Solicitor and remained in that role until his promotion to Solicitor in 2008.?? Since joining the USPTO, Chen has represented the agency in numerous appeals before the Federal Circuit and personally argued over 20 cases, issued guidance to patent examiners to ensure consistency with developing law, advised the agency on legal and policy issues, and helped promulgate regulations.? He has co-chaired the Patent and Trademark Office Committee of the Federal Circuit Bar Association and is a member of the Advisory Council for the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Source: http://www.patentlyo.com/patent/2013/08/welcome-judge-chen.html

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Cleveland Police Chase Violations: 75 Officers Violated Orders In Deadly Pursuit, City Officials Say

CLEVELAND -- A review of a deadly police chase in Cleveland last fall has found that 75 patrol officers violated orders and police department rules, city officials said Friday. Nineteen officers face disciplinary hearings.

In the November chase, a fleeing driver and passenger were killed when officers fired 137 shots at them. The 23-minute pursuit involved five dozen cruisers and wove through residential neighborhood before ending in gunfire.

Police Chief Michael McGrath said at a news conference Friday that the violations ranged from insubordination to failure to obtain permission to leave the city. By way of example, he said, an officer might have been driving 100 mph on a side street and was told to stop, but didn't.

Some officers were cited for multiple violations, he said, but none of the violations was so serious they warranted termination. Punishments could range from a written reprimand to a suspension. Multiple offenders were referred to the public safety director for hearings because their punishment could go beyond a 10-day suspension.

City officials say one of the 75 offending officers has since left for Cleveland's fire department but still faces disciplinary action.

Police previously announced punishments for 12 supervisors stemming from the chase. One sergeant was fired. A captain and lieutenant were demoted, and nine sergeants were suspended.

Also, a county grand jury is investigating possible criminal wrongdoing among the 13 officers who fired their weapons as the chase ended in a school parking lot in East Cleveland.

The nighttime chase began when an officer thought he heard a gunshot from a car speeding by the police and courts complex in downtown Cleveland. A parking lot attendant thought it might have been a car backfire, a theory endorsed by the driver's family.

The officer jumped into his patrol car and radioed for help. The chase went through crowded residential neighborhoods, headed onto busy Interstate 90, and eventually into East Cleveland.

Driver Timothy Russell, 43, was shot 23 times and passenger Malissa Williams, 30, was shot 24 times. No weapon or shell casings were found in the fleeing car.

Police say they don't know why Russell didn't stop. Russell had a criminal record including convictions for receiving stolen property and robbery. Williams had convictions for drug-related charges and attempted abduction.

The union has said the shootings were justified because the driver tried to ram an officer.

Of the 277 officers working that night, at least 104 were involved in the pursuit in some capacity, McGrath said Friday. Not all were there for the duration of the chase. Officers dropped off, others left at the instructions of their supervisor and some just blocked intersections.

McGrath called the shootings a "tragedy" for the victims and their families, the community, and the officers and their families. He said it was the job of the mayor, public safety director and himself to get the facts.

"And if we made mistakes or if we have policies that need to be fixed, we'll do that," he said.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/02/cleveland-police-chase-violations_n_3697060.html

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Thursday, August 1, 2013

Alouettes replace head coach Hawkins with GM Popp

MONTREAL -- The Dan Hawkins era lasted only five games in Montreal.

The Alouettes, who have struggled to a 2-3 record to start the season, announced Thursday that Hawkins has been fired.

Jim Popp will step in as head coach for the third time in his 18 years as general manager of the Canadian Football League club.

The firing came during a bye week in the Alouettes schedule. The team's next game is Aug. 8 against the Toronto Argonauts.

The offence, which was Montreal's strength under former coach Marc Trestman, looked disorganized and lifeless under Hawkins, who was coaching a professional team for the first time in his career.

Owner Bob Wetenhall asked Popp to step in.

"Jim is the person most responsible for the success we have had over all these years," Wetenhall said in a statement. "I feel confident that he is the best person to coach our team at this time and I am very appreciative of him being willing to make this additional contribution to our franchise.

"He has the respect of our players as well as mine."

Hawkins was hired Feb. 19 after working as a broadcaster. He had previously coached mainly U.S. college teams, taking Boise State to four Western Athletic Conference titles from 2002 to 2005 before compiling a disappointing 19-39 record at Colorado from 2006 to 2010.

It was the second time in a row Montreal hired a coach with no CFL experience.

But while it worked with Trestman, who won two Grey Cups in a five-year stint before being named head coach of the NFL's Chicago bears, Hawkins did not appear comfortable with the 12-man game.

He bowed out a winner, however. Despite the team's spotty play, the Alouettes are in second place in the weak East Division and are coming off a nervy 32-27 win over 1-4 Edmonton.

Popp first stepped in as coach to finish off a disastrous 2001 campaign under Rod Rust, but Don Matthews took over the following season.

He took over as coach again when Matthews fell ill during the 2006 season and brought the Alouettes to the Grey Cup game.

He stayed on for 2007, in which the rookie-laden club that was missing starting quarterback Anthony Calvillo for much of the season went 8-10 and lost in the first round of the playoffs to Winnipeg.

It was the team's only losing record since it returned to Montreal after a 10-year hiatus in 1996. Popp has been general manager all of that time.

His CFL regular-season coaching record is 10-13, with a 1-3 mark in playoff games.

The team did not say if Popp would coach on an interim basis or when the search for a new head coach would begin.

Source: http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=428903

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Zimbabwe: Disputed poll poses fresh divisions

Voters look at posted results outside a polling station in Harare, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013 President Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF party said Thursday, that it has withdrawn an unauthorized message on its Twitter feed claiming a resounding victory in the country's national elections. (AP Photo)

Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in Harare, Thursday, Aug. 1 2013. Tsvagirai said the election is "null and void" due to alleged violations in the voting process, but president Robert Mugabe has denied vote rigging. (AP Photo)

Ruling party ZANU PF supporters play soccer , Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013 in Harare, Zimbabwe. President Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF party said Thursday that it has withdrawn an unauthorized message on its Twitter feed claiming a resounding victory in the country's national elections. (AP Photo)

In this Wednesday, July 31, 2013 photo, voting takes place by candlelight in Harare. President Robert Mugabe's ZANU PF party said Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, that it has withdrawn an unauthorized message on its Twitter feed claiming a resounding victory in the country's national elections. (AP Photo/Clarissa Sosin) SOUTH AFRICA OUT

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) ? Allegations of vote-rigging flowed in Zimbabwe on Thursday, with reports of fake registration cards, voters turned away from the polls and people appearing on voters' lists four times with different IDs. Even before results were announced, the main opposition camp said longtime President Robert Mugabe stole the election, which his supporters denied.

Either way, the country faces fresh political uncertainty. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the main challenger to Mugabe, said the elections on Wednesday were "null and void" due to violations in the voting process, and a poll monitoring group that is not affiliated with the state also said the poll was compromised by a campaign to stop voters from casting ballots.

The elections posed one of the biggest challenges to Mugabe's 33-year grip on power on this former British colony, but claims by his opponents that the election was tainted and declarations of victory by the president's supporters suggested his political career was far from over.

Tsvangirai boycotted a presidential run-off vote in 2008 to protest violence against supporters but said in the run-up this year he was confident Zimbabweans would vote for change, even in the most difficult conditions.

"The shoddy manner in which it has been conducted and the consequent illegitimacy of the result will plunge this country into a serious crisis," Tsvangirai said of the election Wednesday.

Tendai Biti, a top official in Tsvangirai's party, said even rural residents were told to pretend they were illiterate, and therefore had to be assisted in casting their ballots by officials loyal to Mugabe.

Rugare Gumbo, a spokesman for Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, said accusations of vote-rigging were false.

"We dismiss these allegations with the contempt they deserve because there was absolutely no way of manipulating the system. There was no way of rigging the election," he said.

Zimbabweans braced for tense days ahead. Tsvangirai's party urged supporters not to take to the streets or gather at an open field nicknamed "Freedom Square," its main Harare rallying point, compared by many to Cairo's Tahrir Square, the focal point of Egyptian demonstrations since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

The conditions in Zimbabwe are different, though. Mugabe has a strong support base, security forces have traditionally been quick to clamp down on overt dissent and after the 2008 election, Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change joined Mugabe's ZANU-PF party in an uneasy coalition that was regionally brokered.

The coalition ended with the election on Wednesday.

The MDC said in a statement that it received "radical" calls from supporters reflecting "the frustration, hopelessness and anger in every one of us" to actively fight Mugabe's party.

"We understand the tears in everyone's eyes but we certainly do not believe in violence to resolve this," it said.

Tsvangirai's last campaign rally in the open field, opposite the main courthouse in downtown Harare, drew some 50,000 jubilant followers on Monday, in sharp contrast to Mugabe's austere, muted campaign gatherings.

Thabani Nyoni, a civic activist and top researcher at the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, an alliance of 70 rights and pro-democracy groups, predicted that protests against election irregularities would likely emerge once official election results have been confirmed.

The state election commission has promised a full tally of results by Monday. No results have yet been announced.

Voter Matthew Pfuri, a Harare car salesman, said he was shocked by early results coming from polling stations where, under electoral law, summaries are posted outside when initial vote-counting is complete. Mugabe supporters have claimed early, unconfirmed results show them with a decisive lead.

"Maybe it's a good outcome for Tsvangirai. People now know what they are up against and say this blatant abuse can't last much longer," Pfuri said.

Extra police, some in riot gear, were deployed in Harare. One truck of riot police was parked down the street from Tsvangirai's party headquarters.

"If Mugabe's party is celebrating a clean sweep in the elections, why are they sending out trucks of riot police?" asked Jonah Matanga, a nearby street vendor.

Mugabe's party said Thursday it has withdrawn an unauthorized message on its Twitter feed claiming a resounding victory. The ZANU-PF party said it is awaiting the release of results by the state election commission, the only body allowed under the law to announce the outcome.

Solomon Zwana, head of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network, said it found a "wide range of problems" in the election and that the poll was compromised by a campaign to stop voters from casting ballots. The monitoring group says as many as 1 million out of more than 6 million eligible voters were not on voters' lists.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-08-01-Zimbabwe-Elections/id-3bbfeed3c653406588d1f97b5587d6ee

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Better US economic growth, earnings push stocks up

NEW YORK (AP) ? Steady growth in the U.S. economy and higher company earnings helped hold the stock market near record levels Wednesday.

The economy, while still struggling to pick up momentum following the Great Recession, grew at a faster pace than economists had forecast in the second quarter. There was also an encouraging report on hiring.

The news on growth was encouraging, said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital, because it suggested the economy is recovering strongly enough to grow without stimulus from the Federal Reserve. The central bank is buying $85 billion of bonds a month to hold down interest rates and encourage borrowing.

"We did get some surprisingly strong economic numbers today," said Cardillo. "The market is taking this news optimistically. It points to the economy not needing crutches anymore."

The U.S. economy expanded at an annual rate of 1.7 percent from April through June as businesses spent more and the federal government cut less spending, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Economists had expected growth of 1 percent for the period, according to the data provider FactSet.

Stocks stayed higher immediately after the Federal Reserve released its updated policy statement after at the end of a two-day meeting. The central bank said it will keep buying the same amount of bonds to help lower long-term interest rates.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose six points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,692 as of 2:25 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The index had risen as much as 11 points, or 0.7 percent, in early trading.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 24 points, or 0.2 percent, to 15,547. Earlier the Dow was trading above its all-time closing high of 15,567 reached on July 23.

The Nasdaq composite rose 19 points, or 0.5 percent, to 3,636.

On the last trading day of July, the Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 5.4 percent for the month. If it holds those gains, the index will log its best month since Oct. 2011. The stock market has surged in July after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke assured investors that the central bank was in no hurry to withdraw its stimulus.

On the bond market, investors anticipated that the Fed's slightly weaker assessment of the economy would imply a longer period of bond purchases. Bond yields fell as demand increased slightly for U.S. government debt. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.62 percent from 2.66 percent just before the announcement.

The encouraging news on hiring came ahead of the government's monthly jobs survey due out Friday.

U.S. businesses created a healthy 200,000 jobs this month, payroll company ADP said, as companies hired at the fastest pace since December. ADP also raised its estimate of the number of jobs the private sector created in June.

Investors were also tracking company earnings.

Comcast rose $2.21, or 5.2 percent, to $44.89 after the parent company of the NBC network and Universal Studios reported earnings and revenue that exceed analysts' expectations in the second quarter.

Software company Symantec, which makes the Norton antivirus software, surged after the company reported earnings and revenue that beat analysts' forecasts. The stock rose $2.21, or 9.1 percent, to $26.55.

Analysts are currently forecasting that second-quarter earnings rose an average of 4.75 percent for S&P 500 companies, according to S&P Capital IQ. That would be the slowest rate of growth in three quarters.

In commodities trading, the price of oil rose $1.61, or 1.6 percent, to $104.67 a barrel. Gold dropped $12.50, or 1 percent, to $1,312.20 an ounce.

Among other stocks making big moves:

? Air Products & Chemicals rose $3.46, or 3.3 percent, to $109 after the Wall Street journal reported that activist investor William Ackman had bought a 9.8 percent stake in the gas company.

? Herbalife rose $5.21, or 8.7 percent, to $65.25 after CNBC reported that the veteran hedge fund investor George Soros had taken a stake in the company. Herbalife has been at the center of a battle between investors Ackman and Carl Ichan, who are taking opposing positions in the stock.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/better-us-economic-growth-earnings-push-stocks-175220058.html

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French bakers urge the French to eat more bread

But the Monitor's Europe bureau chief finds that baguettes, like all things, should be taken in moderation.

By Sara Miller Llana,?Staff writer / July 31, 2013

The New York Times has a fascinating story this week on the French penchant for bread ? or rather the country?s declining penchant.?

Skip to next paragraph Sara Miller Llana

Europe Bureau Chief

Sara Miller Llana?moved to Paris in April 2013 to become the Monitor's Europe Bureau?Chief. Previously she was the?paper's?Latin America Bureau Chief, based in Mexico City, from 2006 to 2013.