Several weeks ago, I got a question via voice mail that reflected an issue Charles Darwin himself raised: "I was curious about the situation with dogs," this reader said. ". . . Some look entirely different from others. They say all dogs came from the wolf." While he understood that dogs were shaped by breeding, he wondered whether the diversity of dogs could be considered a form of evolution.

Dogs do hold the record as the world's most diverse land mammal, said Elaine Ostrander, a geneticist who studies dogs at the National Institutes of Health. The largest dogs are 40 times the size of the smallest ones. They come with different coats, head shapes, snouts, and behaviors. Ostrander's work uncovers the DNA differences that make this variability possible.

Darwin used dog diversity in the very first chapter of On the Origin of Species to help make a case for evolution and explain the mechanism behind it as a natural analogue to breeding. "Who can believe," Darwin wrote, "that animals closely resembling the Italian greyhound, the bloodhound, the bulldog or the Blenheim spaniel ... ever existed freely in a state of nature?"

Darwin recognized that these breeds were not tame versions of wild greyhounds and bulldogs. He didn't know that all dogs originated from one single species - the wolf - as we do today thanks to DNA.

But he wrote that if such a common dog origin were true, it would make a powerful case for transformation of species in nature: "Such facts would have great weight in making us doubt ... the immutability of the many very clearly allied and natural species."

Today, said Ostrander, there are about 350 dog breeds. "What Darwin was recognizing is what we learn from dogs will be true for all variable species, whether human or plant or animal," she said. Today, with the ability to compare DNA, we know that many of the same genes control growth and stature in humans and dogs, and we and dogs share many of the same genes that predispose us to cancer.

And DNA work may soon answer another question: Why are dogs so much more variable than cats, cows, or pigs, which are also shaped by artificial selection?

Ostrander said two possible genetic explanations exist for dog variability. One is that something latent in the DNA of wolves allowed them to be transformed into both Great Danes and dachshunds. Under that view, she said, pushed-in noses and floppy ears and spots were all embedded in the wolf genome.

The evidence against this, she said, is that we never see wolves born with pug noses or polka dots.

The other view is that the genes underlying these traits don't exist in the wolf, but that wolf DNA is very good at spinning out new variants - that it's particularly "plastic."

What makes an animal's DNA plastic? One answer might be found in the parts of the DNA that don't make up the genes, but nonetheless control how those genes work. Seven percent of the dog's DNA, for example, is made of strings of code called SINEs that appear to have copied themselves throughout the dog chromosomes.

The SINEs are like parasites in that they don't hold the code for anything the dog needs, but they copy themselves selfishly through the dog's DNA.

Between dog generations, SINEs can copy themselves in new spots on the chromosomes. And sometimes, the location of these SINEs does influence traits, Ostrander said. Australian shepherds, for example, have blue-gray coats thanks to the invasion of a SINE into the middle of a gene for coat color.

SINEs crop up in humans and other animals, she said, though dogs may be particularly rich in these and related bits of variable and movable DNA. These can act as engines of variability, often ramping up or down the activity of genes, rather than destroying them.

Stanford geneticist Greg Barsh, who studies coat colors in animals, said some color genes in dogs may have been present in wolves in a "cryptic" form, meaning they float around unseen because they need to be inherited in unlikely combinations to have an influence. Such genes can become more common through breeding.

A few mutations influencing dog coat color appear to go back thousands of years, including one that causes many dogs to be completely black, said Barsh. By contrast, some mutations leading to red or brown coats seem to have occurred much later.

Spots on most dogs trace back to a gene called MITF, he said, which is involved in pigmentation, eyesight, and hearing. In boxers and bull terriers, MITF mutations interfere with pigment-producing cells called melanocytes. These cells tend to die in clusters, leading to the white neck and underbelly areas of many breeds. MITF also contributes to dalmatian spots, he said, though to Barsh, dalmatians are black dogs with very large white spots.

In the coat-color department, cats are as variable as dogs, Barsh said, and that will be the subject of a forthcoming paper.

As Darwin noted, cats aren't easily bred, thanks to their "nocturnal ramblings."

Darwin wrote that he saw breeding as a form of evolution - a demonstration of the ability of animals and plants to change dramatically. That thought wasn't original with Darwin; his main contribution was to figure out a mechanism for such change in nature - the revolutionary concept of natural selection.

In Origin, he argued against other naturalists who proposed that all variation in dogs came about through the crossing of existing, God-created forms. Darwin argued that canine breeds result from variation and selection, albeit of an artificial kind.

He saw breeding as a process analogous to natural selection, in which nature selects variations useful to the reproductive ability of the organisms themselves, rather than those useful to breeders. There's lots of variation out there, he noted, but nature had a lot of time.

 

---

Contact staff writer Faye Flam at 215-854-4977 or fflam@phillynews.com. Read her "Planet of the Apes" blog at www.philly.com/evolution.

Despite the smugness and arrogance on the smirking face of David "If I have to pay anything back, then I shall" Cameron, the Libya escapade has been yet another geopolitical disaster for NATO, destroying the credibility of the organization once and for all and rendering its leaders liable for prosecution for war crimes.

The five-letter word Libya will be branded across the forehead of NATO and its military and political leaders for the rest of eternity, since due to the increased powers of communication which come with the internet, out goes the notion that the victor writes the pages of the annals of history.

Libya is a disaster not only for NATO but also for the political leaders of the FUKUS three, the three-pronged assault on human decency provided by France, the UK and (who else?) the US.

For a start, what happened in Libya cannot and must not go unsaid and must constitute the basis for a prosecution of the Organization, the International Criminal Court at The Hague for perversion of justice, and of course the military and political leaders of NATO for war crimes, occasioning murder, instigation to murder, attempted murder, grievous and actual bodily harm, wanton destruction of property (public and private), criminal damage, vandalism, breach of the UN Charter, breach of UN Resolutions 1970 and 1973 (2011) covering the incident, breach of the Geneva Conventions, breach of all the norms in diplomatic custom, customary and international law.

This massive and clear breach of law and violation of human rights could not be more serious or have deeper implications for the legacy of Cameron, Sarkozy and Obama, whose callous and total disrespect for human life and absence of human feelings was so apparent when they refused even to apologise when the grandchildren of Colonel Gaddafi were murdered in a NATO terrorist strike on a private home.

The names David Cameron, Nicolas Sarkozy and Barack Obama could be synonymous with the names of the children their forces murdered in cold blood: child murderers. How would they feel if the same thing happened to their families? Would they sit smirking?

On a less personal level, the political credibility of NATO has once and for all been destroyed, as if after Iraq anyone had any doubts...destroyed to such an extent that the geo-strategic capacity of this evil organization has seen a shift away from its control. After Libya, it is clear what NATO is, and therefore its very existence is an insult to its founding principles, an insult to international law, an insult to human dignity.

NATO, it is clear, is an organization which panders to the whims of the lobbies and cliques which gravitate around the White House, dictating its policy, and, in the words of the White House itself, involving its NATO neighbours to reduce the financial load on the US of A and save the lives of American boys.

In Libya, NATO protected civilians from terrorists by bombing them, unleashed the most horrific elements from the dregs of Libyan society - terrorists, rapists, murderers, looters, arsonists, vandals, torturers - on the citizens of Libya, together with vandals from abroad, flown in from other theatres of war where they had been combating NATO forces. So many were they, and so high were the casualties against the heroic Libyan Armed Forces, that some observers say NATO threw them into Libya on purpose, so that many of them would die, and therefore pose less of a risk to its schemes elsewhere in the future.

Finally, NATO's actions in Libya have sent a very clear message to all that the last thing you do is get rid of your Weapons of Mass Destruction, since this cowardly organization only attacks those who cannot defend themselves and when they do not have the weaponry to reply. That makes the world a much more dangerous place, and for this reason NATO and its leaders have no further part to play in the destiny of Humankind.

Libya was indeed NATO's grave in the hearts and minds of the international community and in future, its "mission creep" policies of lying about its intentions from the outset will ensure that its plans are never approved in the UN Security Council, pushing the world one further step towards the brink of tension and eventual conflict.

NATO is A Terrorist Organization and must be stopped. Now. Therefore in conclusion, whatever the outcome with Muammar al-Qathafi, as NATO exits Libya with its tail between its legs, hated, knowing it cheated...Gaddafi 1 NATO 0. In Libya, NATO lost far more than Gaddafi and Gaddafi, a hero, won more than NATO could ever gain. After all, you do not win a boxing match by having 15 fighters in the ring armed with machine guns and you do not lose by standing up to them for eight months, alone.

Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey

Pravda.Ru

Jay-Z and Kanye West appear to have another hit on their hands. Musically, the two titans have accomplished just about all there is — 1 LPs, top Billboard singles, Grammys, gold and platinum plaques, and high-grossing world tours. So when the pair embarked on their Watch the Throne Tour as an official duo, the expectations were no doubt high.

The reviews are in, and with its grandiose stage design, ginormous set list and striking onstage chemistry, it is clear that the Watch the Throne Tour does not disappoint. After two dates in Atlanta, Georgia (the tour's opening October 28 date and another the very next night), the critics sung the two rap heroes an overwhelming praise.

You've already read what MTV News and DJ Green Lantern had to say about it, now see what others thought about Jay-Z and Kanye West's regal run.

"Many in the high-energy crowd remained standing — and swaying and dancing and singing — for the entire 2½-hour show. At one point, as Jay-Z and West performed 'N---as in Paris' from their hit Watch the Throne CD, West exhorted the audience to 'Bounce! Bounce!' The resulting stomping had Philips Arena rocking and shaking in a way that it hasn't for the Hawks in a long time." — USA Today

"The Watch the Throne concert totally surpassed anything you would expect. From the 50-foot cubes, to the laser show and spectacular visuals, and in-and-out mini sets, the pair moved like a duo that has performed consistently for years." — AllHipHop.com

"Their enjoyment sharing the stage was obvious as they led the crowd through the refrain of 'Run This Town' and chanted over the heavy, chest-rattling bass in 'Monster' as more video of wild animals played behind them." — Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"The kings of hip-hop, Jay-Z and Kanye West, descended upon Atlanta on Friday and Saturday nights to begin their Watch the Throne tour reign and the two couldn't have been more regal during their performances." — XXLMag.com

"While there was virtually no way a concert featuring Jay-Z and Kanye West could ever be a dud, we have to say the duo lived up to our high expectations with last night's kick-off of their Watch the Throne tour. The hip-hop monarchs performed at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, with an epic set list that featured selections from each artist's own behemoth catalog of hits as well as their Watch the Throne collaborations." — Idolator

Share your thoughts on the Throne's Atlanta tour kickoff in the comments below or on our Facebook page!

Press Release Source: The Bullying Academy On Monday October 31, 2011, 11:00 am EDT

NEW YORK, Oct. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As an openly gay young man, Tommy Walser, currently a New York University Law School student, watched in shock and anger as it seemed like every week a new suicide was being committed due to bullying and cyber-bullying. He states, "Cyber-cruelty is rapidly increasing in volume and complexity because adolescents and teens are never taught how to act responsibly and appropriately while communicating online or via other electronic devices."

Enter The Bullying Academy (www.bullyingacademy.com), which Tommy Walser created as a free online resource that is quickly becoming the leading web-based, interactive program designed to help parents, students and teachers deal with the dangers associated with bullying and cyber-bullying. 

Tommy, now 23, is proud of his sexuality, but growing up it was a different story.  He admits that as an adolescent and teen, he was picked on by others for being "different."  He decided to channel his experience into something positive by creating a program to educate kids before bullying reaches a critical point.

The Bullying Academy does not require any additional software or extensive training. Schools register with the organization's website and students immediately have access to the program. The Bullying Academy provides a professionally developed curriculum and grade appropriate content to engage students through a scavenger hunt composed of lessons and learning links, as well as utilizing quizzes which function as assessments.  The program has been designed with a pre- and post-quiz so that participants can measure what was learned about bullying and its ramifications. 

There are also contests for schools that participate, whereby the winning school gets a trophy, pizza party and certificate for the teacher. Any students who complete the program will also receive a diploma that ranges from gold to bronze depending on score. Students learn:

• Characteristics and risk factors common to bullies
• What bullies look for in victims
• How to recognize the short- and long-term effects of bullying on victims and bullies
• How to properly respond and report bullying
• How to avoid violence while standing up for each other

Tommy Walser is available for interviews and comments. Please contact Kim Morgan at (954) 261-2149 or kmorgan@goodpresspublishing.com

Contact:
Kim Morgan
Simply the Best PR
(954) 261 2149
kmorgan@goodpresspublishing.com

GRANTS PASS, Ore. -- A Oregon man facing charges that he had a loaded pistol at a high school after a football game had written a note on a desk when he was in high school saying he wanted to kill as many teachers and students as he could, according to federal court documents filed Thursday.

The 1999 note was cited in documents filed in U.S. District Court by prosecutors who want to keep Raphael Enrique Amoroso, 26, of Grants Pass, behind bars while he awaits trial on charges of having a gun on school grounds and being a drug user in possession of a firearm.

"The defendant's father stated that he believed his son needed mental help and counseling, and that he had concerns about the paraphernalia that he was collecting and reading," prosecutors wrote. "Defendant has a history of threatening behavior and this most recent case is an escalation and is most concerning for public safety."

Court documents said Grants Pass police provided a report about contacting Amoroso in January 1999 after he admitted writing a note on a classroom desk that read, "I want to take a gun to school and blow away the faculty. When I am done with that, I'll systematically kill every student I can."

The detention hearing scheduled for Thursday was postponed until Monday at the request of Amoroso's lawyer. Federal public defender Tonia Moro wrote in a motion that prosecutors did not provide her with evidence gathered in the case until the day of the hearing, and they amended the criminal complaint just hours before the hearing was to start.

A self-employed landscaper, Amoroso was arrested on drunken driving charges after leaving a Grants Pass High School parking lot shortly before midnight Oct. 7. Police said he admitted smoking marijuana, and a breath test showed he was also drunk. In his car, police found marijuana, a loaded .45-caliber pistol, 200 rounds of rifle ammunition, binoculars, a camouflage jacket, and the novel "Enemies Foreign and Domestic," which tells a story about a sniper attack at a professional football game staged to bring about a ban on semiautomatic rifles.

A week later, police searched the house where Amoroso lives with his mother, finding a collection of vintage military rifles, thousands of rounds of ammunition, two military sniper manuals, and a variety of books that included "Mein Kampf" by Adolf Hitler and "OK BOMB!- Conspiracy and Cover-up" by Jim Kerith, according to an affidavit filed with the new criminal complaint.

Authorities also found a printout from a website about picking what kind of terrorist to be, a note about combining chemicals to produce an explosive, armor-piercing bullet tips, a bulletproof vest, a helmet, and an inch-thick piece of steel with an armor-piercing bullet stuck in it.

A court document cited an interview with Amoroso's father, who told authorities about his son being arrested in 2000 for shooting a pellet gun at a passing jet boat loaded with tourists on the Rogue River when he was 15, and being ordered by a judge to undergo counseling.

by Walter Brasch
American Reporter Senior Correspondent
Bloomsburg, Pa.

Back to home page

Printable version of this story

BLOOMSBURG, Pa., Sept. 8. 2009 -- Labor Day is over now, and that means about 140 million Americans are back at work after celebrating a three-day vacation. But most Americans still have no idea what Labor Day is, other than speeches, hot dogs, burgers and a pool party.

Few even know that Labor Day exists to allow people to remember and honor the struggles for respect, dignity, and acceptable wages and working conditions for the rank-and-file employees.

We don't know that the Knights of Labor created the first Labor Day in 1882 and that Congress made it a national holiday in 1894.

Almost none of us, including life-long union workers, know the personalities of the labor movement. About Mother Jones (1830-1930), the militant "angel of the coal fields" for more than six decades. About "Big Bill" Haywood (1869-1928) who organized the Industrial Workers of the World, a universal coalition to fight for the rights of all labor. About cigar-chomping Samuel Gompers (1850-1924), the first president of the American Federation of Labor, a job he held for 38 years.

We don't know about Sidney Hillman (1887-1946) who led strikes in 1916 to reduce the work week to 48 hours, from the standard 54-60 hours, and then helped create the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) before becoming a major political force for workers during the labor-friendly Roosevelt administration. Missing from our collective knowledge is the life of Saul Alinsky (1909-1972), known as the "father of grassroots political campaigns" who worked alongside Cesar Chavez (1927-1993) who used Alinsky's tactics to organize the United Farm Workers.

Most of us probably never heard about Eugene Debs (1855-1926), Joe Hill (1879-1915), and thousands of others who went to prison or were murdered defending the rights of the workers not only to organize, but to demand better working conditions. The names of Tompkins Square, Cripple Creek, Homestead, Lattimer, Lawrence, and dozens of other places where police forces massacred workers are unknown.

We don't know about the Avondale mine fire that killed 110, because of faulty construction of the colliery and a disregard for worker safety, or of the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory, where 148 women, some as young as 12, working under brutal sweat-shop conditions, died because a fire door was chained. We won't become involved in the struggle, risk our jobs and futures. That's someone else's responsibility. We'll just follow inane rules and complain privately.

Most Americans, and certainly most journalists, don't know the story of Horace Greeley, a social activist and the nation's most prominent ante-bellum publisher, who created The New York Typographical Union for his typesetters and printers because he believed they needed representation. Most journalists also don't know about Heywood Broun (1888-1939), one of the nation's best-paid columnists who risked his own financial stability to create The Newspaper Guild in 1935 to help those reporters making one-hundredth of his salary. Most media don't even have local stories about Labor Day, preferring to run nationally-distributed stories and not "waste" any of the few reporters they have left.

The national syndicates and wire services, plus a few socially-conscious newspapers, may make the effort to find a current labor leader who will say organized labor is having a tough time but is still strong and vital, the only recourse against poor working conditions and unfair labor practices. The stories will tell us that about 12.4 percent of all workers are in unions, down from a peak of 35 percent in 1954, but the reporters don't dig into myriad ways of intimidation by Management, or of the professionals who mistakenly believe because they are professionals and not workers they don't need unions.

The reporters may interview the workers. An elderly man's remembrance of his life in the coal mines or breakers, and what Black Lung did not only to his own health but to his family and friends. They might chat with an elderly woman who worked 12-hour days six days a week for $3-$4 a day in the heat and humidity of a garment factory. They may talk with a few current workers who tell us the Recession has cut deep into their lives, but they work hard and are pleased that they still have a job.

Some stories may even dryly point out statistics--that the unemployment rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is 9.7 percent, up from 4.8 percent when the Recession began in December 2007, that 14.9 million Americans are unemployed, up from 7.4 million.

The stories might even note that 9.1 million Americans work part-time either because their hours and wages were "downsized" or because they couldn't find full-time work. Another 2.3 million Americans are "marginally attached," according to the BLS; these are unemployed Americans who aren't listed as "unemployed" because they haven't looked for work in four weeks; of these 2.3 million, about 760,000 are "discouraged"--their unemployment benefits have run out, they have tried to find work, but have given up.

Meanwhile, corporate executives are taking multi-million dollar bonuses for improving the "cash flow." Even if executive management makes significant mistakes, and the "return on investment" isn't what the Board of Directors expects, or the companies fail because of management incompetence and greed, almost all CEOs and their immediate underlings have the "golden parachute" that allows a soft drop from employment, yielding termination packages that amount to millions of dollars and considerable benefits and bonuses that no working class person will ever receive.

Business euphemistically claims because of "downsizing," "rightsizing," and "outsourcing," mostly to foreign countries, the "bottom line" is improved; corporate investors are being "optimally compensated." Since the recession began, more than a year before President George W. Bush left office, about 4.3 million Americans have been "downsized," according to data compiled by Challenger, Gray and Christmas Inc.

Data collected by NowPublic reveals that 2008 was "the worst year for layoffs and job losses in the United States since World War II." Although terabytes of data reveal the Recession is slowing under the massive Obama stimulus package, another one million Americans will be laid off this year. Recent Department of Labor studies report that American workers are "the most productive" ever.

hat's because not only are they are doing so much more to compensate for their fellow workers having been laid off, but because they live with the fear if they don't work even harder they, too, may be laid off or lose promotions in an economy that went as far south as our manufacturing plants.

Of course, there are some industries that have gained in the past year's plunging economy. Retail sales, which the Department of Labor reports as having the lowest average wages, is gaining workers. But, that's because it's just "good business sense" to hire 75 low-paid part-timers and save the cost of benefits than to hire 50 full-time clerks. Only about 16 percent of all retail workers even receive health care benefits, according to the BLS.

To the 50-year-old who worked hard for one company more than half of his life, showed up for work on time, left on time, and tolerated the company's banal preaching about everyone is "part of our happy family," and then is laid off as an "economy measure," the numbers don't matter. To the worker who put in 20 years in one job, and then is fired for reasons that would be questionable under any circumstance, the numbers don't matter. To the $20,000-a-year worker who is told she won't receive a raise because "we're having a bad year," but sees upper management not only get raises and more stock options, but also hire other managers, all of them making five times or more than her salary, the other numbers don't matter.

But, millions of Americans will have their bar-b-ques and family reunions, they'll splash in the ocean or hike mountain trails, and they will have no idea why the struggle for worker rights must be fought every day by every worker.

ng Dr. Brasch's 17 books is With Just Cause, a lok at the rhetorical and social issues in American labor. Contact Dr. Brasch at his Website.

Copyright 2011 Joe Shea The American Reporter. All Rights Reserved.

");& }& & // Google Adsense Configurations& google_ad_client = 'ca-tribune_news3_html';& google_ad_output = 'js';& google_max_num_ads = '2';& google_ad_channel = 'latimes_blog_article';& google_ad_type = 'text';& google_safe = 'high';& google_page_url = document.location;& google_last_modified_time = Date.parse(parent.document.lastModified) / 1000;& google_referrer_url = document.referrer;& & //]]>& // -->& &

This just smells bad all the way around.  It's been more than 7 weeks.

________________

The toxicology results that are to determine whether Florida minister Zachery Tims had drugs in his system at the moment of his death were not obtainable Friday, despite previous reports that the results would be available this week.

A representative with the New York Chief Medical Examiner's office informed The Christian Post on Sept. 23 that the results would be available the following week. As of Friday, no updates were available. CP has been following up daily with the examiner's office and was told Friday, Sept. 30, that the toxicology results for Tims were not yet ready.

Seven weeks have passed since the senior pastor of New Destiny Christian Church (NDCC) in Apopka, Fla., was found dead in his room at the W. Hotel in Times Square on Aug. 12.

Investigators were reportedly considering the possibility that Tims might have died from a drug overdose.

The minister, who was in town for a speaking engagement, was found on the floor of his hotel room. Sources close to the investigation told the New York Daily News that a glassine envelope of white powder was found in Tims' right pants pocket.

Church administrators have not commented on the suspicious substance found on Tims, but Bishop T.D. Jakes, who delivered the minister's eulogy during his Aug. 21 funeral, insinuated that Tims struggled with personal problems.

FULL STORY HERE.

The Mo'Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant; published at The Huffington Post and EURWEB.com. For the most recent posts of Mr. Mo'Kelly, visit http://telecomadvisors.biz/mrmokelly.com.  Mr. Mo'Kelly can be reached at mrmokelly@gmail.com.

Free Subscription to The Mo'Kelly Report HERE

Follow The Mo'Kelly Report on Facebook  HERE

Twitter – @mrmokelly 

Preamble Hello. A crazy thing happened on 12 April 2006: England beat India in India. In the 2026 days since then, their record in all forms of the game is P15 W0 D1 T1 L13. Few would expect them to improve that today. It's a different form of the game, and England are the best side in the world according to the new ICC rankings*, but one format tends to bleed into other, particularly when you have just been thrashed 5-0. There's a whiff of the inevitable, and we haven't even had the toss.

* Though they will drop to third if they lose today, with India jumping from fifth to second and Sri Lanka going top

The pitch is the same one that was used during Tuesday's special collapse, which means another trial by spin for England. Permission to take up residence behind the sofa? Permission granted. Rumours that India have recalled Bishan Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Rajesh Chauhan and Arshad Ayub in a team of 11 spinners are unconfirmed.

India have won the toss and will bat first. The England captain Graeme Swann says he would have batted as well, and you would expect the pitch to turn increasingly as the match progresses. England have two chances in this match, and Slim really needed to bat first. An England victory would be gloriously illogical.

India Uthappa, Rahane, Kohli, Raina, Y Pathan, Dhoni (c/wk), Jadeja, Tiwary, Ashwin, V Kumar, P Kumar.

England Hales, Kieswetter (wk), Pietersen, Bopara, Bairstow, Buttler, Patel, Bresnan, Swann (c), Finn, Dernbach.

This is England's last match of what has been a momentous year. A gold star for the person who can tell us when they last had no international matches in November and December.

An email from Mike Selvey at Eden Gardens "I can tell you that Samit parked himself down next to me at lunch (half a chicken wrap, no salad for him, I promise you) and told me he was batting at four. We shall see but personally I think he has played the spin as well as anyone. Anyway he says he is not going to die wondering today. No surprise that KP makes the cut. This is the equivalent of Asprey's shop window for him and he wasn't going to miss it." He's had a decent tour, hasn't he? I feel a bit sorry for him having to come in at No7 all the time. It's no place for an orthodox batsman, but he has done okay there. In fact he has only twice come in higher than No7, and one of those was when he belted 70 not out last week.

"They did not play in October and November of 2001 (and only started again at the end of December)," says Ian Copestake, "so I am hitching my inadequately researched star to 2001." Nup, the Test series against India started in December. Look at that England team!

WICKET! India 1-1 (Rahane c Kieswetter b Finn 0) After all sorts of faffing, the game finally gets underway, and Steve Finn strikes with the fourth ball! Rahane edged a drive at a very full delivery, and Kieswetter dived to his right to take a magnificent one-handed catch.

1st over: India 5-1 (Uthappa 1, Kohli 4) Kohli pings a lovely boundary through midwicket. Lord Selvey suggests 1988 as the last year in which England had November and December off. In fact it was 1993, ahead of the West Indies tour. Which for some reason always reminds me of Beth Jordache and Margaret kissing in Brookside. I think it's because Brookside happened to be on in the background while I was listening to one of the Tests on a Friday night; Trinidad maybe, Haynes b Salisbury 38, you know the one.

WICKET! India 5-2 (Uthappa c Kieswetter b Bresnan 1) What's going on here then? England have struck twice in the first eight deliveries. Uthappa fenced at a shortish delivery from Bresnan and edged it to the right of Kieswetter, who took a smart diving catch. It wasn't a blinder like the first, but it was still a very decent take.

2nd over: India 5-2 (Kohli 4, Raina 0) Raina feels outside off stump for his first ball and pings it just short of point, and then he checks his second ball not far short of the bowler Bresnan. "After another blinder by Kieswetter, it might be a good idea for him to forget that he has two hands," says Anand. "He seems to do his best work with one hand."

3rd over: India 12-2 (Kohli 5, Raina 6) This is a vital partnership of course, with both men in exceptional form at the moment. Raina shows that by driving Finn for a magnificent straight six. What a way to get off the mark! "By far the strangest aspect of that scorecard is the fact that in India's first innings Mark Butcher took the first wicket," says Tom King. "After 9.1 overs. Whagwan?!" First change ahead of Flintoff and White? Blimey. I assume it was swinging, and Nasser had a hunch.

4th over: India 21-2 (Kohli 14, Raina 6) Kohli swats Bresnan extravagantly over mid on for four, a marvellous stroke, and then helps a short ball on its way to the fine-leg boundary. This is a wonderfully confident and assertive response from Kohli and Raina. "1993 eh," says Mike Selvey. "That must mean I had two months off and didn't even know it."

5th over: India 26-2 (Kohli 17, Raina 10) Jade Dernbach comes on to replace Steve Finn. He could do with a decent game after a chastening ODI series. After a decent start to the over, Raina cuts a filthy delivery for four. "The inclusion of Buttler makes this a potential On the Buses tribute side," says Ian Copestake, "to be bolstered further by picking a Blakey, an Olive and a Chalky." Picking a Blakey is India is not to be advised.

WICKET! India 26-3 (Kohli c Hales b Bresnan 15) A fantastic running catch from Alex Hales gets rid of the dangerous Virat Kohli. He hoicked a slower ball from Bresnan high towards cow corner, and Hales charged round the boundary before holding on just a fraction inside the rope.

6th over: India 32-3 (Raina 15, Tiwary 1) Raina smears Bresnan back over his head for four. He is in a brutal mood. "Great link to the 2001 Test team – love it," says Jon Devaney. "To be fair that's a pretty good top six, few complaints. And as bowling attacks go? Well, at least there was Hoggy. How we got the, out for only 469 I can only fathom..." That was the start, really, of the 2005 attack. Flintoff and to a lesser extent Hoggard came of age as Test bowlers, Giles put daylight between him and other spinners like Robert Croft (who, like Andy Caddick, pulled in the aftermath 9/11) and then Harmison and Jones made their debuts the following summer.

7th over: India 38-3 (Raina 16, Tiwary 5) With the Powerplay over, Samit Patel can come into the attack. Tiwary premeditates a lap sweep for two in a obundaryless, six-run over. "Put a link in to Dick Blakey's autobiography then," says Mike Selvey. As sports books go, it does have one of the better titles: Taking It From Behind.

8th over: India 54-3 (Raina 31, Tiwary 6) The captain Graeme Swann replaces Bresnan, and his first over disappears for 16! Raina cuts the first ball for four and then slog sweeps a huge six. He is in fantastic nick and has moved to 31 from 21 balls.

9th over: India 61-3 (Raina 31, Tiwary 13) Tiwary works Patel for three consecutive twos and then edges an attempted sweep over Kieswetter for a single.

10th over: India 65-3 (Raina 33, Tiwary 15) Graeme Swann replaces Graeme Swann with Jade Dernbach, who bowls a good over at a cost of only four singles.

WICKET! India 66-4 (Tiwary b Patel 15) Tiwary slogs across the line of a quicker delivery from Patel that hits the off stump. Well bowled Samit, although that wicket might be a mixed blessing for England: here comes MS Dhoni.

11th over: India 66-4 (Raina 34, Dhoni 0) A superb over from Patel brings a wicket and a solitary run.

WICKET! India 74-5 (Raina c Bairstow b Finn 39) This is a big wicket for England. Finn returns to the attack, probably with one eye on Dhoni, but he picks up Raina instead. It was a short, wide slower ball, and Raina slapped a cut straight to point.

WICKET! India 74-6 (Jadeja b Finn 0) Two in two balls for Finn. Jadeja tried to cut a ball that was too close for the shot, and dragged it back onto the stumps.

12th over: India 74-6 (Dhoni 3, Y Pathan 0) "Dhoni has not only proved himself to be an excellent limited-overs batter, but also a startlingly effective laxative," says Phil Sawyer. "Every time he walks to the wicket when England are bowling he makes my stomach go watery. God knows how he makes the England bowlers feel but I wouldn't be surprised to see their habit of mysterious disappearances to the dressing room increase even further."

13th over: India 81-6 (Dhoni 5, Y Pathan 5) England have a huge shout for caught behind against Dhoni turned down. Dhoni pushed at a ball from Swann that looped up in the air off the pad and was taken by Kieswetter down the leg side. England were certain there had been an inside edge; replays suggested they were probably right. Yusuf Pathan gets four to fine leg later in the over.

14th over: India 83-6 (Dhoni 6, Y Pathan 6) Dhoni survives Finn's hat-trick ball, but there are just two singles from the over. Finn ends with outstanding figures of 4-0-22-3. It'll be fascinating to see if he jumps the queue to the Test team in the new year, because he is starting to look like a serious bowler. "Never mind 'On The Buses'," says James Wrout. "Some of us of a certain age can't wait to see Buttler and Anderson teaming up again. It would be music to my hearing aid."

15th over: India 87-6 (Dhoni 7, Y Pathan 9) A diabolical piece of umpiring from S Ravi reprieves Pathan when he pushes around a very straight delivery from the new bowler Ravi Bopara. Hawkeye suggests it would have hit leg stump. Still, another very good over for England. Pietersen had a right go at the umpire at the end of the over, which isn't really on, no matter how bad the decision was. "Just realised that Suresh Raina is the Michael Bevan of the 21st century!" says Anand. I know what you mean – brilliant in ODIs, poor at Test cricket because of a struggle against the short ball – although they are different types of batsmen. Bevan, as Christian Ryan said, had a "tweezer for a bat", whereas Suresh Raina has a sledgehammer for a bat.

16th over: India 91-6 (Dhoni 10, Y Pathan 10) Dhoni's too quiet. Far too quiet. There are only four runs from Bresnan's final over. He ends with superb figures of 4-1-19-2, and Dhoni has 10 from 19 balls. England are probably on top, although even 110 could be a tricky target against all those spinners. "Is there a T20 change to the lbw law I don't know about?" says Mike Selvey. It really was a hideous decision.

WICKET! India 91-7 (Y Pathan b Bopara 10) Superb bowling from Ravi Bopara. Yusuf Pathan is beaten by consecutive slower balls and then cleaned up emphatically by a quicker one that sends his off stump flying.

WICKET! India 91-8 (P Kumar b Bopara 0) Bopara is bowling beautifully here, and bowls Boom Boom Kumar second ball with a fine inswinger that knocks the middle stump over.

17th over: India 91-8 (Dhoni 10, Ashwin 0) A double-wicket maiden for Bopara, whose figures are 2-1-4-2. A double-wicket maiden in Twenty20! "So when was the last time England fielded three wicketkeepers, all of whom took catches?" asks John Starbuck. Hales isn't a keeper, is he? As for fielding three keepers, Trescothick, Stewart and Crawley (who all kept wicket in international cricket) were in the same Test team in Australia in 2002-03. No idea if Trescothick and Crawley took catches, though.

18th over: India 95-8 (Dhoni 12, Ashwin 2) Dhoni comes through for a suicidal single and is miles short of his ground when the throw from backward point misses the stumps. That's one of four singles in Dernbach's over, and now it must be time for Dhoni to open his shoulders.

19th over: India 107-8 (Dhoni 13, Ashwin 12) The penultimate over of the innings, from Bopara, costs 12. Ashwin drives a lovely boundary through extra cover, the first for 33 balls, and chips another over mid off later in the over.

WICKET! 20th over: India 120-8 (Dhoni run out 21; Ashwin 17 not out) The final over goes for 13 and includes – do not adjust your set – the wicket of MS Dhoni. First Ashwin drags Dernbach for four, and then Dhoni gets a reprieve. He swiped a slower ball miles in the air, and it dropped through the hands of Bairstow, running round from mid-on. In fact he hardly got hands on it. It was a costly miss, because Dhoni whirled an astonishing bottom-handed six down the ground next ball. He was then run out off the last delivery by the bowler Dernbach. So England need 121 to win and stay at the top of the T20 rankings. It could be a deceptively tricky target. See you in 10 minutes.

1st over: England 8-0 (target 121; Hales 1, Kieswetter 6) The offspinner R Ashwin opens the bowling, and starts with a beautiful doosra that beats Alex Hales. Craig Kieswetter survives a big LBW shout later in the over after missing a slog sweep – there was a doubt over height – and then makes room to drive expertly over cover for four. An eventful first over. "Your wish is my Saturday afternoon with not much else to do, Rob," says Phil Sawyer. "Catches from Messrs Tresco, Crawley and Stewart in the first innings of this match. Also in the fifth Test. Not many catches from any England fielders in the matches in between, mind."

2nd over: England 14-0 (target 121; Hales 5, Kieswetter 8) It'll be offspin from both ends, with Yusuf Pathan to share the new ball. Has there even been a boy born who can swim faster than a shark a Twenty20 innings in which only spinners have bowled? India could do that here if they wished. Pathan's first over isn't the best, a touch too straight, and England are able to milk ones and twos into the leg side. I wouldn't give Pathan a second over if I were MS Dhoni. I wish I were MS Dhoni.

3rd over: England 20-0 (target 121; Hales 6, Kieswetter 12) The dangerous Kieswetter pulls a terrible delivery from Ashwin round the corner for four. It's a fine over apart from that, with just two more runs from it.

WICKET! England 21-1 (Kieswetter c Tiwary b Jadeja 12) Here we go. Kieswetter advances to the new bowler Jadeja and drives him in the air to long off, where Tiwary takes a cool catch. That was a bit of a naive shot from Kieswetter, although I suppose we can't have it both ways.

4th over: England 22-1 (target 121; Hales 8, Pietersen 0) Pietersen has a big drive at his first ball and is beaten by a beauty that turns sharply. This is going to be very difficult for England. "By bowling the spinners first up, has Dhoni made sure England are more focused?" says Anand. "I thought the strategy was to give some runs to England against the seamers, make them feel everything is all right and then bring in the spinners."

5th over: England 26-1 (target 121; Hales 10, Pietersen 2) Pietersen tries to drive Ashwin and screws it luckily over the leg side. It's all a bit too manic for England's comfort – and now Pietersen has been dropped! He top-edged a slog sweep over the head of short third man. Three fielders converged, and eventually Raina got himself in a poor position before dropping it. He should have taken that. "Right, you have one wish," says Mike Selvey. "You can be either Rob Key, Martin McCague or MS Dhoni. Which is it to be?" Mike Selvey. Actually, Rob Key is very good in the Sky studio; he should do more of it. Between innings he said that "if Finn bowls like this in England, he is going to be unplayable." I got quite excited when he said that.

6th over: England 28-1 (target 121; Hales 10, Pietersen 2) This is filthy cricket from England. They are all over the place on an admittedly tricky pitch. Hales misses a premeditated reverse sweep, and then Pietersen survives a huge shout for LBW after missing a sweep. It looked extremely close, although I suppose it might have been missing leg. Hawkeye suggests it was indeed missing leg. Pietersen has two from nine balls; Jadeja has figures of 2-0-2-1. "Another question which some OBO reader may be able to answer: has anyone seen the Ladyboys of Bangkok's act?" says John Starbuck. "My wife is going tonight with a bevy of her old school friends and I'd like to know what state I can expect them back in."

WICKET! England 40-2 (Hales c Rahane b Y Pathan 11) Yusuf Pathan returns in place of R Ashwin (3-0-7-1). Pietersen Dilscoops his first boundary straight over the keeper's head, and then switch-hits a monstrous six over extra cover/midwicket. Pick that out. It was shaping up to be a brilliant over for England, but then Hales fell to the last delivery. He lifted Pathan towards deep midwicket, where Rahane charged in from the boundary to take a superb two-handed catch diving forward.

7th over: England 40-2 (target 121; Pietersen 13, Patel 0) Samit Patel does come in at No4, as Selve said he would.

8th over: England 45-2 (target 121; Pietersen 14, Patel 2) A wonderful diving stop from Raina saves four when Patel slaps Jadeja through the off side. Patel then survives an optimistic pair of shouts for caught behind and LBW. Great stuff from Jadeja, though: his figures are 3-1-7-1. "Having been used to abysmal fielding by India through the 90s while our batsmen's catches were plucked out of thin air by the likes of Mark Waugh, that last catch by Rahane felt good," says Anand. "I said a 'wow' to myself."

9th over: England 61-2 (target 121; Pietersen 25, Patel 7) Samit Patel clatters Pathan down the ground for four, an excellent stroke. Then Pietersen takes 10 from two balls, a sweet lofted stroke over deep midwicket for six followed by a vicious smear to the same area. Pietersen started abysmally and is now playing majestically.

10th over: England 74-2 (target 121; Pietersen 32, Patel 9) Praveen Kumar bowls the first over of seam in this innings. Pietersen slams a majestic pull over midwicket for four and then sweeps four more through square leg. Thirteen from the over and 29 from the last two. Pietersen is playing sensationally; he has 36 from 21 balls.

11th over: England 80-2 (target 121; Pietersen 36, Patel 15) Vinay Kumar also comes on to bowl, and Samit Patel dumps his second ball lazily over long on for six. What a shot! Those are the only runs from the over, mind, and Patel would have been run out from a direct hit off the last ball of the over when Pietersen sent him back.

12th over: England 82-2 (target 121; Pietersen 37, Patel 16) India need a wicket from Jadeja in his last over. England sense this, and are content enough with a couple of low-risk singles. Jadeja ends with brilliant figures of 4-1-9-1. England need 39 from 48 balls and will have to work very, very hard to bugger this up.

13th over: England 95-2 (target 121; Pietersen 48, Patel 18) Pietersen hammers Vinay Kumar through extra cover for four and then belabours a slower bouncer over deep midwicket for his third six! Wonderful stuff. England are cruising.

14th over: England 98-2 (target 121; Pietersen 49, Patel 20) R Ashwin's last over is surely India's last chance. Pietersen survives a huge LBW shout after missing a reverse lap. That looked plumb, and replays confirm that Pietersen was lucky. Three singles from the over, and Ashwin is done for the day.

WICKET! England 100-3 (Patel c Tiwary b Kohli 21) A soft end to a decent supporting innings from Patel, who slices the new bowler Kohli high in the air towards cover. He takes a comfortable catch, his second of the innings.

15th over: England 102-3 (target 121; Pietersen 52, Bopara 0) Earlier in the over Pietersen drove Kohli down the ground to reach fifty from only 34 balls. He was manic for the first 10 balls; since then he has been majestic.

WICKET! England 106-4 (Pietersen LBW b Raina 53) Pietersen gets a shocking decision from the umpire. He missed a switch hit at Raina, bowling around the wicket, and was given out LBW. The ball pitched miles outside leg stump. Ah well, it happens. Pietersen played a brilliant and probably matchwinning innings of 53 from 39 balls.

16th over: England 106-4 (target 121; Bopara 2, Bairstow 0) England need 15 from 24 balls. They couldn't, surely. "Did the umpire think KP was batting left handed?" says Anand.

17th over: England 113-4 (target 121; Bopara 8, Bairstow 0) Bopara pulls Kohli meatily for four to calm any burgeoning nerves. The target is down to 8 from 18 balls.

18th over: England 118-4 (target 121; Bopara 13, Bairstow 1) Bopara survives a big shout for LBW from Raina, with the ball straightening from around the wicket. That was out. The umpires haven't had a great day.

18.4 overs: England 121-4 (Bopara 15, Bairstow 2). ENGLAND WIN BY SIX WICKETS WITH EIGHT BALLS TO SPARE Ravi Bopara steers Virat Kohli for a single to complete a superb victory for England, who stay No1 in the world as a result. It's also their first win against India in India since 2006. Kevin Pietersen struck a fantastic 53, while Steve Finn and Ravi Bopara bowled beautifully. Graeme Swann also had a good day, as captain if not with the ball, and England have ended a miserable little tour on a high. Thanks for your emails; see you next year for the trips to the UAE and Sri Lanka.

In order to use Medscape, your browser must be set to accept cookies delivered by the Medscape site.

Medscape uses cookies to customize the site based on the information we collect at registration. The cookies contain no personally identifiable information and have no effect once you leave the Medscape site.

Klum, famous for her over-the-top costumes, will be at the bar of trendy Meatpacking District hotel Dream Downtown on Monday, after throwing a bash at Tao in Vegas.

Meanwhile, Kerr, dressed as a sexy ringmaster at new Meatpacking hot spot Catch Roof on Monday, will be doing her utmost to outshine Klum, who handed Kerr her wings as Victoria's Secret's top model when she retired from the catwalk show last year.

"This Halloween will be the ultimate 'who wore it best' -- a true costume throwdown," Dani Stahl, stylist and model expert on new E! show Scouted, said.

Referencing Ben Stiller's 2001 comedy, she added, "Not since rival supermodels Zoolander and Hansel squared off in Zoolander has there been such an epic supermodel battle. Models are always in competitive mode to get the job and be No. 1."

Australian beauty Kerr will host a circus-themed bash for 200, dressed as a 1940s ringmaster, "whip and all," sources said.

Klum, who has hosted Halloween parties for 10 years, is going for a scary look and has been spotted at the office of her dentist, Gregg Lituchy, getting custom-made fangs.

"Heidi has had fangs molded that will be attached to her teeth on Monday," a source said. "She takes this very seriously."

Klum, also hosting an online virtual costume party for UNICEF, told us, "I'm a triple threat this year!"

Meanwhile, another woman well-known for her body of work, Kim Kardashian, is hosting the Midori Green Saturday night Halloween soiree at Lavo. And she will be stepping out in a Poison Ivy costume, a source said.

Model Halloween parties have been a tradition since Naomi Campbell's wild and glam bashes of the late '90s with fellow supermodels Kate Moss and Linda Evangelista.

Read more about Miranda Kerr and Heidi Klum's Halloween showdown at the New York Post

 

What is Childhood Bipolar Disorder?

Childhood Bipolar Disorder also known as manic depression is a serious brain illness defined as a disorder marked by extreme changes in mood, thinking and behavior.  These extreme mood changes are unlike "normal" childhood moods because the symptoms are more severe and cycle more quickly.  These extremes can have a child extremely happy and more active with little need for sleep to lethargic and self loathing leading to possible self harm or suicide. These changes make getting along with others difficult and learning almost impossible at times because the rapid change in moods causes a chronic irritability with few clear periods between episodes.  Scientists think that childhood bipolar disorder may have to do with genes, abnormal brain structure/function and anxiety though the cause is not always clear. Co existing conditions include but are not limited to substance abuse, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and other mental health issues. 

Signs and Symptoms

·         Racing thoughts and speech

·         Risky or dangerous behavior

·         Intense temper tantrums/anger unjust with the event

·         Extreme sadness/lack of interest in play

·         Rapid mood changes lasting hours or a few days

·         Lengthy explosive and destructive rages

·         Separation anxiety

·         Defiance of those in authority

·         Hyperactive agitation and distractibility

·         Little sleep or too much sleep

·         Bed wetting and night terrors

·         Strong and frequent cravings for carbohydrates and sweets

·         Feeling of worthlessness

·         Hyper sexuality, increased sexual thoughts/feelings/behaviors/use of sexual language

·         Impaired judgment

·         Thoughts of hurting self or suicidal

·         Delusions/hallucinations

·         Increased goal directed activity/physical agitation

Some symptoms can show up in infancy with mothers of bipolar children reporting extreme difficulty in settling the child down and erratic sleep patterns plus major clinginess and uncontrollable tantrums triggered by the word no.

Help and Treatment

An experienced doctor will ask many questions about how the child behaves, feels and if there is any mental health issues in the family.  With the family and the doctor(s) working as a team symptoms can be managed and improve over time.  Medication plus therapy are the standard treatments.  Efficacy and symptom changes require changes of medications; these are expected so having a chart of your child's moods and behaviors is vital to knowing when cycles are happening. 

Childhood Bipolar Disorder and Education

This is significant health impairment (like epilepsy) dependent on medications so the child is entitled to accommodations to help them succeed in school. The disorder itself and some medications can cause the child to have sensitivities to lights, noise and stress, making motivation and energy change the child's functioning vary at different times of the day, season and school year.  Any factors that affect the child's education must be identified and addressed in a Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and take into account periods when the child functions well (less intense needs) and illness (more intense needs).  The accommodations need to be backed up via letter and phone call from the treating doctor to the Special Education Coordinator of the child's school. Sometimes a Educational Attorney may be needed to get the child the accommodations that are needed.

Helpful Accommodations:

·         Special education testing and or services in preschool

·         Small or self contained classrooms

·         An aid to help the child in the classroom

·         Notebook or email for communication between home and school

·         Decreased, extended or excused deadlines for school work

·         Later start to school if lethargy is an issue during a cycle

·         Recorded books to help with concentration

·         A safe place in the school for the child to go to when feeling overwhelmed

·         A designated staff member for the child to talk to when stressed

·         Unlimited access to the bathroom and water fountain

·         Art and music therapy

·         Test time extension

·         Calculator for math

·         An extra set of school books at home

·         Keyboard/dictation for writing

·         Regular weekly meeting with Mental Health Therapist or school psychologist

·         Social skills and peer support groups

·         School sponsored annual meetings with the treating doctor(s) for training

·         Engaging curriculum for creativity to reduce boredom

·         Tutoring for extended absences

·         Weekly goals and rewards for achievements

·         When in acute phase a day hospital for treatment

·         Therapeutic day school for extended relapse or after hospitalization before going back to school otherwise placement in a residential treatment center if therapeutic is not near child's home or cannot meet child's needs.

 

Support

Currently there are no support groups for Childhood Bipolar Disorder in the Dayton area.  Feel free to talk to either Kettering Behavioral Medicine Center at (937) 534-4600 or via web at  http://telecomadvisors.biz/www.kmcnetwork.org/kbmc/youth.cfm you may also want to contact National Alliance of Mental Illness Ohio (NAMI Ohio) (937) 299-3667 or www.nami-mc.org to find support groups.

 

Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, is fast becoming an unlikely godfather to Las Vegas, the city I live in.

Unlike the mafia bosses of the thirties, such as Bugsy Siegel, who helped turn Vegas into a gaming boomtown, Hsieh is attempting to turn Vegas into a Tier II technology startup destination, like Boulder, CO. Unlike Boulder however, which rose to prominence due to the efforts of VCs like Brad Feld trying to catalyze a startup scene, Hsieh is trying to use the sheer size of Zappos to make a difference. His ambitions, moreover, extend far beyond just creating a tech scene. He wants to revitalize Las Vegas and make it an attractive hub for what urbanist Richard Florida calls the "Creative Class."

In the process he is reviving, in an interesting new form, a kind of intimate relationship between corporations and cities not seen since the fifties. I call it corporate neo-urbanism.

The big difference is that while the corporations of the fifties sparked the growth of suburbia, Hsieh is targeting the urban core. Literally: he is moving Zappos to the old City Hall in Las Vegas (about a half-mile north of the Strip).  He has bought up the monthly downtown arts festival, First Friday. He is the driving force behind a local startup incubator program. He talks about how he wants Zappos' culture — already famous for focusing on "happiness" — to evolve further into a kind of open culture that is deeply intertwined with its civic environment.

How intertwined? Try this on for size: in an interview, he remarked that he wanted every downtown bar and eatery to serve as an extended conference room for Zappos' employees. Contrast this with traditional companies that advise employees against talking company business even in company building elevators, for fear of non-NDAed visitors overhearing.

That's not a surprising attitude for Zappos (after all, the company offers popular public tours of its "happy" facilities), but it is a significant shift with respect to mainstream corporate America. I was frankly rather critical and skeptical of Hsieh's management philosophy as articulated in his book, Delivering Happiness (see my review ), but his neo-urban ambitions seem a great deal more intriguing and original.

On the one hand, Hsieh's vision for downtown Vegas sounds like the sprawling city-like campuses of companies like Google in the Bay Area. But while Google tries to keep its employees within a gilded cage of sorts, by providing every amenity from buffet lunches and cafes to fun classes and high-tech nap pods, it doesn't really attempt to Googleize Mountain View. A sort of city-corporation separation is maintained. What Zappos is trying on the other hand, is to expand its corporate boundaries to include its civic environment, rather than to isolate itself from it. Hsieh is trying to Zapp Las Vegas.

On the other coast, we have companies like Meetup.com, which pride themselves on a sort of anti-Google philosophy of being intimately embedded in their New York environment.  But Zappos does not fit that mold either. Hsieh is not content being merely a relatively passive participant in a broader cultural scene, like Meetup is. He wants to shape it to serve both the immediate needs and broader philosophical mission of Zappos.

This is partly a question of feasibility: Meetup is too small to do anything to New York, and even Google is not big enough to truly own even a smaller Bay Area city like Mountain View.  But it is also a matter of intent. I very much doubt that Google or Meetup would try to pull a Hsieh, even if they could.

So why is Zappos doing this? Will Hsieh succeed?

Three Generations of Company Towns

Hsieh's visions for Las Vegas mark the third major era of corporate-urban relationships. Each era has seen a particular pattern of corporation-driven civic organization, driven by a specific corporate human-resources concern.

In the first era, corporations needed very basic human infrastructure near their operations, for their largely blue collar workforces. Cities did not normally exist close to ideal sites for operations (generally near raw material sources) and had to be built. This first generation of company towns quite literally comprised "company towns" in a legal sense. Often owned by the corporation, de jure and de facto. I grew up in such a town (Jamshedpur, the first steel city in India, basically owned by the Tata group). In America, first-generation company towns have largely vanished, or are shadows of their former selves (an example is the Union Pacific company town of North Platte, NE).

Sullivan County sticks with United Healthcare

BLOUNTVILLE — United Healthcare will remain Sullivan County's employee health insurance provider and the county will continue to pay 87.5 percent of premiums after a vote Thursday by the Sullivan County Commission.

The move means the county will need to cover an extra $241,000 for the six months of the upcoming coverage year that falls within the current budget cycle.

Asked where that money would come from, various county officials said the funds are available within existing accounts used to fund individual county departments.

The county's current contract for health care insurance expires Dec. 31.

A couple of weeks ago, the Sullivan County Commission's Insurance Committee voted to recommend switching providers — to Humana — but last week voted to recommend sticking with current provider United Healthcare.

All proposals considered by the committee included higher deductibles for employees enrolled in the coverage, along with increased premiums.

The current 12-month coverage came with pr emiums totaling more than $6.44 million — split between the county (taxpayers) and employees, respectively, at about $5.64 million and about $807,000 (county coffers cover 87.5 percent of premiums, while employees kick in 12.5 percent).

United Healthcare's most recent renewal offer — the one endorsed in a 4-2 split vote by the Insurance Committee last week — is based on an 8.7 percent increase, or about $483,000, for premiums totaling just over $7 million.

Committee members had discussed several different options for covering the additional $483,000 in funding — including possibly: increasing the percentage of the premiums paid by employees; charging employees an additional $50 per month "surcharge" for including a spouse in coverage; and charging employees an additional $50 per month "surcharge" if the employee does not participate in a health risk assessment (HRA) program.

The committee, which met in called sessions twice last week and in a regular meeting earlier this week, voted to waive the $50 spouse surcharge for participants in the HRA program — and to recommend keeping the current 87.5/12.5 split, at least for the first six months of 2012.

The plan approved Thursday by the full commission (with 16 of 24 members present and 15 voting "yes") keeps the 87.5/12.5 split and sets a deadline of July 1, 2012 (the first day of the county's next budget cycle) for development and implementation of a wellness program under the supervision of the Insurance Committee.

Employees enrolled in the county's health care insurance plan currently pay: $49.22 per month for individual coverage; $103.30 for employee plus spouse; $88.56 for employee plus children; and $147.56 for employee plus family.

Under the United Healthcare renewal offer approved by the County Commission on Thursday:

• With the county continuing to pay 87.5 percent of premiums, the portion employees pay beginning in January will be $53.27 per month for individual coverage, $111.86 per month for employee plus spouse, $95.88 per month for employee plus children, and $159.80 per month for employee plus family.

Prescription and office visit co-pays stay the same as this year, deductibles (individual/family) increase from $500/$1,000 to $1,500/$3,000, and the out-of-pocket cap increases from $2,000/$4,000 to $3,000/$6,000.

& & & & &  
 Sports& &

Wayne Rooney 'punched taxi that got late to pick him up after night out'
London | October 29, 2011 12:01:13 AM IST
 

& & & &

Wayne Rooney has found himself in the middle of another controversy after it was claimed that he punched a VIP minibus in anger when the driver was late picking him up from a night out.

The football star, who is serving a three-match ban for kicking out during an England game, insists nothing happened and the allegations are "malicious and untrue".

The Manchester United striker, his wife and a group of their friends, had been out last Sunday night to watch singer Rihanna perform just 48 hours after his red card shame.

When the party left the Manchester Evening News Arena, they expected to find a chauffeur-driven minibus waiting for them.

However the driver was late picking them up to take them home and Rooney reportedly became agitated.

"Coleen was relaxed and quite smiley and friendly, but something had got to Wayne and he was angry," the Mirror quoted a source as saying.

"He punched the vehicle with his fist twice, damaging a headlight, the front grille and the bonnet," said the source.

"Coleen seemed frustrated with him for getting angry at the end of a lovely evening out. She's a lovely lass."

"The driver's very unhappy about this," the source added.

But the claims were furiously denied last night - with Rooney's management making efforts to investigate them and prove them false.

However, his spokesman has completely denied any incident had taken place - and insisted Rooney, despite having a reputation as a bruiser, would never behave in such a manner.

"This story is malicious and untrue in every detail," he added. (ANI)

 & & & & &

& &

&   Viewer's Comment Comments Not Available

& &

Neighbours call cops over Drew Barrymore\'s \'loud\' Halloween party 

J.Lo\'s ex Marc Anthony enjoying single life 

Sharon Osbourne doesn\'t want to be called \'Granny\' 

Crook was \'frustrated\' with new technology on Tintin shoot 

Chocolate milk can help you get best results after workout 

\'Seoul won\'t flinch from tough approach towards North Korea\': South Korean President 

George Michael\'s fans mistake Timberlake for his boyfriend at London concert 

James Franco learned to \'collaborate\' on film sets & & & & & & &

---

---

& & & & &

Fans of ABC's hit comedy-mystery "Castle" may recall that during this season's premiere, author Richard Castle launched his new book, "Heat Rises," and there was a particularly poignant scene in which detective Kate Beckett expressed her appreciation for the book's dedication.

Credit ABC with a clever twist on franchise merchandising that promotes both its TV series as well as a parallel series of murder mysteries credited to the show's main character, Richard Castle.

Castle is the fictitious character played by actor Nathan Fillion. In the television show's plot, Castle began shadowing detective Beckett, played by Stana Katic, to research his novels. But over four seasons their relationship has evolved well past mentor and mystery writer.

Beckett became Castle's muse, the inspiration for his heroine, Nikki Heat. Beckett's homicide squad is mirrored in Heat's colleagues in the fictional series, which began with "Heat Wave" in 2009 and "Naked Heat" in 2010. Castle's alter ego in the books is author Jameson Rook.

Fans of the television show will enjoy the same well-defined plots and snappy dialogue in the book, including Castle/Rook's signature puns and dark humor. Both put the "pro" in police procedural. The TV scripts and the book's prose are such mirror images that readers can easily imagine Fillion and Katic's voices spouting the lines.

In "Heat Rises," Heat's squad is investigating the death of a parish priest, found bound and tortured in a sleazy New York City bondage club. The cast of suspects includes a notorious drug lord, CIA contractor and an aspiring videographer.

As Heat begins to piece together the trail of clues, it leads her to the New York Police Department. When her questions begin to shake things up, she's ordered to stand down. When she doesn't, she is suspended and stripped of her badge. But that doesn't prevent either Heat or a shadowy crew of assassins bent on killing her from their pursuits.

Perhaps the biggest mystery surrounding the book is its ghostwriter. Who really writes the Nikki Heat series? It has been the source of much speculation on Internet blogs.

Hyperion and Fillion have only divulged that the real author "has appeared on the show." That led fans to assume it was one of the famous trio who made cameos as part of Castle's mystery-writer poker club: Michael Connelly, James Patterson and Stephen Cannell. All three denied credit.

The prime suspect seems to be author Tom Straw, who had a nonspeaking role as an extra at Rick Castle's first TV book signing. Straw is a published mystery writer and began his television writing career in 1985. He gained fame for "Night Court," "Nurses" and "Grace Under Fire."

In what is considered by many to be a sly wink to the author, Castle's books include a fictitious biography stating that Castle "received the Nom DePlume Society's prestigious Tom Straw Award for Mystery Literature." The fictitious society's name is, of course, a nod to "pen name," seeming to point the reader to Tom Straw.

One mystery easily solved: The book dedication Beckett referred to was Castle's eulogy to Capt. Roy Montgomery, the television character who was murdered while defending Beckett in last season's finale. An inclusion just as clever and classy as the series itself.

& about Susan Pierce...&