вторник, 3 июля 2012 г.
четверг, 15 марта 2012 г.
US man found guilty of abusing Cambodian boy
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A Cambodian court has sentenced an American man to four years in prison on charges of sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy.
Judge Suos Sam Ath of Phnom Penh Municipal Court said James D'Agostino was found guilty Friday of paying for sexual services from a minor. He paid tuition for the boy, who stayed at his home.
D'Agostino, 56, denied the accusation. He was a …
Improving blood pressure control in hypertensive hemodialysis patients/Amélioration de la maîtrise de la tension artérielle chez les patients hémodialysés hypertendus
By Zorica Kauric-Klein, MSN, APRN, and Nancy Artinian, PhD, RN
Learning objectives
After reading the article, the reader will be able to:
1. Understand the prevalence, pathophysiology and consequences of hypertension in the hemodialysis population.
2. Discuss possible reasons for uncontrolled blood pressure in the hemodialysis population.
3. Discuss how a nonpharmacologic intervention such as home BP monitoring can help control blood pressure in dialysis patients.
Abstract
Hypertension is very prevalent among patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis. The purpose of this randomized controlled study was to determine if home blood pressure …
Storm Rips Holes in Georgia Dome
Alabama and Mississippi State were locked in a thrilling game at the Southeastern Conference tournament. Suddenly, everyone started looking toward the roof of the Georgia Dome, wondering where that rumbling sound was coming from.
What they saw was terrifying.
Metal scaffolding and a temporary video board swaying back and forth. The huge fabric roof flapping like a flag in a stiff breeze. Two large panels above the upper deck starting to peel away. Small chunks of insulation and debris drifting toward the court.
A possible tornado, said the National Weather Service.
No doubt about it, said those who went through it _ players, coaches and …
среда, 14 марта 2012 г.
Oh, what a night
If Ever proof was needed of what a multi-talented musicalcommunity we live in, then Saturday night was it.
The event was the truly remarkable Bath and North East SomersetShowcase which was held at the Forum and featured hundreds of localperformers entertaining a huge and very excited audience.
The B&NES Showcase came about because the outgoing chairman of thecouncil, Loraine Morgan-Brinkhurst, wanted to raise money for a hostof small local charities throughout the area. As B&NES is such amusical community, the idea of a concert to celebrate local talentcame up after discussions with the workaholic musical impresarioGrenville Jones and the end result was an evening …
Relief key as Sox top Orioles // Drahman's palm ball proves turning point
BALTIMORE The White Sox had Friday night's game in the palm ofBrian Drahman's hand.
The burly reliever took over for struggling Charlie Hough in thefourth inning with two Orioles on base and threw his firstmajor-league palm ball.
Whoa, it worked! Sam Horn swung and missed as the ball droppedunder his bat.
Proud of himself and filled with confidence, Drahman used afastball to get an inning-ending foul popup from the muscular Horn,who was expecting another palm ball.
That single moment combined with an offensive attack of 12singles and one double turned the game back to the White Sox.
They won 7-4 to bring their …
Lions and tigers shot in Ohio; owner freed them
ZANESVILLE, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio sheriff says the last of dozens of exotic animals set free by its owner may have been eaten by one of the others.
The sheriff's office in eastern Ohio's Muskingum County told The Associated Press on Thursday that the search for a missing monkey was still active. But Sheriff Matt Lutz (loots) tells WCMH-TV the monkey may have met the same fate …
Austrians 1-2-3 after opening slalom run
Austrian skiers held the top three spots after the opening run of a World Cup slalom on the Gran Risa course Monday.
Slalom world champion Manfred Pranger led in 53.35 seconds, and Reinfried Herbst was second, 0.22 seconds behind. Olympic champion Benjamin Raich was third, 0.27 back.
Herbst won the opening slalom of the season in Levi, Finland, last month.
Raich can add some significant points to his overall World Cup lead because Swiss rival Carlo Janka straddled the second gate on course.
With his son Ivica out following knee surgery, Croatian coach Ante Kostelic set a tricky course with a quick series of gates on a roll midway down, …
Cubs get running start // Fine outing by Navarro; rest of staff on the spot
Once again, Jaime Navarro and Steve Trachsel have left the Cubsin good hands. Now it's up to the remaining three-fifths of theCubs' starting rotation to keep it going.
Less than 24 hours after Trachsel pitched the Cubs to a 7-3victory, Navarro pitched eight scoreless innings to carry the Cubs toa 3-0 victory over the New York Mets on a steamy Tuesday afternoonbefore 24,558 fans at Wrigley Field.
Navarro and Trachsel did the same last time through therotation, anchoring the last two legs of a five-game winning streakthat brought the Cubs within one game of the .500 mark. But rookieAmaury Telemaco (4-6), Jim Bullinger (4-9) and Frank Castillo …
Heineken says Q3 sales weak but profits up
2AMSTERDAM (AP) — Heineken NV, the Dutch brewer, said Wednesday that underlying sales dipped but profits rose during the third quarter on a mix of cost savings, volume growth in Asia and Africa, and price increases.
The family-controlled company, which has only begun issuing quarterly trading updates this year, said its "organic growth in net profit before exceptional items and amortization of brands" — a nonstandard measure — was up "slightly more than 10 percent" from the same period a year ago. It did not provide figures.
In the trading update, Heineken repeated forecasts for profits to rise at least 10 percent for the whole year on that basis.
It said revenues were …
Wildfire burns near Flagstaff, forces evacuations
A wildfire burning near downtown Flagstaff Saturday prompted evacuations of homes and a hotel feared to be in the fire's path and has sent smoke through parts of the city, causing traffic to back up on Interstate 40, authorities said.
The fire broke out at about 1:30 p.m. behind the popular Little America Hotel near the interstate, Flagstaff city spokeswoman Kimberly Ott said. It quickly worked its way up the hill and has threatened homes in two neighborhoods while burning about 600 acres.
Evacuation orders for 170 homes remained in place Saturday night because of thick smoke and concerns about traffic safety, fire spokeswoman Karen Malis-Clark said. …
pet food
FIDO AND FLUFFY CAN EAT HEALTHFULLY, TOO. YOU'LL JUST NEED TO READ THE FINE PRINT CAREFULLY.
Feeding your animals used to be as easy as feeding yourself. You just slid the leftover scraps-be they meat, pasta, vegetables or some ill-conceived tuna casserole-off of your plate and into your pet's bowl. Fido and Fluffy were none the wiser. They were also none the healthier. Table scraps can ruin a pet's fragile digestive system and, on top of that, provide empty calories that can lead to obesity and other harmful issues.
Today, our furry companions have nearly as many food options as we do. Here are some smart shopping tips to keep in mind the next time you buy pet …
US foreclosure activity edged higher in 3Q
LOS ANGELES (AP) — More U.S. homes are entering the foreclosure process, but they're taking ever longer to get sold or repossessed by lenders.
The number of U.S. homes that received a first-time default notice during the July to September quarter increased 14 percent compared to the second quarter, RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.
That increase signals banks are moving more aggressively now against borrowers who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments than they have since industrywide foreclosure processing problems emerged last fall. Those problems resulted in a sharp drop in foreclosure activity this year.
The surge in default notices means homeowners who haven't …
AP sources: FBI questions students, eyes charges
FBI agents have questioned some of the young Americans arrested in Pakistan as U.S. investigators gather evidence that could lead to a conspiracy charge against them, an American official and another person familiar with the case said Friday.
Agents are working to see if there is enough evidence to charge any of the five Muslim students with conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization, the two people said.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.
Officials in both countries expect the five, who are from the Washington, D.C., area, to be deported back home. But Pakistan may hold them long enough for U.S. prosecutors to prepare charges, and there was no immediate indication how long that might take.
Intelligence officials in Pakistan said Saturday the five have been taken to a facility for terror suspects in the eastern city of Lahore, a major base for Pakistani military and intelligence where they face further questioning.
A police official in the Pakistani town of Sargodha, Tahir Gujar, confirmed Saturday the men were no longer there. Two intelligence officials said they were taken to Lahore. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media.
While Pakistani officials have said the men admitted trying to connect with militant groups, an FBI note sent to American lawmakers Thursday evening said the bureau had "no information linking them to terrorist organizations." That FBI note did not address whether the students attempted to join some terrorist group.
The other possible charge _ and one that could be more difficult to bring _ would be conspiracy to maim or kill people overseas.
"If they had reached an agreement amongst themselves and were pursuing an opportunity to train or fight with what they knew to be a foreign terrorist organization, then that would be a crime," said Pat Rowan, the former head of the Justice Department's national security division.
Making that case would depend greatly on what the men say to FBI agents _ and whether any evidence or incriminating statements gathered by Pakistani police would meet U.S. legal standards.
"Where one needs to be at least a little skeptical is that that will translate into the sort of evidence that can be used in an American courtroom," said Rowan.
Statements made by Americans to police overseas can be used against them in a U.S. trial, as long as the statements weren't coerced. Another key source of evidence could be the men's computers, on which Pakistani police say they found maps of areas where terrorists operate.
Across the United States, there has been a flurry of cases against alleged homegrown terror threats, but so far the situation of the five young men who went to Pakistan is most similar to a case in Boston, where investigators say two young men repeatedly tried and failed to join terror groups overseas.
In that case, the men were rejected by both the Taliban and Lashkar e Tayyiba in Pakistan, and later efforts to sign up with groups in Yemen and Iraq also failed, according to prosecutors. The charges against those two include conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.
In both that case and the new one, the men apparently were drawn to militant messages on the Internet.
On Friday, local Muslim leaders gathered at the mosque where the five young men prayed in Alexandria, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington. The five participated in youth activities at the small mosque that operates out of a converted single-family home in a residential neighborhood.
Mahdi Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, accused militants of manipulating young men through online videos and writings.
"We are determined not to let religious extremists exploit the vulnerability of the emotions of our children through slick, destructive propaganda," said Bray.
Pakistan authorities say the five young men used the social networking site Facebook and the Internet video site YouTube to try to connect with extremist groups in Pakistan. When they arrived in Pakistan, they allegedly took that effort to the street.
They were reported missing by their families more than a week ago after one of them left behind a farewell video showing scenes of war and casualties and saying Muslims must be defended.
Pakistani police detained them this week _ along with one of their fathers _ in Sargodha, a town in the eastern province of Punjab.
The case has fanned fears that Americans and other Westerners _ especially those of Pakistani descent _ are traveling to Pakistan to join up with al-Qaida and other militant groups. It comes on the heels of charges against a Chicago man of Pakistani origin who is accused of surveying targets for the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India.
One of the men being held is identified as an Egyptian American named Ramy Zamzam, a dental student at Howard University in Washington.
The others were identified as Waqar Hussain, Aman Yemer, Ahmad Minni, Umar Farooq and his father, Khalid Farooq. Investigators are still trying to establish what role _ if any _ the father played in the men's alleged activities, officials said.
Pakistani officials have given various spellings of their names. The FBI note said two of the young men are of Ethiopian descent, and two are of Pakistani descent. The note was provided by a congressional official on condition of anonymity because it was not a public document.
In Sargodha, regional police chief Javed Islam said Thursday the five men wanted to join militants in Pakistan's tribal areas before crossing into Afghanistan. He said they met representatives from the al-Qaida-linked Jaish-e-Mohammed militant group in the southeastern city of Hyderabad and from a related group, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, in Lahore, but were turned away because they were not trusted.
Pakistan has many militant groups based on its territory, and the U.S. has been pressing the government to crack down on extremism. Al-Qaida and Taliban militants are believed to be hiding in the lawless tribal belt near the Afghan border.
___
Associated Press writers Chris Brummitt and Asif Shahzad in Islamabad, Babar Dogar in Lahore, Pamela Hess in Washington and Matt Barakat in Alexandria, Virginia, contributed to this report.
вторник, 13 марта 2012 г.
Productivity dip stirs inflation fears
WASHINGTON The productivity of U.S. firms slackened in thesecond quarter, the Labor Department said Wednesday in a report thatfanned fears about inflation.
Productivity, a measure of output per worker hour, fell 0.1percent for companies outside the agricultural sector in the threemonths ended June 30. The drop followed an advance of 1.8 percent inthe first quarter.
"The underlying trends are not favorable," said CharlesLieberman, chief economist at Chase Securities Inc. "The numbers jumparound a lot, but if you take a number of quarters together, theunderlying . . . growth rate of productivity appears to be slowing,which is normal for the mature stage of the economic expansion."
While declining overall, productivity rose in the key factorysector during the second quarter. It climbed 1.5 percent, a solidgain, but the smallest one in three years for an area of the economywhere productivity has been booming.
In the first quarter, manufacturing productivity rose at a 5.6percent annual rate.
The total decline in productivity was not as steep as manyeconomists had expected. In a Reuters survey, Wall Street analystshad forecast a drop of 0.7 percent in the second quarter.
The department, however, revised downward the gain inproductivity for the first quarter, which it previously said rose ata seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.1 percent.
"We seem to be on a trend of annual gains of 1 percent or lessin productivity," said Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Barnett BanksInc. in Jacksonville, Fla.
Reaser said that rather meager productivity gains could be asource of higher inflation. That is because slower productivitylimits the extent that businesses can boost output without incurringhigher costs.
Indeed, unit-labor costs, which make up two-thirds ofbusinesses' production costs, surged in the second quarter. Theyposted a 3.8 percent gain on a seasonally adjusted annualized basisafter a rather tame increase of 1.5 percent in the first quarter.
After economic growth during the second quarter came in at abrisk 4.2 percent, Federal Reserve policy makers have been closelywatching data on productivity and labor costs closely.
US Secretary of State Rice urges Beijing to push North Korean nuclear disarmament forward
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday she expects China to help prod North Korea into fully declaring its nuclear programs as part of efforts to breath life into a stalled disarmament process.
Kicking off a brief visit to Beijing, Rice also repeated her earlier criticisms of a referendum planned by China's rival Taiwan on joining the United Nations.
She said she also discussed with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi the need for a new U.N. resolution to pressure Iran into cooperating with nuclear inspectors. The sides, meanwhile, also recommitted themselves to renewed dialogue on religious and civil rights.
Washington still awaits a "complete and full declaration" from North Korea as promised last year, Rice told reporters.
"I am expecting from China what I am expecting from others. That we will use all influence possible with the North Koreans to convince them that it is time to move forward," Rice said.
Yang said China, the host of six-nation talks on North Korea's denuclearization process, had been in "close talks" with the North, its longtime communist ally whose shattered economy it is helping prop up.
"China will continue to play an important role in moving this forward," Yang said.
Rice later paid a courtesy call on Chinese President Hu Jintao, who thanked her for emergency assistance sent by the U.S. military early this month amid freak snowstorms in central and eastern China.
The Foreign Ministry said Rice was also due to meet with Premier Wen Jiabao and State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan, a senior adviser on foreign affairs. She was scheduled to leave Wednesday for Japan, the third stop on a regional tour to jump-start a year-old agreement under which North Korea pledged to dismantle its nuclear programs in return for aid and diplomatic benefits.
While Pyongyang maintains a large diplomatic mission in Beijing, Rice has ruled out talks with North Korean officials during her official stay in China, saying such a meeting was neither warranted nor could be of any use in the current circumstances.
North Korea has said it already has provided a list of its programs, but Washington has countered that Pyongyang has not given a complete accounting.
Although North Korea shut down its main nuclear reactor last year, American researchers who visited the complex earlier this month reported that officials there said they had slowed the removal of fuel rods. They said that was because the United States and other nations have fallen behind in supplying aid promised under the disarmament deal.
While Washington has praised Beijing's constructive role over North Korea, the sides remain at loggerheads over Iran and other issues.
China, a veto-wielding permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, has said it would not support a new resolution on Iran, and Yang reiterated Beijing's aversion to Washington's confrontational approach.
"We believe we should continue to adopt a dual-track approach. At the end of the day, the results can only be achieved by peaceful negotiation," Yang said.
Yang also expressed appreciation for U.S. support over the Taiwanese referendum. China, which claims the self-governing island as its own territory, sees the referendum as a step toward formal independence, something it has threatened to block by force.
Washington, which is bound to help ensure Taiwan's security, views the poll as an unwelcome bid to alter the status quo between the sides. Rice said that would "not be constructive and would serve no useful purpose."
"Taiwan is a democratic entity that will have to make its own decision but we believe this referendum is not going to help anyone. In fact, it should not be held," Rice said.
On human rights, Rice discussed three cases: the recent arrest of Hu Jia, among China's most prominent political dissidents, the continued jailing of Jude Shao, a China-born American businessman who is serving a 15-year sentence on tax evasion, and Shi Tao, who is serving a 10-year prison sentence for sending information about a government crackdown to an overseas Web site.
"We do this with respect but these are issues that are very near and dear to American values," Rice said.
China and the United States held on-again, off-again dialogue on human rights in the 1990s and into the first years of the Bush administration.
But the meetings were sidelined after 2002 when the Bush administration said China had failed to keep promises to allow in U.N. investigators. China in turn suspended the dialogue in 2004 when Bush officials decided to sponsor a resolution censuring China before the U.N. Human Rights Commission. The motion failed.
Rights groups have criticized the Bush administration for playing down China's civil liberties lapses to win Beijing's help in dealing with North Korea, Iran and the war on terrorism in general.
On a recent trip to Washington, Nicholas Bequelin, a researcher for Human Rights Watch in Hong Kong, said administration officials told him that Washington preferred to quietly urge Beijing to improve human rights and its image for the Summer Olympics.
"The U.S. is unprepared to press China on human rights," Bequelin said.
Whale found stranded deep in Brazilian rain forest
An 18-foot (5.5-meter) minke whale ran aground on a sandbar in the Amazon jungle some 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from the ocean, Brazilian media reported Friday.
Globo television broadcast images of dozens of people gathered along the Tapajos River splashing water on the animal, whose back and dorsal fin were out of water and exposed to the hot Amazon sun. Sea creatures rarely venture so far into fresh water.
"It apparently got separated from its group and swam upstream," biologist Fabio Luna said in a televised interview from the site. "It's very unusual."
Scientists said the whale was 18 feet (5.5 meters) long and weighed about 12 tons, and were working to dislodge the mammal and return it to the ocean.
The whale ran aground Wednesday near Santarem in Para state, Brazil's Environmental Protection Agency said, according to the Globo newspaper. Phone calls to the agency went unanswered Friday, when many government offices were closed for a long holiday weekend.
The creature reportedly is a minke whale, the second smallest of the baleen whales after the pygmy right whale, with an average length of about 23 feet (7 meters).
The International Whaling Commission Scientific Committee estimates there are about 184,000 minke whales in the central and northeast Atlantic Ocean.
Hablando con la Verdad
Hablando con la Verdad
Nuestro trabajo como pueblo dentro y fuera de Cuba, consiste en trabajar d�a y noche para redimir a nuestra sufrida patria de los oportunistas que como un �co hueco del tirano no escatimar en su servilismo por tal de mantenerse en una posici�n de fuerza y de privilegios, a�n cuando saben que conducen a la naci�n a un callej�n que no tiene opci�n de triunfo y bienestar para todos los cubanos.
Nos da mucha pesadumbre, que tantos compatriotas se entusiasmen tanto y fan f�cil con un simple cambio de administraci�n norteamericana en Washington. Los dialogueros con el tirano, sino traidores a Cuba son complices de la traici�n, y en uno u otro caso son agentes despreciables del mal. Y afirmamos este concepto con todo criterio con la autoridad que nos dan cuarenta y un a�os de vivir en la mentira y en el ojo de la manipulaci�n y la trampa del d�spota, ya curados de este mal, si volvemos los ojos hacia los amigos de la adminisatraci�n de turno en Washington, y ciframos todas nuestras esperanzas libertarias en los norteamericanos, estar�amos cometiendo un graso error. No es necesario hacer historia, y recordar pasajes aciagos de la misma donde llegamos junto a nuestros amigos llenos de optimismo y acabamos derrotados por la falta de compromiso de los norte-americanos con la libertad de Cuba, y con los proyectos de nuestros compatriotas.
No sabemos no podemos saber si estamos pr�ximos al final de la jornada de libertad del pueblo de Cuba, o si estamos a medio camino. Todo depender� del compromiso que nosotros tengamos con nuestra responsabilidad hist�rica de servir a Cuba, sin mirar para Washington primero para escudri�ar como piensan los yankees. Necesitamos que el pueblo norteamericano nos entienda, y se solidarice en espiritud y en verdad con el pueblo cubano en rebeldia y no el gobierno opresor del d�spota como ha venido sucediendo a atrav�s de la administraci�n dem�crata de William Clinton.
No sabr�a decir a quien o a quienes les tocar� el privilegio de convencer a Washington, para que nos aten m�s las manos, para que los nuestros puedan conquistar la libertad por los medios m�s expeditos. Nos resistimos a figurar entre los que mendigan a nuestras vecinos favores de libertad, no estaremos entre el grupo de pedig�e�os, pero si entre los que exigen derechos y cumplen deberes. Cuba no podr� surgir jam�s como una naci�n verdaderamente soberana sino conquista su libertad con el esfuerzo propios de sus hijos. Aquellos que tienen todos sus esperanzas de libertad cifradas en los amigos de Washington, sin pagar nosotros el precio de ser libre, son tan dialogueros como los que van a La Habana a lemerle las botas al "d�spota cubano.
Si hacemos las cosas bien y no equivocamos a los nuestros una vez m�s, si miramos para Cuba y no para nuestros intereses partidistas es mu posible que la segunda indepencia de Cuba se acerque en progresi�n geom�trica, porque el tiempo para Cuba ya lleg�.
El 20 de mayo de 1902, recuper� Cuba independencia como naci�n soberana, gracias al esfuerzo extraordinario de los hombres y mujeres que se enfrentaron con valor a Espa�a para recuperar a Cuba para los cubanos, dos guerras desastrosas que dejaron enlutas a la patria y a las familias, pero abrieron una p�gina de oro en nuestra historia, que perdura y perdurar� para las generaciones por venir. El proceso independentista cubano fue interrumpido por el dictador de Cuba, nuestra lucha es una continuaci�n de la revoluci�n de Mart�, ahora por lograr la segunda indenpencia de Cuba.
Go back to basics, Gemini!
Saturn backing into Virgo reminds us to clean up old business before starting new relationships. Aspecting Uranus and Neptune, she 'Il dig up complications that must be dealt with to make progress. Go slowly and carefully. You have until late July to get it right.
ARIES (March 20 - April 19): Recalculate the equation of any partnership that's troubling you. Can or should it be saved? Strong instincts and inspiration could lead you astray, but probably contain a kernel of truth. Friends can help you reconcile those with reality.
TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): Feeling stuck at work can push you back to re-examine your goals. Where do you feel most creative, and what do you really have to offer? If professional goals feel nebulous, frame the question in terms of your social ideals.
GEMINI (May 21- June 20): While your goals and ideals seem to be in flux, go back to basics. The most relevant questions about reaching out to the world around you are taught early in life. Be nice, share and try to learn. Community service can also help clear your head.
CANCER (June 21- July 22): Discuss longstanding family issues with siblings, or community problems with neighbors. Things probably aren't as dark and complicated as they feel. New perspectives will help if you're willing to be "very" open-minded.
LEO (July 23 -August 22): New ideas and skills can help get you out of financial trouble, but first understand how and why you got into that trouble. You won't get that on your own. Your partner or an advisor can help you figure it out.
VIRGO (August 23 - September 22): Taking the weight of the world on your shoulders is bad for your health. Discussing problems with your partner, or a trusted friend or counselor, is necessary even if it's aggravating. A "mild" exercise program (swimming?) and meditation help.
LIBRA (September 23 - October 22): It seems you can't catch a break, so make one for yourself. Take time off to meditate and play. Settle your nerves and charge up your batteries. You need this. In the long run it's the responsible thing to do!
SCORPIO (October 23 - November 21): Take a hard look at your future and get ready to clear out the clutter in your life. Mending fences could mean quitting some friendships and groups, but offers you a chance to make it clean and amicable.
SAGITTARIUS (November 22 - December 20): Clean up any loose ends and nasty rumors affecting your reputation. Helpful inspiration comes from your home and family. Advice from siblings and neighbors can seem confusing, but don't take it too literally and it could prove valuable.
CAPRICORN (December 21 -January 19): Coming toward a peak of your professional reputation, now is the time to get the word out about your achievements and services. Typos and snafus He in wait. Be very attentive to those details!
AQUARIUS (January 20 -February 18): You're coming into a phase of your life where your ideas and your mind will be much challenged. Review what you believe and why. Confusion about who you are and what's important can be a healthy stage of growth.
PISCES (February 19-March 19): Feeling unsure about sex and relationships can be a good step toward greater awareness. OK, it's uncomfortable now. Meditation and other quiet secluded retreats - some with your love, some without - will ease the exploration.
[Author Affiliation]
Jack Fertig, aprofessional astrologer since 1977, is available for personal and business consultations in person in San Francisco, or online everywhere. He can be reached at 415-864-8302, through his Web site at www. starjack.com, and by e-mail at QScopes@qsyndicate. com .
Thai, Cambodian leaders to discuss border dispute
Cambodia's prime minister plans to meet with his Thai counterpart later this week to discuss the tense border dispute between the two Southeast Asian neighbors, Cambodian officials said Monday.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat will meet on the sidelines of a summit of leaders from Asia and the European Union that opens in Beijing on Friday, said Sri Thamrongk, an adviser to Hun Sen.
A Cambodian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Koy Kuong, said the "current standoff at the Cambodian-Thai border" will be the most important topic at the talks.
Somchai said he plans to attend the summit but could not confirm whether he would meet Hun Sen.
"I don't know if the Foreign Ministry has scheduled me to hold talks with my Cambodian counterpart," Somchai told reporters in Bangkok.
It would be the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders since a deadly gunbattle erupted Oct. 15 between Thai and Cambodian soldiers in a disputed border area near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple.
The fighting, which killed two Cambodian soldiers and wounded 10 from both sides, sparked fears of war between the countries.
Thai army spokesman Col. Sansern Kaewkumnerd said earlier that military officials from the two sides agreed last Thursday to hold joint patrols to minimize the chance of new clashes.
But Gen. Ke Kim Yan, commander in chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, denied any deal for joint patrols had been reached. He said the two countries had only agreed to maintain their current troop deployments in the disputed area and inform each other about any troop movements to prevent further misunderstanding.
Last week's fighting was the latest flare-up in a decades-old dispute over a stretch of jungle near the Preah Vihear temple. The World Court awarded the temple to Cambodia in 1962, but sovereignty over surrounding land has never been clearly resolved.
Hun Sen, accompanied by Foreign Minister Hor Namhong and Commerce Minister Cham Prasidh, left Monday for a weeklong visit to China. They planned to attend a trade exposition before heading to Beijing.
GETTING PAID FOR WHAT YOU DO
REIMBURSEMENT REALITIES
Following simple steps and processes can help your shop take advantage of every opportunity for fair pay, steady profit
Restoring a vehicle to its pre-accident condition can be more complex than the casual observer may realize. The repair must be safe, speedy and undetectable, while satisfying the expectations of the vehicle owner and the insurer. Collision repair personnel must meet all these goals while satisfying state and local regulations, being good environmental stewards, coordinating the purchasing of the deeded parts and materials-all while endeavoring to make a reasonable profit. Each time a vehicle arrives, all of these processes and expectations must begin again, and to make matters even more complex, each vehicle presents different challenges that the shop must be able to meet. How, with the complex repairs that are needed, does a shop ensure that it gets reimbursed for all it must do while restoring a vehicle to its pre-accident condition?
To accomplish this objective, a manager must be alert to many operations and processes, and if you were to ask 100 collision repair managers what their main concern was in managing a collision repair shop, you would probably get between 90 and 100 different answers! It is safe to say, though, that either at or near the top of the list would be this goal: making a reasonable profit in the paint department. If a manager is to produce 35 percent to 38 percent of the total labor sales from the refinish department, he or she cannot afford to not get paid fully for what is done.
In order for a shop to maintain a high level of profit, there are many areas that must be managed properly. One of the most important is at the beginning, when the estimate is produced. Others are areas such as production management, changing equipment and its maintenance, production tracking and assessment, and of course, attracting and keeping a satisfied customer base.
Though these may not seem to be so great a list of tasks, it must be kept in mind that the collision repair industry is one of the most rapidly changing service industries. In fact, the only thing that can be counted on to be the same is that it is always changing. The industry can always expect new and different types of finish on vehicles, as well as new and different types of aftermarket coatings and materials, new procedures or methods of application or curing, new equipment, and even new environmental regulations. A shop manager must be aware of the changes and how they affect the business and profits.
The estimate
The estimate is the first step of the repair process, and it is where a shop can and must be thorough, because it is also where the profit can be made or lost. Though it is an oversimplification to say "write a good sheet," it is one of the most important parts of the repair process. Knowing how to prepare a damage analysis or estimate, and understanding what tools are used to do so, is extremely important.
Estimators must be thorough and specific when they write each estimate. Whether an estimate is written by hand with manuals or with one of the many computerized estimating programs, knowing what is included in each procedure will allow the writer to be specific and list the entire task necessary, which may not be included in the manual. Consider a few examples: If an estimate is written to blend into the adjacent door panel and the blending procedure does not have de-trimming as an included item in that procedure, it should be added separately. If the procedure for the shop is to make a spray-out panel for each refinish repair, that procedure should be specifically listed. If a used part is received, the cleaning and preparation for use also should be listed.
When moldings are removed for refinishing and the plastic clips are removed, the cost of replacement clips should be added to the estimate. Moldings that are attached with adhesive should be removed, the residue adhesive should be cleaned, and new adhesive should be attached for re-installation.
Many fasteners are single-use or are destroyed when removed, and that cost should be added to the estimate or the supplement. Many shops have computerized programs in their parts department, which can bill fasteners, supplies, and other items to each repair order, therefore insuring getting paid for items that are overlooked on many estimates.
To write a thorough estimate, estimators must know each repair procedure, and the repair technician should perform each procedure the same way. For a shop to do this, it should have written standard operations procedures (SOPs). SOPs help ensure that each repair is performed in the same way and to the same quality, and it also helps speed up cycle time in the shop by avoiding the dreaded "20-minute questions" (see sidebar, "The 20-minute question"). Supplies needed for a repair can be ready and available as the work progresses through the shop. Supplies also can be ready and available for technicians on time, and tracking of the vehicles can be more precise. The estimator can follow the vehicle through the shop and keep the customer informed.
The estimating process
SOPs should extend through the steps of the estimating and repair process: after the initial estimate is written, insurer approved, parts ordered and received, and the vehicle is scheduled for repair. Following the breakdown, if a supplement is needed, the paint department should be considered and written for as well. If a repair is extended and additional repairs are needed, refinish changes should be included.
As the vehicle goes through the repair process, the owner should be kept informed. Not getting a vehicle when promised continues to be one of the top complaints in the industry. However, if the customer is kept informed as the vehicle is progressing through the repair process, it will be less likely that he or she will be surprised and disappointed by a late delivery. Customers should be alerted when the supplement parts have arrived and the repair is underway, when the vehicle is out of metal repair and ready for paint, and when the repair is completed and a delivery date is set.
Procedure efficiency
Procedure efficiency should always be on the mind of shop managers. In successful shops, ways to improve a process and thus make it more profitable are always being considered. Some of these processes have a learning curve and may need to be considered carefully; the technicians should be trained before a process is rejected. For example, roll priming in the body shop before a repaired vehicle gets to the paint shop has been rejected by some technicians. They say, "I tried it once and it didn't work." True, rolling primer takes some practice in order not to have runs or heavy texture, but the time-saving advantages outweigh the practice time needed to perfect the process.
Painting parts off the vehicle, then installing them after, is another frequent complaint of body technicians, because it is new and they believe that it costs them time when installing. But the time saved in the paint shop by just reducing the number of times paint needs to be prepared, and the reduction of material costs, also outweighs the time spent learning this new process.
Equipment changes
Though new equipment, or for that matter new processes, are not ways to "get paid for what we do," they do increase productivity and therefore profit. While not all new processes or equipment are worth buying, there are some that will increase productivity and quickly reimburse a business for their cost. Plastic covering for vehicles is an example. Once a vehicle surface is prepared, the vehicle is cleaned and only a limited amount of masking is performed, the vehicle can be placed in a booth and "bagged" in a fraction of the time that it once took to properly mask a vehicle. Liquid mask in areas that it is difficult to clean before painting, such as wheel wells, also speeds up the vehicle prep and detailing processes.
DAs that have different orbits now help us do some processes with a capable machine that once needed to be done by hand. UV and infrared lights speed up the priming and curing process and hypercure clears that can be baked for short times speed up the time needed in a very expensive paint booth. Now spraying and curing 10 or more vehicles in one booth is easily feasible.
Disposable plastic cups for spray guns that can be used to mix the precise amount of coating needed for a job (thus eliminating metal containers, waste, and significantly reducing the cost of both time and solvent during clean-up) also have allowed us to increase our productivity and profits.
New and improved tools, materials and equipment are constantly being produced and marketed to us, and it seems as though it is a continuing struggle to evaluate their usefulness to each shop's needs. Not all should be adopted, but we should keep an open mind and constantly evaluate procedures and processes if our paint departments are to remain productive and profitable.
Honesty
Though it is mentioned late in this discussion, honesty is one thing that should be constantly on our minds. The core values, or unchangeable values, of a business go a long way towards affecting profitability and ensuring that we "get paid for what we do." Business values such as service, honesty, quality, efficiency, appearance and profit will aid in our being respected by both of our customers: our primary customer, the vehicle owner; and our secondary customer, the insurance provider. They both must know that if we write to sand and buff a vehicle-and in the end that procedure is not needed-it will be removed from the final bill.They also will know that when we de-trim a vehicle, we detrim it all, every time. A business's integrity is easily lost and hard, if not impossible, to regain once it is lost. Like many other items, though it does not directly affect how we get paid every time, honesty in business impacts how we get paid in the long term.
Getting paid
So how do we get paid for what we do? We write specifically for every procedure that we do. We know what is an included item, and those things that are not in the P-Pages as included we write and charge for. We review and note items that are often forgotten during the estimating process, such as not listing for new clips, or for cleaning and restoring adhesive on removed and reinstalled trim. When we write a supplement, we make sure that all items are included: paint, body, parts, and materials. We provide SOP's for our employees. We keep our customers informed throughout the repair process. We evaluate and adopt, when profitable, new equipment and processes, and we give our technicians training for these new processes. Above all, we establish core values: things that we will not compromise on-items that will help in all discussion processes for all from the principal CEO to the technicians.
Getting paid for what we do is, and will be, an ever-changing process. As each business changes and improves with the market, managers must look for those items or processes that will help their business make a reasonable profit.
[Sidebar]
In order for a shop to maintain a high level of profit, there are many areas that must be managed properly. One of the most important is at the beginning, when the estimate is produced.
[Sidebar]
The 20-minute question
The 20-minute question results when a technician who is not sure what to do next in a process feels he or she must stop working and seek out the supervisor. The technician leaves his or her work to find the supervisor, who is invariably on the phone or with a customer at that moment. So the technician patiently waits for the supervisor to be free and then asks for guidance. After receiving the directions, he or she returns to the work, but 20 minutes or perhaps more has elapsed. And while it might seem that 20 minutes is not so much, when this is compounded over several times a week, by the end of a month hours or even days of production may have been lost. By both using SOPs and training technicians in the business's core values, many of these "20-minute questions" can be eliminated.
[Author Affiliation]
By ALFRED THOMAS, Contributing Editor
[Author Affiliation]
ALFRED THOMAS is associate professor and department head of Collision Repair at Pennsylvania College of Technology. His technical experiences include 15 years in the collision industry as a technician and shop manager, 12 years as a secondary vocational instructor, and the past eight years as lead instructor at Penn College. In this month's paint shop, Al helps ensure you get paid for what you do.
EMU shows us why we need LGBT history taught
Editorial
Last week, the Detroit Free Press reported that state Republicans are trying to strike back at Eastern Michigan University ("Dismissal of EMU counselor who refused gay student draws GOP fire," April 15). The school dismissed a graduate student in the counseling program who wouldn't counsel gays because of her religious beliefs.
EMU says that the student was dismissed because she refused to follow the American Counseling Association's code of ethics. The student, Julea Ward, says that her First Amendment rights have been violated, and she's filed suit against the school. A federal court ruled in EMU's favor last summer. Ward has appealed.
And now state House Republicans are trying to punish EMU, without openly saying so. They've pushing an appropriations bill that would, in part, "require universities with accredited counseling programs to report back to lawmakers about how they plan to protect students' 'deeply held religious' beliefs," the Free Press reported.
Yes, of course, Ms. Ward has the right to express her religious beliefs. And it's probably not the best idea to force her to counsel gays if she harbors such hate against them - she'd be unlikely to help them to the best of her ability. Ms. Ward has a well-developed vitriol towards gays, and she's spending her own money on lawyers to defend it. She probably isn't going to change her mind anytime soon.
The issue that truly needs addressing here? People using religion to defend their hatred. Yes, some lines in the Bible condemn homosexuality. Some lines also condemn wearing clothing of mixed fiber while promoting slavery, and we've gotten beyond those, haven't we?
We can't change what the Bible says and the (many, many) ways that people interpret it. But we can change the "otherness" of LGBTs by teaching kids about them, in the same way we educate about other minorities.
If you've read "Lies My Teacher Told Me" by James W Loewen, you know that our educational system has used social studies and history to teach morality and self-esteem. Problem is, history is mostly a story of who has power, written by those with that power. And that exchange of power often occurs in the least moral of ways. So the watered-down version of history that kids are spoon-fed often leaves them with the idea that our current world was only shaped by European and American white guys who were heroes. This is not true.
The California Senate recently passed a bill that would mandate the teaching of LGBT history in schools. Now, we know there's very little chance ofthat happening in our state, at least for now. But teaching LGBT history (and current quest for civil rights) in schools would help students understand the history of the problem - and that history doesn't only belong to those with power. Students could see that LGBTs seeking equality are not much different from blacks and women who have done the same.
Hate is often born from fear. Fear is often born from what we don't understand. Let's prevent hatred, fear and misunderstanding by promoting a wider understanding of the world. This is what school is supposed to do in the first place, right?
[Sidebar]
Let's prevent hatred, fear and misunderstanding by promoting a wider understanding of the world.
понедельник, 12 марта 2012 г.
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Chuck Norris Charity Cheat: I'm Guilty
The former chief executive of Chuck Norris' martial arts program for inner-city children has pleaded guilty to stealing from the charity, the U.S. Attorney's office said.
James D. Brasher, 47, pleaded guilty on Thursday to one count of uttering a forged security, the office said in a statement.
Brasher confessed to opening bank accounts in names similar to that of Norris' Kick Drugs Out of America Foundation. He then fraudulently endorsed checks sent to the foundation and deposited them into his own accounts, using the money to pay his debts and living expenses.
He admitted taking at least $130,000, DeGabrielle said.
Brasher is set to be sentenced in April. He faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and a three-year-term of supervised release.
Norris established the foundation, nicknamed Kickstart, in 1990 to use martial arts to help children avoid the temptations of gangs and drugs. According to the charity's Web site, Kickstart serves 5,000 youngsters in 38 schools in the Houston and Dallas areas.
American Jobs Creation Act (2004) Enacts New Penalties
Editor: Last month, Larry Bell, CA, cautioned that the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 could impact Canada's deferred compensation plans. This month, Tom Earle, CA, describes some of the new penalties (including securities Exchange Commission disclosures) introduced by this legislation to enforce compliance with the reportable transaction regulations.
Signed by US President George Bush on October 22, 2004, the new American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (Jobs Act) made significant business tax changes to US tax legislation. In an effort to crack down on abusive tax shelters, the Jobs Act introduced new penalties and made significant changes to the existing penalties relating to reportable transactions. Tax practitioners and taxpayers who conduct a US trade or business should familiarize themselves with these transactions to avoid the new penalties.
During the past seven years, tax shelters and reportable transactions have been an increasing concern to the US Congress and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Since 2002, all large and mid-sized corporate examinations have included the mandatory issuance of a tax shelter information document request (IDR) by the IRS. The purpose of the IDR is to assist IRS agents in identifying and developing tax shelter issues relating to certain "listed transactions."
For US federal income tax returns filed after February 28, 2000, the IRS has issued regulations that require taxpayers to disclose information relating to each "reportable transaction" in which they participate. There are currently six categories of reportable transactions:
1. Listed transactions - Any transaction that is the same, or substantially similar to, a transaction that is specified by the IRS as a tax avoidance transaction and identified by notice, regulation, or other form of published guidance.
2. Confidential transactions - Any transaction that is offered to a taxpayer under conditions of confidentiality and for which the taxpayer has paid an advisor a minimum fee. A transaction is considered to be offered to a taxpayer under conditions of confidentiality if: a) the advisor who is paid the minimum fee places a limitation on the taxpayer's disclosure of the tax treatment or of the transaction's tax structure; and b) the limitation on disclosure protects the confidentiality of that advisor's tax strategies.
A transaction is treated as confidential even if the conditions of confidentiality on the taxpayer are not legally binding. A claim that a transaction is proprietary or exclusive is not treated as a limitation on disclosure if the advisor confirms to the taxpayer that there is no limitation on disclosure of the tax treatment or the transaction's tax structure.
3. Transactions with contractual protection - A transaction with contractual protection is a transaction for which the taxpayer or a certain related party has the right to a full or partial refund of fees if all or part of the intended tax consequences from the transaction are not sustained. A transaction with contractual protection is also one for which fees are contingent on the taxpayer's realization of tax benefits from the said transaction.
4. Loss transactions - Generally, a loss transaction is any transaction that results in the taxpayer claiming a loss under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 165 in the amount of: 1) $10 million (all dollar amounts herein are in US dollars) in any single tax year or $20 million in any combination of tax years for a corporation or for a partnership with corporate partners; 2) $2 million in any single tax year or $4 million in any combination of tax years for a partnership, individual, "S" corporation, or trust; or 3) $50,000 in any tax year for individuals or trusts if the loss arises with respect to certain foreign currency transactions.
5. Transactions with significant book-tax differences - A transaction with a significant book-tax difference is a transaction in which the amount for tax purposes of an item of gross income, gain, expense, or loss differs by more than $10 million from the amount for book purposes. Generally, the reporting requirement for a significant book-tax difference only applies to sec registrants or certain other business entities meeting certain asset thresholds.
6. Transactions involving brief holding periods - A transaction involving a brief holding period is one that results in a tax credit exceeding $250,000 if the underlying asset giving rise to such credit is held for 45 days or less.
Prior to the Jobs Act there was no penalty for failing to disclose reportable transactions; however, failure to disclose a reportable transaction was a strong indication that the taxpayer had not acted in good faith-in effect, barring the relief of any accuracyrelated penalty that might otherwise have been attributable to the undisclosed transaction.
"Failure to disclose" penalty
The Jobs Act imposes a strict penalty on taxpayers who do not disclose the required information concerning reportable transactions. If the taxpayer is an individual, the penalty is $10,000 ($100,000 in the case of an unreported listed transaction). The penalty increases to $50,000 for other types of taxpayers ($200,000 in the case of an unreported listed transaction). No judicial appeal is allowed, and the penalty may only be abated if the violation is not a listed transaction and if the IRS commissioner finds that abatement would promote compliance and effective administration.
Separate accuracy-related penalty for reportable transactions
The Jobs Act creates a new penalty that applies at a rate of 20% to any understatement of tax attributable to a reportable transaction if a significant purpose of this transaction is tax avoidance or evasion. The penalty is increased to 30% for non-disclosed listed transactions and other tax avoidance transactions. The penalty may not apply if it can be shown that there was reasonable cause and that the taxpayer acted in good faith. The reasonable cause exception requires that: a) the relevant facts affecting the item's tax treatment are adequately disclosed; b) there is substantial authority for the treatment; and c) the taxpayer believed such treatment was "more likely than not" proper. In determining whether the treatment is "more likely than not" proper, the taxpayer may not rely on certain disqualified opinions or on opinions prepared by certain disqualified tax advisors.
SEC disclosure
An SEC reporting entity, or an entity required to be consolidated with another entity for purposes of reporting to the SEC, must report to the SEC any penalty incurred for the failure to disclose a listed transaction; and/or the 30% accuracy-related penalty for non-disclosed reportable avoidance transaction understatements; and/or the penalty for gross valuation misstatements that are attributable to non-disclosed listed or non-disclosed reportable avoidance transactions. A failure to report these penalties to the SEC may result in an additional penalty of $200,000.
Extending the statute of limitations for tax assessment
Prior to the Jobs Act, some taxpayers did not report listed transactions in hopes that the statute of limitations would expire before the IRS could detect them. The Jobs Act combats this by extending the statute of limitations to one year after the earlier of: 1) the date at which the information is adequately disclosed by the taxpayer; or 2) the date at which the material advisor satisfies their tax shelter list maintenance requirements with respect to an IRS request.
Provision relating to material advisors
The Jobs Act requires all material advisors to file information returns disclosing any reportable transactions to which material aid, assistance, or advice is provided after October 22, 2004. A "material advisor" is a person who: a) provides material aid, assistance, or advice with respect to organizing, managing, promoting, selling, implementing, insuring, or carrying out any reportable transaction; and b) receives a fee in excess of a threshold amount for that assistance or advice. The threshold amount is $50,000 for reportable transactions in which substantially all the benefits are provided to an individual, and $250,000 in any other circumstance.
IRS Notice 2005-26 provides guidance to material advisors on how to file Form 8264 to meet the new reporting requirements.
What this means for us
In summary, the Jobs Act has created significant penalties with respect to reportable transactions. Practitioners and taxpayers must familiarize themselves with the reportable transactions rules and review past and current transactions for compliance to avoid what are, in my opinion, draconian penalties.
[Sidebar]
Did you know?
Taxpayers must disclose information relating to each "reportable transaction"
[Author Affiliation]
By Tom Earle, CA
[Author Affiliation]
Tom Earle, CA, specializes in US Tax Services with Deloitte & Touche LLP in Vancouver. For his input, Tom thanks Michael Blanton, a director with Deloitte & Touche LLP in Vancouver.
It's race against time to save stranded Texans
Rescue crews canvassed neighborhoods inundated by Hurricane Ike's storm surge early Sunday morning, racing against time to save those who spent a second harrowing night trapped amid flattened houses, strewn debris and downed power lines.
One team of paramedics, rescue dogs and structural engineers fanned out under a nearly full moon on a finger of land in Galveston Bay. To the northeast, Coast Guard crews also worked into early Sunday morning, pulling a half dozen people out of Bridge City before rescue missions were suspended for the night.
Authorities hoped to spare thousands of Texans _ 140,000 by some estimates who ignored orders to flee ahead of Hurricane Ike _ from another night among the destruction. Some had been rescued, but unknown thousands remained stranded.
Only four deaths had been blamed on Ike so far: two in Texas and two in Louisiana.
Along the southeast Texas coast Sunday, the weather was not cooperating. Showers dropped heavy rain on areas already flooded by Ike, and forecasters said there was a chance thunderstorms could continue into the evening.
In Houston, the fourth-largest U.S. city, a weeklong curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. was announced because most of the city was still without power.
"In the interest of safety, we're asking people to not be out in the streets in their vehicles or on foot," Chief Harold Hurtt said.
President George W. Bush planned to travel to Texas on Tuesday to express sympathy and lend support to the storm's victims. He asked people who evacuated before the hurricane to listen to local authorities before trying to return home.
Roads blocked by waist-deep water and downed trees kept many rescuers at bay as they struggled through the largest search-and-rescue effort in state history, just a day after the Category 2 storm crashed into Texas with 110 mph (177 kph) winds.
On one side of the Galveston peninsula, a couple of barges had broken loose and smashed into homes. Everything from red vinyl barstools to clay roof tiles littered the landscape. Some homes were "pancaked," the second floor sitting where the first had been before Ike's surge washed it out. Only the stud frames remained below the roofs of many houses, opening a clear view from front yard to back.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry's office said 940 people had been saved by nightfall Saturday, but that thousands had made distress calls the night before. Another 600 were rescued from flooding in neighboring Louisiana.
"What's really frustrating is that we can't get to them," Galveston police officer Tommie Mafrei said. "It's jeopardizing our safety when we try to tell them eight hours before to leave. They are naive about it, thinking it's not going to be that bad."
Big-wheeled dump trucks, boats and helicopters were at the ready to continue searching hard-hit Galveston and Orange County at daybreak Sunday.
Orange Mayor Brown Claybar estimated about a third of the city of 19,000 people was flooded, anywhere from six inches to six feet (15 centimeters to 1.8 meters). He said about 375 people who stayed behind during the storm began to emerge, some needing food, water and medical care.
"These people got out with the wet shirts on their back," said Claybar, who had no idea of how many people were still stranded. Claybar was optimistic that the foot-and-a-half (45 centimeters) of water over the levee had receded overnight. If so, the city could begin pumping the water out, Claybar said. He did not know exactly how long it would take to drain the city.
"I would say at least a couple of days," Claybar said.
Some coastal residents waded through chest-deep water with their belongings and children in their arms to get to safety Saturday. Military helicopters loaded others carrying plastic bags and pets in their arms and brought them to dry ground.
Five-year-old Jack King escaped serious injury when the storm surge sent a rush of water that washed out the first floor of his family's Galveston home just two blocks from the bay.
"I falled in the attic," Jack told paramedic Stanley Hempstead of his 10-foot (3-meter) tumble through the attic and onto the garage floor. Jack and his family had taken refuge in the room, loaded with blankets and other supplies. As rescuers arrived, Jack gazed at a TV aglow with "The Simpsons." The only evidence of his fall was a Band-Aid plastered to his closely-cropped hair, covering a gash.
"We just didn't think it was going to come up like this," said the boy's father, Lee King. "I'm from New Orleans, I know better. I just didn't think it was going to happen."
The Kings had hoped that a family member would pick them up, but a paramedic told him the road inland would not be open for days. Lee King thought they could survive another night, but then their generator died. He ultimately decided the family was ready to leave.
Hempstead and other team members sailed through flooded streets Saturday, evoking thoughts of another disastrous storm that kept him working for 31 days three years ago.
"This brings back memories of Katrina _ a lot of torn up homes and flooded stuff," he said of the hurricane that struck New Orleans three years ago.
In downtown Houston, winds shattered the windows of gleaming skyscrapers, sleeting glass onto the streets below. Police used bullhorns to order people back into their homes. Furniture littered the streets, and business documents stamped "classified" had been carried by the wind through shattered office windows.
The storm weakened to a tropical depression early Sunday morning, but was still packing winds up to 35 mph (56 kph) as it dumped rain over Arkansas and traveled across Missouri. Tornado warning sirens sounded Saturday in parts of Arkansas, and the still-potent storm downed trees and knocked out power to thousands there.
Ike was the first major storm to directly hit a major U.S. metropolitan area since Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005.
More than 3 million were without power in Texas at the height of the storm, and it could be weeks before it is fully restored. Utilities made some progress by late Saturday, and lights returned to parts of Houston. In Louisiana, battered by both Ike and Hurricane Gustav on Sept. 1, 180,000 homes and businesses were without power.
Storm surge that crawled some 30 miles (50 kilometers) inland in Louisiana flooded tens of thousands of homes. A levee broke and some 13,000 buildings flooded in Terrebonne Parish, 200 miles (320 kilometers) from Texas. More than 160 people had to be saved from floodwaters near Lake Charles.
Though emergency crews were frustrated by those who stayed behind, weary residents of East Texas's swamplands and Big Piney Woods were beginning to feel that whatever decision they make about a Gulf hurricane is wrong.
In 2005, they were battered by Hurricane Rita, a September storm that ripped pine trees from their roots, smashed trailer- and wood-frame homes and left them in what has become a perpetual state of disrepair.
Last week, they listened when authorities told them to get out of Gustav's way. They spent days in north Texas shelters or paid for hotels and gas while their homes received nothing more than a mild shower. So when Ike approached, thousands ignored the mandatory evacuation order.
___
Associated Press Writers Pauline Arrillaga in Houston, Jay Root and Kelley Shannon in Austin, Doug Simpson in Baton Rouge, April Castro, Mark Williams and Andre Coe in College Station, Allen G. Breed in Surfside Beach, Juan Lozano in Orange, Elizabeth White in San Antonio and Michael Kunzelman contributed to this report.
STEPPING IT UP
Season not complete.
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