| 6Rays 14, Red Sox 5 |
| Tampa Bay @ Boston @ |
| ab r h bi @ ab r h bi |
| BUpton cf 5 3 2 0 Ellsury cf 4 1 1 0 |
| Crwfrd lf 4 3 3 1 Pedroia 2b 4 1 0 0 |
| WAyar 1b 1 0 1 0 D.Ortiz dh 4 0 1 0 |
| Longori 3b 4 3 2 5 Bay lf 5 1 1 1 |
| C.Pena 1b 5 1 1 2 Lowell 3b 4 0 2 2 |
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Rays 14, Red Sox 5
Work-and-family plan sends staffers important message
When Rachel Rosenberg returned to work after the birth of herson, Ari, five years ago, she went to a part-time, three-day-a-weekschedule.
Although agreeing to the flexible work schedule was aprogressive step for her employer, Continental Bank, there was onelittle thing that bothered her: she had to fill out a time sheet,something required of administrative staffers, not full-timeprofessionals.
"I was still treated professionally, but that was a subtlemessage that said, `You're not a professional if you only work parttime,' " Rosenberg said.
No longer. With a new work-and-family benefit program that goesinto effect at the first of the year, Rosenberg's …
US trustee: Almost half of Madoff losses recovered
NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly half the money invested by thousands of people in Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff's multi-decade fraud has been recovered, a court-appointed trustee announced Thursday as he revealed a settlement that adds more than a billion dollars to the total.
Trustee Irving Picard said the latest agreement was reached with more than a dozen domestic and foreign investment funds, their affiliates and a former chief executive associated with Tremont Group Holdings Inc., a multibillion-dollar money management company based in Rye, just north of New York City.
The settlement will boost recoveries of money available to jilted investors to more than $8.6 billion, …
Third-seeded Melzer advances at Zagreb Indoors
Third-seeded Jurgen Melzer defeated Daniel Brands of Germany 6-4, 6-3 in 94 minutes on Monday to advance to the second round of the Zagreb Indoors ATP tournament.
The lefthanded Austrian served for the first set at 5-3, but was broken by Brands, currently ranked 93rd in the ATP singles rankings. In the next game Melzer broke again to secure the first set.
Brands …
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Alzado treated for brain cancer
Lyle Alzado, the former defensive end for the Los Angeles Raidersand Denver Broncos, is undergoing treatment for brain cancer, hisattorney and doctor announced Friday in Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Times reported that unsteadiness caused by thetherapy and oral cortisone have impaired the 42-year-old.
"Mr. Alzado had progressive dizziness over several weeks,culminating in a loss of right arm, right hand and right legcoordination, slurred speech and double vision," Dr. Robert Huizengasaid. "He is . . . quite unsteady when he walks."
Huizenga said the primary brain lymphoma was diagnosed threeweeks ago. The condition will be treated with radiation therapy …
G/B International makes a 1,820 percent comeback
This is a story about great loss and a reconstruction.
For years, Lee Schiller managed scores of employees as his company shipped everything from food to weapons overseas to U.S. military bases.
But all that experience was for naught when the military downsized in the mid-1980s and then changed its distribution system in the 1990s. From 1970s peak of employing 160 workers for round-the-clock shifts, G&B Packing of Harrisburg was reduced by 1995 to a two-man shop: Schiller and his new partner, Marc Bonawitz.
G&B was hardest hit by the 1985 closure of the New Cumberland Army Depot and the government's decision in 1995 to have private-sector manufacturers send …
EU foreign ministers mum over Obama vs. McCain
Obama or McCain? European Union foreign ministers are staying mum on which U.S. presidential candidate is more popular in Europe.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who hosted the talks of EU foreign ministers here Friday, refused to be pinned down on which candidate he preferred, Republican candidate John McCain or Democrat Barack Obama.
"Its such a good question that I'm not going to answer that," Kouchner said, grinning. He added that it would be improper for European officials to meddle in the U.S. campaign.
But he said he looked forward to closer cooperation with whoever replaces U.S. President George W. Bush.
…Rookie wins in intimidating fashions: ; Younger Earnhardt hits winner's circle in just 12 starts
FORT WORTH, Texas - Only the caution flags kept Dale EarnhardtJr. from completely running away from the DirecTV 500 field. Aftertwice seeing long leads erased by yellow flags, Earnhardt emergedfrom the restart of the record 12th and final caution period atTexas Motor Speedway still in front. With no more stops, the 25-year-old rookie cruised to his first Winston Cup victory by a nearlysix-second margin Sunday.
Little E finished directly ahead of veterans Jeff Burton, BobbyLabonte and Rusty Wallace. His famous father, a fearsome 75-timeWinston winner known as The Intimidator, was 19 seconds behind inseventh place.
"I couldn't believe our car was that good, but it …
Specificity of Trypsin and Chymotrypsin: Loop-Motion-Controlled Dynamic Correlation as a Determinant
ABSTRACT
Trypsin and chymotrypsin are both serine proteases with high sequence and structural similarities, but with different substrate specificity. Previous experiments have demonstrated the critical role of the two loops outside the binding pocket in controlling the specificity of the two enzymes. To understand the mechanism of such a control of specificity by distant loops, we have used the Gaussian network model to study the dynamic properties of trypsin and chymotrypsin and the roles played by the two loops. A clustering method was introduced to analyze the correlated motions of residues. We have found that trypsin and chymotrypsin have distinct dynamic signatures in the two …
Cyprus' rival leaders finish power-sharing talks
Cyprus' rival Greek and Turkish community leaders ended their first round of reunification talks Friday with both sides agreeing to keep negotiating despite disagreements.
President Dimitris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat ended the chapter on power-sharing in a future federation during a two-hour meeting at a U.N. compound inside the buffer zone separating the two communities. No results were announced, but both leaders agreed to keep talking.
"What I'm telling you is that things are not black," said Christofias, a Greek Cypriot.
Cyprus was ethnically split in 1974 when Turkey invaded in response to a coup by …
Chris Carey
Comrie Leads Islanders Past Sabres 6-4
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Mike Comrie scored twice and had two assists in his Islanders debut, leading New York to a 6-4 victory over the Buffalo Sabres in the teams' season opener Friday night.
Ruslan Fedotenko had a goal and two assists, including the 100th of his career, and Bill Guerin added three assists, while Comrie's four-point game matched a career high. Chris Campoli and Josef Vasicek also scored in helping New York open with a victory for the first time since 2001, and second time in the past 12 seasons.
Comrie, who finished last season with Ottawa, centered a newcomer line - Fedotenko played in Tampa Bay and Guerin in San Jose - that's finding instant chemistry, and …
Rockets' Gradkowski rises to MAC title task
DETROIT - Bruce Gradkowski matched Ben Roethlisberger and ByronLeftwich by throwing four touchdown passes in the Mid-AmericanConference championship game.
And, as if that company wasn't impressive enough, Gradkowski wasplaying with a broken hand and separated shoulder.
The banged-up quarterback threw three of his four touchdown passesto Lance Moore, leading Toledo to a 35-27 victory over Miami (Ohio)on Thursday night.
When Gradkowski hurt his shoulder on the first drive, he missedonly one play. He injured his throwing hand late in the secondquarter, and X-rays at halftime showed it was broken. But he returnedto threw three scoring passes in the second half.
"There was no way I wasn't coming back," Gradkowski said.
"Nothing was going to keep me out. I couldn't let these guys downwhen they are working so hard for me."
Gradkowski was 18-of-24 for 251 yards with the four TDs and oneinterception.
It was the fourth straight year that a quarterback threw four TDpasses in the MAC title game. Roethlisberger did it last year for theRedHawks, and Leftwich did it for Marshall the two previous years.
Toledo (9-3) will return to Ford Field to face Connecticut on Dec.27 in the Motor City Bowl.
"We are very excited and thankful to be coming back," Toledo CoachTom Amstutz said.
"It's the best Christmas present for our family and friends."
Moore said it was a gift to have Gradkowski on his team.
"When I saw Bruce come out of the game, I got nervous," saidMoore, who had five receptions for 118 yards. "I've seen him hurt alot of times, but it never stops him from playing."
The RedHawks (8-4) will play in either the Silicon Valley Classicor the Independence Bowl.
After trailing 14-7 at halftime, Toledo rallied with three TDs inthe third quarter. The Rockets went ahead 35-20 early in the fourthon Moore's third score.
Miami pulled within eight points on Josh Betts' 13-yard TD pass toJosh Williams with 4:13 left, but Toledo converted two third-downplays on the final drive to win the MAC title game for the secondtime in five appearances.
Toledo's Steve Odom made six catches for 78 yards and a score.Scooter McDougle provided balance for Toledo's offense with 167 yardsrushing on 35 carries, a MAC title game record, but sprained his kneelate in the game.
"There haven't been many backs who have been able to run againstus like that, going all the way back to Michigan," said Miami CoachTerry Hoeppner, referring to the RedHawks' second opponent thisseason. "I just hope he's OK."
Betts was 20-of-33 for 304 yards with three TDs and twointerceptions. His 3,255 yards passing trails only Roethlisberger'ssingle-season record at Miami.
"I'm not sure much changed in the second half," Betts said. "Wejust had two turnovers. We knew we couldn't do that against a teamlike that."
Larkin had nine receptions for 131 yards and a score. Larkinextended his NCAA record streak with at least one catch to 49 games.
The MAC had its championship game on a neutral field after theprevious seven were hosted by one of the finalists. The announcedcrowd was 22,138 at the home of the Detroit Lions.
RFP for model recycling economic development program
The Chelsea Center for Recycling and Economic Development is seeking proposals from Massachusetts cities, towns and nonprofits to develop model recycling-based economic development programs. "The process entails using materials from the waste stream as feedstocks for industries instead of new or virgin materials," notes the RFP. This solicitation focuses on the manufacturing end of the recycling process. The project will entail a collaborative effort among the Chelsea Center, community development corporations, local community development agencies and local environmental/recycling programs. Eligible projects include infrastructure development, assessing local inputs and outputs and financial/technical incentives. Funds are not to exceed $25,000/project. Proposals are due by May 4, 1999. Contact the Chelsea Center for Recycling and Economic Development, 180 Second St., Chelsea, MA 02150; (617) 884-4376 or send an email to amyperl@chelseacenter.org.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
MEET THE AMS: MICHAEL FRIEDMAN Journals Production Coordinator and Technical Editor
It has been a long and winding road that has brought Mike Friedman to AMS-one that started with a childhood interest in astronomy as he grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, continued as an undergraduate physics major at Rice University in Houston, Texas, and has led to his present positions as journals production coordinator and technical editor at the AMS Headquarters in Boston.
Looking for alternative career paths to the standard stressful academic life while finishing a postdoctoral appointment at Oregon State University, Mike came to AMS as a technical editor in 2001. As an editor, Mike has worked on many of the journals, including Monthly Weather Review, Weather and Forecasting, Journal of Climate, and Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences. "I've always enjoyed writing and even unwittingly trained for an editing job in graduate school by helping foreign colleagues with their writing," Mike says.
Following his undergraduate days, Mike worked for a short time at NASA's Johnson Space Center before attending the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), graduate school to study planetary science. He received his M.S. from UCLA in 1989 and headed to the corporate world as a systems engineer working on NASA programs for Lockheed. There were tough times in the aerospace industry in the early 1990s, and after barely surviving one round of layoffs, Mike started working on Lockheed's (ultimately unsuccessful) proposal to build the Earth Observing System satellites. "It was then that I realized I was a lot more interested in what these instruments were going to study than in building a satellite platform to fly them on," he says. So, with that in mind, he and his wife Holly, a geographer, headed to the University of Wisconsin, where he ended up specializing in atmospheric radiative transfer and remote sensing, and received his Ph.D. in 1998.
Just over a year ago, Mike assumed additional responsibilities overseeing production for all of the journals and also serves on the AMS publications electronic task force that is helping define the future of AMS journals. The production work involves ensuring production schedules are adhered to and adjusted when necessary, coordinating special issues of the journals, supervising production tasks, and interacting with press, authors, and editors. As part of the task force, Mike is helping guide AMS's transition to a more electronic and efficient work flow that will save weeks of production time over the present work flow. "I'm very lucky to have found a job that fits me so well, and to have the opportunity to have a real impact on how scientific results, in the form of research papers, are communicated and distributed in this rapidly changing environment," says Mike. "Plus, I get to work with a great team of people."
A former collegiate soccer player, Mike helps coach both his daughter's and son's youth soccer teams, as well as playing occasionally himself. Also an avid baseball fan-"growing up in St. Louis, there was almost no choice," he jokes-Mike has now taken to cheering on the Red Sox in addition to his hometown Cardinals.
-RACHEL S. THOMAS-MEDWID
[Sidebar]
EDUCATION
THE GERMAN ACADEMICS INTERNATIONAL NETWORK
The German Academics International Network (GAIN) was created by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the German Research Foundation (DFG), and the Humboldt Foundation. GAIN provides support for German scholars and scientists working in North America by facilitating networking within the community and improving the flow of information on current developments in higher education and new career opportunities at universities and research institutions in Germany. To get involved, contact Katja Simons (e-mail: simons@daad.org). For more information, go to www.daad.org/gain.
Through the eyes of Rachel: Christmas in Bethlehem
"Herod was furious when he learned that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, because the wise men had told him the star first appeared to them about two years earlier. Herod's brutal action fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah: 'A cry of anguish is heard in Ramah, weeping and mourning unrestrained; Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted, for they are dead'" Matthew 2:16-18.
The Church of the Nativity, where it is agreed that the birth of Jesus took place, is right up the hill from our apartment here in Bethlehem. The church, which actually houses three churches-Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and Roman Catholic-has one special spot marked by a silver 14-point star indicating his birthplace. People often kneel and pray there, touching and kissing this holy place.
I remember the first time I saw it: the presence of decorative linens, candles and the smell of incense. I tried to remember the miracle that took place there, picturing the baby wrapped in common linens with the smell of animals nearby.
Not so pronounced in my mind was when the guide pointed to the Tomb of the Innocents; the tomb holds many skeletons of babies that were found-most likely from the two-year-old and younger children who were killed at the hands of soldiers by the order of King Herod. But living in Bethlehem, surrounded by the pain and suffering that is the daily reality for people here, this part of the story has taken on new meaning for me.
When I read this passage in Matthew, I consider the feelings of three people: Herod, Rachel and the reader.
What caused Herod to give such a horrendous order was his fury at being outsmarted, his fear of a new king, and his greed for power. He was feeling threatened, so threatened that it resulted in a disregard for lives of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of small babies.
Rachel has become a role model for me. My inspiration is largely found in the phrase, "refusing to be comforted." In fact, I think that she held so strongly to her belief that God is the God of life, that when she found herself in the middle of the nightmare, she refused to take any comfort, even during the birth of the Prince of Peace, while she held in her arms the lifeless bodies of her children. She knew that these deaths were not from God, but a result of the fear, greed and the abusive power of one man.
Then there is the reader. I wonder if many of us who read this part of the story every Christmas, read it somewhat quickly, glossing over its impact. Do we tend to view the death of these babies as "collateral damage" in the midst of the miracle that came to save every human being? Does that justify it for us? The Scripture puts the anguish of Rachel in the context of the prophetic voice of Jeremiah being fulfilled. Perhaps we feel that it was "just meant to be," or perhaps even "all part of God's plan."
Christmas in Bethlehem has quite a different meaning than past Christmases. I can't escape the devastating realities around me. I cannot ignore the pain simply because I'm celebrating the birth of Jesus, especially because I'm celebrating the birth of Jesus. Like Rachel, I am refusing to take comfort when it comes to the devastation. But what I'm holding to more tightly than ever is my belief that God is a God of life, and that he wills life for all people.
[Author Affiliation]
Christi Seidel
The author is a Mennonite Central Committee peace worker in Palestine.
"Time Capsule: Rediscovered Performances from the Epidemic (1989- 1994)"
About Face Theatre 8 tonight At Jane Addams Hull House, 3212 N.Broadway Tickets, $10. (773) 549-7943 Recommended
For those who spent the early years of the AIDS epidemic nursing -and losing - their friends, much of the special World AIDS Daybenefit at About Face Theatre will seem an eerie flashback.
Memories of a time when daily visits to the hospital followed theend of the workday, when families - biological and chosen -fractured, and when fear was more contagious than the virus itselfflood the mind during this 80-minute set of theater pieces.
For those who were spared such experiences, "Time Capsule:Rediscovered Performances from the Epidemic (1989-1994)" might seem areport from a distant planet.
Today AIDS in America conjures up pharmaceutical ads, trips to thehealth club and fund-raising bicycle marathons.
"Time Capsule," conceived by Carl Hippensteel and directed by himand Greg Copeland, gets to these thorny issues after a brief falsestart.
Lisa Cordes' "The Things We Knew About Time or Tim or Both" is anexample of the sort of New Age blather that sees something good, evenspiritual, coming out of this dread disease and the many young mengone.
Doran Schrantz, Patricia Kane and Judith Hoppe do better than thispiece deserves over the live Philip Glass-like music of Soren Koneckyand Marci Nettles.
Sean Ewert performs three essays from the biting AIDS humorist,the late David B. Feinberg ending powerfully with a persuasive caseagainst the usual end-of-life "no regrets" bromides.
"Bad Dream" by Craig Lucas (1992) still rings true with its lookat a pair of lovers, one infected by the virus, one not, and theirattempts to impose normalcy on a situation both impossible andinescapable. Gary Alexander, as the "healthy" worrier, and MichaelReyes, as his stoical "sick" boyfriend, act as naturally as two menbreathing.
The 1989 "Rosen's Son" by Joe Pintauro is the most gut-wrenchingwork, as an elderly Holocaust survivor (a fine turn by JerryRazowsky) bursts into the apartment of his dead son's lover (CraigBryant) to confront him for his seeming lack of memory.
But it is the somewhat sprawling half-hour closer, VictorBumbalo's 1991 "Tell" that re-creates most keenly the most brutalside of AIDS' psychological toll.
The ever-marvelous Derek Hasenstab is a hospital patient whodepends on the stories of a visiting friend (the insightful BrianGoodman) to remind him of the sexual uses of his ravaged body.
Before the script drifts too much towards the story of anintrusive, self-involved nurse (valiantly played by Kane), it's apowerful demonstration of how this disease robbed its targets firstof their futures, then of their presents and, ultimately, even oftheir pasts.
Long after Phil Ochs' death, his songs still remembered
NEW YORK When Michael Ochs talks of Greenwich Village circa 1962,a sense of awe drifts through his voice.
"There was so much going on, it was ridiculous," he recalls."It was amazing."
It was the dawn of the last great American folk-musicrenaissance. And if you were lucky enough to have been in theVillage back then, you saw it rising. On any given weekend, BobDylan, Richie Havens, Judy Collins, Joan Baez, Tom Paxton, and Peter,Paul and Mary were performing somewhere."Dylan was king of the hill," says Ochs. But there was anotherguy everybody said was just about as good. He was the folk singerMichael Ochs had moved out from Ohio to see. He was Michael's olderbrother, Phil Ochs.Like Dylan, Phil was just out of his teens and from the Midwest,all youthful energy and innocence. He was filled with a passion tochange the world, and kept writing songs aimed at doing just that.They were topical, satirical, angry, funny, romantic, often allat the same time. Some of them, like "Cops of the World," excoriatedAmerica for throwing its weight around the globe in those days.Others, like "Power and the Glory," reveled almost patriotically inthe country's beauty and strength."But those days are gone now," Michael Ochs adds, laughingquietly and just a little sadly.Indeed, Phil Ochs has been dead 21 years now. His suicide atage 35 is occasionally noted by some as an invocation of the failedhopes of the '60s generation. But the music he left behind keepsfinding a new audience."Songwriters in general are lucky, because our bones can molderaway after we die, but the songs just keep going," muses an old Ochs'friend, folk music legend Pete Seeger. "Just the other day we had abig festival up here in Westchester County (N.Y.). And people weresinging some of Phil's songs."A three-CD boxed set, "Fantasies and Farewells: The Phil OchsCollection," was just released by Rhino Records. It is the firstsuch compendium to bring together Ochs' early topical songs like"There But for Fortune" and "I Ain't Marchin' Anymore," with hislater, more introspective work.It's hard to envision how Ochs, always seemingly at odds withfame, would have reacted to this. His brother believes he would havebeen pleased."I was lucky, in that toward the end we talked a lot," MichaelOchs, a friendly man with a quiet, easy laugh, says from his officein Los Angeles. "In almost every conversation, he asked me, Do youthink these songs will survive? Will the songs survive?' I said,`Of course they will.' And this is the proof."Ochs, 54, admits he wasn't really all that sure. His brother'searly songs in particular often referred to the headlines of the day.After the headlines were forgotten, wouldn't his songs be as well?Interestingly, often the answer is no.One reason, ventures the singer's 33-year-old daughter, could bethat protest songs never really go out of style when there are stillissues to protest."He wrote songs about the death penalty and farm workers andlabor issues and civil rights and other issues that we have notprogressed as far on as he might have hoped we would have by now,"says Meegan Ochs, who works for the American Civil Liberties Union ofSouthern California.Beyond that the songs have lasted because Ochs was also a greatsongwriter, with a natural ear for melody and a talent for word play.
Bank of America 2Q Profit Rises 5 Pct
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Bank of America Corp. said Thursday its second-quarter earnings rose 5 percent, as growth in capital markets activity and consumer fees offset an increase in credit losses.
Like some of its banking rivals, the No. 2 U.S. bank by assets also boosted its provisions for loan losses, an indication that it too sees higher risks from lending.
That aside, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kenneth D. Lewis told analysts on a call that "the revenue pick up was quite impressive."
Net income climbed to $5.76 billion, or $1.28 per share, from $5.48 billion, or $1.19 per share, a year ago.
The Charlotte-based bank's revenue grew 8 percent to $19.96 billion from $18.52 billion last year.
The results beat analysts expectations, which estimated earnings of $1.20 per share on revenue of $18.58 billion, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.
"We are encouraged by Bank of America's second quarter results," wrote Goldman Sachs analyst Lori B. Appelbaum in a research note, which highlighted the bank's net interest income levels and improved credit card delinquencies. "These have been two major issues for the stock - with now improved visibility."
Bank of America shares slipped 35 cents to $49.01 in morning trading.
The bank cited revenue increases in its three main business lines: consumer and small business banking, corporate and investment banking and wealth and investment management, as reasons for the quarter's results.
"Our businesses are doing a good job of attracting new customers and expanding our relationships with existing clients," Lewis said.
But in the bank's largest consumer unit, which includes the nation's biggest credit-card business and bank-branch network, net income dropped 23 percent to $2.46 billion. Bank of America became the biggest U.S. credit card lender when it bough MBNA Corp. last year. Earnings were hurt this quarter by higher managed credit costs, the bank said.
Wealth-management revenue increased 8.4 percent to $2.01 billion, as profits grew 6.4 percent to $619 million. The business will be aided going forward by the company's $3.3 billion acquisition of U.S. Trust from Charles Schwab Corp. The deal closed earlier this month.
Investment banking revenue rose 26 percent from a year ago and retail product sales added 8 percent.
Fee income rose 17 percent to $11.18 billion from $9.59 billion in the second quarter of 2006, driven by increases in equity investment gains, other income, investment banking and service charges.
Strong originations of first mortgages were boosted by the successful launch of the bank's No Fee Mortgage Plus program, which accounted for 11 percent of first mortgage production in the quarter.
Bank of America set aside $1.81 billion overall for credit losses, up from $1.24 billion in the first quarter and $1.01 billion in the second quarter of 2006. Net charge-offs, or bad loans, rose to $1.5 billion.
JPMorgan Chase & Co., the nation's third-largest bank, on Wednesday reported a 20 percent increase in second-quarter profit. The New York-based bank also said it tripled the amount of money it has set aside in case its loans go sour, signaling to investors that lending is getting riskier for the financial sector.
Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, who has led a push to expand overseas, said he's preparing for a "less favorable environment" in the U.S.
Bank of America's Lewis, on the other hand, is increasing investments in the U.S. The company plans to spend $21 billion to buy Chicago-based LaSalle Bank Corp., a unit of Netherlands-based ABN Amro North America Holding Co. Lewis said he expects that deal to close in the fourth quarter.
---
On the Net:
Bank of America Corp.: http://www.bankofamerica.com
Twins' goal - give O's the 0's
Someone has to lose to the Baltimore Orioles. Now Frank Violaand Bert Blyleven get their chance.
The Orioles have lost their first 18 games. Next stop on theway to the longest losing streak in modern history, 23 byPhiladelphia in 1961, is a three-game series in Minnesota. Violawill pitch the opener tonight for the Twins, and Blyleven willfollow.
"This game is as big for us as it is for them," Viola saidMonday. "We're 5-11. Who are we?"
The Twins might be a good candidate to lose to Baltimore, whichhas been outscored 114-34. The Twins' earned-run average is 6.36,the only one higher than the Orioles' 6.01. And Minnesota is just3-6 at the Metrodome. Plus, Viola is only 7-8 lifetime against theOrioles, and Cal Ripken owns a .302 career average with three homeruns against Viola.
However, as O's manager Frank Robinson warns: "The way we'regoing, everybody is pitching well against us." True. The O's arehitting only .198.
Robinson led the O's through a workout Monday at the Metrodome,during which good plays were followed by Orioles yelling, "Our luckis changing!"
Trying to maintain his humor, Robinson has suggested the Oriolesmight try to lose. "Look what happened when the Black Sox tried tolose the World Series," he said. "Even they won some games."
Jankovic on a roll in the desert
Jelena Jankovic rallied from a 2-4 second-set deficit to beat Alisa Kleybanova 6-4, 6-4 and reach the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open.
Jankovic won the final four games of Thursday's match, twice breaking Kleybanova, to extend her best showing of the year. Jankovic made the semifinals at Indian Wells in 2008, and went on to finish the year ranked No. 1 in the world.
But she struggled last year, prompting changes. She's pared down her playing schedule, lost weight, and dropped her coach earlier this month.
Defending champion Rafael Nadal was to play Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in a night match. Nadal has beaten him five consecutive times.
Monday, March 12, 2012
In the know: Kristen VanDeventer
Though she works by day at Kavi Gupta Gallery, 835 W. Washington, don't brush off Kristen VanDeventer as a gallery assistant. When she's not mixing with some of the most talented artists in Chicago, she's working on paintings at her West Side studio.
Most interested in creating dialogues through the visual, VanDeventer uses a varied color palette to create mostly representational images inspired by daily life, the Internet, images from books and even pictures that come to her while she's in the shower or lulling through a dream. In a nutshell, her paintings seem to act as subconscious realizations or reactions to things that we encounter every day. On April 20, she'll open a show at Roots & Culture Gallery, 1034 N. Milwaukee, with Carmen Price (it runs through May 17).
Q. Tell me about your work and the show at Roots & Culture.
A. The show is going to be all painting, and the paintings that I'm making right now are pretty modest-sized work. They're all singular images that relate to each other and are sort of starting this subtle narrative, I think. There'll be a silhouette of someone's face looking out. Another painting is of an empty bedroom, and the sheets are sort of ruffled up. So they're sort of all these images that, together, start a narrative, but then the way that they're painted is usually different depending on the image. Each has different colors, and the colors also relate to each other visually. Not that this is an installation, but everything is quite deliberate.
Q. So by day you work at Kavi Gupta. How do you think that influences your work?
A. I think it helps. At this point, I've been working there so long, so it's just extremely helpful. My job requires me to look at images, tons of different artists, and think about how and why people make different objects and images. For me, it's pretty much a privilege to have a job like that--if you have to have a job. You have to work in a situation where you learn more about the commercial side of the business, but it's not a bad thing to know when you're an artist.
Q. If I were to come to your neighborhood, Ukrainian Village, where would you insist I visit?
A. It's strange because I just moved here. I lived in Logan Square in this one apartment for a really long time. Now I live on a main street, Augusta, so it doesn't really feel like a neighborhood. I guess I would take you to Stella's [935 N. Western] because it's the closest bar. This Polish woman Stella owns the bar, and she's really feisty. And she probably pours the stiffest drink in Chicago. She'll fill the glass up entirely with vodka, and then add a splash of tonic on top. It's ridiculous. If you order vodka and cranberry juice, it barely has a color.
Talk2Us@CenterstageChicago.com
Big Deal; Thirsty for more? Find thousands of specials at centerstagechicago.com/deals
SOUTH SIDE
McNally's, 11136 S. Western: $2 bottles of Bud and Bud Light
Morgan's Bar and Grill on Maxwell Street, 1325 S. Halsted: $6 martinis, $3 call shots; $2.95 appetizers, 3-6 p.m.
Reggie's, 2105 S. State: $3 Coronas, $3 Jim Beam, Jack Daniels and Jameson cocktails, $2 PBR tallboys; 25-cent jumbo wings
FAR NORTH SIDE
Bad Dog Tavern, 4535 N. Lincoln: $3 shots of Makers Mark and drafts of Goose Island Honker's Ale
Morseland, 1218 W. Morse: $4 Svedka drinks, $2 bottles of Miller High Life
Wild Goose Bar & Grill, 4265 N. Lincoln: $2.50 domestic drafts, $3.50 import drafts; $3.99 all-you-can-eat spaghetti
NEAR NORTH SIDE
Butch McGuire's, 20 W. Division: $8 domestic pitchers; $6.75 grilled cheese and tomato soup, half-price appetizers, 5-9:30 p.m.
Motel Bar, 600 W. Chicago: $3 Goose Island, $5 Jim Beam drinks; $7 fish tacos
Suite Lounge, 1446 N. Wells: half-price drinks
Interview with Kristen VanDeventer
(null)
senators, vote on amendments. UPDATES with new photos, video. Multimedia: An interactive on health care legislation is in the wdc/healthcare folder. AP Video. For global distribution.
AP Photo DCAB110, DCAB108, DCAB108, DCAB105, DCPM106, DCPM105, DCAB104, DCPM104, DCPM103, DCAB102, DCPM102, DCAB103, DCAB101, DCPM101
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) _ President Barack Obama appealed directly to senators' desire for history-making change Sunday in urging them to stand together and overhaul the U.S. health care system.
At the request of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Obama made a trip to the Capitol during a rare weekend legislative session to ask rank-and-file Democrats to work for compromise and do it quickly. Vice President Joe Biden joined Obama for the closed-door meeting.
Greeted by applause, Obama spoke for 45 minutes and took no questions, according to several lawmakers. He highlighted the progress he said his administration has made on jobs, and focused on the implications for remaking a health care system that represents one-sixth of the U.S. economy.
Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, said Obama described the health care bill as the "most significant social legislation in decades so don't lose it."
Reid called the weekend session as he races to finish the 10-year, nearly $1 trillion bill by Christmas. The legislatio woud roid cveag t mrethn 0 ilio adiioalpepl ver the next decade with a new requirement for nearly everyone to purchase insurance. There would be new marketplaces where people could shop for and compare insurance plans, and lower-income people would get subsidies to help them afford coverage.
The federal-state Medicaid program for the poor would grow, and there would be a ban on unpopular insurance company practices such as denying coverage based on medical history.
With midterm congressional elections looming next year, Democrats are determined to revamp health care, achieving a long-sought goal that has proven elusive for decades.
"In short, he (Obama) pledged to work with us in any meaningful way that he can. .... There are still a few things we have to work out in the bill, but issues are being narrowed as we speak," Reid told reporters after the meeting.
Obama and Reid must unite liberals and moderates in the 60-member caucus, even as moderates balk over abortion and the option of government-run health insurance. Sixty is the precise number needed to overcome Republican stalling tactics in the 100-member Senate, so Reid doesn't have a vote to spare.
"I think if we don't deliver, we've got a problem," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, when asked on a Sunday television talk show about the political consquences for Democrats should they fail to produce a bill with congressional midterm elections next year.
Moderate and liberal lawmakers met throughout the day Saturday to try to find a compromise on the government insurance plan, or public otin,tht he cul al upor ad ha cul aso ptetill attract Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, the one Republican to vote for the Democrats' health overhaul bill in committee.
Republican Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, the second-ranking Senate Republican leader, said that right now his party remained united against the Democratic bill, which he complained would "get the government very deeply involved into health care at an enormous expense."
A new idea being discussed was national nonprofit insurance plans that would be administered by the Office of Personnel Management, which oversees the well-liked Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, a key centrist Democrat, was enthusiastic about the idea, which she's proposed in different forms in the past. "I think it bodes well for being able to do what we want to do, which is to create greater choice and options in the marketplace," she said.
Liberal Democratic senators were cool to the proposal, holding out for a fully government-run plan.
"I'm willing to talk to anybody about anything but they haven't sold it yet," said Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio. "We have compromised enough on the public option."
Someone will have to give. But despite the apparent divide, lawmakers and White House officials sounded increasingly optimistic.
"It's going really well. They're having a lot of really productive meetings," Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform, told reporters in the Capitol Saturday. "It's about where it should be at this point in the legislative process"
hie egtitinscotiue bhid hescne, heSeate ejcted a Lincoln-sponsored amendment to limit the tax deductions insurance companies take for what they pay their top executives. The vote was 56-42 on a measure that needed 60 votes.
The Senate then rejected by a vote of 32-66 an amendment by Sen. John Ensign, a Nevada Republican, to cap the fees that plaintiffs' lawyers can collect when they win a case. Democrats said the amendment was one-sided because it would not limit fees for defense lawyers in malpractice cases.
Tens of millions of Americans lack health insurance or are underinsured, either because their employers do not provide it or they are out of work. The United States is the only developed industrialized nation that does not have a comprehensive national health care plan.
The House of Representatives passed its version of health care reform legislation last month. Assuming the Senate passes some version of health care overhaul, a House-Senate conference committee would try to resolve the differences. Then both chambers would vote on the final product and, if they approve it, send it to Obama's desk for signing.
A busy schedule limited Obama's opportunities to speak directly to senators as they work to complete the legislation. The president will be in Oslo on Dec. 10 to accept the Nobel Peace Prize and then plans to attend climate change talks in Copenhagen shortly thereafter. Obama heads to Hawaii on Dec. 23 for a Christmas holiday.
Feinstein and Kyl spoke on CNN's "State of the Union."
House Still Plans to Hold Hearings on ATF `Abuses'
Despite opposition from Democrats and apprehension by someRepublicans in the wake of the Oklahoma City disaster, GOP Rep. BillMcCollum still plans to hold hearings on alleged abuses by the Bureauof Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
The attack on the Oklahoma City federal building housing bureauoffices came on the second anniversary of the federal assault againstthe Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. McCollum's Housesubcommittee on crime and criminal justice had planned two hearings -one on the Waco affair and the other on the bloody 1992 ATF siege ofwhite separatist Randy Weaver's cabin in Ruby Ridge, Idaho.
Rep. Charles Schumer, ranking Democrat on McCollum'ssubcommittee, said on CNN last weekend that the proposed hearingswere "simply red meat to some of these extreme right forces" andadded that "I would just bet . . . that these hearings will now bepostponed." Although the hearings may not take place in May asexpected, McCollum intends to hold them. Gingrich's book
House Speaker Newt Gingrich scrubbed his vacation plans for theEaster recess of Congress and instead spent most of the three weekswriting a first draft of his book.
Gingrich had intended to relax in Arizona, but his editors atHarperCollins told him he had better get cracking. So, except for aspeech for the Goldwater Institute in Phoenix and a quick visit toOklahoma City, Gingrich stayed in Atlanta to write.
"I don't write very well, but I write fast," Gingrich tellsfriends. He plans to give his collaborator, William Tucker, acomplete manuscript when the House reconvenes Monday. No gambling lobbyist
Veteran Republican operative Craig Fuller turned down a$1-million-a-year lobbyist's job for gambling interests to manageCalifornia Gov. Pete Wilson's presidential campaign.
In taking over the Wilson campaign, Fuller resigned as seniorvice president of Philip Morris. He has been a senior aide toPresident Ronald Reagan, chief of staff to Vice President George Bushand manager of the 1992 Republican national convention in Houston. Another aisle crosser?
The presence of a conservative Democrat, Rep. Mike Parker ofMississippi, at the table with his Republican colleagues on the HouseBudget Committee carving up the federal budget has raised speculationthat he may become another aisle-crossing congressman.
Parker was the only Democrat invited to the budget-draftingsessions presided over by the committee's Republican chairman, Rep.John Kasich. Parker accepted and has become a full participant.
"I don't think Mike Parker ever will become a Republican,"Kasich said. But Parker could be in the vanguard of as many as 10House Democrats switching to the GOP before the next election, amovement that would kill Democratic chances of regaining control ofthe House in 1996. Gramm's Kempites
Sen. Phil Gramm's efforts to win over Jack Kemp supporters,while falling short in many places, is hitting pay dirt in the keystate of Michigan.
State Board of Education President Clark Durant, a prominentRepublican conservative and a leader in Kemp's 1988 presidentialcampaign, has signed on to the Gramm presidential campaign. He isjoined by several other Michigan Republicans who backed Kemp in '88and were ready to support him in '96 if he had tried again.
Republican National Committeeman Chuck Yob, a Grand Rapidsindustrialist, also has backed Gramm. But the big prize, Gov. JohnEngler, remains uncommitted.
Robert Novak is a nationally syndicated columnist of the ChicagoSun-Times.
Dow dives 42 points
NEW YORK The stock market took its sharpest drop in five weeksMonday, hit by selling attributed to spreading worries about thereal-estate outlook.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 42.02 points to 2,697.53,for its biggest single-day loss since it dropped 47.34 points Nov. 6.
Declining issues outnumbered advances by more than 7-to-2 innationwide trading of New York Stock Exchange-listed stocks, with 361up, 1,289 down and 362 unchanged. Volume was 184.79 million shares,down from 240.39 million in the previous session.
Brokers said traders remained uneasy about the outlook forreal-estate finance and regional banks after the Bank of New Englandon Friday announced projected increases in its loan-loss reserve andnon-performing assets.
In the past couple of weeks, Wall Street has been devotingincreased attention to the soft real estate market in many parts ofthe country, and the problems real-estate debt might pose shouldprices of properties lag for an extended period.
Some observers contend that the situation could become a primarycontributing factor to a debt-induced business slump in 1990.
Bank of New England shares led the active list, down 1 1/2 at 71/2 following a 3 3/8-point drop Friday.
Among other mortgage and regional banking issues, CitytrustBancorp fell 2 1/2 to 14 5/8; Bank of Boston 7/8 to 16 1/4;Shawmut National 1 1/2 to 17 7/8; First Interstate Bancorp 4 3/8 to43 1/8; Federal National Mortgage 2 5/8 to 31 1/8, and Federal HomeLoan Mortgage 5 7/8 to 61 7/8.
Losers among the blue-chip industrials included IBM, down 1 3/8at 93 5/8; AT&T, down 3/4 at 46; USX, down 3/4 at 34 1/8, andMcDonald's, down 3/8 at 33 7/8.
Marriott dropped 1 to 33 5/8. The company announced arestructuring program, including a planned move out of the fast-foodand family restaurant business, but also estimated lowerfourth-quarter earnings.
The dollar ended mixed against key foreign currencies in quiet,directionless trading. Currency dealers said market activity waslight since many traders already have started to close out theirbooks for the calendar year.
In Tokyo, the dollar closed at 144.22 Japanese yen, down from144.30 yen Friday. It traded at 143.725 yen in New York, down from144.15 yen Friday.
Gold declined in London to a late bid price of $409.25 an ouncefrom $412.25 Friday. On the Commodity Exchange in New York, goldbullion for current delivery settled at $411.80 a troy ounce, down$2.10 from Friday.
On New York's Comex, silver bullion for current delivery closedat $5.565 a troy ounce, down from $5.607 Friday. Silver fell inLondon to $5.55 an ounce from $5.62.
Most grain and soybean futures prices fell slightly on theChicago Board of Trade as badly needed precipitation fell in U.S.winter wheat region and the Brazilian soybean belt.
In the Great Plains, the precipitation was in the form of snow,which should help insulate the dormant winter wheat crop from thebrutal cold in the nation's midsection. The development was bearishfor new-crop wheat contracts, those for delivery next spring.
Sub-zero temperatures in the Plains and Midwest helped supportthe wheat and soybean markets last week. Temperatures have warmed upslightly but are expected to plunge again before the weekend.
At the close, wheat futures were 1 1/4 cents lower to 2 centshigher with December at $4.15 a bushel; corn was unchanged to 1 1/2cents lower with December at $2.34 1/2 a bushel; oats were 1 1/2cents to 2 3/4 cents lower with December at $1.42 a bushel, andsoybeans were 1/2 cent to 2 1/2 cents lower with January at $5.811/2 a bushel.
On the bond market, the government's 30-year bond gained 5/32point, or $1.56 per $1,000 in face amount. Its yield, which fallswhen prices rise, declined to 7.83 percent from 7.85 percent lateFriday.
Network Copyright Protection in the Internet Era/PROTECTION DU DROIT DE RÉSEAU À L'HEURE DE L'INTERNET
Abstract:
This thesis puts forward the development prospect and concrete protections of the network copyright protection in the Internet era through the analysis of law. It figures that the variety of the network copyright has its own characteristics; the objection system on the Internet should be established to fix on the network copyright of a certain work; the range of the network works is different from that of the traditional works; the download, copying, printing, backing up, and paste of the network works should be also considered as the reasonable use under certain conditions; the network copyright, depending on different subjects, is applicable to different liability principles of infringement; the characteristics of the network copyright infringement case should be considered in the aspect of domination, and it is proposed that a large number of cases should be transferred to the basic people's court.
Key words: Network Copyright, Legal System, Protection
R�sum�: L'essai pr�sent expose, � travers l'analyse de la loi, la perspective de d�veloppement et des mesures concr�tes de protection du droit de r�seau � l'heure de l'Internet. D'apr�s l'auteur, le droit de r�seau a ses propres caract�ristiques ; le syst�me d'objection sur l'Internet devrait �tre �tabli pour d�terminer le droit de r�seau de certain travail ; le travail de r�seau est diff�rent du travail traditionnel ; le t�l�chargement, la copie, l'imprimerie , le secours, le collage sur le r�seau devraient �tre consid�r�s comme l'utilisation raisonnable dans certaines conditions ; le droit de r�seau, d�pendant de diff�rents sujets, est applicable � des d�savantages des principes d'infraction ; les caract�ristiques du cas de violation du droit de r�seau devraient consid�r�es sur le plan de la domination ; bon nombre de cas devraient �tre transf�r�s dans la cour populaire de base.
Mots-Cl�s: droit de r�seau, syst�me l�gal, protection
Today, the network technology rapidly develops, and the information technology has advanced the world into a new era of knowledge-driven economy, which brought quick changes to people's living and working way. Under the circumstances, the protection of network copyright has become a common concerned issue in the international community, and the special legislation of copyright protection under the network environment is more and more important day by day. As far as the network copyright protection is concerned, this thesis tries to analyze and study the legal system such as the domestic and international current development situation, the range of network works, the reasonable use, the liability principle of infringement and the domination in our country.
1. DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL CURRENT DEVELOPMENT SITUATION OF NETWORK COPYRIGHT PROTECTION
Viewing countries all over the world, the study on the legal system of copyright protection in the network environment is processing in full swing. Especially in U.S.A., as the birthplace of Internet, the infringement case of network copyright rises day by day, which makes the U.S. government pay closer attention to the setting-up of the Internet law. And therefore, a lot of American scholars are full of enthusiasm about the study of this system. At present, there are two international treaties regarding the network copyright protection, namely, World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty (WIPO Copyright Treaty) and World Intellectual Property Organization Performance and Phonograms Treaty (WIPO Performance and Phonograms Treaty). The two treaties have a great influence on the copyright using on the Internet, for example, the special exclusive economic rights given to the copyright owner and performer, including the right of distribution, right of rental, propagation right to the public, etc. Though a lot of countries in the world such as U.S.A., Japan, European Union, etc. begin to study the enactment of Internet law or to revise the existing domestic law for complying with these two treaties, up to the present, people still argue for the issues related to computer network copyright such as the reasonable applicable scope, the range of works, and the culpability for jurisdiction, etc. In U.S.A., the copyright of computer game is protected as "audio-visual works" among the judicial practice.
Up to now, there is no complete law issued to adjust the copyright in the Internet era in China, which makes the law of our country quite embarrassed and puzzled in adjusting the issues related to computer network copyright such as the range, the legal status of the subject of rights, the system of reasonable use, the liability principle of infringement, and the domination, etc. This is actually a very big defect in the legislation of our country. The copyright problem can be solved according to General Principles of the Civil Law and Copyright Law of our country in the network environment, but in practice only using these laws seems far from enough due to its various characteristics. At present, besides Civil Law and Copyright Law, the national legal norm concerning this field mainly contains Regulation for Computer Software Protection implemented by the State Council on Jan. 1, 2002, Explanation of Certain Legal Problems on the Trial of Cases Concerning Disputes over Computer Network Copyright passed by the Supreme People's Court on Nov. 22, 2000, Provision on Certain Application of Laws in the Trial of Disputes over Copyright implemented on Oct. 15, 2002, an amendment of Explanation of Certain Legal Problems on the Trial of Cases Concerning Disputes over Computer Network Copyright passed in Nov. 2003, and Interpretation on Several Issues of Concrete Application of Laws in Handing Criminal Cases of Infringing Intellectual Rights passed by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Dec. 22, 2004; additionally, in WTO Rules, Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRLPS) respecting the intellectual property protection is also included. These legal norms play a very important role in adjusting issues about computer network copyright, but the weak legal applicability is still a problem in the judicial practice. To legislate as soon as possible and to perfect the adjustment of the legal system about computer network copyright mean that our country walks in the front of the international community.
2. PROTECTION RANGE OF NETWORK WORKS
The network works are various in style, for example, character works, oral works, music works, drama works, Quyi works, dance works, works of films and televisions, fine arts works, project design drawing, and computer software, etc. In addition, there are some new developing network works which have not been prescribed in traditional copyright laws, such as multimedia, mobile phone picture, animation, flash, cartoon, animated MTV, and web design, etc. The sources of these network works and authenticity of intellectual property have got great challenge. In Oct. 2001, Sina accused Sohu of plagiarizing the mobile phone pictures in Sina's message channel. After one-year lawsuit, finally, the Second Intermediate People's Court of Beijing Municipality tried the case for retrial, adjudged Sohu has committed the infringement of copyright and made the judgement that Sohu can not reuse the infringing mobile phone pictures, shall compensate 211,813 yuan to Sina, and shall publish the apology statement to Sina on Sohu's homepage for 24 hours continuously. However, thinking thoroughly, is there no possibility of infringement of mobile phone pictures on Sina net? In other words, are the pictures provided to Sina totally created primitively by the provider? The network works depend on the advanced digitized technology of network. It is easy for people to duplicate others' works or piece together other information, and then utilize software to reprocess. Can such works mixed with others' intelligence achievement and one's own intelligence achievement be totally defined as one's own copyright? I think, in the legislation of network copyright, the time limit of objection can be prescribed when the work is posted on the Internet (unsuitable to be long), so as to avoid disputing for one's own copyright and protect the copyright of the source works that may be plagiarized related to new works. Within the objection period, the possible infringee can propose the objection. As long as the evidence is fully conclusive, the person can require the website to promptly stop the infringement, delete and not to reutilize. Within the objection period, the work posted on the Internet is just an advertisement, so pasted and downloaded by user is unallowable, and transmitted as well as popularized by the Internet Service Provider is permitted. After the objection period, the work can be regarded as the real network copyright. Internet Content Provider (ICP) and Internet Service Provider (ISP) can openly spread and use the work to obtain remuneration.
3. REASONABLE USE OF NETWORK WORKS
The reasonable use system of works is prescribed in Article 22 of Copyright Law, which refers that the published work can be used without the permission of copyright owner and payment is not required, but the name of author and the source of the work should be pointed out and other rights enjoyed by the copyright owner can not be infringed. The works that can be reasonably used are numerous, such as the works published by others used for individual study, research, and appreciation, and properly quoted to introduce, comment on a certain work or explain a certain question. Besides works categories that can be used reasonably prescribed in the traditional Copyright Law, some new regulations which are suitable for network works should be added in the legislation. For example, the replication in hard disc or RAM when browsing the web; using offline browser for download; printing for reading after download; the regularly-made backup by website; network service of remote library; the replication resulting from the transmission among the servers; the browse of Internet cafe, etc. The works, published on the Bulletin Board System (BBS), is set up by the author to broadly spread. In this case, the behavior that people paste the works on one BBS to other BBS should be regarded as reasonable use.
4. INFRINGEMENT LIABILITY OF NETWORK COPYRIGHT
ICP is called Internet Content Provider in American and European countries, and takes on strict liability. In China, the law requires the publisher to take on the fault liability; therefore, it is recognized that ICP take on the fault liability. The current legal basis is showed in Article 206 of General Principles of the Civil Law: Citizens and legal persons who through their fault encroach upon state or collective property or the property or person of other people shall bear civil liability. ICP's fault mainly refers that it fails to take the attention liability, while uploading network works. The attention liability means ICP shall notice whether the work is the infringing work while uploading and transmitting it to the public. The main responsibility of ICP is to strictly review. However, someone thinks it is difficult for the copyright owner to investigate the liability of ICP's misconduct, because the Internet information is easily amended and canceled. Once the copyright owner finds the infringement behavior and investigates, it is possible for ICP to destroy the related infringing evidences as soon as possible without any trace. Second, too strict requirement to ICP's attention liability will largely contuse the enthusiasm of ICP, since it is difficult to review and pay attention to the tremendous network works and it may be harmful for its development, and consequently will affect the progress of society. But still, in order to protect the benefits of copyright owner to achieve the balance of profit distribution, we still choose to investigate the fault liability, and make strict requirements to ICP, so as to achieve the protection of network copyright, which is the only choice for law.
ISP is called Internet Service Provider in the United States. ISP provides important transmission technical equipment for the realization of network copyright, so the benefits of ISP are closely related to ICP and users. I think that ISP, a special website agency, shall take the responsibility for the transmission service. In many situations, the transmission service is unconscious of the infringement behavior of ICP, which shows its joint intent of infringement with ICP Provided that under the former situation, it is unfair to investigate the ISP; provided that under the later situation, it is necessary to investigate the infringement liability. Therefore, as regard to the investigation of infringement liability, we should analysis according to the specific situation. In this precondition, it is suitable to choose the Fault Presumption Principle, which requires the inversion of proof liability. Once the infringement happens, investigating the ICP's liability is the first action. It is quite difficult for evidence collection to confirm ICP and ISP bear the joint intent. But in some situation, the infringement behaved by ISP is evident, yet ISP pretends not to know, which means ISP has the intent to infringement. In some inconspicuous situation of infringement, how to control with difficult operation in practice shall depend on the legislation to regulate.
The user's infringement liability mostly means the liability shall be taken for the infringement through uploading other's works without permission. This infringement behavior is evidently finished by user's intent. Therefore, it should take the principle of fault liability for users' infringement behavior. Legislation shall prescribe that ICP should preserve the person's true name, address and other contact information (for example, unit) who uploads the work. Once the infringement done by user is found, it is easy to collect evidence.
5. DOMINATION OF INFRINGEMENT CASE
The infringement dispute domination of network copyright means that the infringement case shall be registered for trial in where and what level of court. It includes the regional-domination, level-domination, appointed domination, deportation domination and special domination, etc. in the Civil Procedure Law of China. In practice, apart from applying the domination principles, special conditions also exist when handling the network copyright infringement dispute. Chinese laws also strive to perfect this aspect. In the 1302nd conference on Dec. 31st, 2003 of judicial committee of the Supreme People's Court Decisions on the Revision of Explanation of Certain Legal Problems on the Trial of Cases Concerning Disputes over Computer Network Copyright by the Supreme People's Court, Explanation for short (Amendment), the First Article prescribes: "The infringement dispute cases of network copyright are dominated by People's Court of the place of an infringement act, or the place of defendant's residence. The place of an infringement act contains the locus of computer terminal equipment where appealed infringement acts. If it is hard to confirm the place of an infringement act and the residence of the defendant, the locus where plaintiff finds the equipment of computer terminal about infringement content shall be regarded as the place of infringement act." In this Article, it is not certain to decide problems of computer terminal and Internet server. Computer terminal contains display, printer, and long-distance terminal, and portable computer, removable hard disk, etc. The locus of these equipments is hard to define, and to be certain. As for server, it contains server for providing enter service, for providing upload space, they have different locus. Therefore, it argues that the legislation should intensify this aspect, or dealt in case disposal, as for place of infringement act, it should be specified so that the court can master in inquisition.
As for level-domination, some consider that it is better for Intermediate Court to dominate, because the technology for evidence identification should conform to the standard of high technology, which will nicely recognize the truth of the case. It is only the Intermediate Court that possesses this technical condition. With the generalization of information technology and improvement of technical level for Management Science, it argues that the Basic People's Court can possess this condition entirely. With the development of Internet technology, the infringement case will increase constantly. If all the cases go to the domination of Intermediate Court, it may not be fully completed. We can apply to the principle of lawsuit domination for level-domination to confirm the level of domination according to the degree of case and its range.
6. CONCLUSION
The rapid development of Internet technology puts forward new challenges to the traditional protection principle of copyright law. In the Internet era, it is necessary to use new legal protections to solve the sphere problems of network copyright and accomplish the reasonable use system, the liability principle of infringement, and lawsuit domination, etc. The development of Internet broke through boundaries among nations with its unique Digital means of information, and totally broke the terrain space concept of copyright protection; therefore, a lot of network works are widely spread all over the world through Internet. Hence, the national network copyright protection shall conform to the international community, which will in deed achieve the purpose of network copyright protection. Enacting and issuing the law of network works protection suitable for our situation as soon as possible is a problem worth to be commonly discussed by the law. To establish a smooth, clear and stable legal environment will make the whole network copyright protection more standardized, and will also promote the development of economy and the progress of society.
[Reference]
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Information Network and High Technology Commission of All China Lawyers Association. Chongqing Lawyers Association Organizing Committee. Front of Information Network and High Technology Law 2005[M]. China Democracy and Legal Press, 2006: 59-65 (In Chinese)
Wu Min, Lei Xin. Discussion on Legal Protection of Copyright under the Internet Environment [J]. Democracy and Legal System, 2005, (2): 37-39 (In Chinese)
Li Jun. Research on the Related Copyright System in Computer Era [J]. Modern Law Science, 1999, (1): 72-75 (In Chinese)
Wu Xujun. Network Copyright and It's Connotation Related to Rights & Interests [J]. Publishing Discussion, 2004, (4): 26-30 (in Chinese). 1999 (1): 72-75 (In Chinese)
Xue Xiaohong. The Current Protection Status and Law Problems Faced of Chinese Internet Copyright [J]. Research of Economic Law and Civil Law, 2000, (1): 59-62 (In Chinese)
Zuo Jie. Discussion on the Liability Principle of Network Copyright Liability [J]. Journal of Xianning College, 2004, (5): 79-81 (In Chinese)
Liu Yanfang, Zhang Xiaohui. Comparative Research on Problems of Multimedia Works [J]. Journal of Science Technology and Law, 1999, (4): 45-51 (In Chinese)
Zhang Shuya. Research on Some Copyright Problems under the Internet Environment [J]. Journal of Anhui Vocational College of Police Officers, 2005, (1): 27-29 (In Chinese)
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Jiang Po. On Leading Principles of Legal Norms of International Electronic Commerce [J]. Market Economy and Legal System Construction, 2002, (3): 75-79 (In Chinese)
Zheng Chengsi. Research of Intellectual Property Rights (the 5th Volume) [M]. Beijing: Chinese Fangzheng Press, 1998: 112-115 (In Chinese). 2002, (3): 75-79 (In Chinese)
[Author Affiliation]
Zhang Caiqin1,2
[Author Affiliation]
1 Management School in Wuhan University of Technology, China.
2 Law School in Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.
* Received 14 August 2007; accepted 26 September 2007
[Author Affiliation]
THE AUTHOR
Zhang Caiqin, Doctor candidate of Management School in Wuhan University of Technology; Associate professor of Law School in Chongqing University, China.
Address: Law School in Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400040, PR. China.
Email:caiqins@ 126.com
SATURDAYS: ; He's not the cat's meow; Dog person finds ways of coping with other pets
AS a dog person, I was a failure. My dogs always ran away. Itried not to take that personally, especially when I got to collegeand the women I wanted to date adopted the same behavior as adefense mechanism. When I finally found a girl willing to stay, itturned out that she was a cat person. That cultural difference wasnot a major piece of our negotiations when we decided to getmarried. It was far down the list from my desire for ESPN and herneed for Lifetime.
Now, though, I find myself living in a cat house. The mostprominent occupant is a little rocket of a kitten, who, for the sakeof his privacy, we'll call "Rupert."
Rupert has Attention Deficit Disorder. He needs treatment.
Here is his frantic daily schedule:
1. Give false impression of cuteness and innocence.
2. Run, leap and attack larger cat who also resides in home. Twocats tumble, scratch and scream simultaneously.
3. Snub kitten-sized bowl of food in favor of food dish meant forbig cat.
4. Run, run, run - decisively and purposefully - to stalk make-believe prey.
5. Climb up the side or back of brand new furniture, digging inlittle claws.
6. Bite.
7. In the evening, in a very cute way, climb into bed with humanresidents and fall asleep.
8. Wake up and demonstrate affection either by licking the hairof sleeping human resident or by attempting to sit on head ofsleeping human resident.
9. Repeat as necessary.
I am not yet a cat person, but "Rupert" has met me part way. In alot of ways, he acts just like a dog. I like how he runs down thestairs to greet me when I come home. And I like how often he wantsto sit on my lap, even if his main intention is to bite me.
As I adjust to a new world of cats, I have adapted a defensemechanism of my own: I pay attention only when "Rupert" is givingthe false impression of cuteness and innocence.
Writer Brad McElhinny can be reached at 348-1244 or by e-mail atbradmc@dailymail.com.
US, European customs officers work together to stop flow of counterfeit computer hardware
U.S. and European customs officers seized more than 360,000 counterfeit computer chips and network components in a joint operation late last year, officials said Friday.
"Operation Infrastructure" seized counterfeit goods bearing more than 40 different trademarks in November and December, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.
"The success of Operation Infrastructure clearly demonstrates our commitment to jointly working with our European counterparts to stop the international flow of illicit goods and protect our consumers and businesses from these harmful products," said Dan Baldwin, assistant commissioner of the U.S. Office of International Trade.
In a statement, U.S. Customs said the operation was important because computer hardware is essential to businesses, health care, education and communications. "The counterfeiting of networking hardware and integrated circuits has critical infrastructure, national security and health and safety implications," the agency said.
The operation was a joint effort with the European Commission Tax and Customs Directorate.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Jurors clear Head of battery charges
A jury found former Westinghouse and Proviso West boys basketballcoach Chris Head not guilty of three counts of misdemeanor batteryWednesday in Cook County Circuit Court in Maywood, ending a three-day trial.
Judge Gilbert Grossi read the verdict at 2:10 p.m., almost threehours after the 12-person jury began deliberations.
They came back with the right verdict," Head said. I'm going toget back into what I love to do [coaching]. I'm going to go on withmy life now. I have a lot of opportunities, but I have to weigh themmyself."
Former Proviso West basketball player Jarrett Northern, 19, filedthe battery charges against Head last spring. Northern had accusedHead of hitting him twice in the chest at a preseason tournament atNorth Park University in September 2002, striking him in the groinduring several practices and trying to choke him during a practice.
[Head] was entitled to a jury of his peers, and the system works,"said Emanuel Chris" Welch, the Proviso School District 209 schoolboard president. We wish him well."
Head was fired from Proviso West as basketball coach in May 2003and from his security-camera operator job in November.
During closing arguments Wednesday, assistant state's attorneysAnn Bloss and Frank Serio argued that Head abused his position ofauthority. Prosecutors added their witnesses didn't have to provideexact dates or times when the alleged battery occurred because statelaw does not require it.
You have to decide if it's acceptable to correct a player'smistake by giving him an uppercut or a backhand slap to the groin,"Bloss told the jury.
Head's attorney, Dennis Berkson, argued that the case was aboutgreed, money, people with political agendas and people lying."Berkson said the burden of proof was on the state to show Head wasguilty and the state failed.
Berkson also mentioned one of the witnesses he called to the standTuesday. Hillside detective Carlos Viscioni, who spoke to formerProviso West assistant coach Michael Johnson on March 6, 2003, hadtestified that Johnson never mentioned to him that he saw Head punchNorthern in the chest at North Park University. Johnson testified forthe prosecution Monday that he saw Head punch Northern in the chesttwice at North Park.
Northern has also filed a civil lawsuit against District 209,which is pending, said Leo Athas, the district's attorney.
Johnson has a civil suit pending against the school district afterHead fired him in November 2002. Athas said that case is in its earlystages, and no trial date has been set.
The Promise of Telemedicine Quietly, telemedicine is circumventing the medical infrastructure problem by putting state-of-the-art healthcare within the reach of some of the poorest.
In august 2005, when Dr Vikram Muralidharan was trying out the newtelemedicine facility at his 25-bed hospital in Annamalai in TamilNadu, a bizarre case came up that would reinforce his decision to goin for the new-fangled technology. A tribal, who had been knockedabout by an elephant, was wheeled into Dr Muralidharan's hospital,with lacerated bones and eyes popping out of their sockets.
As luck would have it, Dr Muralidharan was actually on a videoconference with an orthopaedician in Chennai and an ophthalmologistin Hyderabad. When he was informed of the emergency case, DrMuralidharan asked the other two doctors to stay online forconsulting. Fortunately, the tribal …
Ugandan lawmakers hold hearings on anti-gay bill
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A Ugandan parliament committee has held a second day of hearings on a controversial anti-gay bill that attracted international condemnation for its harsh penalties. Lawmakers indicated the bill could be voted on this week.
The bill was first proposed in 2009 but made little progress after a storm of criticism over a death penalty provision in the original bill. A committee meeting last Friday was its first public airing since its proposal 18 months ago.
The bill's author, David Bahati, told The Associated Press last month that the death penalty provision in the bill was "something we have moved away from." The bill is now undergoing debate and negotiations, so a new version would likely be presented before a final vote is held.
One of the bill's backers, an anti-gay pastor named Martin Ssempa, told the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee on Monday that he does not support the death penalty provision. He said instead that gays should face up to seven years in prison.
"The parliament should be given the opportunity to discuss and pass the bill, because homosexuality is killing our society," Ssempa told the committee.
Retired Anglican Bishop Christopher Senyonjo said the bill will not stop homosexuality but would instead turn Uganda into a police state and could increase the spread of HIV/AIDS because gay Ugandans would fear seeking treatment.
Senyonjo also disputed a common claim by backers of the anti-gay bill, who say school children are being recruited by gays.
"They naturally become so," he said.
Homosexuality is highly unpopular in Uganda, and pastors in this Christian country speak out loudly against the practice. Bahati has said he thinks the bill would become law if voted on by legislators.
Gay activists say anti-gay sentiment in Uganda has increased since the bill's introduction. More gays are being harassed because of media attention and because church leaders have been preaching for the bill's passage.
Bahati's original bill carried harsh provisions. The original bill would mandate a death sentence for active homosexuals living with HIV or in cases of same-sex rape. "Serial offenders" also would face capital punishment. Anyone convicted of a homosexual act would face life imprisonment.
Anyone who "aids, abets, counsels or procures another to engage of acts of homosexuality" would face seven years in prison. Landlords who rent rooms or homes to homosexuals also could get seven years.
Some, all or none of those provision could change during parliament's negotiations.
The New York-based International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission said in a statement last week that it was concerned that the "heinous" piece of legislation could become law.
"Governments, world religious and political leaders, and HIV prevention experts have all appealed to Ugandan parliamentarians to put their distaste and fear of LGBT people aside and use their better judgment," said Cary Alan Johnson, the group's executive director. LGBT stands for "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender."
Johnson said the bill was being debated now to divert attention from recent political demonstrations in Uganda that have attracted police crackdowns. Human Rights Watch says security forces killed nine people in the recent marches.
Stephen Tashobya, the head of the parliament committee, said it is time legislators give the bill priority. He said a report on the bill would be ready by Tuesday and could be presented to parliament by the end of the week.
"Due to public demand the committee has decided to deal with bill," Tashobya said. "The bill has generated a lot of interest from members of the public and members of parliament and that is why we spared some time deal with before this parliament ends."
Frank Mugisha, the director of Sexual Minorities Uganda, a gay rights group, said that if parliament takes up the bill he believes it will be passed. However, parliament's session ends this week and it is not clear if there is enough time to deal with the legislation this session.
Bahati has said the bill can be dealt with next session if parliament runs out of time.
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