Petras' powerful new book is titled 'The Power of Israel in the United States' VHeadline.com commentarist Stephen Lendman writes: James Petras is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Binghamton University, New York. He's a noted academic figure on the US Left and a well-respected Latin American expert and longtime chronicler of the region's popular struggles. He's also an advisor to the landless workers in Brazil and the unemployed workers movement in Argentina.Along the way, he managed to find time to write many hundreds of articles and 62 books published in 29 languages including his latest one in which he discusses another vital world region he has extensive knowledge of and has written frequently about -- the Middle East and specifically the state of Israel and its relations with its neighbors, the Palestinians and, most importantly and the subject of this book, the US. Petras' powerful new book is titled 'The Power of Israel in the United States.'It's a work of epic writing and essential re

“Hot” Rod Fuller Races to Semifinal Finish at the StripLAS VEGAS -- “Hot” Rod Fuller used his driving prowess to race his Valvoline Top Fuel dragster to a semifinal finish Sunday afternoon at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway at the sixth annual ACDelco Las Vegas Nationals. It was his fourth semifinal finish of the season.After qualifying his David Powers-owned Valvoline Top Fuel dragster in the No. 10 position with a 4.571-second elapsed time, the local fan favorite was pitted against No. 7 qualifier Melanie Troxel in the opening round of eliminations. The Las Vegas racer then edged 2003 NHRA Rookie of the Year Brandon Bernstein in a close race before falling to 2006 Rookie of the Year front-runner J.R. Todd in the semifinals.Fuller used his trademark quick reactions to get the early lead while racing to the wire-to-wire victory over the popular second generation racer and 2006 Sportswoman of the Year. Fuller’s Lee Beard-tuned rail powered to a performance of 4.569 sec

Popularity of outdoor entertaining blazingWith the mercury in the thermometer starting its annual retreat, fall evenings are soon to be downright nippy.For those nights and the slew of colder ones to follow, local stores say the fire pit is this season's must-have deck/patio accessory.ADVERTISEMENT "I think (fire pits) are growing in popularity all over the country and all over the world," said Tim Sooks, an interior designer for Home Depot. "Some countries have been using them for a while, especially at ski slopes. People want to be able to make their homes a retreat, and people just like being around a fire." Tina Fox, a saleswoman and assistant buyer for the Rutherford County Farmer's Co-op, agreed and said, "fire pits are a neat thing for entertaining in the cooler months."This year, for the first time, the Co-op plans to carry an extensive selection of fire pits, and Fox predicts copper and stainless steel will be the must-have materials of the season.&q

History of a 'miraculous mineral'Asbestos was used in scores of home materials during the 20th century, but there was a cost.By Arrol Gellner, Inman NewsOctober 1, 2006 Over a century ago, American builders began using a remarkable mineral product. Being mined from a type of serpentine rock, it was natural, abundant and easy to produce, yet its unique properties made it almost limitlessly useful.It was resistant to chemicals and intense heat. It was an excellent electrical and thermal insulator. Out of its fibers, you could weave a cloth that wouldn't burn. You could even mix it with other materials to make them stronger and more fireproof.ADVERTISEMENTOver the course of the 20th century, American industry — with the government's blessing — found thousands of uses for this miraculous mineral.Woven into a cloth, it was used to insulate electrical wires. Mixed with a binder, it made a fireproof insulation for pipes and ducts. Mixed with cement, it made a host of practically indestructible

Furniture Row Shopping Sprees from Berkeley Homes Berkeley's Acadia kitchen at The Hearth in Highlands Ranch.Provided by: Berkeley HomesContributed by: Alicia Olson on 9/20/2006 Berkeley Homes, a single-family home builder in Colorado, and Furniture Row Shopping Center, a home furnishings and bedding retailer, are partnering on a shopping spree promotion. Homebuyers who contract on a Berkeley home by December 31 will receive a $5,000 shopping spree to Furniture Row at closing. New registrants who fill out entry forms at any Berkeley Homes sales office will be entered to win one of eight $1,000 Furniture Row shopping sprees. The $1,000 shopping sprees will be awarded on select Mondays from Sept. 23 through Dec. 11. "The promotion is a win-win for everyone involved; especially homebuyers who receive the thrill of filling their new home with free furniture," said Rich Laws, president of Berkeley Homes. "Furniture Row is an exceptional company and we look forward to working with them on

Boys and Girls Club after-school program will open in Buena Vistaby Kirsten LaskeyMail Staff WriterChaffee County Boys and Girls Club will open Nov. 13 in Avery Parsons Elementary School in Buena Vista.It will be for elementary school-age children, although staff members hope to eventually include middle school and high school, club executive director Penny Wilken said.Programming will be focused on providing a healthy snack to club members and offering tutoring and help with homework, Andrew Miller, program director for the Buena Vista club, said.He said optional electives will be available such as art classes or fitness games.One thing the club won't be, Wilken said, is a cookie cutter version of the Salida club.The Buena Vista club will be tailored to the local community and local youths, Wilken said. For example, a local artist could be brought in to teach an art class or have a local chef teach club members how to cook a specific dish."We would like the community to step in and give us a more Buena

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Seeking a pickupTruck purchases in Texas turn flat this yearBy SHANNON BUGGSCopyright 2006 Houston Chronicle TRUCKS always sell well in Texas, but this summer they didn't sell as well as usual.Texas still leads the nation in truck sales, and dealers say they are are doing better largely because energy companies are going strong, as are related construction and services businesses where pickups are amust.But when domestic truck sales in Texas, the No. 1 market for full-size pickups, are virtually flat compared with the previous year, as they were in June, July and August, the national sales declines look even worse."We're not doing as well with full-size trucks as we did last year, but we're doing better in Texas and Oklahoma than we are in the rest of the country," said Earl Hesterberg, chief executive of Group One Automotive, a Houston-based national auto-dealership chain.That's because soaring oil prices in Texas and Oklahoma mean higher gasoline prices and more money flowing into and out of t

Auto firm spends R16m to upgrade parts store--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Automotive company General Motors South Africa (GMSA) has spent R16-million on refurbishing its parts and accessories warehouse at its Port Elizabeth plant, which is set to increase productivity of employee's involved in the parts and accessories distribution processes.After sales director Dough Harrison said that GMSA had increased the warehouse productivity by 33% over the last 21 months and that it recorded almost almost 100% ontime delivery.“This is partly due to lean warehousing principles, which involves velocity and commodity stocking.”Productivity had also increased by introducing standardised work assignments, whereby each employee in the warehouse gets the same workload for each assignment.“We also placed special focus on the optimisation of ergonomics. The vast majority of work for our employees is between shoulder and knee height, so all parts and acc

Russia's Black Sea Fleet beefs up security

Russia's Black Sea Fleet boosted security at its navigational facilities on Sunday amid a dispute with Ukraine over a lighthouse linked to the fleet in the Crimean city of Yalta, a navy spokesman said.

"Security at the Black Sea Fleet's navigational facilities has been tightened," Igor Dygalo was quoted by the Inter fax news agency as saying. "If further attempts are made to seize the fleet's facilities or to enter them, security will be tightened even further."

Russia's move came after Ukraine threatened to take over all the navigational facilities of the Black Sea Fleet.

Cadmium pollution: Cities on alert

The levels of cadmium in a small section of the Xiangjiang River in Central China Province of Hunan are still above safety levels after a spill last week, a senior provincial official said yesterday.

The levels were "one or two times" higher than the national standard in the Wangcheng section of the river in a suburban county of provincial capital Changsha, Jiang Yimin, provincial environmental head, told China Daily.

Cadmium, a chemical that can cause neurological disorders and cancer, seeped into the Xiangjiang River during a silt-cleaning project on January 4.

Cadmium pollution: Cities on alert

The levels of cadmium in a small section of the Xiangjiang River in Central China Province of Hunan are still above safety levels after a spill last week, a senior provincial official said yesterday.

The levels were "one or two times" higher than the national standard in the Wangcheng section of the river in a suburban county of provincial capital Changsha, Jiang Yimin, provincial environmental head, told China Daily.

Cadmium, a chemical that can cause neurological disorders and cancer, seeped into the Xiangjiang River during a silt-cleaning project on January 4.

Court turns down museum logo claim

Three designers who claimed the newly-designed logo of the Palace Museum violated copyrights of their own designs have lost their case.

The trio all put forward their own images for selection when the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, invited new logo suggestions from the public last year.

But in May this year, museum leaders announced none of the applications from the public were accepted, and turned to Beijing Ideal Design Art Company to design the logo instead.

Yesterday, the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court rejected accusations from three designers Zhu Yanyue from Anhui, Hong Qingqi from Fujian and Xiang Baiping from Shaanxi that the design, which was unveiled in July, copied their own efforts.

BEIJING, Oct. 1 (Xinhuanet) -- China's largest oil and gas producer, China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), has reached a deal with Europe's largest oil refiner Total in jointly tapping the country's domestic oil reserve in a move to meet its surging demand for energy.

The Sino-French oil company alliance will work on the Sulige gas field, located in the Ordos Basin in northwest China, Liu Weijiang, said CNPC spokesman for overseas business, quoted by Saturday's China Daily.

Industry sources said the Sulige field has gas reserves of up to 602.6 billion cubic meters.

"It is only a set of framework agreements, and more follow-up projects are still under discussion," Liu said on Friday.

Chinese to head Int'l Association of Art

¡¡ Liu Dawei, the executive vice president of the Chinese Artists Association was elected the new president of the International Association of Art (IAA) on Saturday, promising to help more member countries send delegates to the next assembly.

The delegates from 45 IAA member countries elected their new leaders at the on-going 16th general assembly held at east China's city of Hefei. The conference agenda also includes a summing-up ofthe previous session's work and the hosting of a forum.

"I'm very proud of being elected," said Liu, "The election willhelp promote the exchanges between the Chinese art circle and the international community and enhance the roles and the voice of Chinese artists in the organization."

Lourdes, France Photo by Lawrence OP/Flickr ·Fun things to do in Nashville when you’re strapped for cash AP

·A slew of new historic American landmarks worth visiting MSNBC

·Airlines slashing prices in hopes of wooing prospective travelers NPR

·Sacred grotto in Lourdes, France is big draw for spiritual travelers T+L

·Urbanite-friendly adventures in Hong Kong CNN

·New water park is slated to open in French Lick, Illinois March 15 AP

It’s always more fun to review music I’m excited about. Still, I consider it a good year if I covered a majority of my top ten choices as they came out. This year found me listening to less dub techno and more house. Many familiar artists are exploring classic styles. It’s really something when you can play new Larry Heard and Convextion tracks back to back. I included CD versions of Theo Parrish and Convextion’s albums here, even though there were preceded by vinyl variations in a past year, but I skipped Newworldaquarium’s The Dead Bears which already placed high on last year’s list. Please feel free to add your own charts as comments. Albums Kenny Larkin: Keys, Strings, Tambourines (Planet E) Theo Parrish: Sound Sculptures Volume 1 (Sound Signature) Flying Lotus: Los Angeles (Warp Records) Convextion: Convextion (Down Low) Claro Intelecto: Metanarrative (Modern Love) Kettel: Myam James Part 1 (Sending Orbs) Autechre: Quaristice (Warp Records) Autechre: Quaristice.