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Thank God, I hope there staying on high alert
jgbuz
Good Morning
OT: thought I might share this with you all, are you tried of calling companies and getting that automated voice, look at this site its called gethuman.com and it gives you short cuts to beating the automated voices.
http://www.gethuman.com/us/
jgbuz
ya, that's what I thought too !
jgbuz
I just listen to the interview, very professional and informative.
jgbuz
VA: Data for 38,000 veterans missing
Latest security breach could put vets at risk of identity theft
Monday, August 7, 2006; Posted: 8:17 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) -- As many as 38,000 veterans may be at risk of identity theft because a Veterans Affairs Department subcontractor lost a desktop computer containing their sensitive personal data.
VA Secretary Jim Nicholson said that Unisys Corp., a subcontractor hired to assist in insurance collections for VA medical centers in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, reported the missing computer last Thursday. The computer was being used in Unisys offices in Reston, Virginia.
It is not yet known what happened to the computer, Nicholson said, adding that local and federal authorities are investigating.
The computer is believed to contain names, addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, insurance carriers and claims data including medical information for veterans who received care at the hospitals in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh during the past four years.
According to initial estimates, the data covered about 5,000 patients treated at Philadelphia, 11,000 treated at Pittsburgh and 2,000 deceased patients. The VA is investigating whether the information also may have covered 20,000 who received care through the Pittsburgh medical center.
Ted Davies, a managing partner at Unisys, said a company employee who regularly used the desktop computer reported it missing July 31. Company officials then scoured the building three times and sought to determine what data was lost before reporting it to the VA last Thursday.
The computer was located in a building with security guards and on a floor where security cards are required for access, and there were no signs of break-in, he said. The computer was password protected, but the data was not encrypted.
"This is a high priority for our company to determine what happened," Davies said.
String of data breaches
The disclosure comes after a string of recent data breaches at the VA, including the May 3 theft of 26.5 million veterans' personal data from a VA employee's home in suburban Maryland. The laptop and external drive containing that information has since been recovered, and two teens were arrested Saturday as part of what appeared to be a routine burglary.
In recent weeks, the VA has also acknowledged losing sensitive data for more than 16,000 veterans in at least two other cases in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Indianapolis, Indiana.
Nicholson said in a statement Monday that the VA was working with Unisys to notify those veterans affected and to provide credit monitoring if appropriate.
"VA is making progress to reform its information technology and cyber security procedures, but this report of a missing computer at a subcontractor's secure building underscores the complexity of the work ahead," Nicholson said.
Lawmakers were critical of the VA. Rep. Lane Evans of Illinois, the top Democrat on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, called the latest data breach "yet another wake-up call."
"Today's announcement by the VA that sensitive personal information of veterans was compromised by a VA subcontractor last week confirms that the VA must move quickly to protect the information it maintains on veterans and their families," Evans said.
"I am absolutely appalled that another computer containing the personal information of veterans has gone missing," said Sen. Rick Santorum, a Pennsylvania Republican. "Those responsible must be held accountable, and the VA clearly needs to do a better job of overseeing its contracting entities."
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Taliban Terminator: Brit Sniper gets 39
The Sun (UK) ^ | 4th August 2006 | VIRGINIA WHEELER
Posted on 08/04/2006 12:15:58 PM PDT by Brit_Guy
A BRITISH sniper waging war on the Taliban is so deadly he has earned a chilling nickname — The Man Who Never Misses.
The unerring Army sharpshooter has killed 39 rebel fighters single-handedly.
His marksmanship is so lethal that rumours have spread like wildfire through insurgents’ camps, causing panic and confusion.
The sniper — who The Sun is not naming to prevent him becoming a target himself — is a member of elite 3 Para.
Described by sources as “the best shot in the Army” he is responsible for over five per cent of the 700 insurgents killed by Paras since British forces returned to Afghanistan.
He is based in the wild Helmand province, where our troops launched a massive assault on the Taliban this week.
A source said yesterday: “This sniper is truly something else — a silent assassin.
“In the deadly terrain of southern Afghanistan, where guerilla warfare rules, he has been invaluable. The rumours are sweeping enemy camps that he is the man who never misses.”
The sniper’s actual toll is probably higher than 39 but the Taliban’s tendency to reclaim bodies makes deaths difficult to confirm.
His lethal L96A1 rifle has a range of 1,000 yards and is fitted with electronic sights and laser range-finders.
He works with a partner called a spotter, who locates the target and helps judge wind speed and distance so the bullet travels accurately.
Each day the pair risk their lives away from fellow Paras, taking up covert positions and often lying hidden for as long as ten hours at a time. Once the shot has been fired they need nerves of steel to stay concealed while Taliban rebels wielding rocket-propelled grenades and machine-guns desperately try to hunt them down.
The Ministry of Defence would not discuss the crackshot for security reasons.
But he is regarded as one of the most successful British snipers since World War Two.
Earlier this year it was revealed that the Army is creating an elite force of almost 700 snipers, with all 38 infantry battalions required to have an 18-man platoon of sharpshooters by 2008. It will be the first time formal sniper platoons will have existed since the end of the First World War in 1918.
The decision follows the success of British and US sniper teams who have killed dozens of terrorists on recent operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In 2003 Royal Marines sniper Corporal Matt Hughes killed an Iraqi gunman from 900 yards with a “wonder shot” in which he aimed 56ft to the left and 35ft high to allow for wind.
The bullet’s trajectory was calculated by his spotter after he studied the movement of dust in the breeze. And Irish Guards Sergeant Eddie Waring lay on a roof for hours to take out three Iraqis who were laying mines in Basra.
Sniper tells of long-shot success(1/2 mile shot in the chest)
http://www.timesonline.co.uk ^ | 4-06-03 | OXENinFLA
Posted on 04/06/2003 10:05:41 AM PDT by OXENinFLA
Sniper tells of long-shot success From Nick Parker with the Royal Marines in southern Iraq
A BRITISH sniper told yesterday how he killed an Iraqi gunman from more than half a mile. Corporal Matt Hughes, 28, a Royal Marines marksman, was ordered to “take out” an Iraqi holding back a vital advance during a fierce gale. He pulled off an incredible feat of marksmanship by gauging perfectly the wind speed to bend the bullet to its target. The 7.62 calibre round from his L96 sniper rifle curved 56ft in the air before striking its target in the chest, killing him instantly.
Next to him, another Royal Marines sniper killed a second Iraqi at exactly the same moment.
Corporal Hughes, of the Marines’ spearhead brigade patrol troop, said yesterday: “It was a bit like David Beckham taking a free kick. I knew I only had one shot and had to get the angle exactly right. It was hot and the wind was blowing strongly from left to right as we crept up to a vantage point about 860 metres from the target.
“I saw I had a clear shot at my man — he was in what he thought was a secure position, but his head and chest were exposed. He was still wearing his green Iraqi uniform and was holding the rifle he’d been using to shoot at Marines.
“My training then took over and I got myself quickly, but calmly, into the perfect sniping position. We follow a set pattern, placing parts of our bodies in the optimum position, starting with the left hand followed by the elbow, legs, right hand and cheek.”
His sniping partner fixed a separate sight on the target, then the pair calculated the bullet’s trajectory by studying the movement of heat haze and dust across the arid desert landscape.
“I was concentrating so hard that I didn’t have time to think about him as a person or the fact that I was about to kill him. He was just a distant shape magnified ten times in a telescopic lens. He was a target — the enemy.”
Kobayashi sets brat-eating record
8/5/2006, 8:25 p.m. ET
By COLIN FLY
The Associated Press
SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) — Takeru Kobayashi chomped through a record 58 brats at the Johnsonville World Bratwurst Eating Championship on Saturday, easily winning another tasty title and slicing through the record of 34 1/2 set last year by Sonya Thomas.
"They're good," Kobayashi said through a translator. "I want to take some home."
Kobayashi earned $8,000 for his effort. There was no extra charge for the 16,820 calories, 1,450 grams of fat and 19 days worth of the recommended amount of sodium he consumed in besting Joey Chestnut and Thomas in front of a crowd of about 3,500 people attending Sheboygan Jaycees Brat Days.
The 160-pound Kobayashi, of Nagano, Japan, is a seasoned veteran at 27 and by far the world's best competitive eater. But he narrowly beat 22-year-old Joey Chestnut of San Jose, Calif., in this year's Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest on the Fourth of July in New York.
At Saturday's showdown in Sheboygan, competitors had 10 minutes to eat as many brats as possible with no buns. The Fourth of July contest is 12 minutes and competitors must eat the buns.
"Brats are a little bit harder to eat," Kobayashi said. "With hot dogs, it's more volume. You're actually dipping the buns in water."
Chestnut finished a distant second with 45 brats and said his performance couldn't have been wurst.
"I wasn't able to prepare for this contest like the Fourth of July," he said. "I know I could have done better, that's what hurts the most."
Patrick Bertoletti finished third with 39, Bob Shoudt had 38 1/2 and Tim Janus finished with 37. Thomas couldn't even match her record of last year, with just 34 brats.
After the contest ended, Kobayashi flexed his arm and pulled up his shirt to reveal his brat-filled stomach.
He said he was going for 50, and plans to come back next year to break another barrier.
"I want to do 60," he said.
I thought this might be good for the guys only board
100 Board Marks now,
Da Matta still hospitalized
Driver's condition unknown after collision with deer
Posted: Friday August 4, 2006 3:01PM; Updated: Friday August 4, 2006 3:02PM
Cristiano da Matta has 12 career Champ Car victories and won the driver's title in 2002.
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (AP) -- Champ Car driver Cristiano da Matta remained hospitalized Friday, a day after his race car collided with a deer that had wandered onto the track during a test session at Road America.
Theda Clark Memorial Hospital spokesman John Gillespie confirmed Friday that da Matta was still a patient, but declined to give any information about his condition.
Da Matta was unconscious Thursday when he was airlifted to the hospital, where he needed surgery to remove a ruptured blood vessel in his head, Champ Car series spokesman Steve Shunck said.
Road America media director Julie Sebranek said she had never heard of a similar incident at the track.
"The race track has been here for 50 years. It's highly, highly unusual," Sebranek said Friday.
An 8-foot chain link fence topped with barbed wire circles the 628-acre property, which is surrounded by wooded terrain and farm fields.
When asked how the deer got onto the property, Sebranek said: "They have been known to jump the 8-foot fences."
"It's just a freak thing and we just maintain the property as we do on a daily basis," she added.
The 32-year-old Da Matta has 12 career Champ Car victories -- including four straight wins in his championship season of 2002, tying a series record.
A native of Brazil, da Matta left Champ Car after winning the championship and drove for the Toyota team in the elite Formula One series in 2003 and 2004. In 28 starts, he finished a career-best sixth in three races.
Da Matta returned to Champ Car last year to win a race at Portland and tie for 11th in the standings. He is sixth in the standings this season after finishing second in Sunday's race in San Jose, Calif.
Da Matta began the season with Dale Coyne Racing, then moved to RuSport team at midseason after A.J. Allmendinger was fired.
Da Matta is single and lives in Miami.
RuSport also announced Thursday that Justin Wilson, da Matta's teammate, would not participate in the final day of Road America test on Friday.
The Champ Car series races at Road America on Sept. 24.
Senate passes sweeping pension legislation
Updated 8/4/2006 2:11 AM ET
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate approved and sent to the White House pension legislation that could give millions of Americans a better chance of getting the retirement benefits they've earned while sparing taxpayers from possibly paying for failed pension plans.
The legislation, passed 93-5 late Thursday, also provides new incentives for young workers to enroll in 401(k) plans, reflecting the trend away from traditional employer-based pensions.
"There is little doubt this bill will be the foundation on which the future of our retirement system rests," said Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
The vote was the last before the Senate leaves for a four-week summer break and gives lawmakers a major accomplishment to speak of when they meet their constituents back home.
A vote on the pension bill became possible after leaders from the two parties agreed to put off final action on a $469 billion spending package for the military until September. It followed a vote on the other outstanding issue, an unsuccessful attempt to simultaneously raise the minimum wage and cut inheritance taxes for multimillionaires.
The bill sets new funding rules for employers with defined-benefit pension plans and clamps down on companies that have fallen in arrears in meeting their funding obligations. In order to make a dent in underfunding now estimated at $450 billion, the bill requires plans to be 100% funded, up from the current 90% level, giving companies seven years to reach that goal.
Plans that are seriously underfunded face restrictions, such as a ban on increasing benefits, and must make accelerated catch-up contributions.
"It will make an important difference to millions of workers," said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., one of the chief negotiators of the House-Senate compromise. He noted that in the past five years, some $8 billion in pension savings have been lost as companies terminate their plans, shifting benefit responsibilities onto the federal agency that insures such plans, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.
The White House had stressed that pension legislation would be acceptable only if it strengthened current funding requirements, and two chief House sponsors, Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., said the bill met that condition.
They cited figures they said showed that changes in the bill "significantly increase the amount of contributions employers must make to meet their pension promises."
The legislation carves out special treatment for the airlines industry, giving airlines that are in bankruptcy court and have frozen their pension plans an extra 10 years above the seven years for other plans to become financially whole.
That would directly benefit Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines Corp., although two others with active defined-benefit plans, American Airlines and Continental Airlines Inc., would be eligible for the same break if they decide to freeze their plans. Otherwise, they would get 10 years — the seven plus an extra three — to reach full funding after the new rules go fully into effect in 2008.
Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia, home of Delta, a leading proponent of the airline provisions, said failure of the Senate to act on the bill would have "disastrous consequences." In Georgia, he said, "91,000 people's pensions and their futures are determined and dependent upon this Senate's actions."
Beyond giving a lift to defined-benefit plans, which have been in steady decline over the past several decades, many experts see the real significance of the legislation in its promotion of defined-contribution plans, such as 401(k)s, increasingly the preference of employers. With defined-benefit plans, retirees get a fixed amount every month. With 401(k)-type plans, workers accumulate an asset that they control.
The legislation promotes automatic enrollment into 401(k) plans, expected to boost the number of people with savings plans, particularly young workers who tend not to save. It gives financial firms greater latitude in offering advice to 401(k) and IRA investors on how best shape their investments and makes permanent provisions in a 2001 tax cut law that raises annual contribution limits for IRAs.
Also in the bill is language aimed at giving legal certainty to cash balance plans, a kind of defined-benefit "hybrid." Such plans have been challenged by employee groups who say older workers are unfairly treated when employers switch to such plans.
AARP chief executive officer Bill Novelli said in a statement Thursday the retirees' group is pleased with many aspects of the bill, noting the automatic enrollment of 401(k) plans and requirements for greater employer contributions into defined-benefit plans. But he said it does not provide the needed additional transition assistance for workers hurt by conversions to cash balance plans.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Posted 8/4/2006 1:11 AM ET
Updated 8/4/2006 2:11 AM ET
Senate nixes minimum-wage hike
Thursday, August 3, 2006; Posted: 10:31 p.m. EDT (02:31 GMT)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Republican election-year effort to fuse a cut in inheritance taxes on multimilllion-dollar estates with the first minimum wage increase in nearly a decade was rejected by the Senate late Thursday.
Republicans needed 60 votes to advance their bill, which links a $2.10 increase in the $5.15 federal minimum wage over three years to reductions on estate taxes next decade. Passed by the House last Saturday, the bill got a 56-42 vote, four votes short of succeeding.
For Republicans, the combination could have neutralized a Democratic campaign issue while also advancing an estate tax cut, a priority that may have an uncertain future if the GOP loses seats in Congress in November's election.
The GOP strategy put Democrats in an uncomfortable position. Either they could vote against the bill -- thus rejecting a minimum wage increase -- or they could vote for it -- thus agreeing to cut taxes on multimillion-dollar estates. Most rejected the bill, blocking a GOP victory months before the election.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, likened the minimum wage and estate tax bill to "a long-shot" bet on racing horses.
"Once they're out of the barn and running around, it's kind of hard to turn them around," he said. "Senators can be similar, especially when a vote is highly political."
Republicans were dealt a blow when two Democrats, Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, both of Washington, announced they planned to oppose the GOP's bill.
"This is a cynical ploy on the part of the Republican leadership in an election year," Cantwell said in a statement.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, had tried repeatedly this year to repeal or reduce the estate tax, derided as the "death tax" by its opponents.
"This death tax punishes everyday Americans by forcing them to give up their business, to give up their farms," he said.
An earlier bid to move an estate tax bill to debate fell three votes short of succeeding. Frist and House Republican leaders had hoped adding the minimum wage, along with a package of popular tax cuts, could carry it to passage.
Among other things, the bill resurrects deductions that expired last year for state sales taxes, tuition and teachers' classroom supply purchases, along with a business research and development credit.
The bill had extra items to entice Democrats who were uneasy about voting for the estate tax reductions. The add-ons included a cut in timber capital gains taxes, rural development incentives and a program cleaning up abandoned coal mines.
Democrats criticized the GOP for only agreeing to increase the minimum wage to $7.25 over three years by attaching it to an estate tax cut, and they said voters will understand the Democratic opposition, even though it means rejecting a higher minimum wage.
"The American people won't fall for it," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada.
Under President Bush's first tax cut, the estate tax shrinks through this decade and disappears in 2010. It reappears at older and higher rates in 2011.
The estate tax and minimum wage bill would, by 2015, increase the amount of an estate exempt from taxation to $5 million for an individual and $10 million for a couple. Estates worth up to $25 million would be taxed at capital gains rates, currently 15 percent and scheduled to increase to 20 percent. The top tax rate on larger estates would fall to 30 percent by 2015.
derf incase your lurking
Pickle Bill's Floating Bar Found At Perry Power Plant 1 hour, 28 minutes ago
Some good news in the wake of last week's flooding disaster: one of the casualties may be up and running again soon.
The missing poster can come down for Pickle Bill's floating carousel bar, which has been found after being missing since the Grand River flooded last Friday, reported NewsChannel5.
The popular carousel bar has been serving customers of Pickle Bill's for 15 years. The barge is usually docked in the water behind the restaurant. But last week's flooding knocked the bar out into Lake Erie.
The carousel barge was found 20 miles away at the Perry nuclear power plant and was then towed back to its owners and long-time customers.
"Since it was perched at the Perry nuclear power plant, we thought it would be fun to have a glow-in-the-dark party and get light up ice cubes and glow sticks as a welcome home present," said owner Marianne Powell.
This isn't the first time the carousel has floated away; Jerry Powell said he found it nine years ago in Erie, Pa.
"It's our wayward child, so to speak ? our old customers say, 'I see you lost your barge again,'" said Jerry Powell.
He said that in an initial examination of the carousel, he didn't see too much damage. If that's the case, he said it should be up and running again in a week to 10 days.
Why are we funny ?
No one has pumped this stock, everyone so far has put out some decent DD that's all, there is some positive developments that this company has been doing, but everyone realizes that right now, with this extremely high OS, that this is really a high risk investment. Nobody should invest by what is said on any boards, but use that as a starting point for doing your own DD.
IBOX UPDATED, and thanks to Fairly_New for the DD on the ethanol web site, check out the IBOX all input is appreciated, and I what to say thanks to all who post here, there has been some great Due Diligence and postings
jgbuz
Natural gas prices soar with demand for electricity
Updated 8/1/2006 10:14 AM
By Barbara Hagenbaugh, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Natural gas prices jumped to their highest in nearly six months Monday as hot weather across much of the USA led to increased demand for natural-gas-generated electricity.
Natural gas trading for future delivery rose $1.027, or 14%, to $8.211 per thousand cubic feet as investors fretted about natural gas supplies. That was the biggest increase since December and the highest close since Feb. 3.
The increase came as hot weather spread across the USA, leading to elevated demand for electricity. Pepco, which provides electricity to 745,000 customers in Washington, D.C., and Maryland, warned demand could hit records this week in the area, where temperatures were in the mid-90s Monday.
SAVE ENERGY, GET CREDIT: Tips save money, too.
Natural gas is a key source of electricity generation. When demand for air conditioning, and thus electricity, rises, natural gas supplies can decline if they are not replenished. This week's heat wave came after the Energy Department last week reported an unexpected decline in natural gas inventories.
"You put the two together, you've created this panic about the natural gas market," Alaron Trading analyst Phil Flynn says.
The increase in natural gas prices was accompanied by gains in oil prices. Oil and natural gas are sometimes interchangeable by power-generating facilities, so changes in the price of one can sometimes affect the other.
The price of a barrel of crude oil trading in New York rose $1.16, or 1.6%, to $74.40.
Gasoline prices also stayed above $3 a gallon. The average U.S. price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.004 Monday, up a fraction of a cent from a week ago and 71 cents from a year ago, according to the Energy Department. In a separate survey, AAA said the average gasoline price was $3.005 Monday.
The natural gas price gain follows a period of steep declines. A milder-than-normal winter meant less natural gas use early in 2006, leading to a buildup of supplies. Government officials were predicting a decline in natural gas prices during the winter from a year ago, when prices reached records. The majority of U.S. homes are heated with natural gas.
"While customers may have to pay more for natural gas next winter than we thought a month ago, they still will be paying less than last winter's record prices," WTRG Economics economist Jim Williams says.
Williams, like other energy analysts, however, warned that if hurricanes were to damage natural gas production facilities and pipelines this summer, the outlook for natural gas prices could change quickly.
SEC accuses three ex-Janus executives of allowing market-timing trades
DENVER (AP) — The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused three former executives of Janus Capital Management of improperly allowing market-timing trades in the company's mutual funds.
SEC documents released Monday said the agency is seeking unspecified fines and sanctions against Warren Lammert, Lars Soderberg and Lance Newcomb for allegedly allowing rapid trading in Janus funds despite company rules that discouraged it. All three have left the company.
Lammert, who managed Janus' Mercury Fund, declined comment Tuesday through a co-worker at Granite Point Capital Management, where he now works. The co-worker declined to give her name.
Newcomb, who was an assistant vice president and regional sales director at Janus, told the Rocky Mountain News he did nothing wrong. Soderberg, who was an executive vice president and managing director in sales, had no listed phone number.
Janus spokeswoman Shelley Peterson said the allegations were between the SEC and the three men and that the company was not involved.
Janus reached a $226.2 million settlement with state and federal regulators in 2004 after the SEC alleged the company allowed 12 entities to use marketing-timing practices. Janus acknowledged 10 market-timing arrangements, all of which have ended. In the settlement, Janus did not formally admit or deny the SEC findings.
In the new allegations, the SEC said that Lammert agreed in November 2001 to allow customers of the Trautman Wasserman & Co. brokerage firm to do market-timing trades in Janus' Mercury Fund.
Janus' operations group spotted the activity and asked for it to be halted in January 2002, the SEC said. Newcomb told the operations group to stop monitoring Trautman customers' trades, the agency alleged.
In March 2002, Soderberg began communicating with Trautman about other Janus funds its customers could use, the SEC said. The agency said Soderberg acted at Lammert's request.
The SEC claimed Trautman customers' transactions in Janus funds totaled $2.6 billion between November 2001 and September 2003. Trautman officials did not immediately return a call Tuesday seeking comment.
The SEC alleged Lammert agreed in September 2002 to allow a customer of the Brean Murray & Co. brokerage firm to exceed the Mercury Fund's trading limits. The SEC said the Brean customer's trades totaled $453 million between October 2002 and June 2003.
Officials of Brean Murray, now Brean Murray Carret & Co., did not immediately return a call.
Lammert, 44, left Janus in March 2003. Soderberg, 47, left in July 2004 and Newcomb, 38, left in August 2003.
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Montana senator's nephew dies in Iraq
Tuesday, August 1, 2006; Posted: 9:16 p.m. EDT (01:16 GMT)
HELENA, Montana (AP) -- A nephew of Sen. Max Baucus serving in the Marines was killed in Iraq during the weekend, the senator's office said Tuesday.
Cpl. Phillip E. Baucus, 28, died Saturday during combat operations in Anbar province, the Department of Defense said. It did not immediately release further information.
In a statement, Baucus, D-Montana, said the family was "devastated by the loss."
"Phillip was an incredible person, a dedicated Marine, a loving son and husband, and a proud Montanan and American," the senator said. "He heroically served the country he loved and he gave it his all."
Phillip Baucus, of Wolf Creek, was part of a Marine Corps battalion based at Twentynine Palms, Calif. He was married last August at the ranch his parents operate between Helena and Great Falls.
Max Baucus voted to authorize war in Iraq in 2002. Earlier this summer, he joined other Democrats in voting to begin a phased redeployment of troops from the war-torn country by year's end.
Baucus is in his fifth term in the Senate.
Mel Gibson seeks forgiveness for anti-Semitic rant By Bob Tourtellotte
1 hour, 1 minute ago
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Mel Gibson apologized on Tuesday for making anti-Semitic remarks in a drunken rant and asked to meet Jewish leaders, but several called on the Hollywood superstar to first show deeds and not offer words.
Separately, U.S. television network ABC pulled a program about the Holocaust that Gibson's company was producing, and a Los Angeles official defended the sheriff department's handling of Gibson's arrest against claims he was shown favoritism.
"I want to apologize specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words that I said to a law enforcement officer the night I was arrested," Gibson said in a statement.
Gibson, who directed 2004's blockbuster movie "The Passion of The Christ" about the last hours of the life of Jesus, was caught speeding early on Friday, and he went on a rant in which he is widely reported to have said, "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world."
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department report, parts of which have been published and confirmed by officials, is laced with anti-Semitic remarks and expletives from Gibson.
The report said an open bottle of tequila was found in Gibson's car, and on Tuesday, celebrity magazine In Touch Weekly published photos of Gibson drinking in a Malibu, California, bar and hugging female patrons.
In his statement, the actor and Oscar-winning director of "Braveheart" said he had entered "an ongoing program of recovery." In the past, Gibson has admitted having problems with alcohol.
GIBSON'S PLEA FOR HELP
His anti-Semitic remarks have caused an outcry because, before "Passion," a $610 million global hit, conservative Catholic Gibson defended himself and his movie against critics who labeled them anti-Jewish. His father, Hutton Gibson, has described the Holocaust as "maybe not all fiction, but most of it is."
In Hollywood, where many movie studios were founded and are still run by Jewish men and women, top executives denounced his remarks.
Gibson pleaded for understanding and help.
"I'm not just asking for forgiveness. I would like to take it one step further, and meet with leaders in the Jewish community, with whom I can have a one-on-one discussion to discern the appropriate path for healing," he said.
Several Jewish leaders said he must first complete his recovery program and perform acts of goodwill, such as visiting Nazi death camps.
"We will know when the time is, but the time is certainly not when his press agents think it is," said Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center. "I certainly think he is facing his alcoholism, and now I think he needs to face the statements of bigotry and anti-Semitism the same."
The Anti-Defamation League "accepted" the apology. National Director Abraham Foxman said when Gibson's recovery is complete, "we will be ready and willing to help him."
A spokeswoman for ABC said the network canceled development of a Holocaust miniseries because nearly two years had passed since ABC struck a deal with Gibson's production company to make it and it had not yet seen a script.
Michael Gennaco, who heads the sheriff department's oversight board, said an initial probe showed L.A. sheriffs did not violate department policies. The final arrest report would include inflammatory comments made by Gibson, he added.
(Additional reporting by Dan Whitcomb, Deena Beasley and Jill Serjeant)
Two Koreas exchange gunfire along border By Jon Herskovitz
2 hours, 12 minutes ago
SEOUL (Reuters) - North and South Korean troops exchanged gunfire across their heavily fortified border for the first time in about a year, a military official said on Tuesday.
North Korean troops fired two shots at a South Korean guard post near the Demilitarized Zone late on Monday and South Korean troops returned six shots, an official said by telephone.
"No one was injured in the incident," the Joint Chiefs of Staff official said, referring to South Korean troops. There was no word if any North Korean soldiers were hurt.
The Joint Chiefs issued a statement saying the U.N. Command Military Armistice Commission -- monitoring a truce that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War and has left the two countries technically at war since then -- will look into the skirmish.
One of the shots hit the guard post, causing South Korean troops to immediately return fire, the official said.
Last October, North Korea fired a bullet toward a South Korean guard post and the South returned fire. The two navies clashed along a disputed maritime border in 2002, resulting in deaths and casualties on both sides.
MISSILE TESTS
Ties have become notably strained since North Korea defied international warnings, including from South Korea, and test-fired seven missiles on July 5th.
After a frosty inter-Korean ministerial meeting days after the tests, Seoul said it would suspend food aid until Pyongyang returned to stalled six-country talks on ending its nuclear weapons program.
North Korean delegates stormed out of the meeting and said the South would "pay a price" for spoiling inter-Korean ties.
Since then, North Korea has halted several projects with the South, including the reunion of families separated by the war.
On Tuesday, North Korea said it would be difficult to hold a joint ceremony to mark the August 15, 1945 anniversary of the end of Japanese colonial rule over the peninsula due to recent flooding, a South Korean committee preparing for the event said.
North Korea has stationed most of its 1.2 million-man army near the DMZ. South Korea has more than 650,000 troops, who are supported by about 30,000 U.S. troops.
In another sign of the souring relationship, a South Korean commission issued a report on Tuesday reiterating North Korea was to blame for the 1987 explosion of a Korean Air jet that killed 115.
Seoul has avoided bringing up that incident in recent years in the interest of its "sunshine policy" of engagement.
The United States put North Korea on its list of countries that support terrorism after the airliner bombing. North Korea has been keen to discuss how to get off that list in direct talks with Washington.
North Korean agents were also accused of attempting a presidential assassination in 1974, and in 1983 set off a bomb in Myanmar that killed 17 senior South Korean officials.
(Additional reporting by Jack Kim and Jang Sera)
JMCP Press Release Source: James Monroe Capital Corporation
Diversified Ethanol A Division of James Monroe Capital Buying Private LLC's and LP's
Monday July 31, 9:49 am ET
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 31, 2006--Diversified Ethanol, a division of James Monroe Capital Corporation (Pink Sheets:JMCP - News) is now putting out bids to buy stock in private ethanol plants which are operational with earnings.
The company will begin putting out bids this week to maximize its participation in the ethanol industry, and to quickly get some earnings on its books. The company will begin buying stock in privately traded ethanol plants, such as limited partnerships and LLC's, which are not available in the stock market.
This strategy is intended to be a bonus to the company's earnings and assets, not a majority of the company's revenues or worth.
Diversified Ethanol's CEO, Taylor Moffitt commented, "Our whole premise was to diversify the company, thereby minimizing any risks associated with owning an individual business. This way, shareholders are partners owning businesses together that may not be generally available to everyone. We especially like the fact that the stock we will buy will come with strong earnings. Some ethanol companies are trading at a price to earnings ratio of 50 (reference MGPI), however, we are able to buy ethanol plant shares at a P/E ratio of about 12. This will not only add earnings, but if the market is even remotely efficient it will add value to the company's intrinsic worth."
This press release does not constitute an offer of any securities for sale. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ, including, without limitation, the company's limited operating history and history of losses, the inability to successfully obtain further funding, the inability to raise capital on terms acceptable to the company, the inability to compete effectively in the marketplace, the inability to complete the proposed acquisition and such other risks that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in the company's projections or forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to the company as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.
Contact:
James Monroe Capital Corporation, Northbrook
Chris McGovern, 847-418-3848
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: James Monroe Capital Corporation
'Catastrophic' Russian oil spill
Monday, July 31, 2006; Posted: 6:32 a.m. EDT (10:32 GMT)
MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- A serious oil spill has occurred on one of Russia's largest export pipelines near the border with Ukraine and Belarus, the Natural Resources Ministry said Monday, warning it could cause an environmental disaster.
"Judging by information reaching the ministry from representatives of environmental organizations ... the consequences of the accident may be an environmental catastrophe in the region," a statement said.
The Ministry said that oil from the pipeline had contaminated local water sources and forests in the western province of Byransk, adding that the spill affected an area of nearly 4 square miles.
The 2,485-mile-long pipeline has the capacity to ship over 1.2 million barrels a day and generally works at or close to its full capacity. State pipeline operator OAO Transneft said the only person with the authority to comment was unavailable
I will put that in the IBOX thanks
We now have 93 board marks.
I put a link to the survey in the IBOX please take time to take it, Thanks jmont for the link also I will post the share structure, while keeping the previous share structure update so everyone can see if it is changing
jgbuz
things seem back to normal, thanks
jgbuz
roach I see were neighbors, lets hope one day we can celebrate and have a beer together with our JMCP riches.........
edit; a member mark for ya
no problem, we have some great posters on this board, and I truly appreciate that, thanks to all of you.
IBOX updated and now 92 board marks and growing.
jgbuz
Tour de France winner Landis tests positive By Patrick Vignal
1 hour, 31 minutes ago
PARIS (Reuters) - Tour de France winner Floyd Landis has tested positive for the male sex hormone testosterone, the U.S. rider's Phonak team said on Thursday, dealing a savage blow to cycling's most prestigious race.
"The Phonak Cycling Team was notified yesterday by (world cycling body) the UCI of an unusual level of testosterone/epitestosterone ratio in the test made on Floyd Landis after stage 17 of the Tour de France," Phonak said in a team statement.
It was the first time in the history of the showpiece event that its winner had given a positive drugs test during the race. If Landis's B sample confirms the result of his A sample, the 30-year-old is certain to be stripped of his victory.
In the 17th stage, a grueling mountain ride to Morzine in the French Alps a week ago, Landis produced an incredible comeback a day after a disastrous showing had appeared to ruin his chances of victory.
The rider from Pennsylvania crossed the line over five minutes and ahead of Spaniard Carlos Sastre and went on to win the race in Paris, succeeding compatriot Lance Armstrong who retired last year after winning the Tour a record seven times.
Phonak said Landis would not ride until the matter had been clarified and said that if the B sample confirmed the positive result, the rider would be dismissed.
Phonak added: "The team management and the rider were both totally surprised by this physiological result.
COUNTER ANALYSIS
"The rider will ask in the upcoming days for the counter analysis to prove either that this result has come from a natural process or that this is the result of a mistake," the statement read.
Landis pulled out of races in the last two days without giving any explanation and organizers of those events were unable to contact him.
Dutch news agency ANP quoted his team mate Koos Moerenhout as saying that Landis had pain from a hip problem and had gone to see his doctor in Germany.
The UCI said in a statement on Wednesday that a rider had tested positive during this year's race. The ruling body did not name the rider or give further details.
This year's Tour was hit by a doping scandal on the eve of the opening prologue stage.
Pre-race favorites Ivan Basso of Italy and German Jan Ullrich were forced to pull out and were suspended after being implicated in a doping investigation in Spain.
Ullrich, winner of 1997 Tour, and Basso, who was bidding for a Giro d'Italia-Tour de France double, both denied any wrong-doing.
BIGGEST SCANDAL
Ullrich was later sacked by his T-Mobile sponsor while team mate Oscar Sevilla and manager Rudy Pevenage were suspended.
Nine riders, including Francisco Mancebo who was fourth in last year's race, were pulled out of the Tour because of the investigation.
The whole of the Astana-Wuerth team had to withdraw as five of their riders were on a list provided by Spanish police.
The peloton was reduced from 21 to 20 teams and from 189 to 176 riders in the biggest doping scandal since the Festina affair which rocked the 1998 Tour and brought cycling to its knees.
The investigation in Spain came to light in May when the Spanish Civil Guard raided addresses in Madrid and Zaragoza and found large quantities of anabolic steroids, equipment used for blood transfusions and more than 100 bags of frozen blood.
A notoriously tough sport, cycling has been plagued by doping for years.
Landis's win had been welcomed as thrilling by observers, who said it lifted some of the gloom hanging over the event after its traumatic start.
Asked if he had a message to deliver about doping after being crowned king of cycling, Landis had said: "In this sport, we proved that more than any sport we try to prevent doping and try to solve the problem.
However, he added: "Cycling has a reputation that doesn't seem to want to go away
Watch out below, this FHAL will drop like a rock today
JMCP Diversified Ethanol CEO Taylor Moffitt: ``Small Plants Will Fill a Big Need''
Thursday July 27, 8:30 am ET
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 27, 2006--Diversified Ethanol, a division of James Monroe Capital Corporation (Pink Sheets:JMCP - News) has announced that it is going to use its first ethanol plant as a demo model with the intent to manufacture small, upgradeable ethanol plants for middle America.
With all of the interest the company generated with its unusual scaled-down approach at getting into the ethanol industry, a group of investors have asked that the company manufacture these plants for the national market, starting with them of course. Now company will be starting a waiting list for its low-cost ethanol plants, and expects to be able to construct them rapidly after the first plant is under way. The plants will be very adaptable, and share a common floor plan and parts for low-cost future maintenance. Target markets to purchase the small ethanol plants include large-scale farming operations, convenience store chains, and the investors wishing to own their own 24 hour ethanol plants who are unable to come up with the hefty down payment required to build a 50 to 100 million gallon per year plant.
The company is now lining up vendors, buying tanks, and is in talks with a handful of experienced subcontractors and engineers who have their own designs, and new twists on proven designs. Moffitt said, "Diversified has not yet decided which ethanol engineering team will get to participate, but whichever team we decide to work with, they will be very busy will be providing an expandable, entry-level product that can grow with the customer and is very cost-effective. People have been asking when we will be producing ethanol, we've already done that in tests, but our best estimate is that we would like to begin test runs in the plant by the end of August, and begin 24-hour production by the end of September. After everything has been optimized, we will at that time begin the next plant expansions to double capacity. With a good workflow, it will be almost as easy to build ten stripping/reflux columns as it is to custom build one. With the price quotes we received from some of the over-worked existing contractors out there, we realized that this market is booming and we couldn't find anyone else ready to fill the need for small turn-key plants."
For now, potential customers wishing to purchase an ethanol plant should email info@jamesmonroecapital.com with the subject titled "Ethanol Plants." Qualified customers will receive a guaranteed plant, and should be prepared to pay a non-refundable $10,000 reservation fee. The entry-level plant, with no frills, is roughly estimated to cost $400,000 and will produce 100,000 gallons per year. The larger the plant, the more cost effective it will be.
This press release does not constitute an offer of any securities for sale. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ, including, without limitation, the company's limited operating history and history of losses, the inability to successfully obtain further funding, the inability to raise capital on terms acceptable to the company, the inability to compete effectively in the marketplace, the inability to complete the proposed acquisition and such other risks that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contained in the company's projections or forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to the company as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.
Contact:
James Monroe Capital Corporation, Northbrook
Chris McGovern, 847-418-3848
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: James Monroe Capital Corporation
how did you find that out it was a male secret................
Most welcome
this is a good post on adding a second drive
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=11535098
This got by me
MODC files Financials on 6/14/06
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=MODC.OB
IBOX updated with latest PR, also FYI, TRBY is board marked by 148 investors, its been like that since I volunteered to be the moderator, also if anyone is interested to be an assistant Mod let me know
jgbuz
The IBOX has been updated with all the latest PRs
Feel free to give me advise or your opinion on what you would like to see.
jgbuz
New name New hope
i see .0002