Sailing the Aegean Greek Islands remain as welcoming as ever

MYKONOS, Greece Twenty-two years is a long time between meals atthe same restaurant. But here we were, in the whitewashed main townof this picture-postcard Greek island, savoring marinated octopus andgrilled wild mushrooms on the breeze-cooled terrace of El Greco.

My wife, Marcia, and I had been job-free vagabonds in our early30s when we sailed to Mykonos by ferry in April 1977 during a 10-month sabbatical ramble around the world. Now we were settledgeezers, both just turned 56 and squeezing a five-night Aegean cruiseaboard Orient Lines' Marco Polo into busy work schedules.

Although the sea stayed mostly smooth as a pond on the June 18-23voyage of 839 nautical miles …

2 Colorado St. players suspended for Saturday game

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Colorado State linebacker James Skelton and defensive lineman Zachary Tiedgen won't play in Saturday's game against Northern Colorado following their recent arrests at an off-campus party that drew at least 2,000 people.

The Denver Post reports (http://goo.gl/KUYdd ) that coach Steve Fairchild announced the suspensions on Friday.

The …

Raul Castro prepares Cuban Revolution Day speech

It would be easy for Raul Castro to make headlines in a major Revolution Day speech in this central Cuban city Monday. All he has to do is bring up the 52 political prisoners he has agreed to release, or discuss plans to open the island's communist economy.

Of course, nothing Cuba's 79-year-old president says will mean as much as whether elder brother Fidel is standing by his side. A recent spate of appearances by the revolutionary leader after four years of near-total seclusion has got everybody talking. Could this be Fidel's coming out party?

"If Fidel is there it will cause a huge stir. It will be very important," said Wayne Smith, a former top …

LAZY, HAZY, CRAZY DAYS OF SUMMER

A handful of Idaho's hot music festivals

At Boise Weekly, we know it's summertime when we start getting a lot of information on music festivals. Following is a list of just a few we think are going to be well-worth the time and/or travel:

EAGLE ISLAND EXPERIENCE FESTIVAL

On May 18-20, Eagle Island State Park transforms into a place where people come together to make great art, eat great food and hear great music. In its sixth consecutive year, part of the proceeds from the Experience benefit non-profit organizations. This year's beneficiaries are the Boise Blues Society (www.boiseblues.org), Drum Central (www.boisedrumcentral.com) and Kappa Sigma …

Medical Problems Extend to Vet Hospitals

WASHINGTON - Substandard care at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center appears to extend to the nation's vast network of veterans hospitals, the head of a House panel investigating the situation said Thursday.

Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., cited recent audits and reports that pointed to confusing paperwork and poor health care coordination as well as backlogs in the treatment of returning servicemembers who were deemed at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder.

"That's unacceptable and embarrassing, and the American people deserve answers," Mitchell said in remarks prepared for a hearing late Thursday. "I'm not convinced the Veterans Affairs Department is doing its part." …

India interim budget offers no big new stimulus

Investors reacted with dismay Monday after India's acting finance minister said new economic stimulus measures would have to wait until after national elections, which must be held by May.

Pranab Mukherjee, the acting finance minister, presented an interim budget to parliament Monday that contained no major new stimulus spending or tax cuts, disappointing investors who had hoped the government would break with tradition and announce new stimulus initiatives despite upcoming elections.

He said it would be up to the new government to undertake additional spending _ and take on additional debt _ to counter the worsening global downturn.

"There …

Iran finds `rich' oil field

NICOSIA, Reuter Iran announced Sunday that it had discoveredtwo major new oil fields, including one that Oil Minister GholamrezaAqazadeh described as among the richest in the country.

Aqazadeh said the …

Study Finds Wide Disparity in Asylum Denial

WASHINGTON - Immigration judges vary sharply in their willingness to grant asylum to foreigners seeking to live in the United States - with denial rates ranging from 10 percent to more than 98 percent, according to researchers who reviewed federal figures.

A foreigner seeking asylum in the United States is far more likely to be rejected if the case is decided by Judge Mahlon Hanson in Miami than by some other judges in the system, according to the study being released Monday.

The study is based on data from the Executive Office for Immigration Review, a Justice Department agency which oversees immigration courts, for 1994-99 and 2000-05. The report was done by the …

Golf and rugby accepted as Olympic sports

Tiger Woods will get a chance to win golf gold, and rugby teams can start rehearsing their Olympic hakas after both sports won inclusion Friday in the 2016 Games.

After more than a century on the sidelines, golf will return to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Rugby, last played in 1924, is coming back as well.

Both were reinstated for the 2016 and 2020 games after a vote by the International Olympic Committee.

Each sport received majority support in separate votes after leading athletes and officials from both camps gave presentations, including a taped video message from Woods and other top pros. Woods has indicated he would play in the Olympics …

Daley Puts Aldermen On Spot on Pay Raise

Aldermen who vote today against what is expected to be a $20,000pay hike shouldn't get the cash - even if they promise to donate itto charity, Mayor Daley said during a tongue-in-cheek exchange withreporters Tuesday.

"I wouldn't want to break their morals. I mean some people arereally against ever taking a pay raise," Daley said, maintaining astraight face. "If people publicly morally oppose it . . . Iwouldn't want to hurt them psychiatrically and medically. Thesepeople …

Peru's president inaugurates giant Christ statue

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peruvian President Alan Garcia has inaugurated a giant statue of Jesus similar to Rio de Janeiro's iconic Christ the Redeemer despite opposition from the mayor of Peru's capital.

"Christ of the Pacific" is 72 feet (22 meters) high and stands atop a 49-foot (15-meter) concrete base. It overlooks the Pacific Ocean from Lima.

With a Bible in his hand, …

Opposition leader: Pakistan security has collapsed

An opposition leader declared Thursday that the bloody ambush of the Sri Lankan cricket team shows security in Pakistan has "collapsed," while a government official said authorities had identified the attackers.

The country's cricket chief, meanwhile, dismissed as "totally fabricated" claims by British referee Chris Broad that police abandoned him and other officials during Tuesday's attack.

Six police and a driver were killed and seven players, an umpire and an assistant coach were hurt in the ambush in Lahore. Officials had pledged to provide "presidential-level" security to the team while they were in the insurgency-wracked …

Beckoning Careers, BPO Jobs Are Hot, Help, Tarun!

BECKONING CAREERS

First Day First Show

The Class of 2006 management grads have just joined their newjobs. How are they coping? What are their goals? And what do theiremployers think of them? Here are the answers.

By Rahul Sachitanand, Ritwik Mukherjee and Shivani Lath

It has been three months since the curtains fell on this year'splacement season at management institutes. Most of the freshly mintedMBAs are now gingerly finding their feet in a world far removed fromacademia. The change in atmosphere can be daunting-even for brash and(often over-) confident management grads. That's why almost everyrecruiter has a formal induction process to ease their entry intocorporate life. "Most new recruits understand merit to mean highgrades. In live business situations, however, merit means somethingtotally different-it's all about timely delivery and team work," saysR. Ramkumar, Head of Human Resources, ICICI Bank, which hired 85 MBAsthis year from leading institutes.

But despite this, many of the recruits are in a hurry to go live.Says Anna Abraham, a double major in finance and marketing from theIndian School of Business, who joined Kotak Investment Banking as anAssociate (entry level designation) on May 15: "I've been here twoweeks and I'm already working on a live deal and meeting clients. Mysuperiors are very clear that performance is all that counts." Thispractice of throwing new recruits into the deep end is what makesKotak Investment Banking an attractive employer. "Competition wasvery stiff this year, but our reputation for introducing new recruitsto live projects was what drew our recruits towards us," says YogeshSrivastava, Vice President and Head of Human Resources, KotakInvestment Banking, which, like most other top-notch recruiters, alsohas an elaborate and rigorous induction and training programme toease freshers into the organisation.

And these programmes aren't just routines thought up by hrpersonnel to justify their own existence. They are often a newrecruit's first point of contact with India Inc from the inside.Debopam Roy, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT),Kanpur, and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta, wassuffering from pangs of anxiety in the weeks leading up to his firstday at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC). "I was a little worriedinitially, but I've settled into the job over the last month," hesays, adding that the "transition from campus to office has beensmooth and without any rude wake-up calls".

PWC, which hired 50 MBAs this year, has a structured 5-daytraining capsule for new recruits. Says Santanu Banduri, HR Head, PWCIndia: "We send all of them to our Global Training Centre in Kolkata(outstation candidates are given air tickets along with their offerletters) for our 'Gem Level Training', after which they are put inone of our Strategic Business Units for on-the-job training andfamiliarisation with PWC methodologies." The goal: "to make them realproblem solvers," says Banduri.

The information technology sector is another magnet for freshMBAs. Says Debanshu Sarkar, an iim Ahmedabad alum, who joined InfosysTechnologies last month: "I was drawn to the company by its strongculture of ethics and corporate governance; but the opportunity tointeract with Tier I clients and, consequently, being able to buildan international-focused career were also big motivators." Sarkarsays his "short-term goals are to gain as much knowledge as possibleabout systems, processes and issues so that I'm able to add value toall my interactions with clients and colleagues".

Abhishek Dhingra, a graduate from Pune's Symbiosis Centre forManagement and Human Resource Development, received a pre-placementoffer from Infosys' cross-town rival Wipro for its financial servicesbusiness. "I had worked with i-Flex as a programmer before doing myMBA; I wanted to move from the narrow focus of code-writing to amanagement and consulting position," he says, adding that Wipro madehim the offer on the basis of his strong performance during his 2005summer internship with the company. "I was put on live projects evenduring my internship and was encouraged to actively contribute to myteam; so I expected to be put on live projects soon after joiningfull-time," he says. Incidentally, both Wipro and Infosys place freshMBAs on live projects within a month of their joining. Meanwhile,Dhingra is setting himself up a long-term player. His professionalgoal: learn the ropes of the banking and financial services business;then gradually move into roles that entail handling greaterresponsibility. "I will be based in India, but I hope to travelextensively to get an idea of the global financial services markets,especially in North America and Europe," he says.

Wipro, unlike many if its peers in the it industry, does notrestrict its recruitment strategy to only the IIMs, ISBS and theXLRIS, and often makes aggressive pre-placement offers to students atinstitutions such as Symbiosis. "We have a record of hiring peoplefrom these colleges and developing them into team leaders," claimsKeerthi Chandrashekhar, General Manager, Talent Engagement andDevelopment, Wipro Technologies. This year, for example, it recruitedabout 120 MBAs, several of them from Tier II institutes. They aregiven a year to comprehensively understand their businesses and onlythen are their performances judged, he says, adding: "We also putthem through two-to-four weeks of training before placing them onlive projects."

Ashneer Grover graduated from IIM-A this year and joined KotakInvestment Banking. It's his first job "but I feel no anxiety as thisplace is very open and we can seek help from everyone", he says,adding that it helps to have seniors from campus working in the samecompany. This results in informal mentoring of freshers and helpsthem to integrate seamlessly into their employer's culture.

Interestingly, none of the freshers Business Today spoke toapproved of frequent job hopping. Abhishek Sourav, an IIM-C grad whojoined PWC last month, is just settling into his job. "I'm thinkingof the long term," he says, "that means I'll certainly remain withPWC for the foreseeable future." This is in sharp contrast to theimage MBAs have developed of being compulsive job hoppers. "Quickshifts and rotations make individuals superficial. Only people whostay in the same company for five-to-seven years develop the maturityand the perspective to understand all the aspects of the job," saysICICI's Ramkumar.

Does that mean the typical MBA, and the job market itself, ismaturing? Maybe. But just as the proof of the pudding lies in theeating, it's best to suspend judgment on that at least till the nextjob offer comes along.

What New Recruits Want

Proper systems to ease transition from campus life to professionallife

The opportunity to gain as much knowledge as possible

A bird's eye view of their company/sector/industry

A chance to interact with clients

An early introduction to live projects

What Recruiters Want

Seamless integration into the company's culture

Smooth and fast transition from academic environment to livebusiness situations

At least a 5-7 year job tenure

An effort by recruits to familiarise themselves with sector

An effort by recruits to familiarise themselves with the systemsand methodologies they will use in the course of their work

BPO Jobs Are Hot

The outsourcing boom will continue to generate employment forthousands of people.

The Indian ITEs sector is creating thousands of jobs. But whichspecific verticals within the overall business process outsourcing-knowledge process outsourcing (bpo-kpo) sector are the hottest amongthe hot? Says Raman Roy, CMD, Quattro, and one of the pioneers ofthe Indian outsourcing story: "Banking, financial services andinsurance and technology account for around 70 per cent of the totalBPO-KPO business and all these are booming." Pharmaceuticals andlife sciences is another vertical growing at a frenetic pace.Together, these verticals are expected to add 60-70 per cent of themore than 100,000 jobs that will be created across verticals in thevoice segment. Adds Ronesh Puri, Managing Director, Executive Access,a leading search firm: "Several niche players are also entering thisspace." Neither Nasscom nor Gartner had the disaggregated figures forindividual segments. Roy and Puri are emphatic that no segment withinthe BPO universe is slowing down. "Individual verticals are eitherhot or static," they say.

-Aman Malik

Help, Tarun!

Q: I am a 23-year-old engineering (production) second-yearstudent. Due to family pressure, I joined this field. I am thinkingof quitting engineering and pursuing courses in food processing,export-import management and stock markets. Please advise.

Stock market and food processing are two different fields. So, youneed to decide what you want to do. I would suggest you complete yourengineering and opt for an MBA after that. This will help you in thefood processing business. Or, you could do a CFA if you want to be inthe financial services.

Q: I am a 34-year-old entrepreneurial consultant with 12 years ofwork experience, in India and abroad. I've done Masters in CivilEngineering. I wish to start a consultancy of my own, but don't knowhow to go about it.

You have not mentioned what kind of consultancy you want tostart. At the same time, setting up a consultancy business on one'sown is not easy. You need to have a good network of contacts to helpyou get assignments. You also need to estimate your expenses and workout whether your income will be able to cover all of those. Factor inthe fact that clients will not necessarily pay on time and,therefore, cash flows may not be satisfactory.

Rose, Immelman share the lead as Tiger sputters

Justin Rose overcame a rugged start with four straight birdies that carried him to a 4-under 68 and his name atop the leaderboard, which is becoming a tradition like no other _ at least on Thursday at the Masters.

It was the third straight time he has held at least a share of the 18-hole lead at Augusta National.

Trevor Immelman, who made a weekend getaway to Augusta a few weeks ago with Rose and Ian Poulter, also shot 68. They were one shot ahead of Lee Westwood, Brandt Snedeker and Masters rookie Brian Bateman.

Tiger Woods failed to make a birdie for the first time since the opening round in 2003, although there was no reason to panic. His lone highlight was chipping in for eagle from 25 feet behind the 15th, the ball falling on the final turn that sent Woods into a fist-pumping crouch. It helped him salvage an even-par 72, putting him in a tie for 19th, four shots behind.

"I played a lot better than what my score indicates," said Woods, who has never shot better than 70 in the first round of the Masters. "I kept myself in the tournament. I'm right there."

But he was hardly alone.

Eighteen players broke par on a warm, gentle day that might be as good as it gets this week _ receptive greens, only a trace of wind and several hole locations that allowed for birdies.

There were a few surprises, such as 51-year-old Mark O'Meara, who celebrated the 10-year anniversary of his green jacket with a 71. And among the familiar faces were Phil Mickelson, the '04 and '06 champion, who opened with an amazing birdie and settled for a 71.

There also was a familiar sound _ a few of those Augusta roars _ even if Woods didn't hear them.

"The way the golf course plays now, you don't really shoot low rounds here anymore," Woods said. "You've just got to plod along. It's playing more of a U.S. Open than it is a Masters. There was really one roar I heard all day, and that was Poulter's eagle. But other than that, it was really quiet."

Woods must not have been listening closely to a few familiar sounds on a warm, spring afternoon in golf's prettiest garden:

_ Mickelson was 60 feet over the first green in a walkway, his ball on pine straw. Using a putter, the ball scooted up the slope and rattled the pin before falling, turning bogey or worse into a birdie.

"It was at least a two-shot swing, possibly three," Mickelson said.

_ Defending champion Zach Johnson, hoping to prove last year was no fluke, could only shrug when his 45-foot birdie putt went up over a ridge and into the cup for a birdie on the fifth.

_ Poulter used an 8-iron from 169 yards on the 16th, watching the ball funnel down the slope and into the cup for an ace.

There was a big ovation again for Arnold Palmer, smacking his ceremonial tee shot so far that he never saw it land _ but that was only because of soupy fog that caused a one-hour delay. More cheers followed Gary Player up the 18th fairway as the three-time Masters champion set a record by playing for the 51st time. He shot 83.

"I heard some roars today," Arron Oberholser said after a 71, despite playing with injuries that will keep him out for two months after this tournament is over. "But this is about as easy as it's going to play for the week."

Rose was 2 over through four holes until making a slippery 6-foot birdie on the sixth, the first of his four straight birdies. He added two more on the 12th and 13th, and settled into pars the rest of the way to join some elite company _ Palmer, Player, Jack Nicklaus and Lloyd Mangrum are the only other players to have a first-round lead at least three times at the Masters.

Now if the Englishman can only figure out how to finish.

"I seem to throw the home run early," Rose said. "I've gone out there today with a really relaxed frame of mind, and that's obviously what I've got to recreate the rest of the week."

Immelman is getting close to full strength after a strange year of health problems. The South Africa lost 20 pounds (9 kilograms) because of a stomach parasite after last year's Masters, and late in the year had a benign tumor removed from his diaphragm.

He was in good company two weeks ago.

Rose, Immelman and Poulter flew up to Augusta for two days of practice, playing a few money games (Rose won) and sharing tips with each other. Immelman could only smile when he saw his mates on the leaderboard. Poulter was among those at 70.

"It's a great coincidence," Immelman said. "Hopefully, we keep it going."

Painting stolen by Nazis back in Austrian museum

A painting by Austrian expressionist Egon Schiele has been rehung at a Vienna museum after a 12-year possession battle over the artwork stolen by the Nazis.

The painting was returned over the weekend after the Leopold Museum agreed to pay $19 million ((EURO)15 million) as part of the settlement. U.S. authorities had refused to return the painting after it was exhibited in New York because heirs of the owners laid a claim to it.

The painting was put on display again Monday. Leopold Museum head Peter Weinhaeupl called it a "symbolic day" for the museum.

Suspected missile strike in Pakistan kills 4

Pakistani intelligence officials say a missile strike is suspected in a blast that killed four people in a tribal region near Afghanistan.

Two intelligence officials said the explosion occurred Thursday in the village of Char Khel in North Waziristan. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media.

Azeemullah Wazir, who lives in the area, said the explosion destroyed a house known to host foreigners. He said he heard three blasts and later saw Taliban militants surround the site.

The U.S. has been suspected in previous missile strikes in Pakistani territory. The blast occurred a day after a deadly and unusual American ground assault in South Waziristan.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) _ Parliament passed resolutions Thursday condemning an American-led attack in Pakistani territory after the government summoned the U.S. ambassador to protest the unusually bold raid that officials say killed at least 15 people.

The criticism grew two days before Asif Ali Zardari is expected to be chosen as president in a vote by legislators. A spokesman said Zardari condemned Wednesday's pre-dawn assault in the South Waziristan tribal region _ the first known foreign ground assault in Pakistan against a Taliban haven. But Zardari also said Pakistan stands with the U.S. against international terrorism.

Zardari, widower of former premier Benazir Bhutto, is expected to pursue a pro-U.S. policy similar to that of former President Pervez Musharraf and continue to go after Islamic militants accused of crossing into Afghanistan to attack the U.S.-led international security force there.

An American official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of cross-border operations, confirmed to The Associated Press that U.S. troops conducted the raid about a mile from the Afghan border.

It was unclear whether any extremist leader was killed or captured. Pakistan's border region is considered a likely hiding place for Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida's No. 2 leader, Ayman al-Zawahri.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi condemned the attack, saying "no important terrorist or high-value target" was killed.

"Innocent citizens, including women and children, have been targeted," Qureshi said. The ministry's spokesman said officials had no indication that U.S. forces had captured anyone.

Pakistan army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, citing witness and intelligence reports, said troops flew in on at least one big CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter, blasted their way into several houses and gunned down men they found there.

Army and intelligence officials as well as residents said 15 people died, while the provincial governor said 20 civilians, including women and children, were killed.

Pakistan's Senate and National Assembly passed resolutions Thursday condemning the attack.

In the past, similar protests over suspected U.S. missile attacks in Pakistani territory have led to little tangible effect on America's relationship with Pakistan, which has received billions of dollars from Washington for its aid in the U.S.-led war on terrorism.

Still, the operation in South Waziristan's Angoor Ada area threatened to complicate an already difficult relationship.

U.S. commanders have been pushing Pakistan to root out militants. American officials say destroying militant sanctuaries in Pakistani tribal regions is key to defeating Taliban-led militants in Afghanistan, whose insurgency has strengthened every year since 2001, when the fundamentalist militia was ousted for harboring bin Laden.

Suspected U.S. missile strikes killed at least two al-Qaida commanders this year in northwest Pakistan, angering many among the region's fiercely independent tribes.

In a sign of the complex nature of the situation along the porous border, a U.S. commander told the AP that U.S. troops in Afghanistan will step up offensive operations this winter because insurgents are increasingly staying in the country to prepare for spring attacks.

Maj. Gen. Jeffrey J. Schloesser said 7,000 to 11,000 insurgents operate in the eastern part of Afghanistan that he oversees _ a far higher estimate than given by previous U.S. commanders.

He said the U.S. military realized more militants spent last winter in Afghanistan after speaking with elders and villagers who were pushed out of their homes. The spike in violence in the spring occurred because insurgents were already in position to unleash attacks, though U.S. officials did not know it at the time, he said.

In Washington, some administration officials have pressed President Bush to direct U.S. troops in Afghanistan to be more aggressive in pursuing militants into Pakistan on foot as part of a proposed radical shift in regional counterterrorism strategy, the AP learned.

In a column Thursday in The Washington Post, Zardari described global terrorism as chief among the challenges facing his country. The column mentioned an apparent assassination attempt Wednesday against Pakistan's prime minister but did not refer to the earlier cross-border raid.

"We stand with the United States, Britain, Spain and others who have been attacked," wrote Zardari, whose wife was killed in a gun-and-bomb attack in December. "Fundamentally, however, the war we are fighting is our war. This battle is for Pakistan's soul."

A lawmaker from the chief opposition party of ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif blasted the U.S. for the attack.

"The American war against terrorism has become a war against Pakistan," Zafar Ali Shah said.

In another sign of opposition to Zardari, lawyers in the capital, Islamabad, scuffled with police in a protest over his broken promise to quickly reinstate judges ousted by Musharraf.

The circumstances of Wednesday's raid remained unclear, but U.S. rules of engagement allow American troops to chase militants across the border into Pakistan's tribal region when they are attacked. They may only go about six miles on the ground under normal circumstances. U.S. rules allow aircraft to go 10 miles into Pakistani air space.

However, army spokesman Abbas said "hot pursuit" wasn't an issue, calling the attack "completely unprovoked." He said Pakistani troops were near the village and saw and heard nothing to suggest the U.S. forces were pursuing insurgents.

He said the raid would undermine Pakistan's efforts to isolate Islamic extremists.

"We cannot afford a huge uprising at the level of tribe," Abbas told the AP. "That would be completely counterproductive and doesn't help the cause of fighting terrorism in the area."

Elsewhere in the volatile northwest, a firefight and airstrikes killed 37 Islamic militants Wednesday, officials said.

___

Associated Press writers Munir Ahmad and Stephen Graham contributed to this report.

Wal-Mart 3Q Profit Rises 11.5 Pct

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, said Tuesday that third-quarter earnings rose 11.5 percent, in line with expectations, and slightly lowered guidance for the year.

For the quarter ended Oct. 31, the company posted net income of $2.65 billion, or 63 cents per share, compared with $2.37 billion, or 57 cents per share, a year earlier.

Net sales totaled $83.5 billion, an increase of 12 percent from $74.6 billion the last third quarter.

Excluding income from operations in Germany and South Korea that it has sold, Wal-Mart's profit amounted to 62 cents a share. Wall Street expected a profit from continuing operations of 59 cents per share, the average estimate of 21 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, on projected sales of $84.48 billion.

Wal-Mart said it expects earnings per share from continuing operations for the fourth quarter to be between 88 cents and 92 cents, resulting in a full-year forecast for earnings per share of $2.85 to $2.89.

In August, Wal-Mart had forecast full-year earnings per share between $2.88 and $2.95.

"Although sales in the U.S. were softer than we hoped for in the third quarter, there are real opportunities in the fourth quarter to build on the momentum of the aggressive pricing strategy we have implemented in our stores for the holiday season," Chief Executive Lee Scott said in a statement.

"This season, no one will doubt Wal-Mart's leadership on price and value," Scott said.

Don't Send a Resume and Other Contrarian Rules to Help Land a Great Job

Don't Send a Resume and Other Contrarian Rules to Help Land a Great Job, by Jeffrey J. Fox. 2001. New York, N.Y.: Hyperion. 172 pages, Hard Back, $16.95

Intended Audience: A

Major Headings from Table of Contents:

Why Resumes Don't Sell; Skip the Personnel Department; The Job Seeker's Marketing Mix; Always Dollarize Yourself; How to Research a Target Company; No One Cares About Your Job Objective; The Job Interview as a Sales Call; Show Something on Every Interview; Always Ask for the Order; The Job seeker's Workday; Never Panic.

How is the book most useful for its intended audience?

It shows clear, innovative, executable action plans for targeting companies, accessing decision makers, and landing a great job.

The top five things you learned from reading this book:

1)A resume, although necessary later in the process, is not the tool of choice for job search.

2) Successful job search uses the same techniques used by sales and marketing professionals to sell products.

3) Researching targets is essential to success and must be done before writing resumes and seeking interviews.

4) Value and differentiation sell, but only when tied to the target's need.

5) The hiring manager is the customer, and it's all about the customer.

You don't need a great resume to land a great job! In fact, according to Jeffrey J. Fox, if today's job seeker conducts her job search using the same techniques that sales and marketing professionals use to conduct marketing campaigns, she may land a great job without using any resume at all.

In Don't Send a Resume and Other Contrarian Rules to Help Land a Great Job, Fox asks the reader to ignore conventional wisdom and do what really works-conduct a creative, deeply researched, targeted, proactive, organized, personal marketing campaign. And he tells the reader, in brief, easy-to-grasp chapters, just how to do it. This book is not for the reader who is satisfied with the status quo, with the low-return activities of posting resumes online, answering ads, waiting for recruiters to call, and asking friends if they know who is hiring. Rather, Don't Send a Resume is a clear job search roadmap for the reader who wants more, and who is prepared to do what is needed to get it.

The Don't Send a Resume philosophy and action plan is built on a core group of sales and marketing concepts, the most important of which is that marketing and selling are business disciplines-disciplines that most people have not learned. Yet these are exactly the disciplines that create the best chance of landing a great job.

Fox, a winner of Sales and Marketing Management Magazine's "Outstanding Marketer Award," looks to the strategies used by great marketing companies: invest in innovation, create differentiated products, tailor them to fill specific customer needs, and package and promote the products with clarity.

These same concepts, translated into job-seeker terms look like this: stay ahead of the curve in terms of knowledge and thought leadership, sell bottom-line value and differentiation, tailor all communications to the very specific needs of target companies, and understand the optimal ways to deliver to decision makers a consistent and compelling message of benefit.

Fox begins this job-search-as-marketing tutorial where most job seekers begin - with the resume. He states, "Selling yourself depends on getting noticed, standing apart, being different from everybody else." He continues, "Your resume has two purposes: 1) to get you an interview; and 2) to reaffirm in a tailored way, after your interview how hiring you solves the hirer's problem."

Fox advises job seekers to stop relying on a resume as their prime job search tool and to start using a "job-getting blueprint" based on proven sales and marketing techniques:

1. Target and research organizations

2. Write impact letters (rather than resumes) to get interviews

3. Pre-plan interviews (and every subsequent interview) like sales calls

4. Dollarize potential value to the targets

5. Bring something helpful to the company to the interview

6. Conduct a needs analysis during the interview

7. Write an individual resume for each target

8. Use the resume as interview follow-up sales literature

9. Send a thank-you note within a day

Fox counsels skipping the very place where job seekers think they should connect for a job-the personnel department. Fox asserts, "The job seeker will be hired or rejected by the people for whom and with whom he or she would work" Fox suggests that job seekers avoid the gatekeepers in personnel and target the "person who will recognize and need the value you will bring to the organization."

A cornerstone of the Don't Send a Resume approach is the translation of a corporate "marketing mix" into actionable personal marketing strategies-including these terms and translations:

Advertising = Asking for word-of-mouth recommendations.

Database Marketing = Building a "people file" of articles, clippings, e-mails, phone calls, etc.

Direct Marketing = Sending a value-tailored letter to the person with the power to hire.

Lead Generation = Identifying companies; getting introductions or referrals.

Market Research = Learning everything possible about the target company, industry, and people.

Media Plan = Using the Internet for contact and response. Using a personalized website for visibility.

Pricing = Showing economic value and dollarizing impact.

Publicity = Writing and speaking in areas of expertise. Building relationships with reporters.

Segmentation = Defining and analyzing categories (e.g., location, size, industry, public, private).

Selling = Productizing and promoting one's candidacy. Studying books on selling.

Trade Shows = Visiting target companies at job fairs and tradeshows.

In chapter after chapter of powerful advice, Fox shows the job seeker how to think and work like a marketer - how to productize and dollarize value, research companies, locate and pitch to decision makers, compose interview-attracting impact letters, write resumes for individual targets, use resumes to solidify post-interview impressions, avoid the common pitfalls of interviewing, write great thank-you letters, dress and act for success, stay calm, close the sale, and substitute the word "I" with the word "you" in job search communications, because, as in sales, it's all about the customer.

The chapters on researching companies are some of the best in the book and are replete with traditional and innovative ways to uncover information about targeted companies and their products, direction, culture, and challenges. Fox suggests contacting suppliers, talking with sales people, analyzing company and competitor sales literature, and many other techniques. The job seeker's goal is to know more than most of the employees, to start thinking like an employee, and to start asking herself, "How can I improve this company? How can I grow sales, increase profits, cut costs, speed up innovation?" Her answers will help define her interview-generating impact letter and sales call (interview).

Don't Send a Resume can be used by job seekers (and their coaches) to develop actionable strategies that, when executed well, will give them the best chance for success. Job seekers who have the vision, creativity, and perseverance to use Fox' innovative methodologies will be fully prepared to outpace others in a highly competitive employment marketplace.

Reviewed by Deborah Wile Dib

With economy, no campaign, TV news challenged

The inauguration of Barack Obama is a reminder of how the story that dominated airwaves during 2008 is over, leaving television news organizations to contemplate life without it in the midst of a brutal economy.

The campaign gave TV news heaps of stories and advertising revenue. If Tuesday's inauguration is a closing act, broadcast and cable networks are taking advantage with hours and hours of coverage.

CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC now face the inevitable audience erosion that comes when any big story goes away. Obama has tough problems and there won't be a shortage of news as he attacks them, but campaigning is a better TV story than governing.

"There will be a continued pressure on the news networks to sustain audience interest," said Aaron Cohen, chief media negotiator for the advertising firm Horizon Media. "The things going on at CNN (a weekly show by comic D.L. Hughley, comedian Kathy Griffin's New Year's Eve gig) are an indication that people are looking to do different things in order to broaden their audience."

Executives hope that their networks became habit-forming during the campaign, and there are some early positive signs that they did.

As might be expected, the prime-time audience at each network slipped between November and December (43 percent for CNN, 42 percent for MSNBC and 28 percent for Fox, according to Nielsen Media Research).

The picture changes with a wider view. MSNBC's prime-time average of 1 million viewers in December was nearly double what it was in December 2007, Nielsen said. Fox's December audience was up 35 percent from a year earlier, and CNN was up 33 percent.

Fox remains dominant, its loyal audience in December double that of CNN or MSNBC. Stable for a long time, Fox has made some changes _ bringing in Glenn Beck from CNN Headline News for an evening show, replacing Brit Hume with Brett Baier and having Sean Hannity now go it alone.

With Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow, MSNBC established a clear identity as a prime-time home for liberals. Even facing a potential advertising downturn, CNN has projected optimism by continuing to spend on overseas bureaus and technology such as the Election Night hologram.

CNN's ability to get a bigger audience than CBS and NBC on Election Night may well be remembered as a real turning point in television news history: The days of ABC, CBS and NBC as the default places to follow big news stories are over.

Each of the broadcast networks have been actively trimming costs with the economic downturn. NBC News' parent company, NBC Universal, cut jobs by 5 percent over the past year, and the news division generally followed that blueprint. ABC News has entered an overseas relationship with the BBC where, for example, the British broadcaster provides day-to-day coverage in Iraq so ABC doesn't have to keep a full-time correspondent there. The network is also expected to scale back its political team.

One good thing for the broadcasters is that their flagship news programs were remarkably resistant to big swings in viewership. The evening newscasts didn't gain much from the campaign and haven't lost anything with its end; viewership was up in December compared to December 2007, according to Nielsen.

The networks all see overseas coverage as a way to cut costs, stocking ranks with people who can quickly produce, shoot and write while eliminating the need for bureaus with large staffs. It enabled CBS, for example, to cut jobs in Moscow, Tokyo and Tel Aviv, Israel.

That strategy, coupled with the rise of video services, has network executives convinced they can provide the same coverage by spending less. Porter Bibb, managing partner at Mediatech Capital Partners, a financier of media businesses, wonders if something is lost by having fewer people on the ground all over the world.

"The news departments are shadows of what they were 10 years ago at all the major networks," Bibb said. "But it's the same thing at the programming departments."

Years of cutbacks have the TV news departments in better shape than other struggling media sectors, like newspapers and local TV news operations. The latter has been severely hit by a loss in advertising. The fact that network news divisions are relatively small parts of much bigger companies may help them weather storms, said Michael Nathanson, an analyst with Bernstein Research.

"I think we've taken all the steps that we need to take," said Sean McManus, CBS News president. "I have absolutely zero doubt in my mind that we have enough resources that we need, both nationally and internationally, to cover the news as well as we ever have."

___

On the Net:

http://www.abcnews.com

http://www.cbsnews.com

http://www.msnbc.com

http://www.cnn.com

http://www.foxnews.com

___

EDITOR'S NOTE _ David Bauder can be reached at dbauder(at)ap.org

Italy's Banco Popolare seeks government aid

Italy's Banco Popolare on Tuesday became the first Italian bank to seek state aid to strengthen its capital base, by announcing it will issue bonds to the government.

The Verona-based bank said in a statement that it intends to sell euro1.45 billion ($1.85 billion) of convertible bonds to the government "to ensure adequate capital to the group, allowing it to reinforce support to families and small and medium-size businesses."

Banco Popolare notified the Bank of Italy and the Finance Ministry that it planned to take advantage of the so-called Tremonti bonds, named for Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti, offered last month.

The bank plans to use the money also to help save Banca Italease, a leasing company of which it controls 30 percent.

So far, none of Italy's bigger banks have sought any government aid.

Hand-Stealing Doctor Is Fined

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - A young doctor who admitted to severing a hand from a cadaver as a medical student, then giving it to a stripper, was fined Thursday and told to stay out of trouble for 15 months.

Ahmed Rashed, 27, pleaded guilty last month to a reduced charge of third-degree theft. If he violates the terms of what the judge called "non-supervised probation," he could be brought back to court and sentenced to as many as five years in prison. He also was fined $5,000.

Rashed's attorney, Kalman Geist, had asked for 16 months' probation, a period that would coincide with the completion of his medical residency. Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Judson Hamlin had asked for five years' probation.

Rashed would have been prohibited from seeking a license to practice medicine in New Jersey if he had been put on traditional probation.

In court, Rashed apologized, saying that he meant no harm and that he has outgrown the immaturity he displayed.

"It does not excuse the action," he said.

Geist said he wants to put the incident behind him: "He made a silly mistake."

Rashed gave the hand to exotic dancer Linda Kay, 31, during a visit to the club where she worked. He got to know her while he was a first-year medical student in 2002. She wanted a cadaver's hand, authorities said, and he complied.

Geist said his client removed the hand from a cadaver at the University of Medicine and Dentistry in Newark that was scheduled for cremation, and was unaware that what he did was illegal. He graduated in 2005.

Authorities said the hand was found in a jar on Kay's dresser in her home last summer. Friends have said she called it "Freddy."

Kay was charged with unlawful disposal of human remains. She enrolled in a counseling program, and if she complies with its terms for one year, her criminal record will be erased.

Rashed had been in a residency program at Martin Luther King Hospital in Los Angeles, but will continue his residency at Maimonides Medical Center in New York.

(A previous version of this story incorrectly said that Rashed would be prohibited from seeking a license in New Jersey during his punishment. He is still eligible.)

Pakistan lose key wickets against Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka took three Pakistan top-order wickets in the opening session of Wednesday's third day, boosting its chances of winning the third and final test to complete a series clean sweep.

Resuming the third day on 16-1 in its second innings and with a first-innings lead of 66, Pakistan was reduced to 86-4 at lunch.

The tourists, which lost the opening two games of the series due to spectacular batting collapses, lost their first wicket for the day with just six runs added to the overnight score, as opener Fawad Alam (16) scooped a return catch to bowler Thilan Thushara.

Pakistan captain Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf shared a 32-run partnership before Khan (19) was out lbw to a dubious decision by English umpire Ian Gould.

Television replays showed that an inswinger from Nuwan Kulasekera took the inside edge of the bat before hitting high on the pad.

Yousuf (23) was the third man out for the session, pushing forward to an away-turning delivery by left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and edging the ball to reserve wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara.

Regular wicketkeeper Tillakaratne Dilshan did not take the field for Pakistan's second innings because of a fractured finger and a cut on the eyebrow after being hit by a ball while batting on Tuesday.

At lunch, Misbah-ul-Haq (16) and Shoaib Malik (6) were the unbeaten batsmen, and facing the task of building on the existing 152 run lead and setting Sri Lanka a challenging target.

Herath (2-28) was the best of Sri Lanka's bowlers in the second innings.

Batting first after losing the toss, Pakistan made 299 in the first innings before dismissing Sri Lanka for 233.

Sri Lanka lost its last five wickets for 69 runs in the post-tea session Tuesday despite Mahela Jayawardene's 79.

July 4th boaters: Steer clear of NJ dolphin family

Authorities protecting a dolphin family in a New Jersey river are stepping up enforcement over the July Fourth holiday.

State police and federal officials monitoring the dolphins said there were no immediate reports of incidents between the dolphins and boaters on the Shrewsbury River in nearby Red Bank Thursday night during a fireworks display.

Authorities were worried because of the increased boat traffic on the river. They have said they will fine people who enter an exclusion zone around the dolphins as much as $10,000.

Authorities decided to keep people away from the 15 bottlenose dolphins after scrapping plans to try coaxing them back out to sea.

The dolphins have been in the river since mid-June.

Tipsville . . .

Sneed hears rumbles interim Cook County Board President BobbieSteele, who appointed state Sen. Rickey Hendon as co-chairman of herpresidential transition committee, may have a special county job forHendon before she leaves office.

- The upshot: Word is the job is much sweeter than Hendon'scurrent gig with the County Board of Review.

- The downshot: Sneed hears there might be a little problemstanding in the way of Hendon's promotion. Stay tuned.

OSAMARAMA . . .

International terrorist Osama bin Laden reportedly was onceobsessed with singer/actress Whitney Houston. Yes, Whitney Houston.

- To wit: Sudanese writer Kola Boof, 37, who claims to be a formersex slave of bin Laden's, said all that and more in an excerpt of herautobiography, Diary of a Lost Girl, published in the September issueof Harper's. Boof claims Osama called Whitney "the most beautifulwoman he had ever seen" and wanted to give her a mansion he owned inKhartoum in exchange for becoming one of his wives.

- To boot: Boof also claims the al-Qaida leader could be a "devoutparty boy" who smoked marijuana and listened to Van Halen as well asthe B-52's song "Rock Lobster."

- The kicker: It should come as no surprise Boof used to write forthe soap opera "Days of Our Lives."

THE JONBENET CASE . . .

Whew! Thank goodness my appetite was not spoiled . . . afterlearning JonBenet Ramsey murder suspect John Mark Karr was servedbologna in a Los Angeles jail after his champagne flight fromThailand.

- The big question: Is Karr's story full of bologna? Or is theremeat to his confession? In e-mails he sent to assorted people, Karrhas reportedly given a detailed account of how he allegedly enteredthe Ramsey home in 1996 and kidnapped the 6-year-old beauty queen. Orperhaps Karr got those details from the real killer?

- The big query: If Karr is a pedophile who likes little girls,why would he want a sex-change operation? Does he want to be alesbian who likes little girls? What's this all about?

MANDELA MEMO . . .

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's efforts to combat the scourge of AIDS onhis current trip to Africa reminds Sneed of former Gov. George Ryan's2000 trip to the continent, which included a private chat with NelsonMandela.

- Flashback: The press was not permitted to enter the Mandelacompound during Ryan's visit, but Sneed obtained an exclusiveinterview with Ryan, who emerged from the meeting in tears. Ryan toldSneed how moved he was to be in the presence of Mandela, and thatthey discussed the burgeoning AIDS epidemic.

Ryan claims Mandela told him the biggest roadblock to fighting thedisease in Africa was his countrymen's unwillingness to discussanything sexual. It was simply taboo. (Many Africans reportedly stillpoint to wooden dolls to describe to doctors where they hurt.) And wewere told a batch of condoms that were passed out to the populace hadbeen rendered useless by a staple attached to a flier explainingtheir use.

- Fast forward: Like Obama, Ryan and the accompanying pressvisited Robben Island, where Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years.Obama must have more cachet, though: Ryan wasn't permitted insideMandela's cell. There were no photo-ops of Ryan gazing throughMandela's jail cell window . . . a la the Obama pics on the frontpage of Monday's Sun-Times.

SNEEDLINGS . . .

Today's birthdays: Shelley Long, 57; Jay Mohr, 36; Barbara Eden,72, and Rick Springfield, 57.

e-mail: sneed@suntimes.com

Blake, Byrd help Indians beat Tigers 4-2

Paul Byrd pitched seven sharp innings and Casey Blake had a two-run double in Cleveland's three-run fourth, leading the Indians to a 4-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Friday night.

Byrd (3-5) allowed two runs and four hits to earn his 100th career win. He also improved to 9-2 against Detroit.

Ryan Garko hit a solo drive in the eighth for Cleveland, which has split the first eight games of its 11-game road trip. The Indians also picked up their 1,000th win against Detroit.

The Tigers have lost four straight to fall a season-worst 12 games under .500.

Justin Verlander (2-9) fell to 1-6 in his last eight starts, giving up three runs and five hits over seven innings. He struck out a season-high eight and issued four walks.

Verlander ran into trouble in the fourth. Garko walked with one out and Jhonny Peralta singled for Cleveland's first hit. David Dellucci then walked to load the bases for Blake, who put the Indians ahead 2-0 with a double down the left-field line. Franklin Gutierrez added an RBI single.

Brandon Inge went deep in the sixth against Byrd and Jeff Larish hit his first career homer in the seventh to cut it to 3-2.

Masa Kobayashi pitched the eighth and Joe Borowski allowed one hit in the ninth for his fifth save in seven tries.

Notes:@ The Indians are 1,000-1,022 against Detroit since the teams helped found the American League in 1901.

List of nominees for the Golden Globe Awards

Nominees for the 67th annual Golden Globe Awards, announced Tuesday in Beverly Hills, California:

MOTION PICTURES

_Picture, Drama: "Avatar," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglorious Basterds," "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," "Up in the Air."

_Picture, Musical or Comedy: "(500) Days of Summer," "The Hangover," "It's Complicated," "Julie & Julia," "Nine."

_Actor, Drama: Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"; George Clooney, "Up in the Air"; Colin Firth, "A Single Man"; Morgan Freeman, "Invictus"; Tobey Maguire, "Brothers."

_Actress, Drama: Emily Blunt, "The Young Victoria"; Sandra Bullock, "The Blind Side"; Helen Mirren, "The Last Station"; Carey Mulligan, "An Education"; Gabourey Sidibe, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire."

_Director: Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"; James Cameron, "Avatar"; Clint Eastwood, "Invictus"; Jason Reitman, "Up in the Air"; Quentin Tarantino, "Inglorious Basterds."

_Actor, Musical or Comedy: Matt Damon, "The Informant!"; Daniel Day-Lewis, "Nine"; Robert Downey Jr., "Sherlock Holmes"; Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "(500) Days of Summer"; Michael Stuhlbarg, "A Serious Man."

_Actress, Musical or Comedy: Sandra Bullock, "The Proposal"; Marion Cotillard, "Nine"; Julia Roberts, "Duplicity"; Meryl Streep, "It's Complicated"; Meryl Streep, "Julie & Julia."

_Supporting Actor: Matt Damon, "Invictus"; Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"; Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"; Stanley Tucci, "The Lovely Bones"; Christoph Waltz, "Inglorious Basterds."

_Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, "Nine"; Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"; Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"; Mo'Nique, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"; Julianne Moore, "A Single Man."

_Foreign Language: "Baaria," "Broken Embraces," "The Maid (La Nana)," "A Prophet," "The White Ribbon."

_Animated Film: "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs," "Coraline," "Fantastic Mr. Fox," "The Princess and the Frog," "Up."

_Screenplay: Neill Blomkamp, "District 9"; Mark Boal, "The Hurt Locker"; Nancy Meyers, "It's Complicated"; Jason Reitman, "Up in the Air"; Quentin Tarantino, "Inglorious Basterds."

_Original Score: Michael Giacchino, "Up"; Marvin Hamlisch, "The Informant!"; James Horner, "Avatar"; Abel Korzeniowski, "A Single Man"; Karen O, Carter Burwell, "Where the Wild Things Are."

_Original Song: "Cinema Italiano" (written by Maury Yeston), "Nine"; "I Want to Come Home" (written by Paul McCartney); "Everybody's Fine"; "I Will See You" (written by James Horner, Simon Franglen, Kuk Harrell); "Avatar"; "The Weary Kind (Theme from 'Crazy Heart')" (written by Ryan Bingham, T Bone Burnett), "Crazy Heart"; "Winter" (written by U2), "Brothers."

TELEVISION:

_Series, Drama: "Big Love," HBO; "Dexter," Showtime; "House," Fox; "Mad Men," AMC; "True Blood, HBO.

_Actor, Drama: Simon Baker, "The Mentalist"; Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"; Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"; Hugh Laurie, "House"; Bill Paxton, "Big Love."

_Actress, Drama: Glenn Close, "Damages"; January Jones, "Mad Men"; Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"; Anna Paquin, "True Blood"; Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer."

_Series, Musical or Comedy: "30 Rock," NBC; "Entourage," HBO; "Glee," Fox; "Modern Family," ABC; "The Office," NBC.

_Actor, Musical or Comedy: Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"; Steve Carell, "The Office"; David Duchovny, "Californication"; Thomas Jane, "Hung"; Matthew Morrison, "Glee."

_Actress, Musical or Comedy: Toni Collette, "United States of Tara"; Courteney Cox, "Cougar Town"; Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"; Tina Fey, "30 Rock"; Lea Michele, "Glee."

_Miniseries or Movie: "Georgia O'Keeffe," Lifetime Television; "Grey Gardens," HBO; "Into the Storm," HBO; "Little Dorrit," PBS; "Taking Chance," HBO.

_Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Joan Allen, "Georgia O'Keeffe"; Drew Barrymore, "Grey Gardens"; Jessica Lange, "Grey Gardens"; Anna Paquin, "The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler"; Sigourney Weaver, "Prayers for Bobby."

_Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Kevin Bacon, "Taking Chance"; Kenneth Branagh, "Wallander: One Step Behind"; Chiwetel Ejiofor, "Endgame"; Brendan Gleeson, "Into the Storm"; Jeremy Irons, "Georgia O'Keeffe."

_Supporting Actress, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Jane Adams, "Hung"; Rose Byrne, "Damages"; Jane Lynch, "Glee"; Janet McTeer, "Into the Storm"; Chloe Sevigny, "Big Love."

_Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or Movie: Michael Emerson, "Lost"; Neil Patrick Harris, "How I Met Your Mother"; William Hurt, "Damages"; John Lithgow, "Dexter"; Jeremy Piven, "Entourage."

PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED

Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award: Martin Scorsese.

All plants on deck // You'll save back and knees with this type of garden

If your green thumb began to itch at the sight of the first greenshoots pushing through the ground, remember, you don't have to getdown and dirty to nurture a fantastic garden. A traditional displayof annuals might be a treat to the eyes, but it can be murder on theback and knees.

An alternative, no matter what the size of your outdoor space,is to build a deck complete with built-in or free-standing planters,arbors, trellises, pergolas and a work center. Or customize yourexisting deck with some of these features.

Dennis Conway, owner of Archadeck of Cook-DuPage, said a deckalso can be the focal point of a garden for people who have littleor no yard space."The design possibilities of turning your deck into a fragrantsanctuary overflowing with colorful flowers are limited only by yourbudget and the contour and size of your lot," he said.Conway points to rail planters that are becoming increasinglypopular for herb, flower and even vegetable plants."They're 6 inches deep and 6 inches wide but can be as long asthe railing itself. And, best of all, you can plant, weed and waterstanding up," he said."I built a 6-foot rail planter for one homeowner who found itsimplified his gardening chores so much he had me come back and addanother 30 feet."Decorative pergolas also are being used by many homeowners todefine the perimeters of their deck gardens. A pergola is an arborformed of horizontal trelliswork and supported on four columns orposts over which vines or other plants are trellised."If you center a 10-foot-by-10-foot pergola on a12-foot-by-15-foot deck you've defined or enclosed this outdoor spaceinto a shady bower," Conway said.Some gardeners leave an opening around each of the four postsfor planting flowers or vegetables that they trellis up thesecolumns. Another decorative option is to use latticework around thebottom of the deck as a backdrop for flowers planted in the groundaround the perimeter of the deck. When neighboring homes are veryclose, a vine-covered trellis can double as a privacy fence byobscuring the neighbor's view without entirely closing out the world.Last year, Conway built a deck that runs the length Sandra andMarvin Jurgensen's Chicago Ridge house.Sandra is a serious gardener who is using all of her yard for aperennial garden that is still "a work in progress."But she is devoting just as much energy to the flowers sheplants in abundance on the deck in planters her husband made."We entertain a lot, and so this year Dennis is coming back toadd a screened porch on the deck that is accessible to the house withsliding glass doors," Sandra said. "This will increase the timewe're able to spend outdoors without being affected by rain, middaysun and, most of all, mosquitoes."Today the majority of decks sold are made of pressure-treatedSouthern yellow pine followed by more costly cedar and redwood.Wolmanized wood is the most structurally sound and will last alifetime.However, homeowners now have the option of choosing severalmaintenance-free products made of recycled materials.About 10 years ago Mobil Oil developed Trex, which is made ofrecycled plastic and wood fiber products. It cuts like wood and hasthe advantage of having no knotholes or splinters.A newer product is Smart Deck, a tongue-in-groove product madeof recycled oak and plastic that is manufactured in Chicago byEaglebrook Plastic, 2600 W. Roosevelt Rd."It looks like wood with surface graining and will look the samein 10 years while wood will eventually rot if it isn't properlymaintained," Conway said.A third synthetic product is a vinyl-like wood manufactured byBufftech, a New York company that recently built a distributioncenter in Romeoville.Finally, whether you're building your own deck or having itdone, don't neglect to take out a building permit from your localmunicipality. "A permit is intended to protect the homeowner, notharass him," Conway said. He recommends that owners insist onpermits when contractors try to bypass this important part of thebuilding process."An inspector might spot flaws that you or your contractormissed, such as improperly attaching the deck to the house," Conwaysaid."And by bringing them to your attention while the work is stillin progress, he can save you the time and money you'd be forced tospend later to repair the structural damage that would result."Archadeck, 9100 Plainfield Road, Brookfield. (708) 485-3325.Jean Guarino is a Chicago area free-lance writer.

Stocks Edge Lower, Show More Stability

NEW YORK - Stocks fell slightly but showed more signs of stability Wednesday as investors sifted through new economic data and found little reason to resume last week's heavy selling pace.

The stock indexes wavered in a narrow range, reacting little to comments from Chicago Fed President Michael Moskow that inflation remains stubborn and that interest rate increases might be needed to contain costs. The stock market was similarly unimpressed by data showing a weaker jobs picture and sluggishness in some areas of the country.

Investors in the past week have harbored concerns about a global economic slowdown and have been looking at data to try to determine whether the U.S. …

Price's Tiger dream turns into nightmare at hands of Freddie.(News)

Phil price's hopes of meeting world No 1 Tiger Woods in the Accenture world matchplay were dashed when he fell at the first hurdle to Sweden's Fredrik Jacobson.

Price, who was drawn to meet Woods in the third round tomorrow had both players progressed, was soundly beaten 6&4 by Jacobson at La Costa in California.

The Welsh Ryder Cup star could manage just one birdie - and that was only good enough for a half at the par-five eighth - before Jacobson, the world's rising No 18, won the next two holes to take a stranglehold on the match.

Jacobson will play Denmark's Thomas Bjorn - a 4&3 victor over Scott Hoch - today with Woods the likely prize, though he was last night making hard work of American journeyman John Rollins in the opening round, turning all square.

Ireland's Padraig Harrington finally improved on his terrible record in the pounds 3.7m event. Harrington was not in optimistic mood ahead of his clash with Japan's Toshi Izawa at La Costa, having won just one match in four appearances in the event.

The Dubliner had also just returned from a nine-week break in last week's Malaysian Open and was not too pleased to discover he was in the first match out at 7.25am local time following his late arrival from Kuala Lumpur.

But after a shaky start the 33-year-old took advantage of some poor golf from his opponent to claim a 2&1 victory and a place in the second round.

Harrington's compatriot and a former world matchplay winner Darren Clarke was involved in a titanic struggle with veteran Argentinian Eduardo Romero.

Clarke won this event four years ago by beating David Duval in the semi-finals and Woods in the 36-hole final, but came into the week on the back of three consecutive missed cuts, including a first round 82 in Los Angeles last week.

But he eventually booked his place in the second round on the 25th hole when Romero was unable to match his par four.

It was the second-longest match in the event's history, only Mike Weir's win on the 26th hole against Loren Roberts last year going further.

England's Paul Casey was not so lucky, missing from three feet on the third extra hole to lose out to US PGA champion Shaun Micheel, while Lee Westwood went down 2&1 to Phil Mickelson.

There were mixed results for close friends Ian Poulter and Justin Rose, Poulter making a winning debut with a one hole victory over Chris Riley but Rose crashing out 5&4 at the hands of Australian Stuart Appleby.

Price's Tiger dream turns into nightmare at hands of Freddie.(News)

Phil price's hopes of meeting world No 1 Tiger Woods in the Accenture world matchplay were dashed when he fell at the first hurdle to Sweden's Fredrik Jacobson.

Price, who was drawn to meet Woods in the third round tomorrow had both players progressed, was soundly beaten 6&4 by Jacobson at La Costa in California.

The Welsh Ryder Cup star could manage just one birdie - and that was only good enough for a half at the par-five eighth - before Jacobson, the world's rising No 18, won the next two holes to take a stranglehold on the match.

Jacobson will play Denmark's Thomas Bjorn - a 4&3 victor over Scott Hoch - today with Woods the likely prize, though he was last night making hard work of American journeyman John Rollins in the opening round, turning all square.

Ireland's Padraig Harrington finally improved on his terrible record in the pounds 3.7m event. Harrington was not in optimistic mood ahead of his clash with Japan's Toshi Izawa at La Costa, having won just one match in four appearances in the event.

The Dubliner had also just returned from a nine-week break in last week's Malaysian Open and was not too pleased to discover he was in the first match out at 7.25am local time following his late arrival from Kuala Lumpur.

But after a shaky start the 33-year-old took advantage of some poor golf from his opponent to claim a 2&1 victory and a place in the second round.

Harrington's compatriot and a former world matchplay winner Darren Clarke was involved in a titanic struggle with veteran Argentinian Eduardo Romero.

Clarke won this event four years ago by beating David Duval in the semi-finals and Woods in the 36-hole final, but came into the week on the back of three consecutive missed cuts, including a first round 82 in Los Angeles last week.

But he eventually booked his place in the second round on the 25th hole when Romero was unable to match his par four.

It was the second-longest match in the event's history, only Mike Weir's win on the 26th hole against Loren Roberts last year going further.

England's Paul Casey was not so lucky, missing from three feet on the third extra hole to lose out to US PGA champion Shaun Micheel, while Lee Westwood went down 2&1 to Phil Mickelson.

There were mixed results for close friends Ian Poulter and Justin Rose, Poulter making a winning debut with a one hole victory over Chris Riley but Rose crashing out 5&4 at the hands of Australian Stuart Appleby.

Stronghold: crusader. (PC Preview).

In the original Stronghold, you were placed in charge of building a castle and defending it against your land-hungry enemies. This time, in Stronghold: Crusader, you'll have a higher purpose: you must either conquer the Holy Land for England, or defend your Arabian home from the Infidel.

Based on the Crusades led by England in the Middle Ages, Crusader will feature a host of new units and strategies that should give old-time Stronghold players some fresh tactics to discover.

You'll be able to play as the Arabians, complete with units like …

Crews work to secure building; Residents wait to get back into apartments after fatal crane collapse.(Main)

Byline: KAREN MATTHEWS - Associated Press

NEW YORK - Emergency crews worked Sunday to stabilize an Upper East Side building damaged in the latest deadly crane collapse, as residents displaced by the incident waited to see when they could get inside.

Gina and Larry Bliss and their daughters Lainie, 22 months, and Sadie, 5 months, who live in the damaged building, had been told they could go in Sunday morning to check on their belongings. But when they got to the police barricade surrounding the accident scene, where two men were killed and another injured on Friday, they were told to come back later.

The family moved in a week before the crane hit the …

SHENENDEHOWA BUS DRIVER SUSPENDED AFTER DRUG ARREST.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: CHRISTOPHER RINGWALD Staff writer

CLIFTON PARK The Shenendehowa Central School District on Wednesday suspended a bus driver who was arrested and charged the day before with selling marijuana and endangering the welfare of a child.

State Police said the arrest of Jacalyn Frances Gibbs, 39, of 9 Birchwood

Drive followed a lengthy investigation into marijuana trafficking in the Clifton Park area.

She was arrested Tuesday after police, armed with a warrant, searched her house and seized two ounces of marijuana, $300 and drug paraphernalia. Gibbs was charged with third-degree criminal sale of marijuana, a felony, and two …

Judge orders guardian for octuplets' finances

A California judge appointed a lawyer Monday to oversee the estate of Nadya Suleman's octuplets, saying he wanted to ensure they weren't exploited by reality television shows, tabloid photo spreads or other paid ventures.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Gerald Johnston dismissed arguments for family privacy and ruled Monday that an independent party should be appointed to scrutinize the finances of Suleman's octuplets.

The petition was filed on behalf of Paul Peterson, a former Disney Mouseketeer who is an advocate for the fair treatment of children in entertainment.

During a brief hearing, Arthur J. LaCilento, a lawyer for Suleman, called for the petition to be …

OFF THE RECORD

"Son, they are all my helicopters."

-President Lyndon Johnson after a Marine officer gave him directions, saying "That's your helicopter over there, sir. "

"Bush was seen in Belgium going to a chocolate shop sampling chocolates. Let's see, what do we know about Bush? He's very lucky. He's in the right place at the right time. He speaks slowly. Now he thinks life is like a box of chocolates."

-Jay Leno

"[President Bush] was disappointed because he spent two days in Spain, and he didn't get to see the Eiffel Tower."

-Conan O'Brien

"Bozo the clown, on the air for 40 years in Chicago, retired.. .[But] this isn't die original Bozo. This is his …

US Representative Kennedy being sued over LAX airport incident.

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

US Representative Patrick Kennedy is being sued by an airport security guard who claims that she was injured by Kennedy during a dispute at Los Angeles International Airport in March 2000.

The lawsuit filed by the security guard alleges assault and battery and seeks unspecified damages. A spokesperson for Kennedy stated that the Democrat had apologised to the security guard involved and that he intended to refer the case to his insurance company. …

Bremm, Anna.(Obituaries)

LATHAM Anna Bremm, 77, passed away peacefully on January 7, 2009 at Our Lady of Hope Residence in Latham with her beloved sisters at her side. Daughter of the late Catherine and Joseph Bremm, Anna was a lifelong resident of Albany and was educated in the Albany Public School Systems. She was the sister of the late Paul and Kenneth Bremm and is survived by brothers, Charles and Thomas of Lacona, N.Y. and Joseph and Donald of Calif.; and her Aunt Lucille in Va. She was also predeceased by her step-mother, Rose Bremm. In her earlier years, Anna …

HEADACHES MAY BE CAUSED BY ARTERY INFLAMMATION.(LIFE-HEALTH)

Byline: PAUL G. DONOHUE, M.D.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I had a headache for more than a month. I used every headache medicine I could get my hands on, but none worked well for me. I have finally seen my doctor. He thinks I have temporal arteritis and has put me on prednisone. The headache went away in a matter of days. I am to have a biopsy of an artery. Please explain all this. Will taking the prednisone affect the biopsy results? -- B.W. DEAR B.W.: Temporal arteritis, also known as giant cell arteritis, is an inflammation of arteries. One that is often involved is the temporal artery, the artery at the side of the head in the temple area. This disorder strikes older …