Phyllis Sempala

***MUST CREDIT CLIPS TO "FOX NEWS SUNDAY" EACH USE ***

US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says he has "nothing to hide" about the firing of eight federal prosecutors and did not ask for their resignation for any improper reason.  Alberto Gonzales says he has vague memories of discussing the firings but he left the decisions to his former top aide.

The beleaguered Attorney General is scheduled to testify before a US Senate panel later this week (Tuesday).  Democrats question whether the firings were for political reasons. And some say his testimony will determine whether he keeps his job.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told "Fox News Sunday" that Alberto Gonzales needs to clear-up what happened:

IN: there are three or four
OUT: has to say
DUR: 09

CLIP: http://64.26.15.101/feeds/0415Gonzales-Graham1FOX.mp3

AND/OR

US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has written that nothing improper occurred in the firing of eight federal prosecutors. He says he did not make decisions about who should resign. This comes from a Washington Post op-ed piece published in the Sunday newspaper.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told "Fox News Sunday" that if Mr. Gonzales testifies along those lines before the Senate panel, then he should stay in office:

IN: he has
OUT: work with him
DUR: 12

CLIP: http://64.26.15.101/feeds/0415Gonzales-Graham2FOX.mp3

AND/OR

***MUST CREDIT CLIPS TO ABC'S "THIS WEEK" EACH USE ***

Republican Senator Arlen Specter told ABC's "This Week" that Alberto Gonzales must testify about the facts:

IN: he has a distinguished record
OUT: deal with that
DUR: 26

CLIP: http://64.26.15.101/feeds/0415Gonzales-Specter1ABC.mp3

AND/OR

Republican Senator Arlen Specter told ABC's "This Week" that e-mails appear to contradict Alberto Gonzales:

IN: I think the attorney
OUT: what was done
DUR: 19

CLIP: http://64.26.15.101/feeds/0415Gonzales-Specter2ABC.mp3

AND/OR

***MUST CREDIT CLIP TO ABC'S "THIS WEEK" EACH USE ***

Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson told ABC's "This Week" that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales must testify that politics plays no role in the Justice Department:

IN: he would have to
OUT: losing credibility
DUR: 22

CLIP: http://64.26.15.101/feeds/0415Gonzales-RichardsonABC.mp3

I don’t know which game Jack Todd was watching last night, but the one I tuned into on RDS looked more like a lame-duck pee wee team taking on the Carolina Hurricanes in an exhibition game than a real NHL playoff game between the ‘Canes and the Montreal Canadiens. This game was not exciting, nor was it close, nor was it entertaining. The Canadiens were pure awful for the second straight game in a row; they didn’t put an ounce of effort into this one at all. And now they’re down in their first round series against Carolina, 3-2, and on the brink of elimination from the playoffs.

It seemed like pretty much every Canadiens player out there had a complete change of heart after the Saku Koivu injury. Before that incident, the team was making perfect passes and dangerous offensive plays. They were skating amazingly fast, and, most importantly, were scoring lots of goals and winning games. The past two games, however, have been remarkably different. Only Tomas Plekanec, Alexander Perezhogin, Richard Zednik, and Francis Bouillon have really shown up to play. The rest of their teammates stayed home, and I have a theory as to why.

Koivu is injured; Kovalev is injured (where, we don’t exactly know); and the refs are clearly not on the Habs’ side (although, surprisingly enough, Kerry Fraser actually seemed to put away his personal vendetta against Montreal last night - he actually called high sticking and goaltender interference against the ‘Canes!). All things considered, it doesn’t make sense for the Habs to advance to the second round to face the Ottawa Senators. Why risk more injuries, and risk making Kovalev’s worse, when you know there’s no chance of beating the Sens if you’re not 100%?

I don’t believe anyone who says that Koivu’s absence is the reason behind this club’s lack of motivation. Koivu is not as big of an impact player as everyone makes him out to be, and he certainly hadn’t been playing that way in the games before he got injured. A team just doesn’t turn the switch to “off” when one of their players gets injured; if anything, they play harder to avenge his loss. The Canadiens have done nothing of the sort.

It’s a shame that their season will have to end this way, but, truth be told, the 2005-’06 Canadiens were and continue to be a team of extreme ups and downs. Unfortunately, that’s the way it goes with these Habs, especially considering that they are a team in transition. We’ll look more at that later, but for now, let’s just enjoy the last bit of active hockey this team will play before they pack up for the summer. There’s no way this team is winning Game 6; one game is all we have left.

The Kapok is native to the Top End, and thrives amazingly well in the heat and humidity. Throughout the dry season, the dormant Kapok appears as a dry twig. As we have visited later than the usual tourist season, we have been lucky enough to see the bursts of large, bright yellow flowers which greet the first of the summer rains. Despite fragile appearances, these fantastic flowers are hardy enough to last on the tree for several weeks.

Beside its beauty, the Kapok is both ingenious and useful. The name Kapok derives from a closely related tree found in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Mattresses, pillows, and soft toys have been made from the cotton wool– like fibre, which is harvested from the ripe seed-pods. This soft, light fibre surrounds each seed and is released with them as the pods open. This resourceful system allows both the wind and river currents to carry the gene pool over wide distances. Many animals eat Kapok seeds, and shelter amongst the lush wet season foliage.

Some of the other special plants we’ve seen in the Limestone Gorge area include the Plains Bloodwood Eucalyptus, which supports the handsome flights of parrots inhabiting the park, and whose wood is valued for its resistance to termite damage. The Bauhinia, has dainty rounded leaves which resemble butterflies as they turn yellow in patches; Nutwood trees are conspicuous as their bark contrasts like a checkerboard, and species of gnarled Hakea and gummy Spinifex keep company with the ubiquitous Boab.

Suggested learning activities:
Identify plants which have adapted to use the wind to spread their seed-stock. Many grasses have long, light wings to do this. Bright yellow Dandelion flowers develop a white pom pom which can be released with a puff of breath. What advantages do these plants have over others you can find?
Collect seeding plants, native and otherwise, from your local area, and see how many you can identify. If possible, find someone who knows about these shrubs and grasses (like a farmer) and ask him some questions. You;ll be surprised at what you can learn about the resourcefulness of seed spreading plants.

bel

My fave from Toronto: Persepolis (Sony Pictures Classics)

Well I’m back from Toronto, which means I don’t get to eat any of those mind-blowing (and waist-expanding) Italian sausages sold by the street vendors for another year. I’m drooling on the keyboard just thinking about them. Hot mustard. Mmm.

But you don’t want to know about my drool (seek help if you do). You want to know what I saw and what I liked. So here’s my Fave Five (out of about 30 films viewed), including dates (if available) when you might be able to see this stuff in Dallas.

1. Persepolis - Sharp humor and wistful remembrance make a profoundly moving combination in this animated film about a girl growing up in Tehran during scary times. Adapted by Marjane Satrapi from her own graphic novels, it strikes the perfect tone in exploring the meaning of home. It should open here by the end of the year or the beginning of 2008.

2. My Kid Could Paint That - Amir Bar-Lev’s doc does a remarkable thing in exploring the media sensation and controversy surrounding a four-year-old modern art prodigy. It also explores the documentary filmmaker’s culpability in abetting said sensation and controversy. Beguiling and troubling. Scheduled to open Oct. 19.

3. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - Not a revisionist Western so much as an interrogation of the very genre, Assassination is a long, lyrical and proudly eccentric story of looming doom, bruised ego and the process of legend on the frontier. Wash it down with a couple of Deadwood episodes. Scheduled to open Oct. 5.

4. (Tie) Margot at the Wedding and The Savages - Two scathingly dark comedies about families mired in resentment. Margot rides the ruthless wit of writer/director Noah Baumbach; Savages features Laura Linney’s best work to date. Both will make you feel better about you own screwed-up families. Margot is scheduled to open Nov. 16; The Savages is TBA.

5. I’m Not There - Todd Haynes does a fiendishly logical think with the shape-shifting Bob Dylan: He splits the mercurial one into multiple characters, including a folkie played by Christian Bale, a frontiersman played by Richard Gere, and, most spectacularly, a tired superstar played by Cate Blanchett. It’s consistently weird and it gets better with each passing day. Scheduled to open Nov. 21.

And some other favorites: In the Valley of Elah (Sept. 21), Control (Nov. 2), Into the Wild (Sept. 28), Lust, Caution (Oct. 5), Rendition (Oct. 19) and Alexandra (TBA).

And if you have any questions about these or other Toronto fare, don’t be shy.

In this episode, Little Georgie, ever mindful of little more than his own warped state of reality, takes a spin on a big shiny bulldozer at a recent Presidential photo-op in Illinois.

Yipeee!

Turn off your television, tune in your brains and click HERE to listen to the latest episode of Wake the Herd Political Satire.

Note: The following links are a supplement to the comedy. Yes folks, this bulldozer ride was an actual event - minus the loss of innocent life of course.

Click HERE to read Holly Bailey’s Newsweek blog report of the incident.

Click HERE to read a Peoria Star-Journal article about Bush’s visit to Peoria, Illinois.

Excerpt from the Peoria Journal-Star article: Karl Rove, one of President Bush’s top advisers, accompanied the president to Peoria and had a brief chat with Caterpillar officials about whether the president would drive one of the big bulldozers built at Building SS.

Rove reminded them Bush doesn’t do much driving on his own these days and asked if Caterpillar’s insurance was up to date. “I’m not sure how well he’ll drive. He’s used to being driven around,” Rove said.

“We figure he’ll have a tendency to go to the right,” replied Tim Elder, director of corporate public affairs.
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If nil nisi bonum, This Obit Would Be Shorter Still

The sharp-eyed Mrs. Vark spotted this obituary — painfully short and disturbingly honest:

Dewayne C. Eckhoff, 67, of Kansas City, KS, died Friday, March 23, 2007 at KU Medical Center. An Agnostic Infidel gone to a place he didn’t believe exists.

Dewayne was born November 21, 1939 in Sutherland, NE to Carl and Jessie Eckhoff. He graduated from Hershey High School in 1958 and the University of Nebraska with a B.S. degree in 1964. He received his Master’s Degree from the University of Iowa at Cedar Falls in 1968 and his Pharmacy Degree from the University of Kansas at Lawrence in 1983. He was a long time chemistry teacher at Kansas City Kansas Community College and a part-time pharmacist in Kansas City.

Survivors include 2 sisters, Barbara (Terry) Bannister and Jane (Steve) Long; and a brother, Richard Eckhoff.

As Christians, shouldn’t this should pain us in several ways? Dewayne apparently died outside of Christ’s Church. Without saving faith in Jesus Christ, God’s Word promises man nothing but eternal torment. Paradise has been robbed of another lost sheep who wouldn’t hearken to the Shepherd’s voice.

Then, can we begin to imagine the hurt lying in the hearts of his family? I seriously doubt that brothers and sisters could make this their final corporate statement concerning a departed sibling unless they’d long expressed these same concerns before the death. Yet even if they had been diligently confessing Christ and witnessing to His presence in their lives for many years, how can they not, if they loved him at all, avoid some feelings of guilt along with the pain of the loss?

Some of us may have already lost family members who died in a Dewayne-like state of disbelief. Others carry the burden of trying to reach living atheistic, agnostic, or false-believing relatives before it’s too late. Our prayers will effect nothing for the Dewaynes who’ve left this vale of sorrows for an even greater eternal woe. However, we can — and should — redouble our prayers on behalf of those unbelievers still living among us while also asking that the Lord would support and guide their families and friends who continue working and hoping to see them converted and saved for eternal life.

I also wonder about those others whom Dewayne left behind. When I read the online obit, three friends had signed the guest book. Does any of them share the apparent faith and accompanying thoughts of the three siblings? I doubt it, since “nil nisi bonum” prevails in their brief entries. One said, “Dewayne was a good guy.” Another remarked, “He deserved better.” The final entrants, commenting on shared travels, said, “We … enjoyed his company.” All seem blissfully unaware that, unfortunately, some “nice guys” do finish dead last.

When I die, I pray that I leave a legacy at least a bit more hopeful. I want my remaining family and friends to be able to say, “We’re sure he’s with the Lord … even if he doesn’t deserve it.”

Illustration created by the Tombstone Generator.

Technorati Tags: death | dying | unbelief | agnosticism | atheism | judgment | hell | Christianity | evangelism | witness | Jesus | Jesus Christ | Christ | hope | salvation | Gospel | eternal life

Written by: Thomas Rab
After a short break from the Winnipeg Chapter’s inaugural meeting, we continued the former WGDG’s Speaker Series at the Millennium Library. Unfortunately we only had sufficient time for Jonas Van Niekerk’s presentation, but what was lost in quantity was made up in quality.

Jonas Van Niekerk’s 3D Animation Presentation
Jonas’ presentation was on 3D Animation in Autodesk’s Maya. Jonas showed everyone the basics of movement and how to apply it to 3D animation.

The first example put emphasis on constructing a basic walk cycle animation, and he put particular emphasis on how manipulating the animation curve could be used to give effective ‘weight’ to movement, giving it that realistic feel. The presentation concluded with Jonas demonstrating his approach to rigging a model’s skeleton and manipulating the bone structure.

As always, Jonas held an open presentation, keeping even the non-animators engaged in the discussion and asking questions. Overall, a great introductory tutorial to 3D animation using Maya. At the end of the presentation we had a little Q & A and Jonas showed off his impressive demo reel.

After Hours Socializing
After the presentation at the Millennium Library we all headed to a nearby pub to relax, discuss the industry among friends and have a beer! We look forward to seeing everyone at the next meeting and thank the Millennium Library for the space and time to hold the meeting.

Closing
Although we did not have enough time for Noah’s post-mortem on Complex Games’ Dungeon: Gladiator Project this month, we are eagerly awaiting to see it next time.

Edinburgh People’s Festival Kicks off with Ringing Rankin Endorsement

The Edinburgh People’s Festival, now in its sixth year, opens on Sunday night and has received a ringing endorsement from city author Ian Rankin.

The prolific Edinburgh novelist warmly welcomed the People’s Festival and has even given permission for extracts of his as yet unpublished final Rebus novel to be read out for the first time as part of the tour.

‘The People’s Festival makes for a refreshing change.’ Said Rankin ‘It is local, varied and goes to places other festivals wouldn’t dream of going. Edinburgh isn’t just Princes Street and the Castle, and most Edinburghers don’t live in the very centre of the city, so I congratulate the People’s Festival – and hey its an absolute bargain to boot!’

People’s Festival spokesman Colin Fox was delighted to receive Ian Rankin’s backing and believes the programme of events presented over the week will surprise many.
‘We start off with the Rebus walking tour on Sunday led by Edinburgh actor and local historian Colin Brown. It departs from St Lenoards Police station at 6pm.
Then on Tuesday, continuing a theme of sorts I suppose, we go in to entertain the guys in Saughton prison, with comedy from Raymond Mearns and music from The Lynsey Dolan band.

On Wednesday we host a public debate on whether Scotland would be artistically, culturally and politically better off under Independence. Our distinguished panel of guests will include Richard Demarco, Mark Ballard and, schedule permitting, actress Elaine C Smith. This will be the first public forum in Scotland to discuss the Scottish Executives soon to be published blueprint for a referendum on independence. The ‘fireworks’ begin at 7.45pm in the ‘Out of the Blue’ Arts Centre in Dalmeny St.
On Thursday we present surely the biggest bargain of the entire Edinburgh Festival.
Four of the top comics in Edinburgh, courtesy of The Stand Comedy Club, will perform at the BMC Club in Gorgie - with A L Kennedy, Vladimir McTavish, Mrs Barbara Nice and Francesca Martinez. Tickets are £2 on the door.Yes £2! Comedy for the people, by the people, for the 4th consecutive year at the BMC.

And for our grand finale, on Friday 10th August we present the world premiere of ‘Marilyn Painted Pictures’ a unique new drama about Marilyn Munroe by award winning local playwright Celia Grainger. Curtain up at 7pm in Dalkeith Arts Centre.’

The entire forum had a very global feel to it — not just the venue but the participants. Americans were a small minority. The speakers and panelists for the rest of the day focused on the innovation theme of the forum and drilled down to the next level.
To cap off the day, my friend and just e-tired colleague Dr. Irving Wladawsky-Berger who is now Chairman Emeritus at the IBM Academy of Technology and Visiting Professor of Engineering Systems at MIT, gave a talk about the future of technology. To get our attention, Irving started by pointing out that the world now produces more transistors than grains of rice. He did not mention this but I know that IBM’s new Power6 chip will have approximately 750 million transistors — that’s per chip! Irving went on to point out that there are fifteen petabytes (15 with 15 zeroes)) of data is being generated every day and that by 2010 supercomputers will execute one quadrillion calculations per second. Sounds like a lot but it will be needed to analyze the information being generated and to do it in “real time”. Irving believes that modeling is the future — including simulations of what is in your mind.
Better computational capabilities will mean 100 times faster interpretation of an MRI which in turn means that a surgeon will be able to see exactly what is going on inside of you while you are in surgery. A challenging area in the future will be biological viruses — they will be a great threat and it will be a chess match to see if the white hats or black hats win. I am betting on the white hats. Technology will be able to predict the way viruses mutate and beat them to the pass. High speed computing will also make it possible to perform simultaneous and real-time translation — not by human translators in a sound-proof booth, but by computers. You speak in Chinese and I hear you in my headset in English. Irving was quite enthusiastic about the role of virtual worlds in business, government and society. The games will lead to a three dimensional Internet with visual virtual interactive services. This is not just for kids. One of IBM’s goals is to simulate the environmental behavior of the worlds river basins. The key to all these exciting breakthroughs is speed of execution and effective collaboration among government, academia and business. IBM is taking a leadership role with meetings such as this one.
The Russian Ethnographic Museum Reception and Gala Dinner was really special. I would be embarrassed to share the menu. Everyone loved the opera singer after dinner. Next morning and it was back to The Royal Philharmonic Hall where Henry Chow, Chairman, Greater China Group of IBM kicked things off and introduced Zhang Jianguo, Vice Chairman, Executive Director and President of the China Construction Bank. Everything in China is large scale and CCB is no exception. They have 5 million business customers and 270 million retail customers using 14,000 branches. The bank made more than $6 billion in profit last year.
Irving finished the morning with a panel which discussed how to drive an innovation agenda. It is really hard to summarize the perspective gained from listening to such smart people. I have tried to capture some thoughts about innovation in various postings here in patrickWeb. I would say the bottom line is that innovation is a really must do unless we want to live in an environment that is undifferentiated and commoditized. Sam made the point that if organizations focus only on taking out costs, they will be doomed with very low profits — if not extinction.
Everyone agrees that Innovation starts at the top and Sam practices what he preaches — not just by innovating in technologies (IBM turning out more patents year after year than any company in the world), but by innovating in strategies and business models. For example, it was Sam who led the charge to transform IBM from a hardware company to a hardware, software and services company. Especially the latter, when he acquired Price Waterhouse Consulting and smoothly integrated it into the IBM portfolio of services. He also led the sale of the PC business. Some people viewed it as simply a “sale” but in reality it was a highly innovative change to the IBM business model — selling off a low margin business but retaining the services aspect of it and at the same time gaining a stronger foothold in the Chinese market opportunity. Now he is extending the company reach and effectiveness at the same time by thinking and acting globally. Looks like he is on the right track to me.

Geocaching in St. Petersburg
Business Leadership Forum - Part 1
Business Leadership Forum - Part 2
Business Leadership Forum - speakers
Business Leadership Forum - Photo gallery

(*Thanks, Travelocity)

Technology Daily and Tech Daily Dose will not publish from Friday, Aug. 24, through Labor Day on Sept. 3. We will return Tuesday, Sept. 4.

If you’re bored while we’re on vacation — and you have every reason to be — catch up on some of our riveting FY08 budget coverage. The stats make for great conversation at backyard luaus or weekend barbecues. You’ll need to know this stuff when Congress returns next month, anyway.

NOAA Funding Includes Tech Initiatives
Bills Eye Technology Improvements At VA
Federal R&D Budget For Nanotech Outlined
Funding Boost Planned For Justice’s Watchdog
Chambers Split Over UAVs For The Border
Broadband Loan Money Divides Chambers
Plenty Of Tech Goodies In FBI Budget
Emergency System’s Funding Is Endangered
Popular Tech Programs Rescued
Disagreement Over Telecom Program
More Money Proposed For IP Protections
Interior Bill Tackles Nanotech, Other Topic
Public D-TV Facing Fiscal Pressures
R&D Funding Analyzed
Advocates: Education Funds Lacking
Appropriations A Hurdle For Innovation Bills
Additional budget coverage