BAGHDAD - The rise of armed Sunni groups — who now battle al-Qaida in Iraq instead of fighting U.S. troops — is widely seen as a major reason for a drop in violence across the country.
But bringing these fighters into the fold of Iraq's security forces — and sparking a political reconciliation that will allow more Sunnis to participate in the governing process — is something the Shiite-dominated government is not adequately addressing, analysts say.
Iraqi officials report the number of fighters in the so-called "awakening" councils as about 70,000 and rapidly growing. They expect the number of Sunni fighters in Baghdad alone to grow to 45,000 next year — a fourfold increase from present figures.
By comparison, the Shiite dominated army and police make up the majority of the 440,000 Iraqi security forces.
Shiite government officials have in recent weeks cautiously praised the fighters for helping reduce violence. But laced into the comments were warnings that represent Shiites' biggest fear: that these groups will become an uncontrollable force and eventually use their guns to escalate a sectarian war that has largely divided Iraq into blocs along religious lines.
"The awakening movement was a response to al-Qaida in Iraq trying to prevent Sunnis from entering the political process," Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi, himself a Sunni Arab, said at a news conference on Saturday.
"The Sunnis' response was an uprising, represented by the awakening groups. Now that al-Qaida has largely been marginalized in certain areas, Sunnis are entering the political arena," al-Obeidi said. "We will see a definite change soon because there is nobody now standing between them and the rest of the Iraqi people."
Sunnis make up about 20 percent of Iraq's population. Under Saddam Hussein — and during the Ottoman and British rule of Iraq — they were the dominant political entity. But since Hussein's fall, Sunnis have been politically fractured.
Now that the awakening movement is being credited tamping down violence, the tribal sheiks directing the fighters are demanding more of a political voice. If they do not get it, they may turn their guns back on U.S. and Iraqi forces, something American officials are keenly aware of.
U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker told journalists Sunday in Baghdad that the awakening was never envisioned as an independent force.
"We've always felt that they have to link up to the government of Iraq," he said. "That's got to happen or nothing good is coming down the line."
Crocker also noted that violence has fallen in Iraq because of what he said appeared to be a conscious decision by Iran's leaders to halt support of Shiite militias.
"There have been some signs, indicators that Iran is using some influence to bring down violence," he said. "How lasting a phenomenon that will be and how Iran defines its role in 2008 will be important to Iraq's long-term future."
Iraq's government has said it wants to regularize about 25 percent of the Sunni fighters into its security forces, but only 5 percent of the fighters have been absorbed into the force so far. The rest will be given vocational training.
Deepening the uncertainty is the refusal of Iraqi officials to give anything but scant details about what this job training would consist of. Nor do they adequately address the problem of finding a job for these trained gunmen. Crocker said Iraq is matching $155 million that the U.S. has set aside for "employment creation" funds, but that a strategy for carrying it out was still being planned.
In December, the unemployment rate for Iraq's work force was 17.6 percent and underemployment stood at 38.1 percent, according to Iraq's Central Statistical Organization. Experts suggest those rates are much higher, given the difficulty of collecting data.
Even if the government meets its 25-percent absorption target, 75 percent of the irregulars will likely face unemployment, a situation analysts say could push them back into the fight against U.S. and Iraqi forces.
Deborah D. Avant, director of international studies at the University of California-Irvine and author of the book "The Market for Force: The Consequences of Privatizing Security," said there are ominous similarities between the awakening councils and armed groups in past conflicts that were used for short-term military gains but ended up being roadblocks for state building.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Gaza's Christians keep low Xmas profile
By SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press Writer Sun Dec 23, 3:41 PM ET
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Gaza's tiny Christian community is keeping a low profile this Christmas, traumatized by the killing of a prominent activist in the wake of Hamas' takeover of the coastal territory.
Few Christmas trees are on display, churches are holding austere services and hundreds of Christians hope to travel to the moderate-controlled West Bank to celebrate the holiday in Bethlehem. Many say they don't plan on returning to Gaza.
"We have a very sad Christmas," said Essam Farah, acting pastor of Gaza's Baptist Church, which has canceled its annual children's party because of the grim atmosphere.
About 3,000 Christians live in Gaza, an overwhelmingly conservative Muslim territory of 1.5 million people. It has been virtually cut off from the world and its residents driven deeper into poverty since the June takeover by Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by Israel and the United States.
Christians and Muslims have generally had cordial relations over the years in Gaza, but that relationship has been shaky since Hamas seized control and tensions were exacerbated with the recent death of 32-year-old Rami Ayyad.
Ayyad, a member of the Baptist Church, managed Gaza's only Christian bookstore. In early October, he was found shot in the head, his body thrown on a Gaza street 10 hours after he was kidnapped from the store.
He regularly received death threats from people angry about his perceived missionary work — a rarity among Gaza's Christians — and the store was firebombed six months before the kidnapping.
No group claimed responsibility for the killing, and no one has openly accused Hamas of persecution. But Christians fear that the Hamas takeover, along with the lack of progress in finding Ayyad's killers, has emboldened Islamic extremists.
Hamas has tried to calm jittery Christians with reassuring handshakes and official visits promising justice.
Hamas "will not spare any effort to find the culprits of this crime and bring them to justice," said spokesman Fawzi Barhoum. He insisted the killing was not religiously motivated.
At the Baptist Church on Sunday, just 10 people attended the regular weekly prayer service, down from an average of 70. There was no Christmas tree in sight.
Farah said the church's full-time pastor, along with his family and 12 employees of Ayyad's store, have relocated to the West Bank, where President Mahmoud Abbas heads a pro-Western government. Farah said he prayed for forgiveness and love among Muslims and Christians.
Community leaders say an unprecedented number of Christian families are already migrating from Gaza — rattled by the religious tensions and tough economic sanctions Israel imposed on the area after the Hamas takeover.
While no official statistics were available, the signs of the flight are evident. Rev. Manuel Musallem, head of Gaza's Roman Catholic church, said he alone knows of seven families that sold their properties and left the area, and 15 more are preparing to do the same.
Musallem blamed Israeli sanctions and excessive violence in Gaza for the flight.
"In previous years we didn't see this rate of migration," Musallem said. "Now, exit is not on individual basis. Whole families are leaving, selling their cars, homes and all their properties."
The signs of despair are evident at Ayyad's home. Posters declaring him a "martyr of Jesus" hang on the walls. There is no Christmas tree this year.
Ayyad's older brother, 35-year old Ibrahim, said his 6-year old son, Khedr, was nagged in school about his uncle's murder. Muslim schoolmates call him "infidel."
Ayyad's wife, Pauline, 29, left for Bethlehem a month ago with her two children. She said their 3-year-old son, George, has been shattered by his father's death.
"I tell him Papa Noel (Santa Claus) is coming to see you, and he tells me he wants Papa Rami," she said tearfully during a telephone interview.
Pauline, who is seven months pregnant, said she plans to come back to Gaza for the birth.
But many Christians privately said they would use their travel permits to leave Gaza for good, even if that means remaining in the West Bank as illegal residents. Israeli security officials said they were permitting 400 Gaza Christians to travel through Israel to Bethlehem for Christmas.
A family of four, refusing to be identified for fear their permits would be revoked, have sold their house and car and packed their bags. The wife has transferred her job to the West Bank and enrolled her son and daughter in school there. "We fear what is to come," said the husband.
Fouad, a distant relative of Ayyad, said he also is packing up. He said his father, a guard at a local church, was stopped recently by unknown bearded men who put a gun to his head before he was rescued by passers-by.
"We don't know why it happened," the 20-year-old police officer said. "We can't be sure how they (Muslims) think anymore."
Those who are staying are trying to limit the risks. Nazek Surri, a Roman Catholic, walked out from Sunday's service with a Muslim-style scarf covering her head.
"We have to respect the atmosphere we are living in. We have to go with the trend," she said.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Gaza's tiny Christian community is keeping a low profile this Christmas, traumatized by the killing of a prominent activist in the wake of Hamas' takeover of the coastal territory.
Few Christmas trees are on display, churches are holding austere services and hundreds of Christians hope to travel to the moderate-controlled West Bank to celebrate the holiday in Bethlehem. Many say they don't plan on returning to Gaza.
"We have a very sad Christmas," said Essam Farah, acting pastor of Gaza's Baptist Church, which has canceled its annual children's party because of the grim atmosphere.
About 3,000 Christians live in Gaza, an overwhelmingly conservative Muslim territory of 1.5 million people. It has been virtually cut off from the world and its residents driven deeper into poverty since the June takeover by Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by Israel and the United States.
Christians and Muslims have generally had cordial relations over the years in Gaza, but that relationship has been shaky since Hamas seized control and tensions were exacerbated with the recent death of 32-year-old Rami Ayyad.
Ayyad, a member of the Baptist Church, managed Gaza's only Christian bookstore. In early October, he was found shot in the head, his body thrown on a Gaza street 10 hours after he was kidnapped from the store.
He regularly received death threats from people angry about his perceived missionary work — a rarity among Gaza's Christians — and the store was firebombed six months before the kidnapping.
No group claimed responsibility for the killing, and no one has openly accused Hamas of persecution. But Christians fear that the Hamas takeover, along with the lack of progress in finding Ayyad's killers, has emboldened Islamic extremists.
Hamas has tried to calm jittery Christians with reassuring handshakes and official visits promising justice.
Hamas "will not spare any effort to find the culprits of this crime and bring them to justice," said spokesman Fawzi Barhoum. He insisted the killing was not religiously motivated.
At the Baptist Church on Sunday, just 10 people attended the regular weekly prayer service, down from an average of 70. There was no Christmas tree in sight.
Farah said the church's full-time pastor, along with his family and 12 employees of Ayyad's store, have relocated to the West Bank, where President Mahmoud Abbas heads a pro-Western government. Farah said he prayed for forgiveness and love among Muslims and Christians.
Community leaders say an unprecedented number of Christian families are already migrating from Gaza — rattled by the religious tensions and tough economic sanctions Israel imposed on the area after the Hamas takeover.
While no official statistics were available, the signs of the flight are evident. Rev. Manuel Musallem, head of Gaza's Roman Catholic church, said he alone knows of seven families that sold their properties and left the area, and 15 more are preparing to do the same.
Musallem blamed Israeli sanctions and excessive violence in Gaza for the flight.
"In previous years we didn't see this rate of migration," Musallem said. "Now, exit is not on individual basis. Whole families are leaving, selling their cars, homes and all their properties."
The signs of despair are evident at Ayyad's home. Posters declaring him a "martyr of Jesus" hang on the walls. There is no Christmas tree this year.
Ayyad's older brother, 35-year old Ibrahim, said his 6-year old son, Khedr, was nagged in school about his uncle's murder. Muslim schoolmates call him "infidel."
Ayyad's wife, Pauline, 29, left for Bethlehem a month ago with her two children. She said their 3-year-old son, George, has been shattered by his father's death.
"I tell him Papa Noel (Santa Claus) is coming to see you, and he tells me he wants Papa Rami," she said tearfully during a telephone interview.
Pauline, who is seven months pregnant, said she plans to come back to Gaza for the birth.
But many Christians privately said they would use their travel permits to leave Gaza for good, even if that means remaining in the West Bank as illegal residents. Israeli security officials said they were permitting 400 Gaza Christians to travel through Israel to Bethlehem for Christmas.
A family of four, refusing to be identified for fear their permits would be revoked, have sold their house and car and packed their bags. The wife has transferred her job to the West Bank and enrolled her son and daughter in school there. "We fear what is to come," said the husband.
Fouad, a distant relative of Ayyad, said he also is packing up. He said his father, a guard at a local church, was stopped recently by unknown bearded men who put a gun to his head before he was rescued by passers-by.
"We don't know why it happened," the 20-year-old police officer said. "We can't be sure how they (Muslims) think anymore."
Those who are staying are trying to limit the risks. Nazek Surri, a Roman Catholic, walked out from Sunday's service with a Muslim-style scarf covering her head.
"We have to respect the atmosphere we are living in. We have to go with the trend," she said.
Chinese police probe slaughter of rare Siberian tiger
BEIJING (AFP) - Chinese police have launched an investigation into the illegal slaughter of a rare Siberian tiger at a reserve in central China, state press reported Sunday.
The six year old female tiger was found skinned with its head and the lower part of its legs cut off at the knee in a wildlife zoo in China's Hubei province, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to the report, the locks to the tiger cage were smashed and four home-made anaesthetic rifles were found nearby.
"This was cruel and professional slaughter," an official close to the case was quoted as saying.
Liu Xinxian, head of the forestry bureau in the city of Yichang that borders the Yangtze river, vowed to find the perpetrators.
"The Siberian tiger is a key species under state protection and the criminals will be severely punished," Liu said.
Police have offered an undisclosed reward for information leading to the capture of those involved. If caught the killers could be jailed for up to 10 years.
No more than a few dozen wild tigers are believed left in China, and only a couple of thousand live in their native habitat worldwide.
Among the world's 10 most endangered species, about 400 Siberian tigers are thought to live in northeast China and Russia's far east.
The six year old female tiger was found skinned with its head and the lower part of its legs cut off at the knee in a wildlife zoo in China's Hubei province, Xinhua news agency reported.
According to the report, the locks to the tiger cage were smashed and four home-made anaesthetic rifles were found nearby.
"This was cruel and professional slaughter," an official close to the case was quoted as saying.
Liu Xinxian, head of the forestry bureau in the city of Yichang that borders the Yangtze river, vowed to find the perpetrators.
"The Siberian tiger is a key species under state protection and the criminals will be severely punished," Liu said.
Police have offered an undisclosed reward for information leading to the capture of those involved. If caught the killers could be jailed for up to 10 years.
No more than a few dozen wild tigers are believed left in China, and only a couple of thousand live in their native habitat worldwide.
Among the world's 10 most endangered species, about 400 Siberian tigers are thought to live in northeast China and Russia's far east.
Snowstorm blamed for 11 deaths, outages
By CARRIE ANTLFINGER, Associated Press Writer 58 minutes ago
MILWAUKEE - Highways were hazardous for holiday travelers Sunday and thousands of homes and businesses had no electricity in the Midwest as a storm blustered through the region with heavy snow and howling wind.
At least 11 deaths had been blamed on the storm.
Winter storm warnings were posted for parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan on Sunday as the core of the storm headed north across the Great Lakes. Parts of Wisconsin already had a foot of snow, and up to a foot was forecast Sunday in northeastern Minnesota, the National Weather Service said.
Radar showed snow falling across much of Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota on Sunday and moving into parts of Michigan and Indiana.
"Everything is just an ice rink out there," said Sgt. Steve Selby with the sheriff's department in Rock County, Wis.
The weather system also spread locally heavy rain on Sunday from the Southeast to the lower Great Lakes.
The storm rolled through Colorado and Wyoming on Friday, then spread snow and ice on Saturday from the Texas Panhandle to Minnesota. Multi-car pileups closed parts of several major highways Saturday in the Plains states.
The area of Madison, Wis., got three to four hours of freezing rain early Sunday, said weather service meteorologist intern Bill Borghoff at Sullivan. The combination of icy pavement and gusty wind made driving treacherous, he said.
"It's quite a mess out there," Borghoff said.
Wind gusting to more than 50 mph uprooted trees in parts of Michigan. "I can see the snow moving basically sideways," meteorologist Wayne Hoepner said in Grand Rapids.
Winds were recorded blowing as fast as 88 mph over Lake Michigan with gusts of 50 to 68 mph across the Chicago region, according to the National Weather Service.
Because of the wind, airlines canceled more than 300 flights Sunday at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, the city Aviation Department said. Municipal officials said the wind had knocked out nearly 170 traffic signals, and there were more than 500 reports of fallen trees and limbs.
More than 11,000 homes and businesses were without power at some point Saturday in Wisconsin because of the freezing rain, ice, gusty wind and heavy snow, utilities said. Michigan utilities reported some 60,000 customers were still without power Sunday night, and in Illinois about 15,000 customers were blacked out.
At least three people in Minnesota, three in Wyoming, three in Wisconsin and one person each in Texas and Kansas were killed in traffic accidents that authorities said stemmed from the storm.
The fatality in Texas came in a chain-reaction pileup involving more than 50 vehicles, including several tractor-trailer rigs, on Interstate 40, police said. At least 16 people were taken to hospitals, Sgt. Michael Poston said.
"We're not really sure how many cars, probably in excess of 40 cars and in excess of 20 semitrailers," Amarillo police Sgt. Greg Fisher said Sunday.
Many were holiday travelers, including families with small children not dressed for the weather, Sgt. Shawn McLeland said. Other drivers opened their own Christmas presents to provide warmer clothing for the children.
Authorities believe the pileup, which shut down the highway for most of the day, was caused by near zero visibility in blowing snow and slippery pavement. Multi-vehicle wrecks on Saturday also temporarily blocked sections of I-70 in Kansas and I-29 in Missouri.
___
MILWAUKEE - Highways were hazardous for holiday travelers Sunday and thousands of homes and businesses had no electricity in the Midwest as a storm blustered through the region with heavy snow and howling wind.
At least 11 deaths had been blamed on the storm.
Winter storm warnings were posted for parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan on Sunday as the core of the storm headed north across the Great Lakes. Parts of Wisconsin already had a foot of snow, and up to a foot was forecast Sunday in northeastern Minnesota, the National Weather Service said.
Radar showed snow falling across much of Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota on Sunday and moving into parts of Michigan and Indiana.
"Everything is just an ice rink out there," said Sgt. Steve Selby with the sheriff's department in Rock County, Wis.
The weather system also spread locally heavy rain on Sunday from the Southeast to the lower Great Lakes.
The storm rolled through Colorado and Wyoming on Friday, then spread snow and ice on Saturday from the Texas Panhandle to Minnesota. Multi-car pileups closed parts of several major highways Saturday in the Plains states.
The area of Madison, Wis., got three to four hours of freezing rain early Sunday, said weather service meteorologist intern Bill Borghoff at Sullivan. The combination of icy pavement and gusty wind made driving treacherous, he said.
"It's quite a mess out there," Borghoff said.
Wind gusting to more than 50 mph uprooted trees in parts of Michigan. "I can see the snow moving basically sideways," meteorologist Wayne Hoepner said in Grand Rapids.
Winds were recorded blowing as fast as 88 mph over Lake Michigan with gusts of 50 to 68 mph across the Chicago region, according to the National Weather Service.
Because of the wind, airlines canceled more than 300 flights Sunday at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, the city Aviation Department said. Municipal officials said the wind had knocked out nearly 170 traffic signals, and there were more than 500 reports of fallen trees and limbs.
More than 11,000 homes and businesses were without power at some point Saturday in Wisconsin because of the freezing rain, ice, gusty wind and heavy snow, utilities said. Michigan utilities reported some 60,000 customers were still without power Sunday night, and in Illinois about 15,000 customers were blacked out.
At least three people in Minnesota, three in Wyoming, three in Wisconsin and one person each in Texas and Kansas were killed in traffic accidents that authorities said stemmed from the storm.
The fatality in Texas came in a chain-reaction pileup involving more than 50 vehicles, including several tractor-trailer rigs, on Interstate 40, police said. At least 16 people were taken to hospitals, Sgt. Michael Poston said.
"We're not really sure how many cars, probably in excess of 40 cars and in excess of 20 semitrailers," Amarillo police Sgt. Greg Fisher said Sunday.
Many were holiday travelers, including families with small children not dressed for the weather, Sgt. Shawn McLeland said. Other drivers opened their own Christmas presents to provide warmer clothing for the children.
Authorities believe the pileup, which shut down the highway for most of the day, was caused by near zero visibility in blowing snow and slippery pavement. Multi-vehicle wrecks on Saturday also temporarily blocked sections of I-70 in Kansas and I-29 in Missouri.
___
Storm blasts central US, at least 5 die
ST. PAUL, Minn. - A winter storm packing heavy snow walloped the central United States, causing at least 5 deaths and dozens of injuries as multi-car pileups forced authorities to close parts of several major highways.
The storm Saturday blew heavy snow from Texas to Minnesota. Much of the region was still recovering from a severe ice storm early last week that knocked out electricity for hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses.
At least three people in Minnesota and one person each in Texas and Kansas were killed in traffic accidents that authorities said were weather related. Strong winds could make traveling hazardous all weekend, said Craig Cogil, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Des Moines, Iowa. Parts of the state were expected to get between 6 and 10 inches of snow by Sunday morning, he said.
In Minnesota, a man was killed when he lost control of his car on Highway 10 in Harris and went into the opposite lane and was hit by an oncoming car, according to the Chisago County Sheriff's Office. The victim was identified as John Marvin Becklin, 46, of Harris. Authorities said weather appeared to be a factor in the collision, which happened shortly after noon.
A 17-year-old girl died in an early-morning accident when she lost control of her car in Oak Grove, crossed the center line and was struck by a pickup truck, the Anoka County Sheriff's Office said. The name of the victim, who was from Oak Grove, was being withheld until relatives had been notified.
A 33-year-old West St. Paul man was killed when the car he was driving on icy Highway 7 slid sideways into oncoming traffic and was hit by an oncoming car, according to the State Patrol. The victim's 24-year-old passenger was critically injured in the crash. Their names were not immediately released.
The Minnesota State Patrol said it handled at least 347 accident reports of vehicles that ran off roads across the state.
In Texas, one person died in a chain-reaction pileup involving more than 50 vehicles, including several tractor-trailer rigs, on Interstate 40, police said. Authorities said it would take a few days to determine exactly how many were involved.
Eighteen people were taken to hospitals, two with life-threatening injuries, Sgt. Michael Poston said.
"There were cars crashing while they (firefighters) were there," Fire Department Capt. Bob Johnson told the Amarillo Globe-News for its Sunday editions. "They could hear them (the crashes), but they couldn't see them."
Many were holiday travelers, including families with small children not dressed for the weather, Sgt. Shawn McLeland said. Other drivers spotted them and opened Christmas presents to provide warmer clothing for the children.
The tangle of twisted cars and trucks shut down the interstate for most of the day. Authorities believe the pileup was caused by blowing snow and the resulting zero visibility.
In northeast Kansas, at least one person was killed in a 30-car pileup on Interstate 70, prompting authorities to close a 40-mile stretch of the highway. The pileup occurred about 30 miles west of Topeka.
The fierce snowstorm caused another wreck involving 20 to 40 vehicles, including three tractor-trailer rigs, on Interstate 29 in St. Joseph in western Missouri. Police closed about 100 miles of I-29 to the Iowa state line.
Wind was blowing at sustained speeds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 45 mph in Oklahoma, where U.S. 412 near Mooreland in western Oklahoma was closed after up to 20 cars slid off the road or crashed, authorities said.
The storm also impacted flights at airports in the Midwest, as the busy pre-Christmas weekend travel was getting underway. The delays rippled across the country, affecting flights in the New York region.
The storm Saturday blew heavy snow from Texas to Minnesota. Much of the region was still recovering from a severe ice storm early last week that knocked out electricity for hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses.
At least three people in Minnesota and one person each in Texas and Kansas were killed in traffic accidents that authorities said were weather related. Strong winds could make traveling hazardous all weekend, said Craig Cogil, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Des Moines, Iowa. Parts of the state were expected to get between 6 and 10 inches of snow by Sunday morning, he said.
In Minnesota, a man was killed when he lost control of his car on Highway 10 in Harris and went into the opposite lane and was hit by an oncoming car, according to the Chisago County Sheriff's Office. The victim was identified as John Marvin Becklin, 46, of Harris. Authorities said weather appeared to be a factor in the collision, which happened shortly after noon.
A 17-year-old girl died in an early-morning accident when she lost control of her car in Oak Grove, crossed the center line and was struck by a pickup truck, the Anoka County Sheriff's Office said. The name of the victim, who was from Oak Grove, was being withheld until relatives had been notified.
A 33-year-old West St. Paul man was killed when the car he was driving on icy Highway 7 slid sideways into oncoming traffic and was hit by an oncoming car, according to the State Patrol. The victim's 24-year-old passenger was critically injured in the crash. Their names were not immediately released.
The Minnesota State Patrol said it handled at least 347 accident reports of vehicles that ran off roads across the state.
In Texas, one person died in a chain-reaction pileup involving more than 50 vehicles, including several tractor-trailer rigs, on Interstate 40, police said. Authorities said it would take a few days to determine exactly how many were involved.
Eighteen people were taken to hospitals, two with life-threatening injuries, Sgt. Michael Poston said.
"There were cars crashing while they (firefighters) were there," Fire Department Capt. Bob Johnson told the Amarillo Globe-News for its Sunday editions. "They could hear them (the crashes), but they couldn't see them."
Many were holiday travelers, including families with small children not dressed for the weather, Sgt. Shawn McLeland said. Other drivers spotted them and opened Christmas presents to provide warmer clothing for the children.
The tangle of twisted cars and trucks shut down the interstate for most of the day. Authorities believe the pileup was caused by blowing snow and the resulting zero visibility.
In northeast Kansas, at least one person was killed in a 30-car pileup on Interstate 70, prompting authorities to close a 40-mile stretch of the highway. The pileup occurred about 30 miles west of Topeka.
The fierce snowstorm caused another wreck involving 20 to 40 vehicles, including three tractor-trailer rigs, on Interstate 29 in St. Joseph in western Missouri. Police closed about 100 miles of I-29 to the Iowa state line.
Wind was blowing at sustained speeds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 45 mph in Oklahoma, where U.S. 412 near Mooreland in western Oklahoma was closed after up to 20 cars slid off the road or crashed, authorities said.
The storm also impacted flights at airports in the Midwest, as the busy pre-Christmas weekend travel was getting underway. The delays rippled across the country, affecting flights in the New York region.
Former child star Fishel arrested
Former child star Danielle Fishel, a teen heartthrob on ABC's "Boy Meets World," was arrested this week on a drunken driving warrant from Los Angeles County, police said.
Fishel was arrested Thursday just before 5 a.m. after officers stopped a car she was in, said Newport Beach Sgt. James Rocker. She was released from jail shortly after her arrest.
Fishel grew up in Yorba Linda and spent more than seven years playing Topanga, the love interest of "Boy Meets World" star Ben Savage
In 2006, Fishel became the spokeswoman for NutriSystem after she announced on The Tyra Banks show that she was so thrilled about losing 20 pounds with the diet program that she wanted to be the company's spokeswoman.
In February, Fishel became a special correspondent for the Tyra Banks show.
Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press
Fishel was arrested Thursday just before 5 a.m. after officers stopped a car she was in, said Newport Beach Sgt. James Rocker. She was released from jail shortly after her arrest.
Fishel grew up in Yorba Linda and spent more than seven years playing Topanga, the love interest of "Boy Meets World" star Ben Savage
In 2006, Fishel became the spokeswoman for NutriSystem after she announced on The Tyra Banks show that she was so thrilled about losing 20 pounds with the diet program that she wanted to be the company's spokeswoman.
In February, Fishel became a special correspondent for the Tyra Banks show.
Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press
Cuban says Floyd in MMA is no stunt
By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! SportsDecember 22, 2007
There is no doubt that Floyd Mayweather could become one of the world's great mixed martial arts fighters.
The world's best boxer was basically bred to fight.
But whether he will become anything more than an expensive publicity stunt in MMA is impossible to answer at this stage.
Mayweather, who said after his Dec. 8 stoppage of Ricky Hatton that he plans to take a long vacation, is now mulling entering MMA. Mayweather hasn't spoken publicly about his intentions, but his best friend, Leonard Ellerbe, insists he's serious.
And Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who developed a friendship with Mayweather when both were contestants on ABC's Dancing with the Stars, said Mayweather's notoriety would be a boon to the sport.
Cuban, who owns a fledgling MMA promotional company, HDNet Fights, is convinced Mayweather's stature in the sports world would extend to MMA.
"Floyd is well known well beyond just boxing fans and I doubt there are many, if any MMA fans (who) don't know who he is," Cuban said in an e-mail interview Saturday with Yahoo! Sports. "So I don't think there is any question that if he dedicated himself to the sport he could quickly become its biggest draw."
MMA has grown dramatically over the last three years, but it still lags behind boxing. The largest paid gate in an MMA fight in North America was $5.39 million for UFC 66, which featured Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.
There have been 31 larger paid gates in Nevada alone, including the last two Mayweather fights.
So as far as MMA has come, it still has a long way to go to gain mainstream acceptance. It may get to that point in the near future, but it's not there yet.
A transcendent star like Mayweather would give it a huge shove in the right direction. "In spite of its growth, MMA is still in its infancy," Cuban said. "The UFC has done a great job of getting it this far. Someone like Floyd could help catapult it to even greater heights by introducing not just boxing fans, but general sports fans to MMA."
If he even fights once, he'll attract a huge audience and perhaps even network television exposure for a sport that was once squeezed off of pay-per-view because of concerns about its brutality.
Mayweather would be taking an extraordinary risk should he attempt to fight, because if he were to get choked out quickly, everything he built in boxing would be gone. He made more than $20 million in each of his last two fights.
To put that amount of money in perspective, consider that just Mayweather's haul from the Hatton fight, which figures to wind up somewhere slightly in excess of $20 million, would be more than every fighter combined on the last three UFC pay-per-view shows.
And if Mayweather were to agree to fight unbeaten WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto, the 2007 Yahoo! Sports Fighter of the Year, sometime in 2008, he'd be looking at another $25-million-plus haul.
For him to turn his back on that to enter a sport where he's years behind the curve would require extraordinary courage.
Were Mayweather to have trained in the martial arts for several years, there's no doubt he'd be an elite MMA fighter. He's physically strong, incredibly quick, is a powerful striker and is one of the most well-conditioned athletes alive.
Other boxers have turned to MMA and done well. Marcus Davis, a UFC welterweight, is one of the sport's most successful fighters now. He began as a boxer and was essentially a journeyman, but has become a player in MMA.
It can be done. And have little doubt that with four-ounce gloves on, Mayweather would instantly become the best striker in the game, so long as his fragile hands could handle the shock that would come from landing blows with much less padding on them.
But the question is whether Mayweather will put the time into learning the sport that would be required.
Cuban, for one, believes he would. He wouldn't put a timeframe on how long it would take, but he has little doubt that a motivated Mayweather could learn MMA well enough to be successful.
"Hard to say (how long it would take him)," Cuban said. "He obviously would have to develop additional skills, but there are plenty of accomplished fighters who live off of being great at one particular discipline. Floyd understands he would have a lot to learn, but there is no one that would work harder."
Most likely what is going on is that Mayweather is trying to find his own niche as a promoter. In Cuban, he's befriended a master who has the deep pockets to help him get started.
If Mayweather trained in MMA for a year, he could fight a lower-level opponent to start and be successful. That would be a huge event and could be a vehicle for Mayweather Promotions, his company, to promote MMA cards.
Cuban, who flatly said he could never envision himself promoting a boxing match involving Mayweather, clearly is smitten with the idea.
And it makes sense on a number of levels.
If he wants to prove he can do it and win an MMA fight, he's clearly gifted enough to do so. If he wants to delve into MMA promoting, it's a great launching pad for that bid. But if he plans to try to become the best MMA fighter in the world, that's an entirely different story. At nearly 31 and with a body that he says is beginning to break down from a lifetime of boxing, time is his enemy.
There is no doubt that Floyd Mayweather could become one of the world's great mixed martial arts fighters.
The world's best boxer was basically bred to fight.
But whether he will become anything more than an expensive publicity stunt in MMA is impossible to answer at this stage.
Mayweather, who said after his Dec. 8 stoppage of Ricky Hatton that he plans to take a long vacation, is now mulling entering MMA. Mayweather hasn't spoken publicly about his intentions, but his best friend, Leonard Ellerbe, insists he's serious.
And Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who developed a friendship with Mayweather when both were contestants on ABC's Dancing with the Stars, said Mayweather's notoriety would be a boon to the sport.
Cuban, who owns a fledgling MMA promotional company, HDNet Fights, is convinced Mayweather's stature in the sports world would extend to MMA.
"Floyd is well known well beyond just boxing fans and I doubt there are many, if any MMA fans (who) don't know who he is," Cuban said in an e-mail interview Saturday with Yahoo! Sports. "So I don't think there is any question that if he dedicated himself to the sport he could quickly become its biggest draw."
MMA has grown dramatically over the last three years, but it still lags behind boxing. The largest paid gate in an MMA fight in North America was $5.39 million for UFC 66, which featured Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.
There have been 31 larger paid gates in Nevada alone, including the last two Mayweather fights.
So as far as MMA has come, it still has a long way to go to gain mainstream acceptance. It may get to that point in the near future, but it's not there yet.
A transcendent star like Mayweather would give it a huge shove in the right direction. "In spite of its growth, MMA is still in its infancy," Cuban said. "The UFC has done a great job of getting it this far. Someone like Floyd could help catapult it to even greater heights by introducing not just boxing fans, but general sports fans to MMA."
If he even fights once, he'll attract a huge audience and perhaps even network television exposure for a sport that was once squeezed off of pay-per-view because of concerns about its brutality.
Mayweather would be taking an extraordinary risk should he attempt to fight, because if he were to get choked out quickly, everything he built in boxing would be gone. He made more than $20 million in each of his last two fights.
To put that amount of money in perspective, consider that just Mayweather's haul from the Hatton fight, which figures to wind up somewhere slightly in excess of $20 million, would be more than every fighter combined on the last three UFC pay-per-view shows.
And if Mayweather were to agree to fight unbeaten WBA welterweight champion Miguel Cotto, the 2007 Yahoo! Sports Fighter of the Year, sometime in 2008, he'd be looking at another $25-million-plus haul.
For him to turn his back on that to enter a sport where he's years behind the curve would require extraordinary courage.
Were Mayweather to have trained in the martial arts for several years, there's no doubt he'd be an elite MMA fighter. He's physically strong, incredibly quick, is a powerful striker and is one of the most well-conditioned athletes alive.
Other boxers have turned to MMA and done well. Marcus Davis, a UFC welterweight, is one of the sport's most successful fighters now. He began as a boxer and was essentially a journeyman, but has become a player in MMA.
It can be done. And have little doubt that with four-ounce gloves on, Mayweather would instantly become the best striker in the game, so long as his fragile hands could handle the shock that would come from landing blows with much less padding on them.
But the question is whether Mayweather will put the time into learning the sport that would be required.
Cuban, for one, believes he would. He wouldn't put a timeframe on how long it would take, but he has little doubt that a motivated Mayweather could learn MMA well enough to be successful.
"Hard to say (how long it would take him)," Cuban said. "He obviously would have to develop additional skills, but there are plenty of accomplished fighters who live off of being great at one particular discipline. Floyd understands he would have a lot to learn, but there is no one that would work harder."
Most likely what is going on is that Mayweather is trying to find his own niche as a promoter. In Cuban, he's befriended a master who has the deep pockets to help him get started.
If Mayweather trained in MMA for a year, he could fight a lower-level opponent to start and be successful. That would be a huge event and could be a vehicle for Mayweather Promotions, his company, to promote MMA cards.
Cuban, who flatly said he could never envision himself promoting a boxing match involving Mayweather, clearly is smitten with the idea.
And it makes sense on a number of levels.
If he wants to prove he can do it and win an MMA fight, he's clearly gifted enough to do so. If he wants to delve into MMA promoting, it's a great launching pad for that bid. But if he plans to try to become the best MMA fighter in the world, that's an entirely different story. At nearly 31 and with a body that he says is beginning to break down from a lifetime of boxing, time is his enemy.
A mother’s worries
XPRESSWAY
I’M a concerned parent who would like to know more about manga. Judging from your articles, which I read every now and then, manga seems to be a legitimate form of reading material and a rising force that cannot be ignored.
When I was growing up, we only had Doraemon and Xiao Tian Tian (Candy Candy).
However, nowadays, the majority of the manga is about aliens, ghosts and other supernatural beings.
I have a few questions, and I know your answers will give me and many other clueless parents a true and balanced view of the world that is manga!
Ellie Yap
Many of my children’s friends are into manga. How popular do you think it is in Malaysia as opposed to, say, the Harry Potter books?
Elizabeth Tai: I do not have the exact figures so I can’t make a comparison. However, personally, manga is indeed very popular among the young. But not just teenagers and children are reading manga; adults too read them as manga has many genres and caters to all kinds of age groups. In Japan, it is not unusual to see a salaryman reading manga while travelling to work in a subway train.
Why do you think young people love manga so much?
One of the many reasons why so many girls read manga is because it offers more than the usual Spandex-wearing superhero stories featured in Western comics. The shojo genre is a favourite with girls as it is filled with handsome heroes and romantic tales. Boys do tend to gravitate towards the shonen genre, which is more action-packed.
Not only is the art attractive, manga stories are unusual and deal with a wide variety of topics so it appeals to a wide variety of people. Often told from the Asian perspective, manga indeed offers something different from Western graphic novels.
From my observation, 60% to 70% of manga available is about aliens and supernatural beings. Is that true?
Not true, but I must concede that many manga that get translated into English, such as the very popular Inuyasha and Bleach, do tend to involve aliens and supernatural beings!
There are many manga that don’t deal with these two elements. For example, Inubaka is the perfect manga for dog lovers as it’s about the adventures of a girl who works in a pet shop.
Older girls may love Nana, which is about the love lives of two girls with the same name. Monster is a popular suspense thriller about secret experiments and serial killers while Nodame Cantabile is a romance-comedy revolving around a group of music students.
However, it’s not uncommon to have supernatural elements in a manga that doesn’t usually deal with that theme as the supernatural is so closely entwined with Japanese culture.
The manga that get translated into English are mostly from the shonen (boys) and shojo (girls) categories.
English readers are only getting a tiny taste of the manga that are available in Japan.
As a parent, how would I know, without reading the manga from cover to cover, that a particular manga is adult manga?
Publishers from the start have realised parents’ concerns and have conveniently placed an “age rating” (for example, For teens 16+) at the back of each manga.
It is usually found at the bottom of the back cover.
You can read OtakuZone reviews (we also include an age rating) to get an idea too.
However, to be truly safe, it is always best to read the manga yourself to ascertain if it’s good for your children. Who knows, you may end up enjoying the manga!
I’M a concerned parent who would like to know more about manga. Judging from your articles, which I read every now and then, manga seems to be a legitimate form of reading material and a rising force that cannot be ignored.
When I was growing up, we only had Doraemon and Xiao Tian Tian (Candy Candy).
However, nowadays, the majority of the manga is about aliens, ghosts and other supernatural beings.
I have a few questions, and I know your answers will give me and many other clueless parents a true and balanced view of the world that is manga!
Ellie Yap
Many of my children’s friends are into manga. How popular do you think it is in Malaysia as opposed to, say, the Harry Potter books?
Elizabeth Tai: I do not have the exact figures so I can’t make a comparison. However, personally, manga is indeed very popular among the young. But not just teenagers and children are reading manga; adults too read them as manga has many genres and caters to all kinds of age groups. In Japan, it is not unusual to see a salaryman reading manga while travelling to work in a subway train.
Why do you think young people love manga so much?
One of the many reasons why so many girls read manga is because it offers more than the usual Spandex-wearing superhero stories featured in Western comics. The shojo genre is a favourite with girls as it is filled with handsome heroes and romantic tales. Boys do tend to gravitate towards the shonen genre, which is more action-packed.
Not only is the art attractive, manga stories are unusual and deal with a wide variety of topics so it appeals to a wide variety of people. Often told from the Asian perspective, manga indeed offers something different from Western graphic novels.
From my observation, 60% to 70% of manga available is about aliens and supernatural beings. Is that true?
Not true, but I must concede that many manga that get translated into English, such as the very popular Inuyasha and Bleach, do tend to involve aliens and supernatural beings!
There are many manga that don’t deal with these two elements. For example, Inubaka is the perfect manga for dog lovers as it’s about the adventures of a girl who works in a pet shop.
Older girls may love Nana, which is about the love lives of two girls with the same name. Monster is a popular suspense thriller about secret experiments and serial killers while Nodame Cantabile is a romance-comedy revolving around a group of music students.
However, it’s not uncommon to have supernatural elements in a manga that doesn’t usually deal with that theme as the supernatural is so closely entwined with Japanese culture.
The manga that get translated into English are mostly from the shonen (boys) and shojo (girls) categories.
English readers are only getting a tiny taste of the manga that are available in Japan.
As a parent, how would I know, without reading the manga from cover to cover, that a particular manga is adult manga?
Publishers from the start have realised parents’ concerns and have conveniently placed an “age rating” (for example, For teens 16+) at the back of each manga.
It is usually found at the bottom of the back cover.
You can read OtakuZone reviews (we also include an age rating) to get an idea too.
However, to be truly safe, it is always best to read the manga yourself to ascertain if it’s good for your children. Who knows, you may end up enjoying the manga!
From young mother to role model
Before the birth of her daughter, Lakenya Johnson saw the holidays as just another season to survive. “I was here and there,” said the former runaway, an honor roll student who came home to no father figure and a mother with a substance-abuse problem.
“Holidays were a supposed to be joyful, but they were not. I don’t remember having a joyful Christmas,” Johnson said.
In 2000, she moved into Bridge Elliot, a single-parent house and co-operative transitional apartment program through Bridge Over Troubled Waters, which caters to young homeless people and runaways trying to improve their lives.
“After I had my daughter, I needed some type of stability,” Johnson said. Through the program she developed her parenting skills and “found stability.”
“Young people don’t run away from a home that’s safe or nurturing,” said Denella Clark, a spokesperson for Bridge Over Troubled Waters. “A lot of families are stressed, especially around the holidays. They fall on financial hard times, and with that there can be mental or drug abuse. Our goal is to reconnect families. We have to do more to help young people transition to adulthood.”
Through Bridge Over Troubled Waters and the Elliot House, girls such as Lakenya can find that help whether they reconnect with their old family or develop a better household with their kids.
“I knew how to cook for myself,” she said. “But through Bridge, I learned how to cook bigger meals. It was like making Thanksgiving dinner because it was nine moms and 10 kids there. I learned how to keep a curfew, how to set a schedule for my daughter and myself. It gave me a different perspective on bettering my life for my child.”
Now that her daughter Dakeyla is 8, Johnson runs her household, has a better relationship with her mother and has custody of her 19-year-old sister.
Johnson also works for a Fortune 500 brokerage firm and volunteers at shelters for homeless mothers.
“I learned to be grateful for what I had, and strived for the best in being successful, financially, mentally and emotionally.”
“Holidays were a supposed to be joyful, but they were not. I don’t remember having a joyful Christmas,” Johnson said.
In 2000, she moved into Bridge Elliot, a single-parent house and co-operative transitional apartment program through Bridge Over Troubled Waters, which caters to young homeless people and runaways trying to improve their lives.
“After I had my daughter, I needed some type of stability,” Johnson said. Through the program she developed her parenting skills and “found stability.”
“Young people don’t run away from a home that’s safe or nurturing,” said Denella Clark, a spokesperson for Bridge Over Troubled Waters. “A lot of families are stressed, especially around the holidays. They fall on financial hard times, and with that there can be mental or drug abuse. Our goal is to reconnect families. We have to do more to help young people transition to adulthood.”
Through Bridge Over Troubled Waters and the Elliot House, girls such as Lakenya can find that help whether they reconnect with their old family or develop a better household with their kids.
“I knew how to cook for myself,” she said. “But through Bridge, I learned how to cook bigger meals. It was like making Thanksgiving dinner because it was nine moms and 10 kids there. I learned how to keep a curfew, how to set a schedule for my daughter and myself. It gave me a different perspective on bettering my life for my child.”
Now that her daughter Dakeyla is 8, Johnson runs her household, has a better relationship with her mother and has custody of her 19-year-old sister.
Johnson also works for a Fortune 500 brokerage firm and volunteers at shelters for homeless mothers.
“I learned to be grateful for what I had, and strived for the best in being successful, financially, mentally and emotionally.”
Good grief! How I love that dirty beagle
By Rebecca Morris
Special to The Seattle Times
He was famous, and I was in awe of him. When we finally met in 1979, we found we had a lot in common. We were born the same year; we were both writers and had spent many dark and stormy nights hunched over our typewriters; we had experienced the rejection of fussy editors. We were daydreamers, extroverts, and loved adventure. Although we couldn't marry, for reasons that became obvious, ours is the longest relationship in my adult life.
Some might find this embarrassing, but I don't, so I'll just come right out and say it. I bought him. OK? I bought him. Probably at a Hallmark store, I don't remember. And we were part of a trio for a while
I acquired Snoopy to keep my husband company. Frank was sick, and the doctors didn't know why. Finally, after dismissing their earlier diagnoses of flu and job stress, they found he had a brain tumor and was going to die. As a boy, Frank had a black-and-white mutt he named Snoopy. On my desk is a carving he made of the dog; I think Frank earned a Boy Scout badge for his wood carvings. Frank and I were both sentimental about Charles Schulz' Snoopy. I think we felt he was funny, wise and independent.
I have no idea what the nurses at Swedish Medical Center thought when I brought Snoopy to Frank's room the night before his surgery. We didn't care. In the year and a half that followed, Snoopy always went with Frank to the hospital. Snoopy had clothes in those days. We bought him a Santa Claus suit, the familiar black pants, red jacket with a black belt and stocking cap. He also had clothes to hike in. Most of the outfits have been lost. Occasionally, when I'm digging through Christmas ornaments, I'll find just the Santa jacket. If I dress him in it, it seems to accentuate his, well, nakedness.
Frank died at Christmas. I was going to bury Snoopy with him. They would nestle in the pine box I chose, under the oak tree heavy with mistletoe. It was my mother who told me, "You know, you might need Snoopy." So Snoopy stayed with me, although sometimes we both wanted to be with Frank in the pine box.
In the following years, Snoopy was always close by. When I dated, he would spend time on a shelf or in a drawer. He saw me through other loves and other untimely deaths. And we traveled. He has been to the cities and countryside of France, England and Scotland, and skiing in Vermont. During a sometimes vagabond life in journalism we've lived in Providence, Cape Cod and twice in Seattle and Portland.
He's driven with me across the United States (twice). We were in New York City for 13 years; in our first sublet, the bathtub was in the kitchen and the toilet was in a closet. Over the years we have lived in walk-ups and nice homes, but more often in walk-ups. After Sept. 11, our apartment in what was still called Spanish Harlem smelled of smoke for weeks, and every day the sky was a fiery orange.
He's turned gray with age, and I have had to glue the tip of his nose back on. I have a few gray hairs, too (but mine mysteriously become blond every few weeks). Once, I rescued him from the hands of my mother, who was certain a spin in the washing machine would clean him up a bit. My brother thought maybe a foam carpet cleaner would help. But all I could imagine was Snoopy becoming tufts of fabric, no longer whole. We are aging baby boomers; neither of us breaks out in spontaneous dance the way we used to.
We've been together for more than 28 years. There's never been a cross word between us. Occasionally in the morning I'll find him flung off the bed, but he always forgives me. He is perpetually smiling and even-tempered. He's a terrific listener. We read the "Peanuts" comic strip every day, and we never miss the TV specials, including "A Charlie Brown Christmas." We plan to read the just-published biography of his creator.
Snoopy knows my dreams. They are simple: to love again, to live in a small house on a lake and row a boat every day, and to maybe have a "live" dog. He is OK with all of it. He wants me to be happy.
At a stage in life when many of my family and friends who knew Frank are gone, Snoopy is at my side. He knew me when. He still does.
Rebecca Morris has been a broadcast and print journalist for 34 years. She teaches journalism at Bellevue Community College.
Special to The Seattle Times
He was famous, and I was in awe of him. When we finally met in 1979, we found we had a lot in common. We were born the same year; we were both writers and had spent many dark and stormy nights hunched over our typewriters; we had experienced the rejection of fussy editors. We were daydreamers, extroverts, and loved adventure. Although we couldn't marry, for reasons that became obvious, ours is the longest relationship in my adult life.
Some might find this embarrassing, but I don't, so I'll just come right out and say it. I bought him. OK? I bought him. Probably at a Hallmark store, I don't remember. And we were part of a trio for a while
I acquired Snoopy to keep my husband company. Frank was sick, and the doctors didn't know why. Finally, after dismissing their earlier diagnoses of flu and job stress, they found he had a brain tumor and was going to die. As a boy, Frank had a black-and-white mutt he named Snoopy. On my desk is a carving he made of the dog; I think Frank earned a Boy Scout badge for his wood carvings. Frank and I were both sentimental about Charles Schulz' Snoopy. I think we felt he was funny, wise and independent.
I have no idea what the nurses at Swedish Medical Center thought when I brought Snoopy to Frank's room the night before his surgery. We didn't care. In the year and a half that followed, Snoopy always went with Frank to the hospital. Snoopy had clothes in those days. We bought him a Santa Claus suit, the familiar black pants, red jacket with a black belt and stocking cap. He also had clothes to hike in. Most of the outfits have been lost. Occasionally, when I'm digging through Christmas ornaments, I'll find just the Santa jacket. If I dress him in it, it seems to accentuate his, well, nakedness.
Frank died at Christmas. I was going to bury Snoopy with him. They would nestle in the pine box I chose, under the oak tree heavy with mistletoe. It was my mother who told me, "You know, you might need Snoopy." So Snoopy stayed with me, although sometimes we both wanted to be with Frank in the pine box.
In the following years, Snoopy was always close by. When I dated, he would spend time on a shelf or in a drawer. He saw me through other loves and other untimely deaths. And we traveled. He has been to the cities and countryside of France, England and Scotland, and skiing in Vermont. During a sometimes vagabond life in journalism we've lived in Providence, Cape Cod and twice in Seattle and Portland.
He's driven with me across the United States (twice). We were in New York City for 13 years; in our first sublet, the bathtub was in the kitchen and the toilet was in a closet. Over the years we have lived in walk-ups and nice homes, but more often in walk-ups. After Sept. 11, our apartment in what was still called Spanish Harlem smelled of smoke for weeks, and every day the sky was a fiery orange.
He's turned gray with age, and I have had to glue the tip of his nose back on. I have a few gray hairs, too (but mine mysteriously become blond every few weeks). Once, I rescued him from the hands of my mother, who was certain a spin in the washing machine would clean him up a bit. My brother thought maybe a foam carpet cleaner would help. But all I could imagine was Snoopy becoming tufts of fabric, no longer whole. We are aging baby boomers; neither of us breaks out in spontaneous dance the way we used to.
We've been together for more than 28 years. There's never been a cross word between us. Occasionally in the morning I'll find him flung off the bed, but he always forgives me. He is perpetually smiling and even-tempered. He's a terrific listener. We read the "Peanuts" comic strip every day, and we never miss the TV specials, including "A Charlie Brown Christmas." We plan to read the just-published biography of his creator.
Snoopy knows my dreams. They are simple: to love again, to live in a small house on a lake and row a boat every day, and to maybe have a "live" dog. He is OK with all of it. He wants me to be happy.
At a stage in life when many of my family and friends who knew Frank are gone, Snoopy is at my side. He knew me when. He still does.
Rebecca Morris has been a broadcast and print journalist for 34 years. She teaches journalism at Bellevue Community College.
'P.S. I Love You' not a bad date flick
By Mal VincentThe Virginian-Pilot© December 23, 2007
In luv stories, as opposed to legitimate love stories, if it’s not one thing it’s another. The characters always want what they don’t have.
Finding love just isn’t the happy ending it used to be back when Snow White finally got a kiss from Prince Charming. In “P.S. I Love You,” based on a novel by Irish writer Cecelia Ahern, love is lost early.
Hilary Swank, acting like a babe rather than a fighter this time, gets teary over losing the hunk from “300,” Gerard Butler. How will she survive? Can she find a new life? Will Harry Connick Jr. fill the gap? Or maybe she should take a trip to Ireland and find a guy who looks just like poor, dead Butler. Will you pass the tissue, please?
The film starts with a good opening scene that runs something like 10 minutes. Holly and Gerry are climbing the stairs to their cramped little apartment and they are involved in a loud argument.
Interesting. We expected sweet sap.
The camera follows them into the apartment as we learn that the argument is about the fact that they have just come from a visit with her mother, played by Kathy Bates, and they have let the secret out that there is a disagreement about whether to have a baby. The clock is ticking, but they have little money and they have this cramped apartment.
He is a fun-loving guy who seeks to avoid any argument by having fun. He does a strip tease for her, down to boxers and suspenders. They laugh. Before the scene is over, we are convinced not only that they are in love, but that they are made for each other.
If director Richard La-Gravenese had just kept up the pace, he might have had a classic here. Instead, we quickly get down to cliches. Gerry dies of a brain tumor. Holly is devastated. She retreats to the apartment and looks at Judy Garland singing “The Man That Got Away” from “A Star Is Born” (which, at least, gives us a look at one of the greatest performances of all musical film). Then the ploy hits. Gerry has left letters floating about. They encourage Holly to get on with her life, buy herself some new clothes and find another man.
This is when it gets a little goofy. The letters are found in birthday cakes and all manner of unusual places. Take your choice: Buy the premise or be miserable until you get out of the theater.
The leads are likable. Swank, at long last, shows a feminine side that her biggest roles have kept hidden. After winning twin Oscars by impersonating a boy in “Boys Don’t Cry” and beating up people of both sexes as a boxer in “Million Dollar Baby,” she now proves to be a babe herself.
Just to emphasize the fact, the director has her pose in underwear whenever possible. Even though she is often unemployed in the movie, she models expensive designer clothes – the way Doris Day used to do. She’s toned, she’s toothy and she’s definitely no boy.
Butler is something of a star after leading the Spartans to a noisy death in “300,” the most surprising hit of the past year. He and Hugh Jackman have just about cornered the market when it comes to finding men, rather than boys, to play leads.
Butler has a mischievous glint that helps the movie get out of the sappy category. Thankfully for his fans, the fact that he dies early in the film doesn’t mean he can’t come back often in flashbacks.
The film is blessed with a fine supporting cast. Harry Connick Jr. has, perhaps, the most interesting, complex character – a bartender who is disliked because he is blunt and honest. The bartender just might end up with the lovelorn Holly. It’s Connick’s best film role yet.
Taking top comic honors, particularly since laughs are so badly needed, is Lisa Kudrow as a desperate “best friend” who wants a man fast, and with no complications. She checks out men with a quick questionnaire – and usually finds, quickly, that they are disqualified. Bates is fine, but underused, as the mother who always disapproved of Gerry, particularly when he was alive.
“P.S. I Love You” is no great shakes, but it’s altogether pleasant and serves nicely as the romantic drama that was perhaps needed in the current mix.
This may well be the one the ladies will demand on those holiday dates. Guys, if they are smart, will go along. It isn’t that bad.
In luv stories, as opposed to legitimate love stories, if it’s not one thing it’s another. The characters always want what they don’t have.
Finding love just isn’t the happy ending it used to be back when Snow White finally got a kiss from Prince Charming. In “P.S. I Love You,” based on a novel by Irish writer Cecelia Ahern, love is lost early.
Hilary Swank, acting like a babe rather than a fighter this time, gets teary over losing the hunk from “300,” Gerard Butler. How will she survive? Can she find a new life? Will Harry Connick Jr. fill the gap? Or maybe she should take a trip to Ireland and find a guy who looks just like poor, dead Butler. Will you pass the tissue, please?
The film starts with a good opening scene that runs something like 10 minutes. Holly and Gerry are climbing the stairs to their cramped little apartment and they are involved in a loud argument.
Interesting. We expected sweet sap.
The camera follows them into the apartment as we learn that the argument is about the fact that they have just come from a visit with her mother, played by Kathy Bates, and they have let the secret out that there is a disagreement about whether to have a baby. The clock is ticking, but they have little money and they have this cramped apartment.
He is a fun-loving guy who seeks to avoid any argument by having fun. He does a strip tease for her, down to boxers and suspenders. They laugh. Before the scene is over, we are convinced not only that they are in love, but that they are made for each other.
If director Richard La-Gravenese had just kept up the pace, he might have had a classic here. Instead, we quickly get down to cliches. Gerry dies of a brain tumor. Holly is devastated. She retreats to the apartment and looks at Judy Garland singing “The Man That Got Away” from “A Star Is Born” (which, at least, gives us a look at one of the greatest performances of all musical film). Then the ploy hits. Gerry has left letters floating about. They encourage Holly to get on with her life, buy herself some new clothes and find another man.
This is when it gets a little goofy. The letters are found in birthday cakes and all manner of unusual places. Take your choice: Buy the premise or be miserable until you get out of the theater.
The leads are likable. Swank, at long last, shows a feminine side that her biggest roles have kept hidden. After winning twin Oscars by impersonating a boy in “Boys Don’t Cry” and beating up people of both sexes as a boxer in “Million Dollar Baby,” she now proves to be a babe herself.
Just to emphasize the fact, the director has her pose in underwear whenever possible. Even though she is often unemployed in the movie, she models expensive designer clothes – the way Doris Day used to do. She’s toned, she’s toothy and she’s definitely no boy.
Butler is something of a star after leading the Spartans to a noisy death in “300,” the most surprising hit of the past year. He and Hugh Jackman have just about cornered the market when it comes to finding men, rather than boys, to play leads.
Butler has a mischievous glint that helps the movie get out of the sappy category. Thankfully for his fans, the fact that he dies early in the film doesn’t mean he can’t come back often in flashbacks.
The film is blessed with a fine supporting cast. Harry Connick Jr. has, perhaps, the most interesting, complex character – a bartender who is disliked because he is blunt and honest. The bartender just might end up with the lovelorn Holly. It’s Connick’s best film role yet.
Taking top comic honors, particularly since laughs are so badly needed, is Lisa Kudrow as a desperate “best friend” who wants a man fast, and with no complications. She checks out men with a quick questionnaire – and usually finds, quickly, that they are disqualified. Bates is fine, but underused, as the mother who always disapproved of Gerry, particularly when he was alive.
“P.S. I Love You” is no great shakes, but it’s altogether pleasant and serves nicely as the romantic drama that was perhaps needed in the current mix.
This may well be the one the ladies will demand on those holiday dates. Guys, if they are smart, will go along. It isn’t that bad.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Baghdad residents venture out on holiday
By NBA TV's Rick Kamla
I was talking with NBA.com’s Rob Peterson about this week’s article and he suggested writing about what I want for Christmas.After an inexplicably long pregnant pause—during which I pondered a kinder, gentler Jersey in the new year, the expulsion of bully cops from planet earth, and world peace—I told him I wanted more minutes for this guy, that guy, and the other guy. Thus, we are bringing back the More Minutes Team for you and yours this holiday season.By the way, that glimpse inside the spontaneously creative world of internet sports was brought to you by NBA.com, where bad rotations happen.
Freaks, most NBA coaches have rotations that at least make sense. You may not agree with the exact amount of playing time that each player is getting, but for a variety of logical reasons the rotation is effective. Bottom line: if the team is winning, the coach has the right rotation, whether it jives with the fantasy world or not.However, there are coaches in the NBA who—for a variety of illogical reasons—aren’t the playing the right guys the right amount of time. And these confused coaches don’t have the wins to justify the lame rotation.Of the 10 players covered in this article via the More Minutes First and Second Teams, only three play for teams that have their acts together: Lakers, Warriors, Raptors. The others are toiling for teams that are either heading for the lottery or struggling mightily.[Heady Disclaimer: Before I go any farther, I feel compelled to admit that I’m not privy to practices or locker rooms, and although I watch as much hoops as (in)humanly possible, I don’t see EVERY play of EVERY game. As such, there may be a behind-the-scenes, unreported angle that is legitimately creating a reduction in minutes for a player who I’m pumping up for more.]That said, I trust my read on this league and I don’t trust every coach in this league so we press on with my wish list for this holiday season…also known as The More Minutes Team.
By PATRICK QUINN, Associated Press Writer 40 minutes ago
BAGHDAD - Residents of Baghdad packed the capital's parks and amusement rides on Saturday, taking advantage of a lull in violence and the Islamic feast of Eid al-Adha to venture out of their homes in droves.
While there have been far fewer attacks across the country in recent months, violence has by no means been eradicated.
A suicide car bomb exploded at a checkpoint manned by Iraqi army and police in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Ghazaliyah Saturday afternoon, killing four people and wounding another six, a police officer said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to release information.
The dead were two civilians, a policeman and a soldier, while the wounded included two policemen and two soldiers, police said.
On the southern outskirts of the capital, a roadside bomb wounded five bystanders near a hospital in the town of Madin, police said. It was unclear what the target was. In Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, another roadside bomb targeting a passing police patrol killed one policeman and wounded two others, local police said.
While attacks continue, overall violence has dropped significantly in recent months after the United States sent thousands of troops to the capital. The improving security has been reinforced by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's decision to declare a six-month cease-fire and by the emergence of mostly Sunni tribal militias.
Those groups_ known as Awakening Councils, or Concerned Local Citizens — have given U.S. and Iraqi forces a key advantage in seeking to clear extremist-held pockets in and around Baghdad.
"I wish peace and prosperity to our beloved country Iraq and hope all our brothers, sons and families who live abroad come back and God willing, during the next Eid all Iraqis will come together and peace, security and brotherhood will prevail," Abdul Jabbar Kadhim, an employee at the Dora oil refinery, told AP Television News as he played with his children in a riverside park.
Kadhim and hundreds of others took advantage of the reduced violence and of the brisk sunny day to picnic along the Tigris river. But unlike other parks around the world, people and cars were searched before entering — and some park visitors said that added security gave them the confidence to visit.
This month, the U.S. military has reported a 60 percent decline in violence since June. According to figures compiled by The Associated Press, fewer than 600 Iraqi civilians and security forces have been killed so far in December. The figure was 2,309 in December 2006.
In the years following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, attacks against civilians in Baghdad led thousands to flee the capital, mostly for neighboring countries. Many of those who remained huddled in their homes and neighborhoods, often behind large cement walls.
Many feared the suicide bombers who killed thousands by driving or walking into large crowds or restaurants, drive-by shooters and kidnap gangs that often rounded up more than 100 people at a time. Many of the city's neighborhoods had a deserted feel to them and others were redrawn along sectarian lines.
But the volunteer groups that have helped bring a measure of safety are also demanding jobs with the Iraqi security forces.
The Shiite-led government has been slow to respond, despite Washington's fears that the tribal support could collapse into chaos without swift integration into the existing forces.
Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, the U.S. military spokesman, said more than 71,000 Iraqis have joined the irregular militia groups. An estimated 21,000 are interested in serving in the Iraqi security forces, he added. Iraq's government has said it will pay to provide vocational training for the rest
I was talking with NBA.com’s Rob Peterson about this week’s article and he suggested writing about what I want for Christmas.After an inexplicably long pregnant pause—during which I pondered a kinder, gentler Jersey in the new year, the expulsion of bully cops from planet earth, and world peace—I told him I wanted more minutes for this guy, that guy, and the other guy. Thus, we are bringing back the More Minutes Team for you and yours this holiday season.By the way, that glimpse inside the spontaneously creative world of internet sports was brought to you by NBA.com, where bad rotations happen.
Freaks, most NBA coaches have rotations that at least make sense. You may not agree with the exact amount of playing time that each player is getting, but for a variety of logical reasons the rotation is effective. Bottom line: if the team is winning, the coach has the right rotation, whether it jives with the fantasy world or not.However, there are coaches in the NBA who—for a variety of illogical reasons—aren’t the playing the right guys the right amount of time. And these confused coaches don’t have the wins to justify the lame rotation.Of the 10 players covered in this article via the More Minutes First and Second Teams, only three play for teams that have their acts together: Lakers, Warriors, Raptors. The others are toiling for teams that are either heading for the lottery or struggling mightily.[Heady Disclaimer: Before I go any farther, I feel compelled to admit that I’m not privy to practices or locker rooms, and although I watch as much hoops as (in)humanly possible, I don’t see EVERY play of EVERY game. As such, there may be a behind-the-scenes, unreported angle that is legitimately creating a reduction in minutes for a player who I’m pumping up for more.]That said, I trust my read on this league and I don’t trust every coach in this league so we press on with my wish list for this holiday season…also known as The More Minutes Team.
By PATRICK QUINN, Associated Press Writer 40 minutes ago
BAGHDAD - Residents of Baghdad packed the capital's parks and amusement rides on Saturday, taking advantage of a lull in violence and the Islamic feast of Eid al-Adha to venture out of their homes in droves.
While there have been far fewer attacks across the country in recent months, violence has by no means been eradicated.
A suicide car bomb exploded at a checkpoint manned by Iraqi army and police in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Ghazaliyah Saturday afternoon, killing four people and wounding another six, a police officer said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to release information.
The dead were two civilians, a policeman and a soldier, while the wounded included two policemen and two soldiers, police said.
On the southern outskirts of the capital, a roadside bomb wounded five bystanders near a hospital in the town of Madin, police said. It was unclear what the target was. In Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, another roadside bomb targeting a passing police patrol killed one policeman and wounded two others, local police said.
While attacks continue, overall violence has dropped significantly in recent months after the United States sent thousands of troops to the capital. The improving security has been reinforced by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's decision to declare a six-month cease-fire and by the emergence of mostly Sunni tribal militias.
Those groups_ known as Awakening Councils, or Concerned Local Citizens — have given U.S. and Iraqi forces a key advantage in seeking to clear extremist-held pockets in and around Baghdad.
"I wish peace and prosperity to our beloved country Iraq and hope all our brothers, sons and families who live abroad come back and God willing, during the next Eid all Iraqis will come together and peace, security and brotherhood will prevail," Abdul Jabbar Kadhim, an employee at the Dora oil refinery, told AP Television News as he played with his children in a riverside park.
Kadhim and hundreds of others took advantage of the reduced violence and of the brisk sunny day to picnic along the Tigris river. But unlike other parks around the world, people and cars were searched before entering — and some park visitors said that added security gave them the confidence to visit.
This month, the U.S. military has reported a 60 percent decline in violence since June. According to figures compiled by The Associated Press, fewer than 600 Iraqi civilians and security forces have been killed so far in December. The figure was 2,309 in December 2006.
In the years following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, attacks against civilians in Baghdad led thousands to flee the capital, mostly for neighboring countries. Many of those who remained huddled in their homes and neighborhoods, often behind large cement walls.
Many feared the suicide bombers who killed thousands by driving or walking into large crowds or restaurants, drive-by shooters and kidnap gangs that often rounded up more than 100 people at a time. Many of the city's neighborhoods had a deserted feel to them and others were redrawn along sectarian lines.
But the volunteer groups that have helped bring a measure of safety are also demanding jobs with the Iraqi security forces.
The Shiite-led government has been slow to respond, despite Washington's fears that the tribal support could collapse into chaos without swift integration into the existing forces.
Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner, the U.S. military spokesman, said more than 71,000 Iraqis have joined the irregular militia groups. An estimated 21,000 are interested in serving in the Iraqi security forces, he added. Iraq's government has said it will pay to provide vocational training for the rest
Belgium releases 14 terror suspects
By PAUL AMES, Associated Press Writer 54 minutes ago
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Belgian authorities on Saturday released 14 suspects detained over an alleged plot to free an al-Qaida prisoner after a court decided there was insufficient evidence to hold them for more than 24 hours, the Federal Prosecutor's office said.
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The government's Crisis Center said the investigation was not over. And Lieve Pellens, spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office, said tightened anti-terrorism measures triggered by the arrest of the suspected Islamic militants on Friday would remain in place over the holidays.
"We think there is still a threat," Pellens said in a telephone interview.
Police picked up the 14 suspects in a series of early morning raids Friday. Earlier reports indicated that explosives and arms were also seized, but Pellens said Saturday that searches of the suspects' homes had found no explosives, weapons or other evidence to persuade the court to charge them with any offense or keep them in jail.
Unlike some other European nations, Belgium does not have anti-terrorist laws which allow suspects to be held for longer than 24 hours without charge, Pellens said.
The 14 were expected to remain under police surveillance and could be detained again if more evidence is uncovered. The authorities did not release the suspects' identities.
Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and the prosecutor's office alleged the suspects planned to use explosives and weapons to free Nizar Trabelsi. The 37-year-old Tunisian was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2003 for planning to a drive a car bomb into the cafeteria of a Belgian air base where about 100 American military personnel are stationed.
The U.S. Embassy had warned Americans "there is currently a heightened risk of terrorist attack in Brussels," although it said it had no indication of specific targets.
The government's Crisis Center said the investigation was continuing into other material found in the searches.
"The release of the 14 does not mean the investigation is finished, all the material that was found is being examined," said Alain Lefevre, a director of the center. "Depending on the results, our measures will be adapted."
Authorities tightened security, warning of a heightened threat of attacks despite the arrests. Police stepped up patrols at Brussels airport, subway stations and the downtown Christmas market, which draws large crowds of holiday shoppers.
"Other acts of violence are not to be excluded," warned Verhofstadt.
Lefevre said army bomb disposal units were called in overnight to investigate a car parked near the U.S. Embassy and a rucksack left at a Brussels pizzeria, but both were false alarms.
Pellens said intelligence that an attack could be imminent meant the security forces had to act without waiting to gather the evidence.
"We could not treat this as we would a normal criminal case," Pellens said.
"According to our investigation there were sufficient indications pointing to a terrorist threat; that is why we did not wait to detain the suspects," she said. "But the suspects have not been formally charged and, unfortunately, their release does not come as a surprise to us."
Trabelsi has admitted he planned to kill U.S. soldiers at the air base in Belgium. The Kleine Brogel base was reported to house U.S. nuclear weapons, although that has not been confirmed by U.S. or Belgian authorities.
Trabelsi said he met al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and asked to become a suicide bomber. He was arrested in Brussels two days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and police later linked him to the discovery of raw materials for a huge bomb in the back of a Brussels restaurant.
A former professional soccer player, Trabelsi came to Europe in 1989 for a tryout with the German soccer team Fortuna Duesseldorf. He got a contract, but was soon let go. Over the next few years, he bounced from team to team in the minor leagues, acquiring a cocaine habit and a lengthy criminal record.
Eventually, he made his way to al-Qaida training camps in Afghanistan, where evidence presented at his trial showed he placed himself on a "list of martyrs" ready to commit suicide attacks.
"Trabelsi is an important figure for armed Islamic circles. He is a highly symbolic figure who has met Osama bin Laden," said Claude Moniquet, president of the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center, a Brussels-based think tank specializing in terrorism issues
BRUSSELS, Belgium - Belgian authorities on Saturday released 14 suspects detained over an alleged plot to free an al-Qaida prisoner after a court decided there was insufficient evidence to hold them for more than 24 hours, the Federal Prosecutor's office said.
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The government's Crisis Center said the investigation was not over. And Lieve Pellens, spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office, said tightened anti-terrorism measures triggered by the arrest of the suspected Islamic militants on Friday would remain in place over the holidays.
"We think there is still a threat," Pellens said in a telephone interview.
Police picked up the 14 suspects in a series of early morning raids Friday. Earlier reports indicated that explosives and arms were also seized, but Pellens said Saturday that searches of the suspects' homes had found no explosives, weapons or other evidence to persuade the court to charge them with any offense or keep them in jail.
Unlike some other European nations, Belgium does not have anti-terrorist laws which allow suspects to be held for longer than 24 hours without charge, Pellens said.
The 14 were expected to remain under police surveillance and could be detained again if more evidence is uncovered. The authorities did not release the suspects' identities.
Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and the prosecutor's office alleged the suspects planned to use explosives and weapons to free Nizar Trabelsi. The 37-year-old Tunisian was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2003 for planning to a drive a car bomb into the cafeteria of a Belgian air base where about 100 American military personnel are stationed.
The U.S. Embassy had warned Americans "there is currently a heightened risk of terrorist attack in Brussels," although it said it had no indication of specific targets.
The government's Crisis Center said the investigation was continuing into other material found in the searches.
"The release of the 14 does not mean the investigation is finished, all the material that was found is being examined," said Alain Lefevre, a director of the center. "Depending on the results, our measures will be adapted."
Authorities tightened security, warning of a heightened threat of attacks despite the arrests. Police stepped up patrols at Brussels airport, subway stations and the downtown Christmas market, which draws large crowds of holiday shoppers.
"Other acts of violence are not to be excluded," warned Verhofstadt.
Lefevre said army bomb disposal units were called in overnight to investigate a car parked near the U.S. Embassy and a rucksack left at a Brussels pizzeria, but both were false alarms.
Pellens said intelligence that an attack could be imminent meant the security forces had to act without waiting to gather the evidence.
"We could not treat this as we would a normal criminal case," Pellens said.
"According to our investigation there were sufficient indications pointing to a terrorist threat; that is why we did not wait to detain the suspects," she said. "But the suspects have not been formally charged and, unfortunately, their release does not come as a surprise to us."
Trabelsi has admitted he planned to kill U.S. soldiers at the air base in Belgium. The Kleine Brogel base was reported to house U.S. nuclear weapons, although that has not been confirmed by U.S. or Belgian authorities.
Trabelsi said he met al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and asked to become a suicide bomber. He was arrested in Brussels two days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and police later linked him to the discovery of raw materials for a huge bomb in the back of a Brussels restaurant.
A former professional soccer player, Trabelsi came to Europe in 1989 for a tryout with the German soccer team Fortuna Duesseldorf. He got a contract, but was soon let go. Over the next few years, he bounced from team to team in the minor leagues, acquiring a cocaine habit and a lengthy criminal record.
Eventually, he made his way to al-Qaida training camps in Afghanistan, where evidence presented at his trial showed he placed himself on a "list of martyrs" ready to commit suicide attacks.
"Trabelsi is an important figure for armed Islamic circles. He is a highly symbolic figure who has met Osama bin Laden," said Claude Moniquet, president of the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center, a Brussels-based think tank specializing in terrorism issues
Living the Fantasy: More Minutes Please
By NBA TV's Rick Kamla
I was talking with NBA.com’s Rob Peterson about this week’s article and he suggested writing about what I want for Christmas.After an inexplicably long pregnant pause—during which I pondered a kinder, gentler Jersey in the new year, the expulsion of bully cops from planet earth, and world peace—I told him I wanted more minutes for this guy, that guy, and the other guy. Thus, we are bringing back the More Minutes Team for you and yours this holiday season.By the way, that glimpse inside the spontaneously creative world of internet sports was brought to you by NBA.com, where bad rotations happen.
Freaks, most NBA coaches have rotations that at least make sense. You may not agree with the exact amount of playing time that each player is getting, but for a variety of logical reasons the rotation is effective. Bottom line: if the team is winning, the coach has the right rotation, whether it jives with the fantasy world or not.However, there are coaches in the NBA who—for a variety of illogical reasons—aren’t the playing the right guys the right amount of time. And these confused coaches don’t have the wins to justify the lame rotation.Of the 10 players covered in this article via the More Minutes First and Second Teams, only three play for teams that have their acts together: Lakers, Warriors, Raptors. The others are toiling for teams that are either heading for the lottery or struggling mightily.[Heady Disclaimer: Before I go any farther, I feel compelled to admit that I’m not privy to practices or locker rooms, and although I watch as much hoops as (in)humanly possible, I don’t see EVERY play of EVERY game. As such, there may be a behind-the-scenes, unreported angle that is legitimately creating a reduction in minutes for a player who I’m pumping up for more.]That said, I trust my read on this league and I don’t trust every coach in this league so we press on with my wish list for this holiday season…also known as The More Minutes Team.
More Minutes First TeamC – Al Harrington, Warriors: The artist formerly known as Baby Al is having a solid season, averaging 14.4 points and 5.4 rebounds while shooting 47 percent from the field, 41 percent from deep, and 79 percent from the line, yet Don Nelson has limited his minutes to 27.1 per game. Last year he averaged 32.3 minutes in Golden State following his trade from Indiana.
Nellie, what’s up with that?I first talked about this on last Saturday’s fantasy show and in some sort of strange coincidence, Al logged 31 minutes as the sixth man in a win over Memphis on Monday, and then he scored 25 points in 31 minutes as a starter in a win over my Wolves on Wednesday. I don’t know what was causing the reduction in minutes, but my guess is that Harrington will be safely into the 30s the rest of the way, be it off the bench or as a starter. It might be a good time to buy low here.F – David Lee, Knicks: Livewire Lee clocked 29.8 minutes per game last season, which I thought was much too low. This year, he’s humming along at 25.6 minutes per game and I am outraged and offended. The double-double dude from a year ago has had some rough games, but Lee, Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford have been the most consistent Knicks this season.So why can’t D Lee join Zach and Jamal in the 30s?Lee is producing in spite of the increased pine time, averaging a rock-solid 10 points and 7.3 rebounds while sniping 54 percent from the field and 84 percent from the line, so it’s tough to understand what Isiah Thomas is thinking with his rotation.Lee should be getting every minute behind Zach and Eddy Curry at the four and five. With Z-Bo (33.9) and Eddy (29.1) eating up a combined 63 of the 96 minutes available at those positions in a regulation game, the remaining 33 should go to Lee—barring foul trouble or injury. Wednesday’s 22 and 11 double-double in 38 minutes was very encouraging, but I simply do not trust Isiah to consistently give big minutes to Lee as long as Zach and Eddy are healthy. I hope I’m wrong.F – Paul Millsap, Jazz: With Mehmet Okur on the shelf with a shoulder injury, this should be Millsap’s time to shine. Unfortunately, Jerry Sloan is taking a page out of Lawrence Frank’s book by playing one of the Collins twins over a better player for some mysterious reason(s). Frank has since corrected his error, finally starting the athletic Sean Williams and Josh Boone over the un-athletic Jason Collins and Malik Allen in Tuesday’s loss to Sacto. Now it’s on Sloan to follow suit.Okur has missed the past five games. Over that stretch, Millsap has averages of 6.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, and 1.0 steals in 19 minutes. Over the same stretch, Jarron Collins is averaging 6.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 0.0 blocks, and 0.4 steals. That’s right, ZERO blocks in five games from a dude who’s 6-11.Sloan recently told reporters he likes Collins in the starting lineup and Millsap’s defense off the bench. Oh, well, that explains everything. Huh? What was that, Jerry? I can’t hear you through the insanity. Freaks, I realize Sloan is going to the Hall of Fame as a head coach and deservedly so, but this is one of the worst rotation decisions I have ever seen. Did I mention that Utah is 1-4 in their last five games? Could someone please tell Jazz owner Larry Miller to send a space shuttle to Planet Sloan so we can bring Jerry back to earth? Thanks so much.G – Bonzi Wells, Rockets: I have the solution to all of the Rockets’ problems and his name is Bonzi Wells. Yao Ming recently ripped the team for being soft. Rick Adelman recently lamented his team’s need for a third scorer. Done and done. Bonzi is tough as nails, always has been, and he still brings the dynamite in his briefcase when he goes to work.Through Wednesday’s work, Bonzi was averaging 22.4 minutes on the season. Our hero logged 31 minutes in Wednesday’s loss to Orlando, posting 17 points, six rebounds, and three assists. But the fantasy world can’t celebrate yet because Tracy McGrady was held out of the second half by the team’s coaches and trainers due to a sore knee. In other words, I’ll believe it when Adelman plays both McGrady and Bonzi more than 30 minutes in the same game.Here’s how Adelman finds the minutes. He benches power forwards Chuck Hayes and Luis Scola, who aren’t giving him much anyway, sliding Shane Battier (who played some four in Memphis) to that spot, freeing up major run for Bonzi at the three. I always thought Adelman was a Bonzi guy and vice versa, so I just don’t understand the limited run.That said, I strongly advocate picking up Wells right now, as the Rockets might shut down T-Mac for a spell.G – Kyle Lowry, Grizzlies: I can understand playing Damon Stoudamire 15-20 minutes a night off the bench, but he should not be starting ahead of Lowry. If you know your team isn’t going to make the playoffs (and that’s the reality in Memphis), then why rely on veteran guys who impede the development of up-and-comers like Lowry?Through Wednesday, Lowry was averaging more minutes than Damon (26.2 - 21.4), but that split needs to be more like 30-18 or 32-16. And some nights it is, like this past Saturday when Lowry played 31 and Damon played 17. However, in Wednesday’s win over the Spurs (how futuristic is Rudy Gay, by the way) Lowry played 14 minutes while Damon played 34.I like Marc Iavaroni as a head coach, and I get the fact he has three points guards who all need to play (Mike Conley is due back soon), but Lowry should be hovering around 30 minutes night in and night out. Period.More Minutes Second TeamC – Andrea Bargnani, Raptors: Assistant GM Maurizio Gherardini thinks Bargnani’s recent struggles are due to exhaustion and perhaps he’s right. But his recent dip in minutes is also due to the fine play of Kris Humphries, who was stolen from the Jazz for obvious draft bust Rafael Araujo. (Utah’s front office does a nice job, but what in the world was that?)Reigning Coach of the Year Sam Mitchell is coaching the heck out of his beat-up bunch of Raptors this season, making him a candidate to repeat as COY. But I just want to go on the record saying that Humphries should be playing over Rasho Nesterovic, NOT the first overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft. Bargnani has to see the floor when he’s right, he just has to. Hang in there, Bargnani owners, because he’ll be back in the good graces soon enough. Now get some sleep, Andrea. F – Craig Smith, Timberwolves: One of my favorite deep sleepers coming into the season played just 24 minutes in Wednesday’s loss to Golden State, and he had only three fouls. Ryan Gomes logged 28 minutes off the bench, scoring eight and rebounding six, while Smith had eight and five, respectively, in four fewer minutes.The Wolves were in Miami on Monday, where Randy Wittman started former Heat player Michael Doleac over Smith, who had topped the 30-point mark in two of the previous four games—including 30 and 10 in Milwaukee on Saturday.What is going on here? How do you get benched two days after dropping 30 and 10? What does C Smith have to do to get more time? Freaks, Gomes is a nice player, but Smith could become a beast. Why don’t the Wolves understand this and structure their rotation as such?F – Al Thornton, Clippers: So lemme get this straight. The Clippers waive Ruben Patterson to reportedly free up time for Thornton, and then Mike Dunleavy Sr. starts Richie Frahm at the three on Tuesday night? I’m Ron Burgundy?In the last three games, Thornton has logged 22, 26, and 11 minutes, averaging 7.3 points and 3.7 rebounds over that stretch. I was all psyched to pick up Thornton, who gives you the fantasy gold—blocks, steals, and threes. But as it stands, he’s back on waivers and I’m closely monitoring the situation.G – Louis Williams, 76ers: This dude is talented. He’s a third-year combo guard who can get to the bucket and stroke it from deep, but he’s averaging only 21.5 minutes. To me, it’s okay if you wanna start Willie Green over Lou, but then you gotta make it right by giving Lou more minutes. Through Wednesday’s game Willie was clocking 29.2 minutes per game.Stats don’t always tell the story, but in this case the stats are at least telling. Green is averaging 13 points and 2.1 assists, while shooting 43 percent from the field, 37 percent from deep, and 79 percent from the line. In a word: yawn. Williams is averaging 10.5 points and 3.6 assists in 7.7 fewer minutes. And Williams is shooting quite a bit better than Green, as Lou is netting 45 percent from the field, 44 percent from three-point range, and 78 percent from free.Mo Cheeks obviously does not subscribe to the theory of getting your best five players on the court because Lou brings more to the floor than Willie. Williams is gamely playing through a fracture in his right big toe these days, so his minutes may be justifiably limited because of that. But that recent injury does not explain a year-long bad rotation in Philly.Let Lou play! Let Lou play! Let Lou play!G – Jordan Farmar, Lakers: It’s impossible to argue with what Phil Jackson is doing with this year’s Lakers, who are 15-9 as I peck away. Hey, if the finicky Kobe Bryant is happy with the Lakers, who the heck am I to be critical? Because Phil’s rotation is working to perfection and because Derek Fisher is a stud, I’m not fired up about Farmar’s paltry 20.6 minutes per game.The point to make here is that Farmar is ready to start and play big minutes, which I can’t believe I’m saying based on what I saw from him last year at this time. Through tons of hard work by Farmar and great tutelage by the coaching staff, he is averaging 9.3 points, 3.0 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in the limited time, while shooting 48 percent from the field and 41 percent from beyond.Simply put, Farmar is the Lakers’ sixth man, a candidate for Most Improved Player, and a future fantasy stud. Just add minutes.Ho-ho, ha-ha, and PEACE
I was talking with NBA.com’s Rob Peterson about this week’s article and he suggested writing about what I want for Christmas.After an inexplicably long pregnant pause—during which I pondered a kinder, gentler Jersey in the new year, the expulsion of bully cops from planet earth, and world peace—I told him I wanted more minutes for this guy, that guy, and the other guy. Thus, we are bringing back the More Minutes Team for you and yours this holiday season.By the way, that glimpse inside the spontaneously creative world of internet sports was brought to you by NBA.com, where bad rotations happen.
Freaks, most NBA coaches have rotations that at least make sense. You may not agree with the exact amount of playing time that each player is getting, but for a variety of logical reasons the rotation is effective. Bottom line: if the team is winning, the coach has the right rotation, whether it jives with the fantasy world or not.However, there are coaches in the NBA who—for a variety of illogical reasons—aren’t the playing the right guys the right amount of time. And these confused coaches don’t have the wins to justify the lame rotation.Of the 10 players covered in this article via the More Minutes First and Second Teams, only three play for teams that have their acts together: Lakers, Warriors, Raptors. The others are toiling for teams that are either heading for the lottery or struggling mightily.[Heady Disclaimer: Before I go any farther, I feel compelled to admit that I’m not privy to practices or locker rooms, and although I watch as much hoops as (in)humanly possible, I don’t see EVERY play of EVERY game. As such, there may be a behind-the-scenes, unreported angle that is legitimately creating a reduction in minutes for a player who I’m pumping up for more.]That said, I trust my read on this league and I don’t trust every coach in this league so we press on with my wish list for this holiday season…also known as The More Minutes Team.
More Minutes First TeamC – Al Harrington, Warriors: The artist formerly known as Baby Al is having a solid season, averaging 14.4 points and 5.4 rebounds while shooting 47 percent from the field, 41 percent from deep, and 79 percent from the line, yet Don Nelson has limited his minutes to 27.1 per game. Last year he averaged 32.3 minutes in Golden State following his trade from Indiana.
Nellie, what’s up with that?I first talked about this on last Saturday’s fantasy show and in some sort of strange coincidence, Al logged 31 minutes as the sixth man in a win over Memphis on Monday, and then he scored 25 points in 31 minutes as a starter in a win over my Wolves on Wednesday. I don’t know what was causing the reduction in minutes, but my guess is that Harrington will be safely into the 30s the rest of the way, be it off the bench or as a starter. It might be a good time to buy low here.F – David Lee, Knicks: Livewire Lee clocked 29.8 minutes per game last season, which I thought was much too low. This year, he’s humming along at 25.6 minutes per game and I am outraged and offended. The double-double dude from a year ago has had some rough games, but Lee, Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford have been the most consistent Knicks this season.So why can’t D Lee join Zach and Jamal in the 30s?Lee is producing in spite of the increased pine time, averaging a rock-solid 10 points and 7.3 rebounds while sniping 54 percent from the field and 84 percent from the line, so it’s tough to understand what Isiah Thomas is thinking with his rotation.Lee should be getting every minute behind Zach and Eddy Curry at the four and five. With Z-Bo (33.9) and Eddy (29.1) eating up a combined 63 of the 96 minutes available at those positions in a regulation game, the remaining 33 should go to Lee—barring foul trouble or injury. Wednesday’s 22 and 11 double-double in 38 minutes was very encouraging, but I simply do not trust Isiah to consistently give big minutes to Lee as long as Zach and Eddy are healthy. I hope I’m wrong.F – Paul Millsap, Jazz: With Mehmet Okur on the shelf with a shoulder injury, this should be Millsap’s time to shine. Unfortunately, Jerry Sloan is taking a page out of Lawrence Frank’s book by playing one of the Collins twins over a better player for some mysterious reason(s). Frank has since corrected his error, finally starting the athletic Sean Williams and Josh Boone over the un-athletic Jason Collins and Malik Allen in Tuesday’s loss to Sacto. Now it’s on Sloan to follow suit.Okur has missed the past five games. Over that stretch, Millsap has averages of 6.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, and 1.0 steals in 19 minutes. Over the same stretch, Jarron Collins is averaging 6.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 0.0 blocks, and 0.4 steals. That’s right, ZERO blocks in five games from a dude who’s 6-11.Sloan recently told reporters he likes Collins in the starting lineup and Millsap’s defense off the bench. Oh, well, that explains everything. Huh? What was that, Jerry? I can’t hear you through the insanity. Freaks, I realize Sloan is going to the Hall of Fame as a head coach and deservedly so, but this is one of the worst rotation decisions I have ever seen. Did I mention that Utah is 1-4 in their last five games? Could someone please tell Jazz owner Larry Miller to send a space shuttle to Planet Sloan so we can bring Jerry back to earth? Thanks so much.G – Bonzi Wells, Rockets: I have the solution to all of the Rockets’ problems and his name is Bonzi Wells. Yao Ming recently ripped the team for being soft. Rick Adelman recently lamented his team’s need for a third scorer. Done and done. Bonzi is tough as nails, always has been, and he still brings the dynamite in his briefcase when he goes to work.Through Wednesday’s work, Bonzi was averaging 22.4 minutes on the season. Our hero logged 31 minutes in Wednesday’s loss to Orlando, posting 17 points, six rebounds, and three assists. But the fantasy world can’t celebrate yet because Tracy McGrady was held out of the second half by the team’s coaches and trainers due to a sore knee. In other words, I’ll believe it when Adelman plays both McGrady and Bonzi more than 30 minutes in the same game.Here’s how Adelman finds the minutes. He benches power forwards Chuck Hayes and Luis Scola, who aren’t giving him much anyway, sliding Shane Battier (who played some four in Memphis) to that spot, freeing up major run for Bonzi at the three. I always thought Adelman was a Bonzi guy and vice versa, so I just don’t understand the limited run.That said, I strongly advocate picking up Wells right now, as the Rockets might shut down T-Mac for a spell.G – Kyle Lowry, Grizzlies: I can understand playing Damon Stoudamire 15-20 minutes a night off the bench, but he should not be starting ahead of Lowry. If you know your team isn’t going to make the playoffs (and that’s the reality in Memphis), then why rely on veteran guys who impede the development of up-and-comers like Lowry?Through Wednesday, Lowry was averaging more minutes than Damon (26.2 - 21.4), but that split needs to be more like 30-18 or 32-16. And some nights it is, like this past Saturday when Lowry played 31 and Damon played 17. However, in Wednesday’s win over the Spurs (how futuristic is Rudy Gay, by the way) Lowry played 14 minutes while Damon played 34.I like Marc Iavaroni as a head coach, and I get the fact he has three points guards who all need to play (Mike Conley is due back soon), but Lowry should be hovering around 30 minutes night in and night out. Period.More Minutes Second TeamC – Andrea Bargnani, Raptors: Assistant GM Maurizio Gherardini thinks Bargnani’s recent struggles are due to exhaustion and perhaps he’s right. But his recent dip in minutes is also due to the fine play of Kris Humphries, who was stolen from the Jazz for obvious draft bust Rafael Araujo. (Utah’s front office does a nice job, but what in the world was that?)Reigning Coach of the Year Sam Mitchell is coaching the heck out of his beat-up bunch of Raptors this season, making him a candidate to repeat as COY. But I just want to go on the record saying that Humphries should be playing over Rasho Nesterovic, NOT the first overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft. Bargnani has to see the floor when he’s right, he just has to. Hang in there, Bargnani owners, because he’ll be back in the good graces soon enough. Now get some sleep, Andrea. F – Craig Smith, Timberwolves: One of my favorite deep sleepers coming into the season played just 24 minutes in Wednesday’s loss to Golden State, and he had only three fouls. Ryan Gomes logged 28 minutes off the bench, scoring eight and rebounding six, while Smith had eight and five, respectively, in four fewer minutes.The Wolves were in Miami on Monday, where Randy Wittman started former Heat player Michael Doleac over Smith, who had topped the 30-point mark in two of the previous four games—including 30 and 10 in Milwaukee on Saturday.What is going on here? How do you get benched two days after dropping 30 and 10? What does C Smith have to do to get more time? Freaks, Gomes is a nice player, but Smith could become a beast. Why don’t the Wolves understand this and structure their rotation as such?F – Al Thornton, Clippers: So lemme get this straight. The Clippers waive Ruben Patterson to reportedly free up time for Thornton, and then Mike Dunleavy Sr. starts Richie Frahm at the three on Tuesday night? I’m Ron Burgundy?In the last three games, Thornton has logged 22, 26, and 11 minutes, averaging 7.3 points and 3.7 rebounds over that stretch. I was all psyched to pick up Thornton, who gives you the fantasy gold—blocks, steals, and threes. But as it stands, he’s back on waivers and I’m closely monitoring the situation.G – Louis Williams, 76ers: This dude is talented. He’s a third-year combo guard who can get to the bucket and stroke it from deep, but he’s averaging only 21.5 minutes. To me, it’s okay if you wanna start Willie Green over Lou, but then you gotta make it right by giving Lou more minutes. Through Wednesday’s game Willie was clocking 29.2 minutes per game.Stats don’t always tell the story, but in this case the stats are at least telling. Green is averaging 13 points and 2.1 assists, while shooting 43 percent from the field, 37 percent from deep, and 79 percent from the line. In a word: yawn. Williams is averaging 10.5 points and 3.6 assists in 7.7 fewer minutes. And Williams is shooting quite a bit better than Green, as Lou is netting 45 percent from the field, 44 percent from three-point range, and 78 percent from free.Mo Cheeks obviously does not subscribe to the theory of getting your best five players on the court because Lou brings more to the floor than Willie. Williams is gamely playing through a fracture in his right big toe these days, so his minutes may be justifiably limited because of that. But that recent injury does not explain a year-long bad rotation in Philly.Let Lou play! Let Lou play! Let Lou play!G – Jordan Farmar, Lakers: It’s impossible to argue with what Phil Jackson is doing with this year’s Lakers, who are 15-9 as I peck away. Hey, if the finicky Kobe Bryant is happy with the Lakers, who the heck am I to be critical? Because Phil’s rotation is working to perfection and because Derek Fisher is a stud, I’m not fired up about Farmar’s paltry 20.6 minutes per game.The point to make here is that Farmar is ready to start and play big minutes, which I can’t believe I’m saying based on what I saw from him last year at this time. Through tons of hard work by Farmar and great tutelage by the coaching staff, he is averaging 9.3 points, 3.0 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in the limited time, while shooting 48 percent from the field and 41 percent from beyond.Simply put, Farmar is the Lakers’ sixth man, a candidate for Most Improved Player, and a future fantasy stud. Just add minutes.Ho-ho, ha-ha, and PEACE
Durant Helps Sonics Hold Off Toronto
Sonics 123, Raptors 115 (F)
SEATTLE, Dec. 21 (AP), -- About halfway to the basket, Kevin Durant decided his skinny frame wasn't about to shy away from taking on a 7-footer at the rim.
The result: 27 games into his NBA career, Seattle's 19-year-old rookie now has a poster-worthy dunk sure to be replayed and highlighted often.
Durant's baseline slam over 7-foot Toronto center Rasho Nesterovic was certainly impressive enough. But the dunk was only part of Durant's 27-point performance, as the SuperSonics held off the Raptors 123-115 on Friday night.
When Durant caught the touch pass from Earl Watson and took one dribble toward the basket, he didn't plan on dunking over Nesterovic. But when the burly center went to challenge Durant, the rookie showed he can power the big guys on the inside.
"I've just got to start doing that more, trying to finish when guys attack,'' Durant said. "That was one of the turning points of the game.''
The Sonics rebounded from a lackluster, uninspired effort two nights earlier against New Orleans, thanks largely to Durant, who made 11 of 18 shots, and 23 points from Wally Szczerbiak.
Durant scored 14 in the third quarter, including Seattle's first 11 of the second half. His dunk and subsequent free-throw pulled Seattle within 70-67, but it was Durant's no-look pass to Chris Wilcox for a fastbreak dunk minutes later that ignited a 21-9 Sonics' run to close the third quarter.
Seattle eventually built an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter, and it needed all of the advantage to hold off a late flurry by the Raptors.
Chris Bosh led Toronto with 26 points, 16 coming in the first half, but he had just two points in the fourth quarter and made just 1-of-6 attempts. The Raptors dropped their second straight game on a seven-game Western Conference swing, but made the Sonics sweat in the final seconds.
Seattle took its biggest lead at 116-98 on Durant's fourth 3-pointer with 4:09 left. Toronto made a furious rally, outscoring Seattle 13-0 over the next 2 1/2 minutes, behind 3-pointers from Carlos Delfino, Jason Kapono and Anthony Parker, and two baskets by Jose Calderon.
Szczerbiak's jumper with 1:25 left stemmed the surge, but Calderon scored again. Calderon finally missed, but a Seattle turnover gave Toronto the ball with 36 seconds left, down 118-113.
Delfino hit a wide open 3 with 31 seconds left, but officials correctly ruled his left foot was on the sideline when he caught the ball.
"We needed that call, no question,'' Szczerbiak said.
After Damien Wilkins made one of two free throws, Bosh dropped an inbound pass that Wilkins grabbed. He hit both free throws this time to seal the victory.
"We battled back, but then you have to try and play perfect basketball and you make one mistake and it deflates you,'' Toronto coach Sam Mitchell said.
Wilcox shot 7 of 7 and finished with 16 points and Nick Collison had 10 points and 10 rebounds, as seven Sonics scored in double figures. Watson, Jeff Green and Luke Ridnour all added 10 points.
Seattle took control with its run late in the third quarter, but it was the start of the quarter where Durant kept the Sonics close.
Durant added a deep 3 as part of Seattle's run, but it was Collison, Green and Szczerbiak doing most of the work. Collison assisted on three straight baskets and Szczerbiak capped the quarter with his third 3-pointer to give Seattle a 92-83 lead.
The lead grew to 18 on Durant's 3-pointer, before Toronto's final rally.
"We have to play better defense. I think we just had a couple of breakdowns and their confidence went up a little bit,'' Bosh said.
The Raptors matched their season-high with 13 3-pointers. Parker scored 18 and Kapono scored 16 off the bench. Delfino and Calderon both finished with 15.
Notes: Calderon had seven assists in the first quarter and finished with 16, matching his season-high. ... Toronto led 62-56 at halftime. The 62 points was Toronto's most in the first half this season. ... Seattle has three days off before playing Christmas night in Portland.
Copyright 2007 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited
SEATTLE, Dec. 21 (AP), -- About halfway to the basket, Kevin Durant decided his skinny frame wasn't about to shy away from taking on a 7-footer at the rim.
The result: 27 games into his NBA career, Seattle's 19-year-old rookie now has a poster-worthy dunk sure to be replayed and highlighted often.
Durant's baseline slam over 7-foot Toronto center Rasho Nesterovic was certainly impressive enough. But the dunk was only part of Durant's 27-point performance, as the SuperSonics held off the Raptors 123-115 on Friday night.
When Durant caught the touch pass from Earl Watson and took one dribble toward the basket, he didn't plan on dunking over Nesterovic. But when the burly center went to challenge Durant, the rookie showed he can power the big guys on the inside.
"I've just got to start doing that more, trying to finish when guys attack,'' Durant said. "That was one of the turning points of the game.''
The Sonics rebounded from a lackluster, uninspired effort two nights earlier against New Orleans, thanks largely to Durant, who made 11 of 18 shots, and 23 points from Wally Szczerbiak.
Durant scored 14 in the third quarter, including Seattle's first 11 of the second half. His dunk and subsequent free-throw pulled Seattle within 70-67, but it was Durant's no-look pass to Chris Wilcox for a fastbreak dunk minutes later that ignited a 21-9 Sonics' run to close the third quarter.
Seattle eventually built an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter, and it needed all of the advantage to hold off a late flurry by the Raptors.
Chris Bosh led Toronto with 26 points, 16 coming in the first half, but he had just two points in the fourth quarter and made just 1-of-6 attempts. The Raptors dropped their second straight game on a seven-game Western Conference swing, but made the Sonics sweat in the final seconds.
Seattle took its biggest lead at 116-98 on Durant's fourth 3-pointer with 4:09 left. Toronto made a furious rally, outscoring Seattle 13-0 over the next 2 1/2 minutes, behind 3-pointers from Carlos Delfino, Jason Kapono and Anthony Parker, and two baskets by Jose Calderon.
Szczerbiak's jumper with 1:25 left stemmed the surge, but Calderon scored again. Calderon finally missed, but a Seattle turnover gave Toronto the ball with 36 seconds left, down 118-113.
Delfino hit a wide open 3 with 31 seconds left, but officials correctly ruled his left foot was on the sideline when he caught the ball.
"We needed that call, no question,'' Szczerbiak said.
After Damien Wilkins made one of two free throws, Bosh dropped an inbound pass that Wilkins grabbed. He hit both free throws this time to seal the victory.
"We battled back, but then you have to try and play perfect basketball and you make one mistake and it deflates you,'' Toronto coach Sam Mitchell said.
Wilcox shot 7 of 7 and finished with 16 points and Nick Collison had 10 points and 10 rebounds, as seven Sonics scored in double figures. Watson, Jeff Green and Luke Ridnour all added 10 points.
Seattle took control with its run late in the third quarter, but it was the start of the quarter where Durant kept the Sonics close.
Durant added a deep 3 as part of Seattle's run, but it was Collison, Green and Szczerbiak doing most of the work. Collison assisted on three straight baskets and Szczerbiak capped the quarter with his third 3-pointer to give Seattle a 92-83 lead.
The lead grew to 18 on Durant's 3-pointer, before Toronto's final rally.
"We have to play better defense. I think we just had a couple of breakdowns and their confidence went up a little bit,'' Bosh said.
The Raptors matched their season-high with 13 3-pointers. Parker scored 18 and Kapono scored 16 off the bench. Delfino and Calderon both finished with 15.
Notes: Calderon had seven assists in the first quarter and finished with 16, matching his season-high. ... Toronto led 62-56 at halftime. The 62 points was Toronto's most in the first half this season. ... Seattle has three days off before playing Christmas night in Portland.
Copyright 2007 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited
Riding High? Amtrak Sees Ridership Rise
Saturday December 22, 9:37 am ET By Jim Suhr, AP Business Writer
Riding High? Amtrak Chugs for Record Ridership Despite Funding, Scheduling Issues
ABOARD AMTRAK'S LINCOLN SERVICE (AP) -- The Illinois cornfields whizzing past Mark Hardacre's view from the Amtrak cafe car had nothing on the memorable splendor the Australian had already taken in on his trans-America adventure -- the Pacific Ocean so vast and blue off California's coast. The emerald green of the Northwest forests. The majesty of the snowcapped Rockies.
But the cheery man from New South Wales was breathless about seeing a couple of things he'd not seen in his three previous Amtrak treks across this nation's rails over the past two decades -- Americans seeming to outnumber tourists, and far fewer empty seats.
"It's good to see the Americans starting to use their trains, because if they don't use them they'll lose them," Hardacre, 53, said recently as Amtrak click-clacked its way from St. Louis to Chicago, just one leg of his monthlong sightseeing trip with his wife, Janice.
To Amtrak, it's proof that despite vexing challenges, it's on the right track.
The money-losing service, which relies heavily on government funding, says it is riding higher, illustrated by the hundreds of thousands of additional riders flocking to expanded routes in Illinois and California. Amtrak is chugging toward its fifth-straight record year for ridership nationwide, helped by high gasoline prices and congested highways and airports that seem to have encouraged people to keep their vehicles parked.
But Amtrak's headaches remain, and the biggest is funding. The service has never been out of the red since its launch in 1971, meaning it must rely on government handouts year after year.
In trying to hash out the federal budget for next year, Congress is weighing how much U.S. taxpayers should underwrite the passenger service. Amtrak has requested $1.53 billion, nearly twice the amount the Bush Administration wants to give it. In the past, Bush has proposed giving the service nothing.
A House appropriations committee recently agreed to boost Amtrak's federal funding to $1.4 billion -- a modest increase from the service's $1.3 billion in government help -- while a Senate panel has endorsed spending $1.37 billion. But Bush has promised to veto any spending bills exceeding his budget requests, forcing Amtrak to slice service if the president makes good on his threat.
Amtrak says the elusiveness of stable funding holds it back, leaving it unable to commit to infrastructure improvements, get past having to use using some equipment dating back half a century or add new rail cars it says it can easily fill on some routes.
The service also continues to be nagged by travel delays, mostly tied to having to share the tracks with freight haulers that own the rails and charge Amtrak a modest fee -- $90 million in the last fiscal year -- for using them. With freight traffic soaring in recent years, Amtrak's on-time performance slid to an average of 68 percent last year, its worst showing since the 1970s.
"There's room for improvement, and we're looking for it," said Marc Magliari, an Amtrak spokesman.
Since taking over as Amtrak's president last September, Alex Kummant has stumped that the U.S. should embrace rail travel at a time of growing transportation needs and high oil prices. He said he's always wondered "why the Amtrak debate is so emotional and at times acrimonious."
The easy answer is money.
Amtrak has more than $3.3 billion in debt -- largely tied to equipment leases. Amtrak's operating losses for 2005 topped $550 million, and its struggles along certain routes continue: The iconic Sunset Limited train between New Orleans and Los Angeles, for instance, loses 62 cents per passenger mile.
Amtrak officials are pinning their hopes on the bipartisan Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act, which would authorize $3.3 billion for operating expenses and $4.9 billion for capital improvements over the life of the bill, from 2008 to 2012.
"We can't keep asking Amtrak to operate like a business while we string the company along year to year," Sen. Trent Lott, the Mississippi Republican sponsoring the bill with Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, said in January.
The haggling over funding comes as Amtrak's ridership flourishes. Passengers for the fiscal year that ended last September numbered 24.3 million, setting a record for the fourth year in a row when comparing the same routes along the 21,000-mile system serving 500 stations in 46 states and Washington, D.C.
Between last October and March, Amtrak's riders numbered 14.3 million, up 5 percent over the previous year and sailing toward another record.
At least some of that growth might be tied to the investment by Illinois and 13 other states in short-distance corridors Amtrak otherwise wouldn't offer, essentially paying for service where they see a need.
Last fall, Amtrak added two state-financed round-trips between St. Louis and Chicago and one apiece between from Quincy and Carbondale to the Windy City. Ridership spiked by 189,823 for the first two-thirds of this fiscal year, bringing the total passenger count in the state to 670,605.
To William Rechtenwald, it's a real bargain. The journalism teacher at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale takes Amtrak several times a year to Chicago, finding the service comfortable enough, at roughly $100 round-trip cheaper than driving and tolls, and less hassle than maneuvering through congested freeways.
"I'm a fan of Amtrak," he said. "It's a much wiser choice than driving."
"Instead of turning people away, we now are able to put them on trains," Magliari said. "We've always found around the country that frequency drives ridership."
That's proven true in California. Just months after eight trains were added to the state-subsidized Amtrak service between Sacramento and the Bay Area, officials say ridership on that "Capitol Corridor" continues climbing. Ridership on the 170-mile service now with 32 trains was nearly 1.3 million in 2005, nearly triple the 460,000 passengers who rode those rails eight years ago. Administrators credit their giving passengers more options, with 16 round-trip trains a day a far cry from the three offered in 1991.
With no federal funding to call upon, the Capitol Corridor -- the nation's third-busiest rail line in the Amtrak system -- was built and runs solely with state and local funds.
Amtrak and its state partners are pondering more routes, if there's money to pull it off.
To the Midwest High Speed Rail Association's Rick Harnish, Amtrak's time is now.
"The era of cheap oil is over, and we have to find ways to take costs out of the system. There should be a lot more trains running, and they should be faster," he said. "If ridership is growing this strongly with the kind of delays they get, just think of what kind of response they'd get if they ran on time.
"It's not rocket science," he said. "It's just about providing a good product."
Riding High? Amtrak Chugs for Record Ridership Despite Funding, Scheduling Issues
ABOARD AMTRAK'S LINCOLN SERVICE (AP) -- The Illinois cornfields whizzing past Mark Hardacre's view from the Amtrak cafe car had nothing on the memorable splendor the Australian had already taken in on his trans-America adventure -- the Pacific Ocean so vast and blue off California's coast. The emerald green of the Northwest forests. The majesty of the snowcapped Rockies.
But the cheery man from New South Wales was breathless about seeing a couple of things he'd not seen in his three previous Amtrak treks across this nation's rails over the past two decades -- Americans seeming to outnumber tourists, and far fewer empty seats.
"It's good to see the Americans starting to use their trains, because if they don't use them they'll lose them," Hardacre, 53, said recently as Amtrak click-clacked its way from St. Louis to Chicago, just one leg of his monthlong sightseeing trip with his wife, Janice.
To Amtrak, it's proof that despite vexing challenges, it's on the right track.
The money-losing service, which relies heavily on government funding, says it is riding higher, illustrated by the hundreds of thousands of additional riders flocking to expanded routes in Illinois and California. Amtrak is chugging toward its fifth-straight record year for ridership nationwide, helped by high gasoline prices and congested highways and airports that seem to have encouraged people to keep their vehicles parked.
But Amtrak's headaches remain, and the biggest is funding. The service has never been out of the red since its launch in 1971, meaning it must rely on government handouts year after year.
In trying to hash out the federal budget for next year, Congress is weighing how much U.S. taxpayers should underwrite the passenger service. Amtrak has requested $1.53 billion, nearly twice the amount the Bush Administration wants to give it. In the past, Bush has proposed giving the service nothing.
A House appropriations committee recently agreed to boost Amtrak's federal funding to $1.4 billion -- a modest increase from the service's $1.3 billion in government help -- while a Senate panel has endorsed spending $1.37 billion. But Bush has promised to veto any spending bills exceeding his budget requests, forcing Amtrak to slice service if the president makes good on his threat.
Amtrak says the elusiveness of stable funding holds it back, leaving it unable to commit to infrastructure improvements, get past having to use using some equipment dating back half a century or add new rail cars it says it can easily fill on some routes.
The service also continues to be nagged by travel delays, mostly tied to having to share the tracks with freight haulers that own the rails and charge Amtrak a modest fee -- $90 million in the last fiscal year -- for using them. With freight traffic soaring in recent years, Amtrak's on-time performance slid to an average of 68 percent last year, its worst showing since the 1970s.
"There's room for improvement, and we're looking for it," said Marc Magliari, an Amtrak spokesman.
Since taking over as Amtrak's president last September, Alex Kummant has stumped that the U.S. should embrace rail travel at a time of growing transportation needs and high oil prices. He said he's always wondered "why the Amtrak debate is so emotional and at times acrimonious."
The easy answer is money.
Amtrak has more than $3.3 billion in debt -- largely tied to equipment leases. Amtrak's operating losses for 2005 topped $550 million, and its struggles along certain routes continue: The iconic Sunset Limited train between New Orleans and Los Angeles, for instance, loses 62 cents per passenger mile.
Amtrak officials are pinning their hopes on the bipartisan Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act, which would authorize $3.3 billion for operating expenses and $4.9 billion for capital improvements over the life of the bill, from 2008 to 2012.
"We can't keep asking Amtrak to operate like a business while we string the company along year to year," Sen. Trent Lott, the Mississippi Republican sponsoring the bill with Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, said in January.
The haggling over funding comes as Amtrak's ridership flourishes. Passengers for the fiscal year that ended last September numbered 24.3 million, setting a record for the fourth year in a row when comparing the same routes along the 21,000-mile system serving 500 stations in 46 states and Washington, D.C.
Between last October and March, Amtrak's riders numbered 14.3 million, up 5 percent over the previous year and sailing toward another record.
At least some of that growth might be tied to the investment by Illinois and 13 other states in short-distance corridors Amtrak otherwise wouldn't offer, essentially paying for service where they see a need.
Last fall, Amtrak added two state-financed round-trips between St. Louis and Chicago and one apiece between from Quincy and Carbondale to the Windy City. Ridership spiked by 189,823 for the first two-thirds of this fiscal year, bringing the total passenger count in the state to 670,605.
To William Rechtenwald, it's a real bargain. The journalism teacher at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale takes Amtrak several times a year to Chicago, finding the service comfortable enough, at roughly $100 round-trip cheaper than driving and tolls, and less hassle than maneuvering through congested freeways.
"I'm a fan of Amtrak," he said. "It's a much wiser choice than driving."
"Instead of turning people away, we now are able to put them on trains," Magliari said. "We've always found around the country that frequency drives ridership."
That's proven true in California. Just months after eight trains were added to the state-subsidized Amtrak service between Sacramento and the Bay Area, officials say ridership on that "Capitol Corridor" continues climbing. Ridership on the 170-mile service now with 32 trains was nearly 1.3 million in 2005, nearly triple the 460,000 passengers who rode those rails eight years ago. Administrators credit their giving passengers more options, with 16 round-trip trains a day a far cry from the three offered in 1991.
With no federal funding to call upon, the Capitol Corridor -- the nation's third-busiest rail line in the Amtrak system -- was built and runs solely with state and local funds.
Amtrak and its state partners are pondering more routes, if there's money to pull it off.
To the Midwest High Speed Rail Association's Rick Harnish, Amtrak's time is now.
"The era of cheap oil is over, and we have to find ways to take costs out of the system. There should be a lot more trains running, and they should be faster," he said. "If ridership is growing this strongly with the kind of delays they get, just think of what kind of response they'd get if they ran on time.
"It's not rocket science," he said. "It's just about providing a good product."
Who is the Y! Sports fighter of the year?
Floyd Mayweather Jr., Joe Calzaghe, Miguel Cotto and Kelly Pavlik have combined for a 146-0 record and 111 knockouts.
Mayweather has won world titles at every division from super featherweight through super welterweight and has been considered the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world for the last several years.
Calzaghe has worn a super middleweight title for more than 10 years and is 22-0 in world title fights.
Cotto has been a champion at both 140 and 147 pounds and is ranked No. 4 in the Yahoo! Sports poll of the world's top boxers.
Pavlik won the middleweight title in September when he knocked out Jermain Taylor and has fought past the eighth round only once in his career.
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Yet, none of the four have ever won the Fighter of the Year honor from the Boxing Writers Association of America.
But one of them will this year win that honor from Yahoo! Sports. Each has a significant claim to make, so let's take a look at each:
Floyd Mayweather: He went 2-0 in 2007, winning the WBC super welterweight title by split decision over Oscar De La Hoya on May 5 in the largest-grossing fight in boxing history. He followed that with a decisive 10th round stoppage of Ricky Hatton on Dec. 8 in a battle for the WBC welterweight title.
He's the best defensive fighter of any of the top contenders and he's underrated offensively. Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward said before Mayweather destroyed Hatton that Hatton would be in trouble if Mayweather fought aggressively.
Mayweather was aggressive, repeatedly hurt Hatton, and wound up stopping him after a vicious left hook.
Joe Calzaghe: The Welshman, whose father, Enzo, is the 2007 Yahoo! Sports Trainer of the Year, was 2-0 in the year as well. He stopped the overmatched Peter Manfredo Jr. in the third round on April 7 and then outpointed previously unbeaten Mikkel Kessler on Nov. 3 in a super middleweight unification.
Calzaghe, No. 3 in the Yahoo! Sports poll, may be the game's most complete fighter. He proved against Kessler that he was dangerous fighting backward as well as coming forward. He has a wide variety of punches, which he demonstrated against Kessler, and he's much better defensively than he's given credit for.
Kelly Pavlik: Pavlik went 3-0 and went from unproven would-be prospect to acclaimed middleweight champion. He began the year with an eighth-round knockout of Jose Luis Zertuche on Jan. 27 in a fight that many in his camp didn't want him to take. He followed that with a seventh-round stoppage of Edison Miranda on May 19 and capped the year by getting off the deck to stop Taylor for the title on Sept. 29. He's hands down the year's most exciting fighter.
Miguel Cotto: Cotto also went 3-0, stopping a game but outclassed Oktay Urkal in March. He had his biggest test in June, when he faced Zab Judah. He passed that test, taking several hard shots from Judah early but continued to move forward. He wound up stopping Judah in the 11th to retain the WBA welterweight title.
In November, he recorded the biggest win of his career by outpointing former world No. 1 Shane Mosley.
"It was my best year in boxing," Cotto said. "I faced the best names I've faced in my career. People wondered if I could stay in there with fighters like Zab Judah and Shane Mosley and I proved that I could."
The choice has to come down to either Pavlik or Cotto.
Calzaghe only had one tough fight and, while he was superb, one big win isn't enough when you're comparing fighters at this level.
Mayweather, too, suffers from the competition issue. Hatton was moving up in weight and few careful observers figured Hatton could win. Cotto, who was ringside for that bout, said, "To me, Hatton was overrated. Mayweather should have won that fight."
And in the De La Hoya fight, he wasn't his usual dominant self and won by a split decision in a bout many thought he deserved to lose.
Either Pavlik or Cotto would be a good choice, but when you line up the opponents, Cotto beat a far better class of opponent.
Mosley-Judah is a better 1-2 than Taylor-Miranda.
That's enough for me.
Miguel Cotto is the 2007 Yahoo! Sports Fighter of the Year.
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