daily challenge 8-22-11

��

NYC FOOD STAMP SODA BAN REJECTED - PG. 2

WWW.DAILYCHALLENGENEWS.COM

NATIONAL NEWSPAPERPUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION

35 Cents Final

THE NATION’S ONLY BLACK DAILY

��

OBAMA WILL BEJUDGED IN 2012OVER ECONOMY

President Barack Obama said heexpects to be judged in the 2012election over his governance of

the American economy, which hesaid was still not growing fastenough. SEE PAGE 3.

Tolls on major New York City crossings and commutertrain fares will rise starting in September under a planapproved by the Port Authority of New York and New Jer-

sey, but increases will be smaller than first proposed bythe agency.

SEE PAGE 2.

NY-NJ PORT AUTHORITY OKS LOWER FARE/TOLL HIKES

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 20112 � � � � �

TRENTON, N.J. — Motorists arestill seeing sharply lower prices atthe pumps in New Jersey.AAA Mid-Atlantic says the aver-

age price of regular gasoline in NewJersey on Friday was $3.53, down 5cents from last week.That marks the third straight

week that gas prices have fallen inNew Jersey. But the current cost isstill much higher than it was a yearago, when motorists were paying$2.58.Meanwhile, the national average

price fell by 2 cents to $3.59. Butthat’s also much higher than thenational average from a year ago,which was $2.73.Analysts say the sharp price

decreases are mostly due to theongoing economic volatilityspurred by concerns about thenational and global economies,which has affected the price ofcrude oil.

By JOAN GRALLA

Tolls on major New York Citycrossings and commuter train fareswill rise starting in September undera plan approved on Friday by thePort Authority of New York andNew Jersey, but increases will besmaller than first proposed by theagency.Governor Andrew Cuomo and

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie,who oversee the agency that also isrebuilding the World Trade Centercomplex, demanded on Thursdaythat the bi-state agency’s boardlower the fare and toll hikes it origi-nally planned.As a result, motorists with elec-

tronic E-Z Pass transponders willpay an extra $1.50, not the $4 hikethe Port Authority had proposed inearly August, which would haveraised the fares to $12 from $8 inpeak hours.The toll will rise 75 cents a year

each December from 2012 to 2015.Drivers who pay in cash would be hitwith a $2 penalty — plus the sameincrease.The $1.75 base fare on the PATH

train that links New Jersey andManhattan will rise 25 cents a yearfor four years. The Port Authorityhad proposed hiking it by $1.

“We recognize the proposedincreases come at a time when othereconomic pressures are being felt byour commuters,” Port AuthorityChairman David Samson said. Notraising fares and tolls would meanthe loss of thousands of jobs, thehalting of hundreds of constructionprojects, and the loss of billions ofdollars in economic activity, he said.Democrat Cuomo and Christie, a

Republican, demanded that theagency, stung by scathing criticismof excess overtime, overly rich com-pensation and pension benefits andhuge cost-overruns at some projects,including the World Trade Center,conduct a thorough audit.The decision to lower the increas-

es by Christie, a possible GOP presi-dential contender, and Cuomo, afirst-term governor who analystssay likely will seek higher office,broke a long local tradition of snip-ing between the two states overwhich one receives more money forprojects.Lowering the fare and toll

increases forced the agency to cut itscapital plan by $5 billion to a 10-yeartotal of $25.1 billion, from the $33billion it had sought. That could setthe stage for future squabblesbetween the two governors, which inthe past have partly paralyzed theagency.

The list of projects cut includes agarage for Manhattan’s midtownbus terminal, which might befinanced with a public-private part-nership; and replacing the CentralTerminal Building at LaGuardia Air-port and Terminal A at New Jersey’sNewark Liberty International Air-port, a Port Authority spokesmansaid.With about $14 billion of debt out-

standing, the Port Authority is oneof the nation’s most prominentissuers of bonds in the $3.7 trillionmunicipal bond market.Samson said Port Authority

spending will include $6 billion tofinish the World Trade Center and$1 billion to raise the BayonneBridge’s roadway so the next gener-ation of bigger ships can sail underit. The 1931 bridge connects Bay-onne, New Jersey, to New York’sStaten Island.Another $1.5 billion will be spent

to rebuild the 1928 Goethals Bridge,which links Elizabeth, New Jersey,with Staten Island, and $700 millionwill be spent to replace suspensioncables on the 80-year old GeorgeWashington Bridge, the world’sbusiest crossing,Another $100 million will go to

fix the 1937 Lincoln Tunnel helix,which funnels motorists into thiscrossing.

NY-NJ Port Authority OKs lower fare/toll hikes

Recent unemployment figurescontain grim news: Joblessnessamong Blacks has reached Depres-sion-era levels. The Black unemploy-ment rate is 16.2 percent, close todouble the national average of 9.1percent and comparable to rates ofjoblessness during the Great Depres-sion.Besides today’s high unemploy-

ment, another ominous sign forBlacks and the nation as a whole isthe disappearance of family-support-ing jobs. Middle-income jobs havebeen replaced by low-wage work,which now makes up 41 percent oftotal employment, according to theNew America Foundation.Considering the magnitude of this

employment crisis, the solution isn’tjust to create more jobs, said DavidR. Jones, President and Chief Execu-tive Officer of the Community Ser-vice Society (CSS).“More jobs won’t end this vicious

cycle of unemployment,” Jones said.“We need to be able to give youngpeople in our communities thechance to gain skills and trainingthat allow them to get good jobs—jobs with family-sustaining wages,affordable healthcare and benefits,and opportunities for careeradvancement.”In New York City, one industry

with an increasing number of jobsthat meet these standards is privatesecurity, Jones said. Thanks largelyto the efforts of one union, 32BJSEIU, this once almost exclusivelylow-wage industry has becomeincreasingly professional. The city has more than 60,000

security officers, most of them Black.For years, security officers wereunderpaid, and received little ornothing in the way of health cover-

age or other benefits. Median payhovered around $8 to $10 per hour;training was rare; and turnover was,understandably, high - reaching 300percent nationwide, according to aCSS report.Then 32BJ, the nation’s largest

building services union, launched its“Stand for Security” organizing cam-paign in 2005. It began with 1,000private security officers joining theunion. That number has since growntenfold.“In New York City, more than

10,000 private security officers haveraised standards by forming a unionwith 32BJ,” said Mike Fishman,President of 32BJ. “But this fightisn’t only about raising wages andbenefits for security officers. It’sabout giving tens of thousands ofworking families a shot at the middleclass, and rebuilding our economy.”The union has moved pay levels

for security officers from as low as$8 per hour to the city’s prevailingwage standard of over $14 an hour,with family healthcare benefits forthousands of officers, union officialssaid. 32BJ also offers a state-of-the-art security training program thatwas commissioned by the Mayor andcity Police Commissioner in 2005.Jones said the advanced training

done through this program not onlyhelps officers keep us all safer, buthelps to advance their careers. “Gain-ing specialized skills is the key togetting jobs that keep young peopleout of poverty,” he said. Advanced training, higher wages,

better benefits - these have caughtthe attention of officers not yet in theunion. In the last three years alone,thousands of private security officerswho work across New York City - atcity-owned buildings and land-

marks; public and private universi-ties; stadiums; and financial houses -have joined 32BJ.Security officer Anne Davis pro-

tects a City of New York governmentbuilding. She is among more than2,500 officers at city-contractedowned buildings who won a 32BJcontract in 2008. Before, Davisearned close to minimum wage, andcouldn’t afford healthcare for herfamily. Now she earns more than$14 an hour and has family healthcoverage, paid days off, and anemployer-sponsored retirement sav-ings plan.“My colleagues and I work hard at

protecting some of the city’s mostsensitive sites,” Davis said. “All wewanted in return was job security,affordable family health care andwage increases so we could protectour families. 32BJ gave us that.”Still, the fight is far from over,

Fishman said.This year, amid the city’s budget

crisis, 32BJ is working against allodds to prevent layoffs for hundredsof city-contracted officers. Next year,all 10,000 of 32BJ security officers inthe city will mount a campaign for anew contract with employers.“In a post 9/11 world, the need for

professional and well-trained privatesecurity officers is clear,” Fishmansaid. “Employers need to offer jobswith good pay and meaningful bene-fits so that we can continue to raiseprofessional standards in the indus-try.”Jones said 32BJ’s successful

efforts in the private security indus-try provide a model for what needs tobe done in other service industriesaround the country. “We must turnlow-wage jobs into family-sustainingprofessions,” he said.

Union helping workers secure their future

NJ gas pricesdown sharply

The U.S. Agriculture Departmentrejected a plan to use New York as atest for banning the purchase of sug-ary drinks with food stamps.Mayor Michael Bloomberg pro-

posed a two-year pilot program to seeif the ban would reduce obesity ratesamong food stamp recipients.Agriculture Secretary Tom Vil-

sack said the department wants towork with Bloomberg, but an officialcalled a citywide ban “too large andcomplex” to be a good test of the plan.“We think our innovative pilot

would have done more to protect peo-ple from the crippling effects of pre-ventable illnesses like diabetes andobesity than anything else being pro-posed elsewhere in this country —and at little or no cost to taxpayers,”Bloomberg said. “We’re disappointedthat the federal government didn’tagree, and sorry that families andchildren may suffer from theirunwillingness to explore our propos-al. New York City will continue topursue new and unconventionalways to combat the health problemsthat hurt New Yorkers and Ameri-cans from coast to coast.”Bloomberg’s health measures have

included smoking bans, most recent-ly in public parks, and efforts tomake restaurant meals more healthyby requiring nutritional and calorieinformation and banning transfats.Sugary sodas, sports drinks andfruit drinks are believed to be a majorcontributor to obesity.

NYC foodstamp sodaban rejected

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011 3� � � � �

VINEYARD HAVEN, Massachu-setts — President Barack Obama saidon Sunday he expects to be judged inthe 2012 election over his gover-nance of the American economy,which he said was still not growingfast enough.

“For me to argue, look, we’ve actu-ally made the right decisions, thingswould have been much worse has wenot made those decisions — that’snot that satisfying if you don’t havea job right now,” Obama told CBS inan interview taped last week andaired during his annual vacation inMartha’s Vineyard, an island nearBoston.

“I understand that and I expect tobe judged a year from now onwhether or not things have contin-ued to get better,” he said.

The unemployment rate has beenstuck above 9 percent and growthwas very weak in the first half of2011, causing many Americans toquestion whether Obama’s stimulusand bailout measures following thefinancial crisis worked.

Asked about the past month’s

stock market drop, Obama said con-cerns about the U.S. recovery werecontributing to investor jitters,along with “headwinds” fromEurope’s debt crisis, high gas prices

and knock-on effects from Japan’searthquake.

In excerpts of the CBS interviewaired last week, Obama said he didnot see a danger of another reces-

sion, but thought there was dangerof having a recovery that is not fastenough to deal with “a genuineunemployment crisis.”

Obama is expected to spend muchof his nine-day vacation working ona program meant to jump-start theeconomy and find budget savingsthat surpass the $1.5 trillion goal ofa new congressional deficit-cuttingcommittee.

Extending a payroll tax cut — ameasure the White House has saidwould encourage business toincrease hiring but that economistssay is likely to make little difference— will be included in the programthat Obama will unveil next month,senior Obama campaign strategistDavid Axelrod said on Sunday.

“That is absolutely something weneed to do,” Axelrod told CNN’s“State of the Union” program. Axel-rod added that some “modest adjust-ments” to government-run entitle-ment programs would have to bemade and that Obama would addressthat issue in a speech outlining theprogram.

Obama says will be judged in 2012 over economy

By SOPHIA PEARSON

A federal judge declined to issue aninterim ruling on a decision by NewJersey’s top election official not to cer-tify former Olympian Carl Lewis (left)for the state’s general election ballot inNovember.

While Secretary of State KimberlyGuadagno’s Aug. 15 decision mayseem inconsistent with an interpreta-tion of a federal appeals court ruling,it was something “she felt was herstatutory obligation,” U.S. DistrictJudge Noel Hillman said during ahearing today in Camden, New Jersey.He also denied Lewis’s request todepose Guadagno on her initial find-ing that he was not qualified to runfor senate in the state’s 8th LegislativeDistrict.

“I’m not convinced that the decisionof the secretary of state calls for myimmediate response,” Hillman said. “Imake no ruling or findings as itrelates to any violation of the court’sorder.”

Lewis, a 49-year-old Democrat, per-

suaded the U.S. Court of Appeals inPhiladelphia to stay an April 26 rulingby Guadagno that found him ineligi-ble to run for office because of resi-dency requirements. The ruling tem-porarily allowed Lewis’s name on theballot for the June 7 primary electionuntil Hillman could decide the consti-tutionality of the state’s residency pro-vision as it was applied to the formerathlete.

Lawyers for Lewis, who secured theDemocratic nomination in the uncon-tested primary, asked Hillman toaddress Guadagno’s latest action andclarify that the status quo remains inthe case.

“The voters are entitled to a clearmessage,” William Tambussi, an attor-ney for Lewis, said. “The voters areentitled to some understanding ofwhere we stand.”

Lewis, who grew up in New Jerseybefore moving to Texas and California,is fighting to represent a district thathas traditionally elected Republicans.Incumbent Dawn Marie Addiego, aRepublican, was appointed to fill thevacancy left by Phil Haines, who was

tapped for a judgeship.The nine-time Olympic gold medal-

ist argued that he bought a home inNew Jersey in 2005, which made hima state resident. He got a state driver’slicense in 2006 and became a volun-teer assistant track coach at Willing-boro High School, his alma mater, in2007.

Guadagno, a Republican who isalso the lieutenant governor, said therecord showed Lewis didn’t buy hiscurrent home until Nov. 16, 2007,eight days after the cutoff. She alsoargued that Lewis certified he was aCalifornia resident each time he votedthere in three elections in 2008 andone in 2009.

“There is no immediate harm to Mr.Lewis,” Donna Kelly, an assistantattorney general said during the hear-ing. “We’re not at a point of no returnfor this November election.”

Information on candidates for theNovember election must be submittedby Sept. 8 in time for printing the bal-lots by Sept. 18, James T. Dugan,assistant county counsel for AtlanticCounty, said after the hearing.

Federal judge won’t issue interim order in Carl Lewis election case

By JOSEPH AX

Prosecutors will ask a judge todismiss all charges in the sexualassault case against former IMFdirector Dominique Strauss-Kahn ata court hearing tomorrow, accord-ing to a report.

The Manhattan district attorney’soffice will file a motion recommend-ing the case be dropped and layingout the chronology of events that ledto that point, according to thereport.

Strauss-Kahn, who has denied theallegations, was once seen as a lead-ing contender to be president ofFrance until a maid, NafissatouDiallo, accused him of sexual assault

on May 14 at New York’s SofitelHotel. He was arrested and forced toresign as head of the InternationalMonetary Fund a few days later.

The case has teetered since lateJune when prosecutors disclosedthat Diallo, a 32-year-old Guineanimmigrant, had lied on her U.S. asy-lum application and about otheraspects of her past.

That revelation threatened hercredibility as a witness and led pros-ecutors to agree to release Strauss-Kahn, 62, from house arrest,though he remains barred fromleaving the country. He faces up to25 years in prison if convicted.

The report states that the prose-cutors’ motion would detail concernsabout Diallo’s credibility and make it

clear they do not believe they canprove the charges beyond a reason-able doubt.

Erin Duggan, the spokeswomanfor the district attorney’s office,declined to comment, as did ChiefAssistant District Attorney DanielAlonso, the office’s top deputy.

Douglas Wigdor, one of Diallo’slawyers, said he could not confirmthe report.

“If the district attorney drops thisimportant case, it will be a major set-back for all women who are victimsof sexual crimes and no doubt deterothers from coming forward,” hesaid in an email from Paris, wherehe plans to hold a press conferencetomorrow following the court hear-ing in New York.

Benjamin Brafman, Strauss-Kah-n’s attorney, declined to commentSunday on the report.

Speculation that the chargeswould be dropped intensified on Sat-urday, when Diallo’s lawyers saidshe had been summoned for a meet-ing with prosecutors on Mondayand suggested that it could be a signthat prosecutors were preparing todismiss.

Even if the charges are dismissed,Strauss-Kahn faces a civil suit filedby Diallo two weeks ago and a com-plaint filed in France by journalistand writer Tristane Banon, who hasalleged that he tried to rape her in2002. Authorities in Paris are con-sidering whether to press charges inthat case.

Report: Prosecutor to drop Strauss-Kahn case

4 DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

�-��'2/�?8/7:69C7/8>�<+>/�38�>2/�(83>/.�&>+>/=�A+=

6+=>�</:9<>/.�+>��:/<-/8>�38��?6C�90��,/1=�?=>9�+=5�>2/�;?/=>398�=29?6.�A/�296.�9?<�,</+>2�09</-9897C�>9�1/>�<966381�+1+38�'2/� -?<</8>� 0<+136/� +8.� :+380?6� /-98973-� -<3=3=

2+=�?=�296.381�9?<�,</+>2�09<�</63/0�98�>2/�8/+<�29<3�D98�09<�:9==3,6/�</+6�-2+81/�>9�</.?-/�>2/�A9<=/8�381�1<9A>2�1+:�,/>A//8�>2/�<3-2/=>��7/<3-+8=�+8.>2/�73..6/�-6+==�+8.�:99<�0+7363/=�)/�=29?6.�89>�296.�9?<�,</+>2�A3>2�89�-6/+<�=318=

90� </-9@/<C�� </09<7�� 8/A� 49,=� 9<� +8C� 9>2/<� <+,,3>,/381�:?66/.�9?>�90�>2/�2+>��8� >2/� -98>/B>� 90� >2/� (�&�� +8.� 169,+6� 038+8-3+6

A/+5/8381� -+?=381� ?8-/<>+38>C� +8.� ></7/8.9?=-2+81/� 38� >2/� /-9897C� +8.� 6+,9<� 7+<5/>�� 7+8C:/9:6/� +</� ./-3.381� >2+>� =/60�/7:69C7/8>� 3=� >2/<312>�-293-/�09<�>2/7��#/9:6/�A9<5�09<�>2/7=/6@/=A2/8�>2/</�+</�>99�0/A�49,=��9<�89>�>2/�<312>�538.=�9049,=��'2/C�A9<5�09<�>2/7=/6@/=�,/-+?=/�>2/C�A+8>>9� 2+@/�79</� -98><96� 9@/<� >2/3<� A9<5381� 29?<=� 9<>2/3<� A9<5381� -98.3>398=�� #/9:6/� ,/-97/� =/60�/7:69C/.�A2/8�/7:69C/<�.3=-<3738+>398�=>306/=�>2/3<:9>/8>3+6�� 8� =29<>�� :/9:6/� A9<5� 09<� >2/7� =/6@/=A2/8� >2/C� A+8>� +8.� 8//.� A2+>� =/60�/7:69C7/8>-+8�900/<�>2+>�9>2/<�/7:69C7/8>�-+889>��/381�=/60�/7:69C/.�3=�+�A+C�90�630/�<+.3-+66C�.30�

0/</8>�0<97�+8C>2381�C9?G@/�/@/<�.98/�,/09</��'9�,/=?--/==0?6�+>� 3>�C9?�A366�2+@/�>9�7+5/�+�</+6� >?<8�+,9?>�38�29A�C9?�,9>2�>2385�+8.�+->��8></:</8/?<=23:�2+=�,/-97/�+�@3+,6/�+6>/<8+�

>3@/� 38� 9?<� 23=>9<C� A2/8� /-98973-� =/60�=?003-3/8-C+8.�38./:/8./8-/�2+=�1+38/.�:9:?6+<3>C�'2<9?129?>� >2/�+1/=�>2/�7+@/<3-5�+::<9+-2�90

,/381� 98/G=� 9A8�,9==� +8.� =2+:381� 98/G=� ./=>38C2+=�+::/+6/.� >99�7+8C�+>�@+<39?=�=>+1/=�90� >2/3<63@/=��$?3>/�90>/8��3>�3=�:</-3=/6C�>2+>�=/17/8>�90�>2/:9:?6+>398�A23-2�2+=�6373>/.�/-98973-�79,363>C�>2+>=/6/->=�/8></:</8/?<=23:�+=�+�7/+8=�90�0+736C�=?<�@3@+6�+8.�038+8-3+6�1<9A>2�'2/��6+-5��7/<3-+8�><+.3>398�90�=/60�/7:69C7/8>

3=� ,+-5�� 8� :+=>� >37/=� +8.� >9.+C� >2/� /-98973-/7/<1/8-C� =96?>398� >9� E89� /7:69C7/8>F� 3=� E=/60/7:69C7/8>�/8></:</8/?<=23:F��0�C9?�=29?6.�-299=/�=/60�/7:69C7/8>��>2/�79</

C9?�6/+<8�+,9?>�3>��>2/�79</�-98@38-/.�C9?�+</�>2+>3>� 900/<=�7+8C� 90� >2/� >2381=� C9?� +::</-3+>/�� 38./�:/8./8-/��:/<=98+6�=+>3=0+->398��?86373>/.�/+<8381

:9A/<�&>+<>�A3>2�+�=3./638/�,?=38/==�>2+>�A366�+669A�C9?

>9�1<+.?+66C�7+5/� >2/� ><+8=3>398��,?>� 30� C9?�19� 0?66,6+=>�38>9�+�,?=38/==�90�C9?<�9A8�C9?�A366�,/�;?3-5�6C�:</==/.�>9�7+5381�=A//:381�-2+81/=�38�29A�C9?.9�>2381=�*9?�A366�038.�9?>�=998�/89?12�>2+>�38�<?88381�C9?<

9A8�,?=38/==�>2/</G=�89�A+3>381�09<�>2/�19�+2/+.��8�+�49,�C9?�A+3>�09<�>2/�8/B>�+==3187/8>��>2/�8/B>38=><?->398��>2/�8/B>�:/<73==398��>2/�8/B>�+::6+?=/��8� C9?<� 9A8� ,?=38/==� C9?�7+5/� +66� 2+::/8� 0<97=>+<>�>9�0383=2��8�./63,/<+>381�9@/<�A2/>2/<�>9�=//5�=/60�/7:69C�

7/8>�9<�+89>2/<�49,��C9?�A366�635/6C�=?00/<�1</+>�.9?,>+8.� +::</2/8=398�� *9?<� 03<=>� 37:?6=/�7+C� ,/� >9=//5�9?>=3./�-9?8=/6��9A/@/<��30�C9?�+</�><C381�>9./-3./�A2/>2/<�>9�=>+<>�+�,?=38/==�90�C9?<�9A8��C9?+</�:<9,+,6C�89>�</+.C�09<�>2/�:6?81/��>G=�635/�+=5�381�9?>=3./<=�A2/>2/<�C9?�=29?6.�7+<<C��'2/C�7+C,/�+,6/� >9�900/<�=97/�2/6:�</1+<.381�=97/�90� >2/./>+36=� 90� A2+>� C9?� +</� :<9:9=381�� ,?>� >2/C� .98G>589A� /89?12� +,9?>� C9?<� :/<=98+6� 0//6381=� +8.38>/8>398=��0�C9?�-+8G>�./:/8.�98�C9?<�9A8�-98@3-�>398=��C9?�A366� 0+66�=29<>� 38�,/381�+,6/� >9�.9�+66� >2/>2381=�>2+>�19�38>9�7+5381�/3>2/<�+�=?--/==0?6�7+<�<3+1/�9<�+�=?--/==0?6�,?=38/==�#/9:6/�+</�>96.�>2+>�3>�3=�37:9<>+8>�>9�2+@/�E:?<�

:9=/F�38�>2/3<�63@/=�+�.3</->398��+�=/>�90�19+6=��'2/

.3</->398�+8.�19+6=�90�79=>�:/9:6/G=�63@/=�+</�/B>/8�=398=��.3</->�</06/->398=�90�>2/�-98>/B>�38�A23-2�>2/C63@/��</+6�:?<:9=/�09<�.9381�=97/>2381�7?=>�-97/0<97�A3>238�C9?��*9?�-+8�,/�09<-/.��-+496/.��/@/82?79</.�38>9�.9381�>2381=��,?>�C9?�+</�>2/�986C�98/A29�-+8�./>/<738/�>2/�:?<:9=/�90�C9?<�+->398=�� <+D9<� =2+<:�738.��+� @3=398+<C�9?>6995��+8.�+

58+-5�>9�A/+>2/<�=>9<7C�=3>?+>398=�19�+�6981�A+C�387+5381� +8C� ,?=38/==� @/8>?</� +� </=9?8.381� =?-�-/==��>G=�>37/�>9�</.3=-9@/<�6+>/8>�=5366=�+8.�</+->3@/�96.

38>/</=>=�&/60�/7:69C7/8>�3=�+�-+<//<�+6>/<8+>3@/�09<�:/9�

:6/�A29�+</�7/8>+66C�+8.�:2C=3-+66C�=><981��A29�-+8/00/->3@/6C�37:6/7/8>�>2/�=+7/�=5366=�+8.�>+6/8>=�98>2/3<� 6+=>� 49,� >9�,/-97/�,?..381�:385� =63:�7366398�+3</=�

/�(��((��(�.� )�*��+*�%(�%��(+*��""� ��!�� %+� � �� -� �%�� &� *%�� "��(%)&�( *.��*��"��*�� %$'+�(*�� )��"%�! $��%+��(%#��+��))��$��*�� $*�($�* %$�"� ��)*�)�""�(� ��"" %$� (�� $��*�&)�*%��%# $�� (%#�*��$) ��+*�� )�� (#�$�%��*��((��(�.��%+$��* %$��(��(�.� ��$� �� (�� , �� #� "� �*� ��(��(�(��(�.��%#�%(�� )�-��) *��*��**&��---��(��(�(��(�.��%#�

Special to the NNPA from the AFRO-American

newspapersAlthough Princeton professor

Cornel West supported PresidentBarack Obama in 2008, hisrecent criticism of the nation’sfirst Black president may betrouble for 2012. Radio person-ality Tavis Smiley has alsojoined in the Black chorus ofpublic dissatisfaction of Obama.

It is unclear whether callingthe president “Black mascot ofWall Street oligarchs,” and pub-licly denouncing the policies ofObama in a majority of recentinterviews will hurt the Obama’selection next year. But Rev. OtisMoss III, pastor of Obama’s for-mer church in Chicago, said theintellectual’s remarks couldincrease African Americans’trust of Congress.

“The negative discussion Dr.West is having can only putmore apathy in the hearts ofAfrican Americans and couldultimately cause them to losemore faith in the entire politicalprocess,” Moss told Newsweek.“Where will that leave us?”

Buddies West and Smiley

have teamed to launch a two-week “Poverty Tour,” which willtake the duo to different cities asthey encourage the president to“wake up.” The purpose of thetour is supposed to be to helpAmerica refocus on the “leastamong us,” according toNewsweek.

But recently citizens havestarted to fight back. In Detroit,when the “Call to Conscience”bus pulled up in August, agroup of people met the two out-side the Coleman A. YoungMunicipal Center to protest.

“We will not stand silent asSmiley and West criticize theman who brought us health-carereform, one of the greatestaccomplishments for the poor inthis country’s history,” aspokesperson for Detroiters forBetter Government toldNewsweek.

The West and Smileyapproach may or may not havean impact on Black voters. Oba-ma’s approval rate is slowlydwindling. In 2008, 96 percentof African Americans voted forObama. In March, Black Enter-tainment Television (BET) con-

ducted a poll, where 85 percentof people supported the presi-dent. But in a recent Washing-ton Post/CBS poll, African Amer-ican support dropped sharply—from 77 percent in October 2010to nearly half of that this month,according to Newsweek.

Steve Harvey disagreed withthe tour and said Smiley shouldlet go of the grudge he hadwhen Obama did not make it tohis town hall meeting.

“You don’t have any real basisbehind your dislike for thisman...you keep masking it say-ing it’s not about hate. Thenwhat is it about? Poverty exist-ed before January 20, 2008.Where was your damn busthen?” Steve Harvey said,according to the St. Louis Amer-ican.

He continued: “Who in thehell got 2-3 days for your [exple-tive]? I ain’t got time to sit downwith your monkey behind fortwo, three days, let alone thePresident of the United States.We got three wars going on, theeconomy crashing and we goingto sit down with Tavis [exple-tive] for three days?”

� � � � � �

��

��

��* �+'��,%&�''��$#�(��$&)"�%��&��(�� $�� ('��)(�$&'��#��"�-�#$( &��!��(�(��* �+'�$��(�� !-��!!�#��

�� #��

��>6+8>3-��@/8?/��<9956C8��!*��'/6��

��(�!! (�� '��

��.�� 67AC8.��<3@/�"<+81/��!��

'/6�� .+7��6+C>98�#9A/66��<��6@.�

!/A�*9<5��!*�� '/6�� (&#&��

�� #?,63=2/<

��&(�&�%�#'�"!�%�'�&

��*%��

� ��

#?,63=2/.�.+36C�/B-/:>�&+>?<.+C=��&?8.+C=��/1+6��963.+C=��C�� (&#&��

#"&' �&'�%��&/8.�-2+81/=�90�+..</==�>9��+36C��2+66/81/��>6+8>3-��@/��

�<9956C8�!/A�*9<5��PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT BROOKLYN, NY ©2010.

DAILY CHALLENGE, INC., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

THOMAS H.WATKINS

��

FORUM

Good-bye job, helloentrepreneurship

West and Smiley impact onObama voters: Real or fleeting?

5DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

By CHARLENECROWELL

On August 15, the New York Fed-eral Reserve released an analysis ofconsumer household debt and credit.A few days earlier the federal Bureauof Labor Statistics announced updat-ed unemployment figures. While eachreport is informative, comparing bothreports reveals a more complete pic-ture of how consumers are financiallyholding on in this lingering reces-sion.

The quarterly household debt andcredit report includes data on percapita debt levels, installment loans,foreclosures and more. The report isbased on data from the New YorkFed’s Consumer Credit Panel that alsodraws upon random sampling fromEquifax credit report data.

The good news is that despite highunemployment, more Americans arefinding ways to pay down their debts:

New foreclosures fell 22.8 percent

from the first quarter;

Bankruptcies were down 23.8 per-cent compared to the second quarterof 2010;

Both delinquent and seriouslydelinquent credit balances were down15 percent compared to last year; and

Non-real estate indebtedness fell by$10 billion – 9.5 percent below itsfourth quarter 2008 peak.

Although a drop in new foreclo-sures sounds encouraging, at leastpart of this decrease is due to a slow-down on foreclosure actions. Sincelenders were accused of “robo-sign-ing” and other illegal foreclosurepractices, there has been a slow-downin foreclosure actions as mortgagecompanies try harder to abide by thelaw. More information on this specif-ic mortgage issue is available on theCenter for Responsible Lending’s webat: http://rspnsb.li/ls1oEg.

The real ‘news’ of these and relateddevelopments is that small and incre-

mental credit improvements haveoccurred despite 13.9 million peopleofficially unemployed. If ‘discouragedworkers’ – people who have stoppedactively seeking employment- were tobe added to official numbers, unem-ployment figures would be higher.

And among the unemployed,African Americans still shoulder adisproportionate burden. Blackunemployment – now 15.9 percent -outpaces that of the nation at 9.1 per-cent. Within the Black community,teenage unemployment of 39.2 per-cent represents the highest level of allmeasured groups.

Some economists say that thenation’s economic turnaround willoccur when consumer spendingincreases. Yet with nagging andwidespread unemployment and themonth of June’s new jobs being theweakest created in nine months, itappears doubtful that consumerspending will speed up anytime soon.

Amid all these disturbing economictrends, somehow the resiliency ofAmerica’s people continues to defydata points. While some lawmakers

will continue to debate the nation’sdebt, elsewhere people are seizingtheir futures and charting their owneconomic recovery course in theseuneasy times.

In the words of our own MayaAngelou,

“Out of the huts of history’s shameI riseUp from a past that’s rooted in painI riseI’m a black ocean, leaping and

wide,Welling and swelling I bear in the

tide.Leaving behind nights of terror

and fearI riseInto a daybreak that’s wondrously

clearI rise.”

— Charlene Crowell is the Centerfor Responsible Lending’s communi-cations manager for state policy andoutreach. She can be reached at:[email protected].

��

��

��

American consumers lower personal debt

By DR. BENJAMIN F.CHAVIS, JR.

This is a well-deserved salute totwo global icons of hip-hop culture.Two successful Black men whotranscend race and social divisionhave attained the pinnacle of world-wide impact with their artisticgenius and empowerment con-sciousness. Jay-Z and Kanye West,with the release of their latestalbum, “Watch the Throne,” arerevealing the sustainable power ofhip-hop not only in America, butalso throughout the world.

At a time when the prevailingcommentary about Black people inAmerica, Africa, the Caribbean, andthroughout the Pan African worldis too often focused almost solely onthe pathology and the negative sta-tistics and realities about oursocioeconomic plight, it is refresh-ing to witness two brothers fromdifferent neighborhoods in theUnited States work together to pro-duce the next level of music andinternational consciousness. Buttheir recent achievement, in myview, goes way beyond the successof selling millions of music albums.Jay-Z and Kanye West together rep-resent an evolving genre of newentrepreneurial giants that arehelping to sustain a new economyand philanthropy for our communi-ties that pushes the envelope onadvancing African American eco-nomic development.

Knowing and affirming one’sown self-worth is a fundamentalkey to career success. Everyone isblessed with different skills, talentand opportunities. I am not encour-

aging everyone to try to be a rapperor poet. But I am encouraging thatwe all should strive to identify whatare your skills and special talentsor interests. It is good to a have acareer goal and the self-determina-tion, dedication and proper educa-tion to attain and fulfill your lifegoal. The inventiveness and cre-ativity within the hip-hip communi-ty continues to be outstanding forthose who know the benefit of hardwork, study, practice, preparationand diligence. Jay-Z and KanyeWest are still on their grind andtheir productivity is inspiring ayounger generations of poets, rap-pers and other performing artists,designers, videographers, produc-ers, financial managers, entrepre-neurs, and developers to take fulladvantage of all the opportunitiesat hand.

Jon Caramanica in The NewYork Times characterized Jay-Zand Kanye West as “two titans” that“share the seat of power.” Cara-manica observed, “Making relevantsocially themed songs in an age offinancial and political unrest is achallenge these two artists at leastpay lip service to. Like a charitabledonation, it’s a combination ofmaturity and duty.” Jay-Z andKanye West have become “brothersin the struggle” for freedom, jus-tice, equality and empowerment.Their artistic grind gives rise to ageneration of young peoplethroughout the world who areimpatient with poverty and injus-tice, but who have the audacity tospeak out and speak up with a boldcreativity that will be welcomed bya billion youth across the globe.

Empowerment first takes placein your mind and consciousness.

Hip-Hop is about not only havinghigh aspirations or goals and objec-tives; it is also about having thecourage, work-ethic, and the capac-ity to attain to fulfill your dreamsand aspirations. Jay-Z and KanyeWest know firsthand what over-coming poverty is all about fromthe streets of the hood to the corpo-rate suites of power without losingyour soul, spirit and sense of self-worth. In this unique collabora-tion, there is a certain cultural dig-nity and integrity that penetratesand lifts up all people who cry outfor a better quality of life. “Watchthe Throne” is an album that shat-ters the complacency and hopeless-ness that is currently undergirdingthe worldwide cynicism of thosewho prefer to acquiesce to the sta-tus-quo of do-nothingness and apa-thy.

I personally know these twoyoung men. They represent the

best of hip-hop and will encourageothers to continue to bring to theforefront more gems of creativity asthey both “take back responsibility”to give back to their respective com-munities the best gift of all: tran-scendent hope and self-empower-ment. As we prepare to mobilizedthe largest youth vote in history forthe 2012 elections next year,“Watch the Throne” will help all ofus to “Watch the White House”again with massive voter registra-tion, turnout, and civic revitaliza-tion. As an OG, I am grateful toJay-Z and Kanye West for payingthe path for generations to come.

— Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. isSenior Advisor to the BlackAlliance for Educational Options(BAEO) and President of Educa-tion Online Services Corporationand the Hip-Hop Summit ActionNetwork.

Jay-Z and Kanye West: Hip-hop empowerment

��

6 DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011� � � � ��

��

By MARY WISNIEWSKI

CHICAGO — On a sweltering sum-mer day on the South Side of Chicago,a group of teenage boys hauled rocksand pulled weeds in a vacant lot. Theywere working for free — and beinghollered at by a woman they call “Ms.Diane.”

“Pull your pants up!” Diane Latikeryelled at one teen, who quickly hikedhis trousers. “Ain’t no party!” shescolded others, who were talkinginstead of working. They got busy.

“I love you, too,” she added, as ifanyone had forgotten.

The teens were repairing a memori-al for victims of violence aged 24 andunder in Chicago since 2007. It con-sists of 226 names inked on pavingstones arrayed on blue woodenshelves.

The display sits inside a coveredwooden pavilion, so it’s protected fromthe weather but can still be seen fromthe street. The memorial had been van-dalized — a cross and flowers werestolen, stones were broken — so itneeded to be fixed up.

It’s also incomplete — 177 morenames need to be added.

The memorial is in a neighborhoodcalled Roseland, where in 2009, in avideo that went viral worldwide overthe Internet, a high school student wasseen being beaten to death by a mob.

The memorial spotlights a nationalproblem. Homicide is the leading causeof death for African Americans aged10 to 24, according to the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention.

Many of the kids working on thememorial knew someone who hadbeen murdered.

So does Latiker, 54, a mother ofeight and former hair stylist who in2003 opened her home to help neigh-borhood teens escape violence. Shecalls the program “Kids Off the Block.”

It started with taking her youngestchild, Aisha, then 13, and her friendsout for swimming and skating excur-sions.

Diane’s mother, evangelist Ruth

Jackson, saw how the kids respectedher and urged her daughter to start anafter-school program. Latiker said no.

“I figured in five years Aisha wouldbe off to college and I’d be free,” shesaid in an interview.

But Jackson kept pushing, andLatiker began welcoming neighbor-hood kids into her small living room towork on music and other projects afterschool or during the summer.

Latiker said she learned that thekids wanted to be doctors and lawyersand singers and basketball players.Meanwhile they wanted something todo instead of hanging out on thestreets.

Some came from troubled homes,with mothers on drugs or fathers injail. Some had dropped out of school tocare for younger siblings, or werescared to go to school.

Above all, Latiker was disturbed bythe amount of violence the teens saw— both in the media and in their reallives.

“When you give a kid who’s impres-sionable this much violence whenthey’re growing up, they think, ‘Hey,that’s the way it is,’” Latiker said.“When you lose a friend or a familymember to violence, you begin to feelhopeless, powerless, that there’s noth-ing you can do.”

The number of boys and girls hang-ing out around Latiker’s home everyday or calling to talk in the middle ofthe night began to grow. The numberswelled to 75 kids, at which pointLatiker’s husband James, a mild-man-nered car mechanic on disability, hadto say that was enough.

A group of retired businessmen sawhow crowded her house was. WithLatiker, they set up Kids Off TheBlock, or KOB, in 2010 in a nearbystorefront. The memorial is across thestreet.

Working with seven volunteers,including Latiker’s mother, sister-in-law and daughter, the kids clean upvacant lots, do art projects, play bas-ketball, and compose and sing “posi-tive raps,” using KOB’s tiny musicroom.

They get food, tutoring and men-toring. They have also traveled toother cities, including Washington,D.C., where they participated in a jobsand education rally.

“She’s like another mother,” saidDawon Brewer, 18, of Latiker. Hewants to do construction but hisschool doesn’t offer wood shop. SoKOB projects give him a chance tolearn.

Over the years, KOB has gottendonations and some government fund-ing, though this has been a lean year,Latiker said. A community develop-ment grant keeps the lights on.

“We dig in our pockets when wecan,” said Latiker.

Asked why he comes to KOB, DanteGaines, 18, said: “She’s giving ussomething to do.”

Thin and soft-spoken, Gaines worea T-shirt screened with a picture of hisfriend C.J. Cortez, 19, who died of agunshot wound in July.

Asked if he was worried somethingmight happen to him, too, Gaines said:“Anything could happen. People gottastart caring.”

Jermel Barlow, 22, team leader forKOB’s music program, said gunshotsin the area are so common “it’s kind oflike a doorbell.”

“You hope no one close to you gotshot, you call around and make sureeverybody’s OK,” said Barlow. “That’spretty much routine around here.”

Aisha Latiker, 21, who volunteersat KOB while studying psychology incollege, said violence has gotten worsesince she was in high school.

“I’ve lost over 12 friends in the lasttwo years due to gun violence,” shesaid. “The attitude is if someone looksat you wrong, if someone says some-thing wrong to you about your clothesor your shoes, you’re ready to pick upa gun.”

She said violence in the neighbor-hood seemed to decrease in 2010,when a government program providedsome part-time jobs. But when the pro-gram ended, the violence got worseagain. KOB volunteers said neighbor-hood gangs make it difficult for thegroup to venture outside of it forevents.

Diane Latiker grew up in a toughneighborhood but said the gangs then

didn’t target seniors, or little kids.“Nowadays, it’s like who cares? The

young people — it’s like out of themovies now...” she said, her voice ris-ing in anger. “The guns need to comeoff the street, at least in my neighbor-hood. They serve no purpose. Whatpurpose does a gun serve in urbanAmerica?”

Latiker hopes to finish expandingthe memorial by the end of August.But the list of young people killedwon’t stop growing.

Five children under age 18 wereshot and killed in Chicago in the lastmonth, including a 17-year-old preg-nant girl whose premature son wassaved; a 13-year-old boy playing bas-ketball in a park; and a six-year-oldgirl sleeping on a couch in her grand-mother’s house.

The first name on the KOB memor-ial, and its inspiration, is that of BlairHolt, 16, the son of a Chicago policeofficer. Blair was killed by anotherteen in May 2007, as he shielded aclassmate from gunfire on a bus.

Asked if she ever wants to give up,Diane Latiker answers, “Every day.”

“The violence just sucks all theenergy out of me when I hear aboutanother young person getting killed,and it was another young person thatdid it,” she said.

She said she gets her hope back bytalking to kids who come to see her.

“I can’t function if I don’t havehope,” Latiker said. “If I give up, hun-dreds of young people give up.”

DETROIT — Former DetroitMayor Kwame Kilpatrick, nowawaiting trial on federal corruptioncharges, denies ever taking bribes orkickbacks.

In an interview with The NewYork Times published Saturday onthe newspaper’s Web site, Kilpatrickcalled the federal charges “absolute-ly untrue.”

“I’ve never accepted a bribe. I’venever got a kickback. I’ve neversteered a contract,” he said. “It’s allridiculous. And that’s all I’m goingto say about that.”

The former mayor said he has noplans to get back into Detroit politicseven though he believes he could winif he ran again.

“But it wouldn’t be the best thingfor the people there,” he said. “Theyneed a new person who can come in

and inspire.”Kilpatrick was released Aug. 2

after serving a 14-month state sen-tence for violation of probation. Hisparole has been transferred toTexas, where he is living with hiswife Carlita.

His legal troubles began with therelease of sexually explicit text mes-sages exchanged with his chief ofstaff, Christine Beatty. He said hehad a pager instead of a cellphonebecause he believed that protectedhim from wiretapping.

“The FBI investigated Mayor Cole-man Young, and they had all ofthese tapes of his phone calls,” Kil-patrick said. “So, my thing was:‘Hey, I’m doing this new textingthing. They can’t listen to this.’ Butnow they can print it out and read itfor all eternity.”

WASHINGTON — The mayor ofWashington, D.C., has denouncedflash mob shoplifting after twoinstances of the mass thievery atconvenience stores.

The two stores were taken formostly snack food, The WashingtonPost reported Friday.

On Aug. 12 a 7-Eleven wasrobbed by about 25 people of about$450 worth of products. On Thurs-day, a Ship Express in NortheastWashington was hit by about 10women who made off with $70worth of candy, snacks and drinks,police say.

“We have shoplifters nearly -every day, but they take one item,”

The Shop Express manager,Muhammad Butt, said Friday. “Notthis grabbing by a group.”

“Both morality and the law arequite clear: It is wrong to steal fromothers,” District Mayor Vincent C.Gray said in a press release Friday,pledging to “pursue criminalcharges against those involved.”

Meanwhile, police detectives haveidentified 16 of the 25 involved inthe 7-Eleven case, most of whom arejuveniles.

Prosecutors say they will be dis-cussing charging the young thieveswith disorderly conduct, theft and,if any of them threatened storeemployees, robbery.

Kilpatrick says he took no bribesD.C. mayor wants end to flash mob thefts

Chicago youth center offers refuge from violence

Diane Latiker gives direction toteens passing around pavingstones painted with the names ofkids killed by violence as theyrepair a memorial for the victimsof violence in Chicago.

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011 7

INTERNATIONALD

By RAJESHKUMAR SINGH

& PAUL DEBENDERN

NEW DELHI - A vastand jubilant crowdcheered as Gandhianactivist Anna Hazarewalked out of jail inNew Delhi on Friday tocarry on a hungerstrike in public, the lat-est act in a drama ofpopular fury over cor-ruption that has putIndia’s government in abind.

Fumbling as supportfor the anti-corruptioncrusader surged acrossthe country, the gov-ernment first jailedHazare on Tuesday,then ordered his releaseand finally - when herefused to leave - grant-ed him permission tostage his fast for 15days.

There was a deafen-ing roar of celebrationas Hazare emergedfrom Delhi’s Tihar jailinto a throng of fansundeterred by monsoonrains. Live TV imagesbroadcast across thecountry showed peopleperched on electricpoles and even trafficlights to catch aglimpse of him, andmany chanted “Annawe are with you”.

Just past the gateshe addressed the crowd.Raising his hand, heshouted “Victory to

Mother India” and “Afight for freedom hasbegun” before slowlywinding his way in atruck decorated withflags through the crushof supporters.

Dressed in his trade-mark white cap, kurtaand spectacles, theslight 74-year-old hasevoked memories of theascetic independenceleader MahatmaGandhi, who is reveredas the father of thenation.

“There was a revolu-tion and British left.But corruption andmismanagement didnot. Now this is a sec-ond fight for freedom, asecond revolution,”Hazare later told acrowd of around 2,500at the open groundwhere he is to fast.

A NEW MIDDLECLASS

Several scandals,including a telecomsbribery scandal thatmay have cost the gov-ernment up to $39 bil-lion, led to Hazaredemanding anti-cor-ruption measures. Butthe government bill cre-ating an anti-graftombudsman was criti-cized as too weak.

Hazare’s initialdemands then mush-roomed to catch theimagination of millionsof Indians, especially anew middle class angryat constant bribes, fromgetting a driving

license to winning auniversity place.

“We have not seenthis kind of thing in thelast 60 years in India,”said S.K. Sharma, 48, acompany executive,outside the jail as hewaited for Hazare. “Ifthis carries on in thisway for the next fourdays, you will see a newchanged India.”

A blundering officialresponse has led theCongress party-led gov-ernment to face one ofthe most serious protestmovements in Indiasince the 1970s, just thelatest in a series of set-backs for PrimeMinister ManmohanSingh’s second termthat have paralyzed pol-icy making and eco-nomic reforms.

One banner outsidethe jail read “Wake upManmohan Singh.”

Many critics sayHazare’s arrest onlyinflamed passions andgalvanized thousands.

However, some com-mentators said his cam-paign may peter outnow he is out of fromjail and, indeed, crowdswere smaller thanexpected at the site ofhis public fast, an openground caked in mudfrom the rains.

A medical team wason standby to monitorHazare’s health as hebegan his hungerstrike in jail. A sharpdeterioration in his con-

dition could furtherworsen the crisis forthe government,although his support-ers say it is not a fast-to-death.

A weak politicalopposition means thatthe government shouldstill survive the crisis,but it could further dimthe prospect for eco-nomic reforms and hurtthe Congress party inkey state polls in 2012that will pave the wayfor a general election in2014.

The protests acrosscities in India, fannedby social networks,have not only rockedthe ruling Congressparty, they have sentshockwaves throughthe political class as awhole.

Hazare is not someout-of-the-blue phenom-enon, however. Deep-seated change has beenunderway for years inIndia as its once-statisteconomy globalizes, bol-stered by a widely usedfreedom of informationact, aggressive privatemedia and the electionof state politicians whohave rejected tradition-al caste-support basesto win on governanceissues.

“Anna Hazare is justa catalyst who happensto chime with the mid-dle class mood today,”wrote commentatorSwagato Ganguly inThe Times of India.

Students, lawyers,teachers, executivesand civil servants havetaken to streets in citiesand remote villagesstretching to the south-ern end of the country.SOCIAL NETWORKSIn the financial capi-

tal, Mumbai, the city’siconic lunch carriers,known as Dabbawallas,went on strike in sym-pathy with Hazare. OnFriday, some 5,000 peo-ple took part in a pro-Hazare rally in the city,local TV reported.

One Facebook fanpage for Hazare hasmore than 300,000 fol-lowers, while the IndiaAgainst Corruptionpage on Facebook hasmore than 370,000 fol-lowers where links andmessages of supportare posted. SeveralTwitter accounts havebeen set up by support-ers to send out mes-

sages of where andwhen to protest.

Singh, 78, who iswidely criticized as outof touch with his peo-ple, has dismissed thefast by Hazare as “total-ly misconceived” andundermining the par-liamentary democracy.

Hazare became theunlikely thorn in theside of the governmentwhen he went onhunger strike in April.He called off that fastafter the governmentpromised to introduce abill creating an anti-corruption ombuds-man.

The so-called Lokpallegislation was present-ed in early August, butactivists slammed thedraft version as tooth-less because the primeminister and judgeswere exempt fromprobes.

India graft activist leaves jail to huge cheers

Veteran Indian social activist Anna Hazarecomes out from Tihar jail in New Delhi.

By NIDALALMUGHRAB

GAZA (Reuters) -Israel struck mili-tants in Gaza andPalestinians firedrockets back Fridayfollowing deadlygun attacks alongthe desert borderwith Egypt thathave raised tensionsbetween Israel andthe new rulers inCairo.

Egypt formallyprotested and demandedIsrael investigate thedeaths of three of itssecurity men, who, it

said, where killed whenIsraeli forces hunted forthe gunmen behindThursday’s roadsideambushes. In all, morethan 20 people havebeen killed.

Eight Israelis per-ished in Thursday’sassault along theEgyptian border, and atleast seven of the attack-ers also died as Israeliforces tracked themdown along the largelyopen frontier withEgypt.

Israel swiftly pinnedthe blame on aPalestinian group that isindependent of theHamas Islamist move-ment which governsGaza, and struck back

with two days of airstrikes killing 10 mili-tants and two civilians,children aged 2 and 13.

An airstrike killed thefaction’s leadershipThursday and therewere numerous otherstrikes throughoutFriday. Huge crowdsgathered for the funer-als, chanting anti-Israelislogans and vowingrevenge.

Israel, stunned by anassault along a longquiet border, threatenedfurther attacks.

“We have a policy ofexacting a very heavyprice of anyone whoattacks us and this poli-cy is being implement-ed,” Israeli Prime

Minister BenjaminNetanyahu said Fridaywhile visiting woundedcompatriots in hospital.

Hamas Islamists incontrol of Gaza also cau-tioned they wouldrespond. “We will notallow the enemy to esca-late its aggression with-out getting punished,”the group’s armed wingsaid.

Militants in the tinycoastal Gaza enclavefired 22 rockets atsouthern Israeli citiesFriday, the Israeli mili-tary said. Two rocketstargeting the city ofAshdod hit a synagogueand a school, injuringtwo people, one of themseriously.

Israel struck back bylaunching more than adozen aerial attacks, thelatest of them killingtwo gunmen in the cen-tral Gaza Strip afterdarkness fell,Palestinian medics said.

Israel said Thursday’sattackers had slippedout of Gaza and intoEgypt’s Sinai desert, andthen headed southbefore infiltrating Israelclose to the Red Searesort of Eilat.

Israeli forces hadbeen on high alert for apossible attack and wasswift to blame thePopular ResistanceCommittees (PRC)armed faction.[nL5E7JI43Z] The

group denied involve-ment in Thursday’sambushes, but did claimresponsibility for someof Friday’s rocket fire.

The PRC said its com-mander, Kamal al-Nairab, his deputy,Immad Hammad, andthree other memberswere killed inThursday’s air strike ona home in Rafah, by theGaza border with Egypt.

Israeli leadersaccused Egypt’s newmilitary leaders of los-ing their grip on theSinai peninsula. Cairorejected the charge, butIsrael fears its oncesleepy southern flank israpidly becoming amajor security threat.

IIIIssssrrrraaaaeeeellll ----GGGGaaaazzzzaaaa aaaatttt ttttaaaacccckkkkssss ssssttttooookkkkeeee tttteeeennnnssssiiiioooonnnn wwwwiiii tttthhhh CCCCaaaaiiii rrrroooo


AFRICAN SCENE8

3 police, 1 civilian killed in Nigeria’s northeast

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria - Police saythree policemen and a civilian were shotand killed at a residence in northeasternNigeria by suspected members of a radi-cal Muslim sect.

Police chief Simeone Midenda said Friday thatthe men were watching TV when gunmen burstinto the room and shot them. He said the bodieshave been taken to the University of MaiduguriTeaching Hospital.

Midenda blamed the attack on a group knownlocally as Boko Haram, which means “Westerneducation is sacrilege” in the local Hausa lan-guage. The group is responsible for a rash ofkillings targeting security officers, local leadersand clerics in the area over the last year. Theyalso claimed responsibility for a bombing atnational police headquarters that killed two inJune.

Boko Haram seeks the strict implementation ofShariah law in northern Nigeria.

Ivory Coast’s ex-president charged with theft

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast - An officialsays Ivory Coast’s former strongman hasbeen charged with economic crimesincluding aggravated theft and embezzle-ment of public funds.

Public prosecutor Simplice Kouadio Koffi saidformer leader Laurent Gbagbo is being held in thenorthern town of Korhogo. These are the firstcharges since Gbagbo’s April arrest by forcesloyal to President Alassane Ouattara.

Gbagbo’s refusal to concede defeat inNovember plunged the nation into postelectionviolence that killed thousands.

Koffi said former first lady Simone Gbagbowas also charged with economic crimes. Trialdates have not been set.

Last week Gbagbo’s son and 11 others werecharged over postelection activities. No memberof Ouattara’s group has been charged.

Surveillance drone crashes in Somali capital

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A surveil-lance drone has crashed in the Somalicapital of Mogadishu.

An Associated Press reporter saw pieces of thedrone, which was shaped like a small plane,before it was removed by African Union soldiers.It had crashed into a house in the city center.

It was not immediately known who was oper-ating the downed drone, but the U.S. is known tofly surveillance craft over Somalia, whereIslamist rebels are battling the weak U.N.-backedgovernment. The rebels pulled out of their basesin the capital last week but are still believed tohave fighters in the city in disguise.

Somalia has not had a functioning governmentfor more than 20 years.

f

AFRICAN SCENE

By DONNA BRYSON

MAPUTO, Mozambique -There are no bars on thewindows of his luxurioushome, no heavily armedguards in sight. YetMohamed Bachir Sulemanis, according to the U.S.government, an interna-tional drug trafficker.

In an exclusive interview withThe Associated Press, the formerorphan street vendor who is nowone of Mozambique’s richest meninsists he’s no kingpin.

Last year, President BarackObama put Suleman on a list ofspecially designated narcoticstraffickers and barred Americansfrom doing business with him.U.S. authorities fear this formerPortuguese colony could becomeAfrica’s next narco-state. The U.S.says Suleman, who runs a chainof grocery stores and owns aglitzy mall, is capitalizing onMozambique’s corruption andporous borders to transit drugs toEurope.

The balding, mustachioed 53-year-old is a very wealthy man ina very poor country, and claimshis business successes createdenemies vicious enough to lie toU.S. authorities to get him black-listed. Washington has not elabo-rated publicly on the evidencethat led it to place Suleman on theso-called kingpin list. Sulemanhas hired American lawyers tofight his blacklisting, a move thatfew of those who land on the listbother with. None has succeeded

from having his or her nameexpunged from Washington’skingpin list.

Relatives say it’s not unusualto find the soft-spoken and slightSuleman loading goods at thegrocery story that anchors hismall.

In the interview at his Maputohome, Suleman insisted he neverspends more than $100 a nighton a hotel on his rare overseasbusiness trips.

“Is this how a drug lord lives?”he asked.

Mozambican authorities saythey have launched their owninvestigation into the allegationsagainst Suleman.

Annette Huebschle, an organ-ized crime researcher with SouthAfrica’s Institute for DefenseStudies, says traffickers are turn-ing to Mozambique, located insoutheastern Africa along theIndian Ocean, since U.S. andEuropean authorities clampeddown on West African transitpoints for cocaine bound forEurope.

“Mozambique most definitely isone of those areas that is a grow-ing concern,” Huebschle said.

Cocaine from Brazil, also a for-mer Portuguese colony, is arriv-ing in Mozambique, Huebschlewrote in a recent review of organ-ized crime across southernAfrica.

Suleman denies having any-thing to do with narcotics.

“I want to prove my inno-cence,” Suleman said. “And Iwant people to believe in me.”

Since designations were firstmade a decade ago, 101 alleged

kingpins have been listed.Suleman could not substanti-

ate his claims he had beenframed, other than to say his sus-picions had been raised when heread WikiLeaks accounts of fel-low businessmen complainingabout him to U.S. Embassy offi-cials in Mozambique.

Mozambicans have questionedhow Suleman raised the moneyfor a six-story, marble-and-steelmall he opened in 2007. There,designer clothes and even govern-ing political party souvenirs arefor sale. But Suleman said themall succeeded, like all his busi-nesses, because of patience, pru-dence and foresight. He said thegovernment gave him the landfor the mall in 1997 in exchangefor nominal transfer fees and apledge to develop what was thenan abandoned area.

He has given generously overthe years to the governingFrelimo party, which has beenaccused of overseeing an increas-ingly corrupt state.

To build the mall, Suleman saidhe borrowed from banks andsaved his own money over thenext 10 years.

The mall has been a popularsite for gatherings, including aconcert and an education fairorganized by the U.S. Embassy in2009. He showed the AP photo-graphs of himself with the then-head of the U.S. diplomatic mis-sion.

“How can they say in 2009 weare good friends, and just a fewmonths after, I am a drug king-pin?” Suleman asked.

Accused Mozambican traffickersays he was framed

Opposition Membersof Parliament haveresolved that PresidentMuseveni backs off whatthey called his “weirdand unrealistic” propos-al to give away part ofMabira forest to aninvestor to grow sugar-cane. The legislatorsalso raised a red- flagover PresidentMuseveni’s Tuesdayremarks that he is readyfor war on sugar as theydrew battle lines.

Addressing journal-ists at Parliament, theopposition ShadowMinister forEnvironment John KenLukyamuzi (LubagaSouth) and that of Oiland Energy, Ms BeatriceAnywar (Kitgum) while

communicating theshadow Cabinet’s posi-tion said they are readyto reiterate in whicheverform the Presidentbrings his fight.

“We wish to informyou Mr President, thatwe are equally ready forwar in defence ofMabira. The lawsempower us to be readyto fight for Mabira’s pro-tection. We can’t beintimidated” MrLukyamuzi said in ajoint opposition state-ment he read out to jour-nalists at Parliamentyesterday. He adds” It isnot correct to say thatpart of Mabira is degrad-ed. Even if it wasdegraded, the degrada-tion is man-made and

can be rectified. The pop-ulation is prepared topay any price,”.

Article 237(2)(b) ofthe Constitution saysthat the governmentand the local govern-ment must protect inpublic trust all the landin Uganda. Flanked byMs Anywar, MrLukyamuzi argued thatMabira is the onlyremaining portion of thetropical forest landwhich historically usedto stretch from Ugandato the DemocraticRepublic of Congo. “It isa unique forest coverwhich we cannot affordto lose,” he tellsSaturday Monitor.

Hosting the KampalaCity traders’ association

leaders and theKwagalana group ofwealthy city business-men, who went to lobbyhim to halt the process,the President reportedly,said that he is ready forthe war.

The President report-edly said: “Let us fightthis war once and for all.Am not ready to listen toanybody who is sayingthat I save Mabira,”. Hisplan to sell off 7100hectares of land toMehta Group ofCompanies had attractedwide condemnationfrom the NRM MPs, theopposition and environ-mentalists who argue inthe direction of protect-ing the environment.

- MERCY NALUGO

Uganda: Opposition MPs Ready to Face Museveni Over Mabira


CARIBBEAN NEWS1

GEORGETOWN,Guyana —Guyana’s Ministerof AgricultureRobert Persaud hasurged farmers tochange theirapproach to agri-cultural practices ifthey are to adapt tothe new and emerg-ing challenges inthe sector.

He was at the timespeaking at the re-launch the 2nd phase ofthe Grow More FoodCampaign onWednesday.

“We cannot do agri-culture in a manner wehave done traditionallyif we have new andemerging constraints,”Persaud said, makingreference to climatechange and its impacts,changes in the globaltrade environment thatresulted in Guyana los-ing revenue in sugarexports and the nearcollapse in the riceindustry.

The re-launch camewith an encouraging

message for farmers toGrow More Food in aclimate smart way andfollows the thrivingimplementation of the2008/2009 grow morefood campaign.

Emphasis is placedon climate adaptationfarming methods suchas drip irrigation, highground planting andrearing, and shadehouses.

Under this phase var-ious components ofsupport will be providedincluding fertilizerseeds, other plantingmaterials, breeding ani-mals and feed. Persaudsaid that fertilizer hasbeen accessed at a betterprice.

“Every single farmerwill receive a quantityof fertilizer, be it urea,be it 15/15 or evenresources,” Persaudsaid.

Persaud stated theconcept of a Grow MoreFood campaignemerged out of the chal-lenges by countriesthroughout the worldto access food even ifthey were equipped

with the financialmeans.

It sought to protectGuyana by securing astock of food at a scalethat was enough, notonly for its own con-sumption but, also haveenough to export.

“In Guyana whilst wewere assured and confi-dent that we would beable to feed our peopleand assured that ourpeople have access toaffordable food, we alsowanted to provide addi-tional focus and sup-port so that we main-tain our own food secu-rity situation but at thesame time we convertthat food crisis into anopportunity for farm-ers.” Persaud said.

He noted that, at thenational level, govern-ment has been injectingmuch more resourcesin dealing with the crit-ical constraints thataffect sustainable andviable agriculture.

Persaud furthernoted that one of theconstraints is dealingwith the issue of cli-mate change and in the

second phase of theGrow More FoodCampaign the need fora climate smartapproach to food pro-duction will be high-lighted.

“We cannot do agri-culture in the way andthe manner we havedone it traditionally ifwe have new andemerging constraints,”Persaud said.

With the govern-ment’s investment inthe agriculture sector,coupled with the lowcarbon developmentstrategy, Persaudbelieves the stage hasbeen set for the survivalof agriculture.

The second phasewas touted as a compre-hensive programmethat will continueacross the country withmore than 100 meet-ings of this kind in allregions particularly inthe hinterland, coastaland intermediate areas.

Presidential candi-date and adviser DonaldRamotar, who was alsopart of Wednesday’sactivity, remarked thatfood security is one ofthe major issues allover the world.

“We in Guyana, weare fortunate, we have

the land, dedicatedfarmers and we have aGovernment that iswilling to support theefforts of the peoplewho are willing to go tothe land and to producefood.”

With that, he said,Guyana can take advan-tage of the marketsright here in the region(Caribbean).

M e a n w h i l e ,President BharratJagdeo said thatGuyana’s reputation asa net exporter of foodand the most robust interms of security is dueto the keen interest oflocal farmers, who havefor years been dedicat-ing their time and ener-gy to the sector whichother countries seem tobe treating with neg-lect.

Delivering hisremarks to the farmers,the head of stateassured that the agri-culture sector will con-tinue to benefit fromgovernment’s supportas it has been doingover the years given itsvitality to the localeconomy.

“Agriculture cannotoperate without ade-quate infrastructureand that’s growing.

Large governmentinvestments have beenmade in that sector andwe will make sure thatthe policy environmentand the incentives areconstantly aligned toencourage production,”Jagdeo said.

He told the farmersthat the circumstancesin Guyana are contraryto that of the CaribbeanCommunity’s. CARI-COM has a food importbill of US$3 billion andseems only to generateinterest in agriculturewhen the issue of a fooddeficit has reached analarming level globally.

“I’ve been pushingthis agricultural initia-tive in CARICOM formany years, we haveidentified a regionalstrategy, the policiesthat we need to accom-plish the goals of thestrategy, we have iden-tified the constraints toagriculture, how wecan fix those and wehave identified whatincentives need to begiven to agricultureand what governmentinvestments need to bemade... very few coun-tries have gone alongthat route,” Jagdeosaid.

Traditional agriculture must change, says Guyana minister

NASSAU, Bahamas— The scope of thedengue fever outbreakin The Bahamasremains unclear, as theMinistry of Health hasnot released any newnumbers on reportedcases over the lastweek.

In recent days therehave been claims thatthe scale of the out-break has been down-played.

Observers claim thathealth officials havenot reported the truenumber of people withthe vector-born virus.

Minister of HealthDr Hubert Minnis saidthat the last count wasabout 1,500 cases. Thatwas more than a weekago.

When The NassauGuardian contactedMinnis on Wednesday,he said he was out ofthe country and hadyet to receive a recentreport. But he said the

Ministry of Health isnot downplaying theoutbreak.

The NassauGuardian also attempt-ed to contact severalother officials at theMinistry of Health, butcalls were not returnedup to press time onWednesday.

Meantime, theCenters for DiseaseControl andPrevention’s Travelers’Health website postedthe United StatesEmbassy’s ‘warningabout dengue in TheBahamas’ on its siteearlier this week.

The purpose of theCDC Travelers’ Healthwebsite is “to provideinformation, based onscientific studies, dis-ease surveillance, andbest practices, to assisttravelers and theirhealth care providersin deciding the vac-cines, medications, andother measures neces-

sary to prevent illnessand injury duringinternational travel.”

As previouslyreported, the USEmbassy issued anemergency email mes-sage about more than aweek ago warningpotential visitors aboutthe outbreak of denguefever in The Bahamas.

“US citizens shouldbe aware of the recentdengue fever outbreakin The Bahamas,” saidthe email.

“In the past fewweeks, over 200 caseshave been reported andalmost 1,000 caseshave been reported ofindividuals sufferingfrom symptoms thatmatch dengue [at thetime].”

The embassy alsoreported in its messagethat The Bahamas hadbegun mitigationefforts to control thespread of the disease.

- Krystel Rolle

Scope of dengue outbreak inBahamas remains unclear

CHARLESTOWN, Nevis — NevisPremier JosephParry, outlined sev-eral initiatives takenby the Nevis IslandAdmin i s t ra t i on(NIA) to confrontthe many chal-lenges related tocrime on Nevis. Hewas at the timespeaking on theweekly radio talkshow “In TouchWith the Premier”on Tuesday.

He said theAdministration wasplaying its part toensure that the numberof police officers, policevehicles and accommo-dations had increased

over the years and at theinsistence of the premierand his ministry, offi-cers had been outfittedwith modern and com-fortable barracks andpolice stations.

According to the pre-mier, his administrationhas pushed for height-ened mobility, whichhas shortened theresponse time and

allowed the police tomaintain a visible pres-ence in the community.

Parry expressed thehope that the ongoingimprovements to thebarracks and the policestations would buildmorale and more effec-tive law enforcementpersonnel stationed inthe Nevis PoliceDivision.

He also spoke of theNIA’s future plans forthe Nevis Division.

“The Nevis IslandCabinet has been dis-cussing the idea of apolice station in StJohn’s Parish. There is aneed for an additionalpolice station as there isno other police stationbetween Charlestown toGingerland,” the pre-mier said.

Crime reduction in Nevishigh on premier’s agenda

Joseph Parry

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 201112

NATIONAL

By CAMIREISTER

As a Realtor, PatVredevoogd Combscredits MartinLuther King Jr. withsparking thechanges that led tolaws against hous-ing discrimination.

“There were so manythings that were wrongwith the system beforehe stood up and gave hisspeech and brought peo-ple to the forefront ofsaying the housing situ-ation is wrong,” Combssaid.

In the mid 1970s,when she started in theindustry, she had tooperate in a system thatprotected discrimina-tion.

“There were a lot ofcovenants in subdivi-sions that prohibitedpeople of color from pur-chasing in that subdivi-sion, or people of differ-ent nationalities,” saidCombs, who works withColdwell Banker AJS-Schmidt.

“It was a little bitscary being an agentbefore those covenantswere removed becauseyou were supposed touphold the law, and theywere wrong, but theywere the law.”

That is why Combs ishonored to be headed toWashington D.C. nextweek for the unveiling ofthe Martin Luther KingJr. Memorial.

Pat VredevoogdCombs, the 2007 presi-dent of the NationalAssociation of Realtors,presents a $1 million

donation from the NARto help build the MartinLuther King Jr.Memorial.

In 2007 when Combsserved as president ofthe National Associationof Realtors, she present-ed a $1 million donationthe association con-tributed toward thebuilding of the memori-al. Now she will be partof the contingent repre-senting the associationat the unveiling cere-monies.

The week-long eventstarts Monday, but

Combs arrives onSaturday to attend aprayer breakfast atwhich former PresidentBill Clinton will speak.That is followed by a VIPreception and anevening black-tie galawhere the NationalAssociation of Realtors

will receive an acknowl-edgment of its donation,Combs said.

She also will be thereSunday for the officialdedication ceremonythat includes a concertby Aretha Franklin. Thepresident and MichelleObama also are sched-

uled to attend.“I think it’s going to

be a real moving time,”she said. “But also a coolcelebration of how farfolks have come, the dif-ference in the market-place from when I start-ed is incredible.”

Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight against housingdiscrimination recalled as national memorial is dedicated

A T L A N T A ,Georgia — TheSouthern ChristianL e a d e r s h i pConference hasnamed IsaacNewton Farris Jr.,nephew of the Rev.Martin Luther KingJr., as president.

King founded thecivil rights organizationin 1957. Farris is theson of King’s only sur-viving sibling, ChristineKing Farris.

The Rev. HowardCreecy, who had beenpresident of the SCLC,died of an apparentheart attack on July 28.Creecy, 57, was a native

of Mobile. [Read a pro-file of Creecy fromFebruary 2011.]

Creecy had taken theleadership mantle at theSCLC after King’syoungest daughter,Bernice King, declinedthe top post. Followingmonths of internalupheaval over leader-ship and finances,Creecy was seen as astabilizing force whocould put the 54-year-old organization onsounder footing.

The SCLC, underKing, advocated nonvio-lent protest as it workedto bring equality toblacks, particularly inthe South. The groupplayed a major role in

the March onWashington and civilrights campaigns in theSouth. The group’sefforts helped lead to theend of segregation andthe passage of the CivilRights Act of 1964 andthe Voting Rights Actof 1965. The SCLC alsospoke out againstpoverty, racism andwar.

SCLC officials alsoannounced thatBernard LaFayette Jr.,co-founder of theStudent Non-ViolentC o o r d i n a t i n gCommittee, has beennamed national boardchairman. He replacesSylica Tucker, whoresigned.

SCLC names Isaac Farris,nephew of Martin Luther King

Jr., as new president

Isaac Newton Farris, left, talks to U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., whileattending the funeral for Southern Christian Leadership ConferencePresident Howard Creecy, held at the Jackson Memorial Baptist Church,Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011, in Atlanta. Creecy died July 28 of a suspectedheart attack and Farris, nephew of SCLC co-founder Martin Luther KingJr., has been named president.

With the Washington Monument in the background, a sculpture ofMartin Luther King Jr. is surrounded by scaffolding during a mediatour of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial last December. The com-pleted memorial will be dedicated soon.

14 DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011� � � � �

��

By LISA RICHWINE

LOS ANGELES — Southern soci-ety drama “The Help” overtook fournew releases to take the top spot atthe domestic weekend box office,according to studio estimates com-piled by Reuters on Sunday.“The Help,” in its second weekend

in theaters, rang up $20.5 million inU.S. and Canadian ticket sales, dis-tributor Walt Disney Co said.Sci-fi movie “Rise of the Planet of

the Apes” took second place with$16.3 million during its third week-end. New family film “Spy Kids: Allthe Time in the World,” the fourthinstallment in the franchise, finishedthird with $12.0 million.“The Help” was produced by

DreamWorks. “Rise of the Planet ofthe Apes” was released by 20th Cen-tury Fox, a unit of News Corp.Dimension Films, a unit of the close-ly held Weinstein Co, released thefourth “Spy Kids” movie.

In her new interview with Vibemagazine, Kelly Rowland says shewas filled with sadness after firingMathew Knowles as her manager,insisting it was “like a funeral”when she decided to cut ties withBeyonce’s dad.The former Destiny’s Child

singer ended her professional rela-tionship with Knowles in early2009 after more than a decade andshe admits she felt a little lost afterthe split, despite feeling the need to“start fresh.”“I felt like, ‘Oh my God, what

have I done?’ I stayed in the housefor two days. I was sad. It was likea funeral,” she told Vibe. “I had todeaden that situation in order tostart fresh. That’s a very long timeto have the same manager and thesame label (Columbia Records).”She insists the parting of ways

was an amicable one, although sheis coy when asked if she stillspeaks to Knowles.Dodging the question, she tells

the publication, “Mathew sent meflowers for my birthday…! I respecthim above anything.“This man made me a millionaire

at the age of 18. Taught us how tomake money in the industry. I cannever, ever forget that.”Rowland was the first Destiny’s

Child member to quit Knowles’Music World Entertainment man-agement – Michelle Williams fol-lowed in 2010 and Beyonce tookcharge of her own career earlierthis year.

‘The Help’ beats four new films to win box officeKelly Rowlandsays firing

Mathew Knowles‘was like afuneral’

Word has it that Will Smith, cur-rently in New York filming the third“Men in Black” film, is headed backto the music studio to record whatwould be his first album since 2005’s“Lost and Found.”“We’re working on Will Smith,

bringing him back. That’s actuallyhim on the other line right now,”producer Lamar “Mars” Edwardstold XXL Magazine in a story thatran Thursday.Meanwhile, The Hollywood

Reporter says Smith is being courtedto lead director Shawn Levy’sremake of the 1966 sci-fi adventuremovie, “Fantastic Voyage.” But thereis drama surrounding Levy’s actualcommitment to the project.Sources tell THR that momentum

on the film has slowed a bit becausefinding the right cast has proven

tough, and Levy has begun to look atother projects. The situation couldwork itself out, but sources close to‘Voyage,” which is not greenlighted,say it’s more likely than not thatLevy will move on.Voyage revolves around a team of

scientists who are shrunk to atomicsize and sent in a miniature subma-rine inside the body of a scientist tosave his life.Levy is said to want an A-list star

to star, and Fox is not necessarilywedded to the idea of a huge name(and huge salary). A source saysLevy has set a meeting with WillSmith in the next couple weeks. Ifthe actor agrees to sign on, Levywould almost certainly stay with“Voyage,” and Fox likely would notflinch at casting one of the fewproven box office draws. If Smith

passes (or Fox can’t make a deal),and another mutually-agreeable starcan’t be found quickly, sources sayLevy would be inclined make anoth-er film his next directing project.

Will Smith reportedly eyes musicreturn; ‘Fantastic Voyage’ film

By TIM KENNEALLY

LOS ANGELES— Steve Harvey istossing his hat into the talk-showarena.The “Family Feud” host and for-

mer “Steve Harvey Show” star isdeveloping a syndicated talk showfor a 2012 premiere, with EndemolNorth America producing and NBCUniversal Television Distributiondistributing. The show will focus onHarvey’s comedy, as he discussesrelationship issues.Barry Wallach, president of NBC

Universal Domestic TV Distribution,called Harvey “a multitalented enter-

tainer” and “a proven ratings win-ner,” adding that the company is“excited” to work on the new project.In addition to his ongoing “Feud”

gig, Harvey also has a radio pro-

gram, “Steve Harvey MorningShow,” in syndication. The show willbe taped in Atlanta, where he alsotapes his radio show and “FamilyFeud.”

Steve Harvey developing talk show for 2012

Cast member Viola Davis poses at the premiere of the movie “The Help”at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Beverly Hills, California.


��

By DENNIS THOMPSON

Complaints of celiac disease are onthe rise in the United States, withmore and more people growing illfrom exposure to products containinggluten.

Nearly five times as many peoplehave celiac disease today than did dur-ing the 1950s, according to one recentstudy. Another report found that therate of celiac disease has doubled every15 years since 1974 and is nowbelieved to affect one in every 133 U.S.residents.

“It’s quite widespread,” said Dr.Alessio Fasano, director of the Centerfor Celiac Research and the MucosalBiology Research Center at the Uni-versity of Maryland School of Medi-cine. “We thought there were regionaldifferences in the past, but now weknow it’s everywhere.”

That increased incidence rate hasleft researchers scrambling to figureout why more people are developingthe chronic digestive disorder. Doctorsstill can’t explain the trend, but theyare making some headway testing anumber of hypotheses.

“There are many theories out there,not all independent of each other andnot all of them true,” Fasano said.

Celiac disease is an inheritedautoimmune disorder that causes thebody’s immune system to attack thesmall intestine, according to the U.S.National Institutes of Health and theUniversity of Chicago Celiac DiseaseCenter. The attack is prompted byexposure to gluten, a protein found insuch grains as wheat, rye and barley.

The disease interferes with properdigestion and, in children, promptssymptoms that include bloating, vom-iting, diarrhea or constipation. Adultswith celiac disease are less likely toshow digestive symptoms but willdevelop problems such as anemia,fatigue, osteoporosis or arthritis as

the disorder robs their bodies of vitalnutrients.

Awareness of celiac disease hasgrown in recent years, evidenced bythe growing number of gluten-freefoods on the market. However, med-ical experts don’t believe that theincrease in celiac disease incidence canbe chalked up simply to folks becom-ing more aware of the chronic diges-tive disorder or to improvements indiagnostic techniques.

Rather, the most popular potentialexplanations for the increase in celiacdisease rates involve improvements insanitation and hygiene in civilizationoverall, said Fasano and CarolMcCarthy Shilson, executive directorof the University of Chicago Celiac Dis-ease Center.

According to the “hygiene hypothe-sis,” Shilson said, people in industrial-ized countries are more at risk for celi-ac disease because their bodies havenot had to fight off as many diseases.

“We’re just too clean a society, soour immune systems aren’t as devel-oped as they should be,” she said.

Another version of the hypothesisholds that the cleanliness of industri-alized society has caused a fundamen-tal change in the composition of thedigestive bacteria contained within thegut, Fasano said.

“It’s because this increase occursprimarily in industrialized countries,where things are cleaner,” Fasanosaid. “We abuse antibiotics, we washour hands too often, we are vaccinatedmore often.”

Other potential explanations for therise in celiac disease rates, accordingto Fasano, include:

An increase in the amount of glutenfound in grains. “We eat grains thatare much more rich in glutens thanthey were 70 or 80 years ago,” he said.

Children being exposed to glutenfrom an early age. “We know for sureif we introduce grains too early, peo-

ple at risk for developing celiac diseaseare more likely to contract it,” he said.

Too few women breast-feeding theirchildren. “There are theories out therethat say breast-feeding will protectyou, or prevent celiac disease,” Fasanosaid.

It’s possible, experts say, that eachof these theories is correct to a degreeand that a combination of factors willultimately be found to contribute toceliac disease. “It may well be in oneperson, one plays a stronger role thananother,” Fasano said.

But while experts try to find acause — and then, they hope, a cure —advocates urge people who are at riskfor developing celiac disease to under-go screening for the disorder.

Researchers have shown a geneticpredisposition for celiac disease, withabout 30 percent of the population car-rying genes that make them vulnera-ble, Shilson said.

But because adults with celiac dis-ease often don’t suffer the digestivesymptoms associated with glutenintolerance, many people are unawarethey have it or could pass it on. “Abouttwo-thirds of people with the activedisease have no symptoms at all,” Shil-son said.

Studies also have found that theearlier people find out they have celiacdisease, the better able they are to headoff the disorder’s more debilitatingeffects.

“There’s not much you can do toprevent it, but you can be aware of itand catch it,” Shilson said. “Earlyintervention is key.”

However, people who suspect theyhave celiac disease should not gogluten-free before being tested. Doingthat can interfere with the accuracy ofthe screening.

“It’s very important that you don’tchange your diet before you arescreened for celiac disease,” Shilsonsaid.

Celiac disease on the rise in U.S.

Women who take multivita-mins regularly around the timethey get pregnant appear to havea lower risk of going into laborprematurely or having a smaller-than-normal baby.

That’s according to a study ofnearly 36,000 pregnant Danishwomen, who were asked abouttheir diet, weight and vitaminuse, among other things.

Poor nutrition is thought toplay a role in pregnancy compli-cations, such as preterm birthsand poor growth rates within thewomb.

The new study strengthensthat link, but it doesn’t prove thattaking multivitamins is a goodidea for women who plan to getpregnant or already are,researchers warn in the AmericanJournal of Clinical Nutrition.

In fact, U.S. health officialsadvise expectant mothers againsttaking regular vitamins, whichmight harm the baby. But they dorecommend supplementing thediet with folic acid, which cuts thechance of certain birth defects.

The new work looked at multi-vitamin use around the time ofconception — four weeks beforeand eight weeks after a woman’slast period — which hasn’t beenstudied much.

Among women who said theyhad taken multivitamins at leasteight out of the 12 weeks, therewere 4.3 percent preterm births(before 37 weeks). For those whodidn’t take the supplements, thenumber was 5.3 percent.

The vitamin-popping womenwere also less likely to have asmaller-than-normal baby.

Those links held even afteraccounting for differencesbetween the two groups — such asdiet and smoking — but only innormal-weight women. The rea-sons aren’t clear, but could belinked to problems in absorbingthe nutrients, suggest Janet M.Catov, of the University of Pitts-burgh, and her colleagues.

Still, they stop short of recom-mending that women start takingmultivitamins when trying to getpregnant.

First, women who took the sup-plements appeared to be healthierin the first place, and there is noperfect way to prevent that frommuddying the findings.

And second, there is a dearth ofstudies to test the effects of vita-mins on babies’ health.

Paper money worldwide is conta-minated with the potentially toxicchemical bisphenol A (BPA), accord-ing to a new study.

BPA is used to make some plasticsand consumer products such aswater bottles, household electronicsand sports equipment. Researchsuggests that BPA is an endocrinedisruptor, which means that it actslike the hormone estrogen, and maybe linked to a number of health prob-lems.

Researchers analyzed 156 piecesof paper money from 21 countriesand found that all of the bills con-tained traces of BPA. Paper moneyfrom Brazil, the Czech Republic andAustralia had the highest BPA lev-els, while bills from the Philippines,Thailand and Vietnam had the low-est levels. U.S. notes had average lev-els, the study authors said in a newsrelease from the American ChemicalSociety.

Thermal paper used for cash reg-ister receipts is the most likelysource of the BPA contamination onthe money, according to theresearchers, Kurunthachalam Kan-nan and Chunyang Liao of theWadsworth Center at the New YorkState Department of Health, andDepartment of EnvironmentalHealth Sciences, School of PublicHealth, State University of New

York at Albany. Thermal paper is sonamed because it contains a chemi-cal that changes color when exposedto heat.

The investigators also noted thatwhile the amounts of the chemicalon paper money are higher thanwhat’s found in house dust, humanintake of BPA from paper money isat least 10 times lower than intakefrom house dust.

Paper money worldwide tainted with BPA

Women whotake vitaminshave fewerpreemies


��

By JULIESTEENHUYSEN

CHICAGO — For the second yearin a row, health experts are urgingall Americans to get a flu shot, eventhough the circulating strains of fluhave not changed since the 2010-2011 flu season.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Con-trol and Prevention said on Thurs-day the recommendation applied toeveryone over 6 months of age —even those who got flu shots lastyear against the same flu strains.

This year’s vaccine protectsagainst H1N1 swine flu and twoother flu strains called H3N2 andinfluenza B.

The CDC said it was possible thatimmunity provided from last year’sflu shots — which included theH1N1 pandemic flu strain — may

have faded.The new recommendations from

the CDC’s Advisory Committee onImmunization Practices, which werepublished in the agency’s weeklyreport on death and disease, alsocover Sanofi’s newly approved Flu-zone Intradermal vaccine for adultsaged 18 to 64.

The vaccine, which uses a shortneedle and delivers the vaccine intothe skin rather than the muscle, canbe used as an alternative to tradition-al vaccines.

Eventually this season, the CDCofficials said, the five companies thatmake flu vaccine for the U.S. marketexpect to provide 166 million dosesof vaccine. That compares with 157million doses distributed last year.

In addition to Sanofi, Glaxo-SmithKline, Novartis, AstraZenecaunit MedImmune, and CSL make fluvaccine for the U.S. market.

“There is plenty of vaccine for any-one who wants to get vaccinated thisyear,” Dr. Carolyn Bridges of theCDC’s National Center for Immuniza-tion and Respiratory Diseases said ina telephone briefing.

Children aged 6 months to age 8who are getting a flu shot for thefirst time will need two flu shots —given at least a month apart — tobuild up immunity, according to theCDC recommendations.

But children in that age groupwho were vaccinated last year willneed only one flu shot.

Separately, the CDC released dataon two studies looking at vaccinationrates among healthcare personneland pregnant women that suggestedthe CDC had more work ahead con-vincing people to get flu shots.

In one study, conducted by theCDC and the RAND Corporation,researchers saw only a slight

increase in the immunization rates ofhealthcare personnel to 63.5 percentin the 2010-2011 flu season from 62percent the prior season.

Doctors and hospital workers hadthe highest vaccination rates, andmandates made a difference. Amongthe 13 percent of those surveyed whosaid their employers required themto get a flu shot, 98 percent had beenvaccinated.

A second study of vaccinationrates among pregnant women found49 percent had been vaccinated dur-ing the past flu season, about thesame rate as during the 2009 flupandemic.

Pregnant women and their babiesare at higher risk of severe flu com-plications. While the study showedno gains over the prior year,researchers were pleased the samelevel of coverage was achieved afterfears of pandemic flu had subsided.

CDC urging all Americans to get flu shots

By GENEVRA PITTMAN

More than half of people getting acertain type of glaucoma surgerymay suffer from temporary, some-times severe vision loss afterwards,suggests a new study. A smaller pro-portion — about 8 in every 100 —could have some degree of perma-nent vision loss, researchers found.

Patients should be aware of thepossible harms of the procedure,called trabeculectomy, whichinvolves draining fluid from the eye,they said.

But even more importantly, olderadults at risk of glaucoma should

make sure to get their eyes checked.That’s because if the condition iscaught early, when it’s lessadvanced, patients aren’t as likely toneed the surgery, said Dr. BrianFrancis of the Keck School of Medi-cine at the University of SouthernCalifornia, one of the study’sauthors.

Between 2 million and 4 millionpeople in the U.S. have glaucoma,which can cause blindness by dam-aging the optic nerve.

Trabeculectomy is typicallyreserved for patients with severeglaucoma who don’t get better withstandard medication or laser thera-

py, Francis said.“We found a pretty high number

of (people with) mild to moderatevision loss after trabeculectomy, butthe majority of them recovered overtime,” he told Reuters Health.

“The surprising thing was that wefound the time to recovery could bequite lengthy,” he added.

The procedure, also called glauco-ma filtration surgery, is done toreduce pressure that builds up insidethe eye. Doctors make a small holetoward the front of the eye to drainout extra fluid, which is filteredthrough a “bleb” - a blisterlike bulge— and eventually absorbed by the

blood stream.Francis estimated that only about

5 to 10 percent of patients will haveglaucoma that’s serious enough towarrant the surgery — but they willsometimes need it multiple times.

He and his colleagues looked backat the medical records of 262patients who had a trabeculectomybetween 1999 and 2003 on a total of301 eyes. They followed the patients,and their reports of post-surgeryvision, for up to two years.

Temporary vision loss occurred in170 eyes, or about 57 percent, afterthe procedure. Whether mild orsevere, vision loss typically took anaverage of two to three months to getbetter in those patients, theresearchers reported in Archives ofOphthalmology. In some cases, tem-porary vision problems took up totwo years to resolve.

But in 24 eyes, or 8 percent, visionloss was permanent. It was mild ormoderate in 13 of the patients, andsevere in the other 11.

Francis said that doctors think thesurgery could add stress to analready ailing eye. In people withmild or moderate glaucoma, he said,there’s less of a risk of vision lossfrom any pressure-reducing proce-dure.

With glaucoma, “the earlier youcatch the disease and start treatingit, the better your prognosis is goingto be,” he said.

For those with severe glaucomawho may need the surgery, however,the findings provide “reassurancethat this is a small percentage” withpermanent vision loss, Francis said.“But it is a risk factor that has to bediscussed with the surgeon.”

And for some patients who havehad the surgery in the last year or soand are suffering from decreasedvision, they can be hopeful that thoseproblems could still improve, headded.

Overstuffed backpacks can injureschoolchildren, says an expert, whoasks parents to make sure their kidsaren’t lugging around “unnecessaryitems.”

Dr. Joshua Hyman, director oforthopedic surgery at NewYork-Pres-byterian/Morgan Stanley Children’sHospital, said in a statement millionsof children will be at risk of injurywhen they return to school this fallbecause of overweight backpacks.

“Parents should inspect theirchild’s backpack from time to time,”Hyman said. “They often carry muchmore than they should, with extrashoes, toys, electronic devices andother unnecessary items.”

Hyman, also an associate professorof orthopedic surgery at the ColumbiaUniversity College of Physicians andSurgeons, said a backpack shouldn’tweigh more than 15 percent of achild’s weight, or approximatelyseven pounds for a child weighing 50pounds.

“If it is textbooks that are makingthe bag too heavy, parents should

speak with the teacher. Sometimes,these books can be left at school,” hesaid.

Also, to guard against injury, chil-dren should wear a backpack correct-ly over both shoulders so the weight isspread evenly, Hyman said. As analternative, they could consider abackpack on wheels.

If a child experiences persistentpain, Hyman said, parents shouldconsult their pediatrician, who mayrecommend physical therapy tostrengthen back muscles.

A backpack may be too heavy if achild’s posture changes when puttingit on or if the child suffers pain or hastingling or red marks.

Vision problems common after glaucoma surgery

Overloaded backpacks can injure children


� ��

By CHRISTINESTEBBINS

CHICAGO — Theoverall economy may bestruggling against adouble-dip recession butin farm country theboom times have rarelybeen better.

Farmland prices aresetting records andfarmer incomes havebeen buoyed by exportsand biofuels, easing thepain of some roughsummer weather fromdrought, floods andfires.

Amid China’s vora-cious appetite for grainsand worries about cli-mate hurting crops andfood supplies in manycountries, U.S. agricul-ture’s attraction as theworld’s breadbasket hasbecome a beacon forWall Street.

Firms like Omaha-based Gavilon, ownedby Ospraie, a hedgefund associated withGeorge Soros and Cana-da-listed Ceres GlobalAg have been buying upgrain elevators fromWyoming to Toronto.

That is unusual:investors owning grainsilos. But analysts sayit’s not what it seems.No one wants to holdcorn as a long-termasset, like gold bullion.But storing and movinggrain for others hasnow become a very prof-itable business.

William Wilson, aconsultant and profes-sor at North DakotaState University, saidthat 10 years ago youcould store grain at ele-vators 2-1/2 to 3 centsper bushel per month.Now costs can be 8-10cents a month depend-ing on location or grain.

“We’ve seen a lot ofbig new entrants intothe agricultural com-modity industry includ-ing White Box, Gavilonand others who areexpanding,” Wilsonsaid, referring to Min-nesota-based hedgefund White Box Advis-ers, once an owner ofgrain storage.

“One reason has beenthe shift to ethanol hav-ing a bigger part of themarket, where theydemand quick access to

corn on a 12-monthbasis,” Wilson said.

“Most of the timewhen you hear of pri-vate capital moving intoagriculture they aretalking about buyingfarms. But storage is alogistical function ofthe marketplace,” headded.

Wilson said specialmarket factors, such aschanges to the ChicagoBoard of Trade wheatcontract, have also hadthe cumulative effect ofraising prices for grainstorage.

“It’s very importantthat in the last fiveyears the market price

of storage hasincreased,” Wilson said.“That has providedincentives to constructstorage and has provid-ed incentive for newplayers to enter intothis world.”

Don Grambsch, pres-ident of Riverland AgCorp, a Minnesota firmowned by Ceres, oper-ates 14 grain facilitiesin Minnesota, NorthDakota, Wyoming, NewYork and Ontario withcapacity to store 50 mil-lion bushels of grain.He said they don’t haveinvestors storing grainas long-term holdings.

“I have not heard of

them wanting to buyphysicals,” he said. “Weare a conventional graincompany and store forthird party users ...They are not financialpeople, they are proces-sors, beverage compa-nies and so on.”

Wall Street investorsand hedge funds alsocontinue to push moneyinto speculative vehicleslike grain-related index-es and funds that tradegrain derivatives. Corngains in the last fiveyears look almost asimpressive as gold’s.

But the traditionalasset play on agricul-ture by Wall Street —farmland — has alsopushed to dizzyingheights.

The Chicago FederalReserve Bank onWednesday said farm-land prices in the Mid-west in the second quar-ter were up 17 percentfrom a year ago — thebiggest jump in 34years.

Most of the 226bankers questioned inits quarterly surveysaid they expect pricesto level off in the next

three months — but athird also said theyexpected even moregains.

“Demand for farm-land remained strongfrom both farmers andinvestors,” the ChicagoFed said.

It is the same story inthe Plains. The KansasCity Fed on Mondayreleased its own bankersurvey showing similarresults with farmlandvalues up more than 20percent from a yearago.

University of Illinoiseconomist GarySchnitkey attributes thesoaring value of farm-land to the sluggisheconomy and the inabil-ity of the United States,the European Unionand other sovereigndebtors to come to gripswith fiscal imbalances.

“The threat of long-run instability places apremium on real assetsover financial assets.This suggests that amore stable general eco-nomic outlook wouldlead to less aggressivegrowth in farmlandprices,” Schnitkey said.

Investors seeing gold in farmland, infrastructure

Large fields of corn growing in fields in Otisco,Indiana.

By EMILYSTEPHENSON

WASHINGTON — Injust a few weeks, theU.S. Postal Serviceexpects to be insolvent,barring intervention bya divided Congressbogged down by parti-san sniping.

The quasi-indepen-dent agency, whichdelivers almost half theworld’s mail andemploys more than halfa million Americans,lost $3.1 billion in itsmost recent quarter andexpects to default nextmonth on a massivehealth benefits paymentafter reaching its $15billion borrowing limit.

The Postal Service,which receives no tax-payer funds to pay foroperating costs andrelies on sales of postageand other products, hasstruggled with a precip-itous decline in mail vol-umes as consumersincreasingly use e-mailand pay bills online. Thedrop-off was exacerbat-ed by the economic

recession.The mail carrier has

asked Congress toapprove major structur-al changes, includingthe elimination of Satur-day mail delivery, aswell as relief from itsimmediate cash crisis.

It has proposed cut-ting 220,000 jobs, ormore than a third of itsfull-time staff, by 2015,and is studying about3,650 of its 32,000offices for potential clo-sure.

But Congress is inrecess until September6, and the Democratic-led Senate and Republi-can-led House of Repre-sentatives have foughtbitterly on policy issuesfrom health reform toraising the national debtceiling.

At a time when law-makers face anotherdeficit-reduction fightand the 2012 electioncampaign is heating up,analysts say a drasticpostal overhaul isunlikely any time soon.

“Something reallyneeds to happen, but Ijust don’t quite see the

dynamics falling inplace to make it hap-pen,” said Gene Del Poli-to, president of the Asso-ciation for Postal Com-merce, which representsbusinesses and groupsthat use the mail.

“I do not yet see thetemperament that’sneeded to be able to say,‘I may have to hold mynose and come to somecompromises in order tokeep the system alive.’”

If Congress does notstep in, it is unclearwhat will happen. Morebillion dollar-plus oblig-ations are nearly due.Congressional staffers,postal experts andagency officials couldnot say with certaintywhen the cash will rundry.

The Postal Servicesaid in its most recentfinancial report it wasunlikely lawmakerswould allow it to close.

Louis Giuliano, chair-man of the Postal Ser-vice Board of Governors,said at a recent meetingthat educating lawmak-ers on the agency’sfinancial challenges had

become “a full-time job”due to “the environmentin Congress.”

The debt ceiling stale-mate trumped all otherissues for weeks, andconsensus on postalreforms seems a longway off.

Analysts say a billfrom House OversightCommittee ChairmanDarrell Issa, a Republi-can, is probably thestarting point for postallegislation. It would endSaturday mail deliveryand set up groups toguide post office clos-ings and overhaul theagency if it defaults,including renegotiatinglabor agreements.

The agency says five-day delivery would save$3 billion a year. Butsome prominent law-makers have not signedon.

Susan Collins, rank-ing Republican on theSenate Homeland Secu-rity and GovernmentAffairs Committee, con-tends cutting Saturdaymail would dispropor-tionately hurt ruralcommunities.

A Democratic staffersaid laying off workersand breaking collectivebargaining agreementswould face resistancefrom union members.Efforts to close officesoften draw fire fromlawmakers seeking toprotect jobs in their dis-tricts.

While Congress con-siders overhauling thePostal Service’s infra-structure, the agencyexpects to default on a$5.5 billion health bene-fit prepayment nextmonth. Congress let theagency defer that annu-al payment once, in2009, but is unlikely todo so again.

Several lawmakersfrom both parties haveproposed allowing theagency to access moneyit says it overpaid to afederal retirement fund.

But Issa opposes thatfix.

His office says thesurplus was a tempo-rary projection thatcould turn to deficit, andletting the Postal Serviceoff the hook for thehealth prepayment

could lead to a taxpayerbailout in several yearsif the agency cannotafford to cover benefits.

His bill would let thePostal Service borrow anextra $10 billion, withits property as collateral.

“If I had to say who’sreally got most of thecards in his hand, it’sIssa,” Del Polito said.“He says, ‘No,’ thingscome to a screechinghalt.”

The Postal Service hasbeen introducing someof its own solutions,including a proposal totake over running itshealth and retirementprograms. PostmasterGeneral Patrick Dona-hoe has said that couldsave $400 million annu-ally.

C o n g r e s s i o n a lstaffers said they neededmore details to deter-mine if the proposalcould be feasible.

Donahoe told Reuterslast week he hoped for adeal in Congress by theend of September to givethe mail agency morecontrol over its financesand payrolls.

USPS hopes Congress delivers overhaul package


By RYANVLASTELICA

The historic swingsin the U.S. stock marketover the past two weekshave investors strug-gling to figure outwhere equities may beheaded next. Only onething seems clear: Thevolatility is far fromover.

A lack of progress onsome of the economy’sbiggest issues — fromEurope’s sovereign debtto increasing signs theU.S. economy is in dan-ger of slipping back intorecession — will drivemore uncertainty andmoves from oneextreme to another.

However, with theS&P 500 down 17.6 per-cent from its 2011 high,many investors say abottom could be near,and bargain hunterscould trigger at least amomentary bout of buy-ing.

“We’re not even closeto the end of volatility,but given a decline ofalmost 17 percent in 13days, we could see a risefrom these levels,” saidMike Gibbs, chief mar-ket strategist at MorganKeegan in Memphis,Tennessee.

“If there’s somethingmajor with the Euro-pean situation, thatcould be a catalyst forvalue investors to comeback in.”

The situation inEurope has been dictat-ing much of the mar-ket’s recent movement.Last week, shares fell onTuesday after a meetingbetween the heads ofFrance and Germanyfailed to squelch fearsabout euro-zone leaders’ability to contain theregion’s debt issues,which could impactglobal growth and theprofit outlooks of U.S.banks.

Market participantswill also look ahead tocomments from FederalReserve Chairman BenBernanke at the centralbank’s annual meetingin Jackson Hole,Wyoming, on Friday.

The Fed pledged thismonth to keep interestrates “exceptionally low... at least through mid-2013,” news thatsparked a short-livedrally, suggesting thatthere may be little newinformation coming outof the Jackson Holemeeting that couldmove markets.

“There’s nothingBernanke can do that’s

likely that will helpstocks,” said MattMcCormick, a moneymanager at Cincinnati-based Bahl & GaynorInc, which has $3.2 bil-lion in assets undermanagement.

“If you see potentialbank problems out ofEurope before then, hemight have some ammofor another round ofquantitative easing, butabsent that, investorshoping for an Augustsurprise will likely bedisappointed.”

The S&P 500 fell 4.7percent last week,extending losses of 12.4percent over the previ-ous three weeks, itsworst streak of thatlength in 2-1/2 years.

The CBOE VolatilityIndex, also known asthe VIX, rose about 20percent last week.

In a note, BirinyiAssociates wrote thatwhile the marketremained difficult in theshort term, there wereindications that stockswere attractively valued.

Noting that the S&P500 was 10 percentbelow its 50-day movingaverage, Birinyi said,“This is the most over-sold the market hasbeen” since March 2009.

Birinyi pointed out

that the 2.25 percentdividend yield on theS&P 500 was higherthan the 10-year U.S.Treasury note’s yield,making this “only thesecond period since the1950s where stockshave yielded more thanbonds.”

Last week, the 10-year note’s yield fellbelow 2 percent duringThursday’s buying fren-zy; the yield fell as lowas 1.978 percent — thelowest since at least1950. At Friday’s closein New York, the 10-year Treasury note’syield stood at 2.07 per-cent.

Issues in Europe maytake on out-sized influ-ence this week as theU.S. earnings seasondraws to a close, withTiffany & Co andApplied Materialsamong the few S&P 500companies on tap toreport.

Earnings, while oftenovershadowed bymacroeconomic themes,have largely come instronger than expected,giving investors at leastone reason for opti-mism.

This week, investorswill have plenty of U.S.economic indicators towatch, including the

release of data on newhome sales data, durablegoods orders, consumersentiment and grossdomestic product.Should the data followthe recent trend of weakreports, which have con-tributed to the growingsense that growth willbe muted, it could causefurther selling.

“There’s still some-thing of a sense thatthis is just a weak patchin the economy, but pro-longed weak data wouldpoint more definitely toa double dip,” said MarcScudillo, managing offi-cer at EisnerAmper inNew York. “There’s agood floor to the S&P500 at 1,100 right now.If we go under that,there’s room to moveeven further to thedownside.”

While U.S. growthconcerns remain a pri-mary focus forinvestors, the issues inEurope are seen as theprimary driver of theU.S. stock market in thenear-term.

Last week, stocks fellon Tuesday as the lead-ers of France and Ger-

many failed to discussboosting the size of theeuro zone’s rescue fundor the sale of eurobonds, though theydetailed closer euro-zone integration. Manyinvestors believe moreaggressive policies areneeded to restore stabili-ty to the area.

“What I’m seeingright now is basically acrisis of confidence,more so than an eco-nomic crisis or financialcrisis necessarily at thisstage,” said NatalieTrunow, chief invest-ment officer of equitiesat Calvert InvestmentManagement in Bethes-da, Maryland.

Trunow, who helpsoversee about $14.8 bil-lion in assets, cited “theinability by policy-mak-ers to come to a goodpath” as the reason forthe uncertainty.

Morgan Keegan’sGibbs said that theendgame in Europe wasthat “if confidence does-n’t return, we’ll contin-ue to see the S&P essen-tially moving in lock-step with Europeanmarkets.”

��

��

��

��Uncertainty means more stock swings

By SINEADCAREW

About 45,000 VerizonC o mm u n i c a t i o n semployees are set to enda two-week strike andreturn to work tomor-row after the telephonecompany and unionssaid they reached anagreement to resumebargaining.

Almost half of theworkers in Verizon’swireline business wenton strike on August 7after talks for a newlabor pact failed whentheir contract expired.

Under the latestagreement, reachedearly on Saturdaymorning, Verizonpromised to extend theterms of the old contractindefinitely while it con-tinues bargaining for anew one with unionsrepresenting techni-cians and customer ser-vice workers.

Workers will start tohead back to work forlate shifts tonight andthe rest of the strikingworkers will show up totheir jobs tomorrow, oneof the unions said.

Neither side wouldprovide details abouthow the agreement wasreached, but both sidescontinued to nip at eachother.

Tens of thousands ofVerizon managers wereasked to work 12 hoursa day for six days aweek and many workedmore than that to cover

for the strikers, saidVerizon spokesmanRichard Young. Verizonsaid its managementteam’s work helped“convince the unions tobegin bargaining withus in good faith.”

“The fortitude andefforts of our managershave proven to be ourstrongest point of lever-age in bargaining,”Marc Reed, Verizon’sexecutive vice presidentof human resources,said in a statement.

The CommunicationsWorkers of America

said it was “outraged”by the company’s com-ments, and demanded aretraction.

“It is both inaccurateand insulting,” the CWAsaid in a statement. “Weagreed with manage-ment not to claim victo-ry in changing theprocess, reinstitutingthe contract or shapingour goals. We will beprepared to fight andfight hard whenevernecessary if Verizonbelieves it can resumenegotiations on thatbasis.”

The agreement tocontinue talks followsan announcement bythe company last weekthat healthcare benefitswould expire on August31 for workers whowere still on strike atthe time.

This would haveaffected 35,000 workersrepresented by the Com-munications Workers ofAmerica, and another

10,000 members of TheInternational Brother-hood of Electrical Work-ers in nine states andthe District of Columbia.

The decision to endthe strike came after theunions and the compa-ny were able to agree ona structure and focusfor bargaining on keyissues such as jobs,employment securityand financial issuessuch as healthcare con-tributions and pensions,according to CWA Presi-dent Larry Cohen.

Cohen told Reutersthat the issues on thetable are complicatedand will “take sometime” to work out but hesaid the union was look-ing forward to the jointprocess.

“We would both saythat this focus is muchbetter than it was twoweeks ago,” Cohen said.

The striking workersare in Verizon’s wirelinebusiness which provides

telephone, Internet andtelevision services.

Verizon is looking tocut costs in this busi-ness, which has beendeclining for years asconsumers have beenhanging up homephones in favor of cell-phones and Internet ser-vices.

But the unions hadargued that Verizonwas looking for toomany concessions inareas such as healthcarecontributions, pensionsand work rules.

Verizon said it hadmade headway withnegotiating a “numberof local and regional”issues with the unions.

The dispute quicklyturned bitter as Verizoncomplained of networksabotage on the secondday of the strike whilethe unions said pick-eters were injured byvehicles driven by Veri-zon managers coveringfor the strikers.

Verizon strike to end but talks to continue

DAILY CHALLENGE MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 201120 � � ��!�!� ��

760

PPIICCKK OOFF TTHHEE DDAAYYPPIICCKK OOFF TTHHEE DDAAYY

�� MMOONN TTUUEESS WWEEDD TTHHUURRSS FFRRII SSUUNN

356 127 240 8xx xxx 12x448 xxx xxx xxx xxx xxx

� ��

��

��

� ��

� ��

� ��

��

��

� � � � � � � � ��

240

120

983

511

056

312

51x

707

25x

41x

xxx

xxx

xxx

480

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

8xx

85x

70x

679

821

36x

xxx

17x

63x

238

264

��356

843

753

426

879

80x

xxx

730

506

961

194

�

�

��

770044

��

��

127

08x

80x

xxx

994

002

765

891

241

428

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

88553311

��

994046

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

323

xxx

xxx

xxx

445511778899112233555588444411222200111155

��

668877555555445522664455665577778822336699

12x

2xx

54x

67x

85x

95x

91x

070

744

36x

04x

82x

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

883

519

234

415

xxx

� � � � � � � � � ��

890

� � � ��

448

236

xxx

570

449

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

337

552

xxx

xxx

xxx

101

839

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

xxx

807

��$5��35,/��#28�1(('�72�.((3�7+(�3($&(�$1'�<28�:,//+$9(�72�%(1'�,1�25'(5�72�'2�62��#28�&$1�9,6,7�&/,(176�$1'�0$.(�$�%,*,035(66,21�-867�%<�*,9,1*�7+(0�620(�+$1'6�21�+(/3��#28�:,//�+$9(�(;75$(1(5*< �387�,7�72�*22'�86(�

�!�!��35��$<��3325781,7,(6�72�*(7�$+($'�$5(�(9,'(17��21�7�%(�$1*5<��%87�%(�21�<285�*8$5'��21�7�%/$0(�27+(56�)25�<285�2:1678%%2511(66�

��$<��81(��523(57<�,19(670(176��,1685$1&(��7$;(6��25,1+(5,7$1&(�6+28/'�%5,1*�<28�),1$1&,$/�*$,16��#28�1(('�72�&+$//(1*(<2856(/)��#28�:,//�%(�+,*+/<�6(16,7,9(�72�&200(176�0$'(�%<�<285�/29(5�

��81(��8/<��#28�0$<�:$17�72�38//�287�620(�2)�7+26(81),1,6+('�352-(&7�<28�9(�*27�78&.('�$:$<��#28�0$<�1(('�$�*22'�)5,(1'72�/($1�21��#28�$5(�%(67�72�&21&(175$7(�21�<285�352)(66,21$/�(1'($9256�

��8/<��8*��20(21(�<28�/,9(�:,7+�:,//�*(7�$1*5<�,)�<28�$5(1(*/(&7,1*�<285�'87,(6��,1'�$�:$<�72�&2162/,'$7(��#28�0$<�:$17�72�*(7,192/9('�,1�),1$1&,$/�,19(670(176�35(6(17('�72�<28�

"��8*��(37��92,'�)5,(1'6�25�$&48$,17$1&(6�:+2�'5,1.722�08&+��!1(;3(&7('�%,//6�0$<�6(7�<28�%$&.��21�7�%(�&5,7,&$/�25�29(5/<23,1,21$7('�:,7+�',6/,.(6 �,7�&28/'�&$86(�',6$33529$/�$1'�81:$17('23326,7,21�

��(37��&7��5*80(176�&28/'�35(9$,/��7+(56�0$<�:$17�7267($/�<285�7+81'(5�:+(1�7+(<�5($/,=(�<285�,'($6�$5(�35(77<�62/,'��7$%,�/,=(�<285�2:1�326,7,21�%<�/2&.,1*�83�<285�6$9,1*6�

��&7��29��#28�0$<�&$86(�$�)866�,)�<28�&20(�21�72267521*/<�,1�38%/,&��(�&$5()8/�:+(1�86,1*�0$&+,1(5<�25�(/(&75,&$/�(48,3�0(17��(67�$1'�5(/$;$7,21�:,//�%(�025(�)$925$%/(�7+$1�<28�7+,1.�

�� !��29��(&��;75$9$*$1&(�:,//�%(�$�352%/(0�#28�//�+$9(�$0$=,1*�,'($6��%87�683(5,256�0$<�75<�72�%/2&.�<285�$77(0376$7�,03/(0(17,1*�7+(0��/,(1$7,21�0$<�%(�7+(�5(68/7�2)�$�0,681'(567$1'�,1*�

��(&��$1��21(<0$.,1*�23325781,7,(6�:,//�685�)$&(��2�<285�2:1�7+,1*�� 5$9(/�:,//�$/62�(17,&(�<28�

��!��!��$1��(%��7�,6�%(67�127�72�836(7�7+(�$33/(�&$57�,)<28�/($51�,1)250$7,21�7+$7�0$<�'$0$*(�$�&2//($*8(�6�5(387$7,21��#2850,1'�,6�21�021(<0$.,1*�9(1785(6��2&,$/�(9(176�:,//�%(�)$925$%/(�

��(%��$5��#28�0$<�:$17�72�38//�287�620(�2)�7+26(81),1,6+('�352-(&7�<28�9(�*27�78&.('�$:$<�� $.(�7+(�7,0(�72�+(/3�2/')5,(1'6�25�5(/$7,9(6�:+2�+$9(�+$'�$�6752.(�2)�%$'�/8&.�� 5$9(/�&28/'�%(,1�25'(5�


��

��

� � � � �

By GENE CHERRY

DAEGU, South Korea — UsainBolt, the world’s fastest man, pre-dicted Saturday he would retain hisworld 100 meters title in Daegu,South Korea, easily this month pro-vided he gets a decent start.“If I get a good start...it won’t be

a problem for me,” the lankyJamaican told Reuters in an inter-view on the eve of his 25th birthday.“I think I will win with ease. When Iget into my running stride I don’tthink anybody can match it, no mat-ter my shape.”The 100 meters preliminaries

take place on the first day of thechampionships on August 27 withthe final on the following day. Bolt,whose 2010 season was curtailedbecause of injury, starts his 200

meters title defense on Sept 3.Bolt said his primary aim was to

defend his titles.“There won’t be any records

here,” added Bolt who smashed theworld marks in the 100 and 200 atthe 2008 Beijing Olympics andagain at the world championshipsin Berlin in the following year.“Just to defend my titles, that is

the main aim for me.“A lot of people will be wanting a

fast time so I think 9.7 (seconds)should be good,” he said of the 100meters.Bolt’s team mate Asafa Powell is

the fastest man this year, clocking9.78 seconds in Lausanne in June.His time is a tenth of a secondquicker than anything the worldrecord holder has managed this sea-son.“The injury kind of threw me off

a lot,” said Bolt. “I really couldn’tpush myself early season becauseyou have to take it slowly. You can’treally rush back into it.”Bolt said his biggest problem was

his start.“It was like starting over for me

for the start,” the Jamaican said.“It’s hard to run when you are racerusty so to me it is just getting backinto running.”Bolt, speaking after showing off

his new gold, black and greenJamaican-colored running spikes toa group of women dressed in tradi-tional Korean costume, said histraining was going well and we wasready to run.“When I came here I felt that emo-

tion,” he said. “When I saw peoplecheering for me in the airport Icould feel that championship vibecoming on.”

Usain Bolt confident before 100 meters

By JASON HUMPHRIES

JOHANNESBURG — SouthAfrican 800 meters world championCaster Semenya has shrugged offtalk of injury, weight issues and arift in her camp to declare herselfready to defend her title in Daegu,South Korea early next month.Local media reports suggested

Semenya and her coach MichaelSeme had fallen out and also claimedthat the 20-year-old was overweight,but the runner’s management teammoved swiftly to dispel the rumors.“The recent media reports that

Caster Semenya is not ready todefend her world 800m title areuntrue,” Semenya’s managementteam said in a statement Thursday.“Semenya remains disciplined,

focused and excited about represent-ing South Africa at the World Cham-pionship in South Korea. In truechampionship style, she hasembarked upon a stringent training

program in preparation for the worldevent.“Currently she is doing light, final

training at the home base in Pretoria,South Africa. We wish to dismiss anyrumors that there is trouble in hercamp.“These rumors are seen as

attempts to discourage and distracther from her glorious quest for gold.“We furthermore wish to assure

South Africans and Caster’s support-ers that all is well with our champand that she is going to put up astrong fight in defense of her title,”the statement added.Semenya pulled out of this mon-

th’s World Student Games in Shen-zen, China with a back injury but hasalso struggled for form this season,running below two minutes onlytwice, well short of the 1:55.45 sheset to win the title in Berlin in 2009.The World Championships run

from August 27-September 4, withthe women’s 800m final taking placeon the final day of competition.

Semenya camp insist athleteready to defend 800m title

By LARRY FINE

U.S. sprinter Michael Rodgers,who tested positive for a prohibitedstimulant last month, has accepted aprovisional suspension on Fridayand withdrew from this month’sworld championships in SouthKorea.Rodgers, who was scheduled to

compete for the United States in the

100 meters and 4x100m relay, test-ed positive for methylhexaneamineat an Italian meet but claimed he didnot intentionally ingest the sub-stance, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agencysaid in a statement.Rodgers, 26, qualified for the

worlds by finishing third in the 100meters at the U.S. world champi-onship trials in June.The world championships begin

in Daegu on August 27.

Sprinter Rodgers exitsworlds under doping cloud


��

��

The Arizona Cardinals and LarryFitzgerald have agreed to an eight-year deal that could pay the starreceiver as much as $120 million,making it one of the richest deals inthe NFL.

The agreement, with guaranteesnear $50 million, is by far the biggestin the franchise’s history and couldkeep the star receiver with the teamthrough the 2018 season.

The six additional years after 2012would be worth $17 million each.

The $15 million average would tiehim with the Raiders’ Richard Sey-mour for the fifth-highest averageamong all players. The top four play-ers are all quarterbacks. Fitzgeraldand team president Michael Bidwillappeared at a hastily called news con-ference Saturday night to announcethe agreement.

Fitzgerald insisted he “hates thispart of sports,” but he certainly hasmade a boatload of money. This is thethird major contract he has signed,and he doesn’t turn 28 until Aug. 31.

“Growing up, since I was 7 yearsold, this has been the game I love andsomething I have been so passionateabout,” Fitzgerald said, “and to have

to talk about it on the business side isa little bit uncomfortable. But I amreally happy to put it behind us and itwouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for theBidwill family’s hard work in makingthis thing happen.”

The Cardinals had said they wantedFitzgerald’s new contract wrapped upby the start of the regular season, and

they made it with two weeks to spare.Bidwill, son of the team’s owner Bill

Bidwill, said the Cardinals’ intent is tohave Fitzgerald retire as a Cardinal“but not anytime soon.”

Fitzgerald, the third overall park inthe 2004 draft at the age of 19, spokeof the opportunity to spend his entirecareer with one team.

“It is an honor,” he said. “I am sofortunate. Not many players have thatopportunity but Michael has allowedme that opportunity and I just want torepay him with great effort and win-ning. That is what is important.”

The 6-foot-3, 218-pound receiverhas become the franchise’s careerleader in receptions with 613 andneeds just 294 yards to surpass RoyGreen for career yards receiving. InArizona’s surprise run to the SuperBowl in the 2008 season, Fitzgeraldshattered most of the NFL playoffreceiving records.

Fitzgerald has topped 1,000 yardsreceiving in five of his seven NFL sea-sons, including the last four. Hecaught 90 passes for 1,137 yards lastseason even though Arizona had oneof the worst offenses in the leaguewhile struggling to a 5-11 record, in

large part because of poor quarter-back play in the wake of the retire-ment of Kurt Warner.

While Fitzgerald said he neverinsisted the team make a big move fora quarterback — “I am not anyone tohold a hammer over anyone’s head” —the Cardinals traded for Kevin Kolbfrom the Philadelphia Eagles, thensigned him to a five-year, $63 millioncontract, with $21 million guaran-teed. Fitzgerald, who organized teamworkouts during the lockout, had apractice session with Kolb long beforethe trade.

It is not known whether the dealcontains the kind of terms that gavehim huge leverage over the teamunder its current deal — specifically aban on making him a franchise play-er and a no-trade clause.

The contract could have wide-spread ramifications around the NFL,particularly in the case of runningback Chris Johnson, who is holdingout for a new deal with the TennesseeTitans.

Johnson tweeted “congratulationsto @LarryFitzgerald god is good” andFitzgerald responded with “thanks CJyou up next my guy.”

Cardinals sign Larry Fitzgerald through 2018

SAN FRANCISCO — A man wear-ing a shirt slamming the San Fran-cisco 49ers was seriously wounded asgunfire erupted in the parking lotafter the team’s NFL preseason game,while another man sustained lesserinjuries in an earlier shooting, policesaid.

The violence occurred after the49ers’ 17-3 victory Saturday nightover the Oakland Raiders at Candle-stick Park, police Sgt. MichaelAndraychak said.

A 24-year-old man was treated atSan Francisco General Hospital forlife-threatening injuries, and a 20-year-old man was hospitalized withless serious wounds, Andraychacksaid.

The violence comes months after aSan Francisco Giants fan was severe-ly beaten by two men in Los AngelesDodgers gear outside Dodger Stadi-um after the teams’ season openerMarch 31. Two suspects have beencharged in the case.

Police Sgt. Frank Harrell said thatin Saturday’s attack the 24-year-oldman, who was wearing a T-shirtreferring to the 49ers with an obscen-ity, was shot two to four times in thestomach, according to reports in theOakland Tribune and the San Fran-cisco Chronicle. He drove his truck toa gate and stumbled to security, Har-rell said.

The other man was shot before thatin the parking lot and had superficialface injuries, Harrell said.

“We are treating it as separate

shootings, but we believe they arerelated,” Harrell told reporters out-side the stadium.

Harrell said police took a man in aRaiders jersey off a party bus before itleft the stadium and were calling hima suspect.

The suspect and the two victimshad all attended the game, Harrelltold the newspapers.

The 49ers issued a statementacknowledging the shootings and theinvestigation, but offering no further

details.In violence during the game, the

Oakland Tribune reported that a 26-year-old San Rafael man was assault-ed and knocked unconscious in amen’s restroom. Police said he washospitalized and a suspect was arrest-ed. There was no immediate indica-tion that it was connected to thepostgame shootings.

In the Giants fan attack in March,the two men accused in the beating,Louie Sanchez, 28, and Marvin Nor-

wood, 30, have pleaded not guilty.Bryan Stow, a Santa Cruz para-

medic, suffered severe brain injuriesand remains hospitalized.

Stow’s doctor said this month thathe has made “significant improve-ment” despite a series of ups anddowns since his near-fatal attack. Hesaid Stow is awake, breathing on hisown, can move slightly and has beenable to interact with his family.

The attack drew widespread atten-tion and focusing the spotlight onsecurity at Dodger Stadium, and theintense rivalry among Dodgers andGiants fans.

Two shot after Raiders-49ers game

By LARRY FINE

The Giants could be without defen-sive end Osi Umenyiora for their sea-son opener in September as he beginsa three-to-four week recovery fromarthroscopic surgery on his rightknee on Friday.

Giants general manager JerryReese said the two-time Pro Bowler,who hit the practice field this weekdespite a contract dispute, was both-ered by swelling in his balky rightknee after going hard in his return.

“After practicing for three days hehad some swelling in the knee.” Reesetold reporters. “Osi’s feeling is hewants to get it cleaned up nowbecause he is looking forward to play-ing this season, and he wants to (play)without the knee being an issue forhim.”

Umenyiora reported to trainingcamp one day late and then stayedaway from the practice field disgrun-tled by what he felt was a brokenpromise by the team to renegotiate hiscontract. He relented and went back towork in earnest.

The 29-year-old Umenyiora, whoshared the team lead with 11.5 sackslast season, said it was better to havehis knee cleaned up now rather thanlater.

“It was going to have to be done, theonly question was when,” saidUmenyiora. “If I’m going to miss a lit-tle while, I would prefer it be now thanat the crucial part of our season. It’sthe best decision for the team andmyself.”

The Giants open their regular sea-son against the Washington Redskinson September 11.

Giants’ Umenyiora to miss 3-4 weeks after knee surgery


��

��

PHILADELPHIA — Lockout ornot, Elton Brand is set to play bas-ketball with his Philadelphia 76ersteammates.

Brand helped organize a teamworkout scheduled for next week inLos Angeles and most of the keySixers have told him they willattend. Andre Iguodala, Evan Turn-er, Lou Williams and others will flyin, share a hotel, play and work outtogether and do what they can toget ready for the season.

Whenever that starts, no one isquite sure.

“I can’t wait to see where theguys are at,” Brand said. “I’ve beentalking to them all summer. Theyseem to be in shape already in casewe get this thing going.”

The lingering, messy lockout hasthrown doubt that training campand the regular season will start ontime. These loosely organized teamactivities — without any input orsupervision from the coaching staff— are as close as the Sixers can getto a training camp without travel-ing to Philadelphia. Brand’s weekly,upbeat offseason texts from coachDoug Collins have vanished fromhis BlackBerry. The Sixers havecompletely faded from Philadelphi-a’s bustling sports scene.

But the numerous economicissues that have divided the playersand owners are still a daily harshreality for everyone connected withthe sport. Brand attended an NBPAmeeting this week in Los Angeleswhere the message from union lead-ers and superstars like Kobe Bryantand Paul Pierce was a simple one:Stick together.

“I can’t speak for the owner’sside, but on the player’s side, there’sdefinitely a sense of urgency tomeet and talk,” Brand said.

Brand has assumed the role of defacto team player rep. Jason Kaponoheld the position last season, but isa free agent now. Brand keeps in

touch with Players Associationexecutive director Billy Hunter andkeeps his teammates informed.

Brand, entering the fourth of afive-year contract, said “it’s tough toanswer” if the Sixers really willopen the season Nov. 2 in Toronto.

“I’ll have a better feel closer totraining camp,” Brand said. “As ofnow, it doesn’t look good. It doesn’tlook good at all. I don’t think we’regoing to start with a normal train-ing camp because the numbers areso far apart. But I think as trainingcamp gets closer, we’ll know more ifwe have to miss games.”

Brand hasn’t ruled out playingoverseas if the lockout drags intothe regular season. Numerous play-ers have said they would considerplaying overseas. Nets All-Starguard Deron Williams recentlyagreed to a deal with Besiktas ofTurkey. Brand has made about$126 million since his rookie yearin 1999 and was set to make $17million this season with the Sixers.

So, if he went abroad, it’s notbecause he needs the cash.

“If the season starts on Jan. 1, Iwould love to have a leg up onguys,” Brand said. “I wouldn’t wantanyone to have a leg up on me.That’s why it’s been, as we’re inch-ing closer, it’s been in my brain. Iwant to be in peak physical condi-tion when the season starts.”

He misses the texts and conversa-tions with Collins and the staff.When Quin Snyder, who recruitedBrand to Duke, left his job as anassistant coach to join the LosAngeles Lakers, Brand couldn’teven wish him congratulations andgood luck.

When Brand returns to work,he’ll have a new boss. Comcast-Spec-tacor sold the team to a group led byNew York-based leveraged buyoutspecialist Joshua Harris. The deal isstill awaiting approval by the NBA.

When the Atlanta Hawks were

sold earlier this month, new ownerAlex Meruelo had to fight backtears as he talked about what itmeans to be the NBA’s first Hispan-ic team owner.

Harris, oddly, has decided torefrain from publicly talking aboutthe Sixers and his plans for a fran-chise that hasn’t won a champi-onship since 1983. Brand said theteam won’t be the same withoutchairman Ed Snider around.

“We’re definitely going to misshim,” Brand said, “and all he’s donefor the organization over the years.”

For a player who might tem-porarily be out of a job this fall,Brand has kept busy.

He and Dallas center BrendanHaywood participated in a youthcamp in St. Maarten. Brand and hisproduction company, Milk andMedia, are reading scripts andgreenlighting projects. Brand spentabout 10 days in Louisiana earlierthis summer — “getting eaten up byinsects” — overseeing the psycho-logical thriller, “No One Lives,”starring Luke Evans.

Backed by WWE and Pathe Films,Brand watched the dailies, oversawscript changes, and made sureshooting stayed true to the vision ofthe project. Brand’s next passionproject is a film about hip hop artistand actor Tupac Shakur.

And of course, he’s been playing

pickup games with other NBA play-ers around Los Angeles.

But he’s antsy for the real deal tostart.

“The one thing I’d want to get outthere is for the fans to know weappreciate their support,” he said.“We’re doing all we can as players totry and make this thing right so wecan have a season.”

Elton Brand: Players will stick together

BEIJING — The Chinese Basket-ball Association will restrict con-tracted NBA players from playingfor domestic teams in the event theseason is canceled, but will still allowfree agents, state media reported Fri-day.

The CBA would bar players undercontract such as Carmelo Antho-ny(notes) and Chris Paul(notes).They and others had expressedinterest in playing in China if theNBA lockout drags on and results inthe cancellation of all or part of the2011-12 season.

The CBA said it will welcome freeagent NBA players, but will requirethem to play an entire season inChina, the Xinhua News Agencyreported.

Xinhua said more restrictionswould be announced before the startof the Chinese season on Nov. 20. Itreported contracts would bedesigned to discourage players fromducking out for dubious reasonssuch as suspect injuries or unveri-fied family problems at home.

CBA officials could not immedi-ately be reached for comment.

China to ban contractedNBA players during lockout

By TIM MOLLOY

Fox and Ultimate Fighting Cham-pionship announced a multi-year,multi-platform deal Thursday call-ing for Fox to air four primetime orlate-night UFC events a year.

UFC said the deal would help fur-ther establish ultimate fighting as amajor sport, and noted that Fox haspreviously aired the Super Bowl,World Series and Daytona 500.

The deal calls for “The UltimateFighter,” UFC’s signature weeklyreality show, to move from Spike TVto FX in spring 2012. New episodeswill air on Friday nights, and FXwill also air four to six live fightshows a year.

The first live event on Fox will airSaturday, November 12 at 9 p.m.ET.

Other Fox networks, includingFuel TV, will air additional pro-graming beginning in January2012. The programing will include“UFC Unleashed,” “UFC Primetime,”the “UFC Knockout” series, “Best ofPride,” and weigh-ins.

“We’re excited to be part of theFox family,” said UFC presidentDana White. “The UFC is finallywhere it belongs on the No. 1 net-work in the country and aligned

with the most prestigious sportsproperties in the world. I’ve alwayssaid that the UFC will be the biggestsport in the world and with thisrelationship it will become a reali-ty.”

Moments before Fox’s announce-ment, Spike announced that the14th season of “The Ultimate Fight-er,” beginning in September, wouldbe its last on Spike.

UFC said the deal with Foxreflected its massive growth sinceits founding in 1993. It wasacquired by Zuffa, LLC, in 2001, andFox Sports Net carried its first non-pay-per-view event on basic cabletelevision the next year, deliveringwhat was then its largest audience.UFC has tried to gain a mainstreamaudience by working with state ath-letic commissions and establishingconsistent rules and standards.

It now boasts advertisers includ-ing Bud Light, Dodge and HarleyDavidson, and a young, growingaudience. UFC said the median agefor UFC viewers on Spike was 36,compared to 43 for the Super Bowl.

UFC programing is broadcast inmore than 132 countries and terri-tories, reaching 597 million homesworldwide, in 21 different lan-guages.

Fox Sports, UFC strike multi-year deal

��

MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2011

CARDINALS SIGNFITZGERALD

THROUGH 2018

USAIN BOLTCONFIDENT

BEFORE 100METERS

Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man, predict-ed he would retain his world 100 meters titlein Daegu, South Korea, easily this monthprovided he gets a decent start.

SEE PAGE 21.

The Arizona Cardinals and LarryFitzgerald have agreed to aneight-year deal that could pay the

star receiver as much as $120 mil-lion, making it one of the richestdeals in the NFL. SEE PAGE 22.

daily challenge 8-22-11

Documents