| Ex-mobster warns of gambling's dangers
FAIRFAX, Va. | It's clear right away -- long before the woman sitting up front asks, "Did you shoot anyone?" -- that this guy with the straight-out-of-central-casting Brooklyn accent and gold chain is not your typical college lecturer.It's clear from Michael Franzese's life story -- the 17 years in the mafia, the millions upon millions of ill-gotten gains, the "Yuppie Don" nickname, the prison term -- that he is a breed apart from the professors usually addressing this crowd.And it's clear, from the wide eyes and dropped jaws in a George Mason University auditorium on a recent evening, that these kids in their gray hooded sweat shirts are listening intently, drawn in by Franzese's message and mien.They're hearing Franzese deliver the same, simple points he makes to college athletes and coaches, to NBA rookies and Major League Baseball players and umpires, to professional tennis players and NFL veterans.Know the dangers of gambling, because, he says, "If you don't have a gambling problem, you know somebody that does.
FamilySearch announces seminar for Web application developers
FamilySearch has announced its first conference for software and Web application developers. The 2008 FamilySearch Developers Conference will be held on Wednesday, March 12, in conjunction with the Brigham Young University Computerized Family History and Genealogy Conference in Provo, Utah. FamilySearch engineers and community developers will discuss new FamilySearch Web Services (API) and share best practices from its application to a variety of popular software environments. Attendees can register online at http://familyhistoryconferences.byu.edu/familysearch. FamilySearch now has a full platform for software developers — genealogy content, interfaces, tools, code, support, and training. This platform enables developers to launch a new business or boost their target markets by adding features that are programmatically linked to FamilySearch’s expanding online resources.
Toxic Factories Take Toll On China's Labor Force
Wang regularly inhaled the toxic red cadmium dust that filled the air in the plant. Now, at 45, Ms. Wang is often too weak to walk. Her kidneys have failed, and her doctors have identified cadmium poisoning as the likely culprit. About 400 other workers at her former employer, Hong Kong-based GP Batteries International Ltd., have been found to harbor unsafe levels of cadmium, a toxic metal like mercury and lead that can cause kidney failure, lung cancer and bone disease. In recent months, Americans have discovered the dark side of their reliance on cheap Chinese goods. From lead-tainted toys to contaminated pet food, the safety of Chinese products is suddenly an American obsession. But in China, workers making goods for American consumers have long borne the brunt of a global manufacturing system that puts cost cutting ahead of safety.
Blog Central
ATLANTA Federal inspections will be carried out at hundreds of plants where combustible dust is a workplace hazard, a top safety official said Monday at a sugar refinery where dust is suspected of causing a deadly explosion. Ed Foulke Jr., head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, announced the inspections while visiting the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth, where a blast on Feb. 7 killed 12 workers injured dozens more. OSHA has not completed its investigation of that explosion but is sending letters to 30,000 companies that deal with combustible dust to discuss the dangers, Foulke said in a telephone interview. .
Affleck and Kimmel quite the pair
People really must have a lot of time on their hands. A satiric video in which Jimmy Kimmel, the host of ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live, talks about (and acts out!) an affair with Ben Affleck, has become an Internet sensation. First shown on Sunday during Kimmel's post-Oscar broadcast, the clip had been viewed more than two million times on YouTube as of press time. Look out for appearances by Brad Pitt (who plays a guy delivering a cake congratulating the couple), Harrison Ford, Cameron Diaz, Don Cheadle and Robin Williams. The video was made in response to one put out in January by Kimmel's girlfriend, Sarah Silverman, in which she confesses she's been sleeping with Matt Damon. That got eight million plus hits. HEALTH UPDATE Supermodel Naomi Campbell is on the mend at a Sao Paulo hospital after undergoing emergency surgery to have an ovarian cyst removed.
Canada: Government panel urges increased Canadian role in Afghan war
The panel further recommends that the Canadian government delay a promised House of Commons vote on extending the CAF mission in Afghanistan until after a NATO meeting in Bucharest in early April. Harper can be expected to use Manleys report to pressure NATO countriesespecially France, Germany and Italyto lift restrictions on the use of their troops in combat missions, with the claim that an increased willingness on the part of Canadas NATO partners to shoulder the fighting in Afghanistan is necessary to maintain public support for the pivotal CAF deployment in Kandahar. At the same time the panels condition is loosely enough worded that were the US to agree to deploy to Kandahar some of the 3,200 additional troops it recently announced it is sending to Afghanistan, the Harper government could argue it has been fulfilled.
Sorry Scots lucky to avoid a rout
YESTERDAY'S match only goes to prove that the scoreboard really does lie. It is one of life's mysteries that Wales won this match by just 15 points despite dominating proceedings from the first whistle to the last. It says something of the cussed nature of the Scots that they hung on to the Welsh coattails, closing the gap to just two points midway through the second half, before the home team made things safe in the final quarter. Chris Paterson kicked five penalties to overtake Gavin Hastings' Scottish points record in this championship, but there was little else for the travelling fans to celebrate.After their troubles last Sunday, the scrum enjoyed the upper hand, John Barclay fronted up again in a losing cause and Mike Blair enjoyed a storming match, tackling like a dervish and mopping up any number of other people's mistakes.
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YMCA camp activities include games, sports, a climbing tower and swimming.
- Taste of Wakonda day sessions for kids entering grades 2-3: June 8-11, 15-18, 22-25, June 29-July 2, July 6-9, 13-16, 20-23 and 27-30. Fees: $200; $100 for YMCA members.
- One-week overnight sessions for kids entering grades 3-8: June 8-13, 15-20, 22-27, 29-July 4, July 6-11, 13-18, 20-25 and July 27-Aug. 1. Fees: $305; $205 for members.
- Horseback riding one-week sessions for kids entering grades 4-10: June 8-13, 15-18, 22-25, July 6-9 and 13-16. Fees: $420; $320 for members.
- Outback Camping two-week sessions for kids entering grades 9-10: June 15-27, July 6-18 and July 20-Aug. 1. Fees: $650; $550 for members.
- Day Camp one-week sessions for kids entering grades 2-7: Aug.
Haverhill High opens first Teen Center
HAVERHILL — It was hardly the kind of scene you'd expect to see at school. Music was pounding as teenagers danced. Some played video games on a big-screen television. Others chatted while relaxing on comfortable living room furniture that sat on wall-to-wall carpeting. The location: a former storage room in the lower level of Haverhill High School. It is now an after-school teen center offering students creative outlets, help with schoolwork and simply just a place to relax. Several years in the making, the center is now open to students for several hours each weekday afternoon. It offers homework help, Internet-connected computers, musical instruments — such as an electric piano, a Nintendo video game console connected to a plasma television, a dance floor, comfortable furniture for relaxation and conversation, art supplies for students who like to draw, and a sound system for mixing, recording and playing music.
Mourners pay candlelight tribute to seven young N.B. basketball ...
BATHURST, N.B. - The seven high school basketball players killed last weekend in a highway accident in northern New Brunswick were remembered Wednesday as loving sons, sweet brothers and trusted friends who will be loved forever in their heartbroken hometown. The funeral for all seven boys brought the city of Bathurst to a standstill as schools and businesses closed and about 5,500 people crowded into a hockey arena and an adjacent rink to hear the service. "You have lost your precious sons," Bathurst Mayor Stephen Brunet told the families of the boys. "We have lost seven future leaders. For a moment just imagine in your mind what they could have done." The boys' coffins lay side by side at one end of the arena, covered with sprays of flowers.
Say It Ain’t So, Ralph!
I had mixed feelings when some friends of mine pointed out that Ralph Nader had mentioned me as an "independent military analyst" in his Sunday appearance on NBC's Meet the Press. In responding to a question from Tim Russert about why he was running yet again, he cited a recent article of mine about how Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have not only ignored the Pentagon's record spending spree, but have adopted policies that may well involve increasing the military budget. My point was that we need to get the Democratic frontrunners to address this issue in some fashion before they take office in 2009 (assuming a Democrat wins, which is not guaranteed by any means). It was NOT meant to suggest that we need a third party candidate in the race — although obviously Ralph Nader is free to use the information as he sees fit.
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