Stock market closes out its best week since 2009

NEW YORK (AP) — An early rally fizzled on the stock market Friday but still left the Standard & Poor's 500 index up 7.4 percent for the week, its biggest gain since March 2009.

A surprise drop in the U.S. unemployment rate sent stocks higher in early trading, but the gains faded during the afternoon.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 0.61 of a point to close at 12,019.42. The Dow ended the week up 7 percent, the largest weekly gain since July 2009.

Bank stocks rose sharply, continuing a weeklong rally. JPMorgan Chase & Co. jumped 6.1 percent, the most among the 30 stocks in the Dow average. Morgan Stanley leapt 6.9 percent, the second-biggest gain of any …

Yellen: job creation must be `high priority'

Janet Yellen, the president's pick to be the second-highest ranking official at the Federal Reserve, is telling Congress that invigorating the recovery and reducing unemployment is a "high priority."

Yellen, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, makes the comments Thursday in prepared remarks to …

The Echoing GOP

My friend on the left is certainly correct about one thing: poli-blogs have been divided into partisan echo chambers. However, the convening of like-minded people does not automatically call for a community bereft of ideas.

Look at it this way: I'm a huge baseball fan. Say I surround myself with other rabid fans who agree that the pitching staff of our team needs a shakeup. As public-relations blogger Eric Eggertson puts it, that doesn't necessarily close my mind to alternate points of view. Rather, it plugs me into a network with a common point of view that spreads information and opinions very efficiently.

So why is it a good thing when blogs function as echo chambers? …

Roddick edges past Fish in quarterfinals in San Jose

Andy Roddick produced his only break in the final game of the match to edge past Mardy Fish in three sets Friday and progress to the semifinals of the SAP Open.

The top-seeded American beat compatriot and close friend Fish 7-6 (6), 1-6, 7-5 to set up a semifinal against Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who beat American John Isner 7-6 (4), 6-7 (1), 7-6 (11) in a match that featured no service breaks.

The other semifinal will be between American Robby Ginepri and Czech Radek Stepanek.

Ginepri dominated compatriot James Blake for an upset 6-2, 6-2 victory, while Stepanek beat Taiwanese Lu Yen-hsun 6-2, 7-6 (5).

Roddick saved a set point …

Meet the 'Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains' cast

Not even "Boston Rob" Mariano's newborn baby could stop him from returning to "Survivor."

Mariano is among 20 former contestants who will compete in CBS' "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains," the reality series' 20th season, premiering Feb. 11 (8 p.m. EST, 0100 GMT Feb. 12). He left behind 4-week-old daughter Lucia Rose and wife, Amber Brkich, who bested Mariano to win the "All-Stars" edition in 2004 and accepted his marriage proposal during the finale.

"If she was out here with me, I don't think I'd have a chance in hell at winning," the former "Survivor: Marquesas" and "All-Stars" player said of …

Thomas J. Spencer

Thomas J. Spencer, 66, a member of the Chicago Board of Trade,died Sunday of a heart attack at his Chicago home.

Mr. Spencer was in the first graduating class of HardeyPreparatory School for Boys, 6250 N. Sheridan. He was a starfullback at Loyola Academy and attended Georgetown University inWashington, D.C.

He served with the Army tank corps during World War II.

Mr. …

Stoke manager Pulis fined for criticizing ref

LONDON (AP) — Stoke manager Tony Pulis has been fined 10,000 pounds ($15,600) by the English Football Association for criticizing a referee after his team's League Cup defeat to Liverpool last month.

Pulis had denied an FA charge of improper conduct but an independent disciplinary commission ruled against the Welsh coach.

The FA also said in a statement released on …

Rosetta Resources shares rise on financial update

Shares of Rosetta Resources Inc. rose on Friday a day after the oil and gas company affirmed its full-year capital budget, said it expects to build cash during the year and maintained its full-year production outlook.

The company's stock climbed $1, or 7.5 percent, to $14.43 in morning trading.

Rosetta affirmed its 2009 capital program at about $115 million and said it would be funded entirely from internally generated cash flow.

…

Resolutions Set for Review This Week

Resolutions the American Bar Association will consider this weekinclude ones that would: Support the right of a woman past menopause to get pregnant throughin-vitro fertilization. Encourage Youth Courts, where juveniles act as judges, jurors,clerks, bailiffs and counsel for juveniles charged with misdemeanors. …

Tigers rout WSox, streak reaches 10 wins

CHICAGO (AP) — The Detroit Tigers extended their winning streak to 10 games in the American League by routing the Chicago White Sox 14-4 on Monday.

Jhonny Peralta and Ryan Raburn hit back-to-back homers in the second inning to put the Tigers en route to their first double-figure streak since 1968, when they won the World Series.

Raburn finished the game with four hits and three RBIs, and Peralta added two hits and three RBIs for the first-place Tigers, who are now 11-1/2 games clear atop the AL Central with only 15 games to go.

Detroit starter Rick Porcello (14-8) coasted to an easy victory, allowing six hits in 6 2-3 innings.

White Sox starter John Danks (6-12) …

AP Exclusive: Iraq deal gives clerics final say

An agreement signed by the two main Iranian-backed Shiite blocs seeking to govern Iraq gives the final decision on all their political disputes to top Shiite clerics, according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday.

If the alliance succeeds in forming the next government, the provision could increase the role of senior clergy in politics. The provision would likely further alienate Iraq's Sunni minority, which had been hoping the March election would boost their say in the country.

The newly announced alliance between the Shiite blocs practically ensures they will form the core of any new government and squeeze out the top vote getter, Ayad …

Fannie Mae postpones plan to sell insurance

WASHINGTON The nation's largest source of home mortgage money -Fannie Mae - has indefinitely postponed its controversial plan tooffer borrowers life and disability insurance coverage.

Dubbed the "Mortgage Protection Plan," Fannie Mae's programwould have provided thousands of new home buyers with insurancepolicies designed to pay off their mortgage balance in the event ofthe borrower's death, or to contribute to the borrower's monthly loanpayments in the event of extended unemployment or disability.

Fannie Mae would pay for, and be the beneficiary of, allpolicies written under the program.

Critics on Capitol Hill and in the insurance industry chargedthat …

Britain, US to fund Yemen anti-terror police unit

The British government said Sunday that Prime Minister Gordon Brown and U.S. President Barack Obama had agreed to fund a counterterrorism police unit in Yemen to tackle the rising terrorist threat from the country.

Brown's Downing Street Office said the United Kingdom and the United States had also agreed to increase support for Yemen's coast guard operation. Pirates operating in the waters between Somalia and Yemen have seized four ships in the last week.

In Washington, however, a senior administration official said he's unaware of any new joint effort that is ready to be announced. The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive matters, said American and British forces currently provide the Yemeni police counterterrorism assistance.

Downing Street said Brown and Obama will push the U.N. Security Council to create a larger peacekeeping force for Somalia.

The British government unveiled its plans in the wake of the thwarted Christmas Day bombing of a passenger plane bound for Detroit.

Brown called last week for a high-level international meeting later this month to devise ways to counter radicalization in Yemen. He said an international approach is needed to combat the increasing influence of al-Qaida in Yemen. The terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the failed attack.

Downing Street said the government of Yemen had been consulted over the decision to boost the country's coast guard and police operations.

The White House said Washington stands ready to work with allies to fight extremism. The official welcomed Brown's move earlier to lead an international conference on Jan. 28 to devise ways to counter radicalization in the country, the poorest in the Arab world.

The official also was unable to confirm any plans to push for a larger U.N. peacekeeping force for Somalia.

_____

Associated Press writer Philip Elliott in Honolulu contributed to this report.

US expects to spend big in Afghanistan for years

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government's financial commitment to Afghanistan is likely to linger and reach into the billions long after it pulls combat troops from the country, newly disclosed spending estimates show.

The United States expects to spend about $6 billion a year training and supporting Afghan troops and police after it begins withdrawing its own combat troops in 2011.

The estimates of U.S. spending through 2015, detailed in a NATO training mission document, are an acknowledgment that Afghanistan will remain largely dependent on the United States for its security.

That reality could become problematic for the Obama administration as it continues to seek money for Afghanistan from Congress in a time of increasingly tight budgets.

In Brussels, a NATO official said Monday that alliance commander Gen. David Petraeus had asked for 2,000 more soldiers, with nearly half to be trainers for the rapidly expanding Afghan security forces. The NATO official requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the subject.

The training mission document outlines large-scale infrastructure projects, including a military hospital and military and police academies, aimed at "establishing enduring institutions" and "creating irreversible momentum."

Spending for training is projected to taper off from $11.6 billion next year to an average of $6.2 billion over the following four years. Much of the reduction reflects reduced spending on infrastructure.

The Obama administration recently announced that it intends to ramp up the total Afghan army and police force from nearly 250,000 today to more than 300,000 by late next year. The mission will be largely paid for by the United States, with smaller contributions from NATO allies. The projected multibillion-dollar cost of maintaining those forces would be inconceivable for Afghanistan's small economy without foreign aid.

One of the arguments against dramatically increasing the size of Afghan security forces, even during George W. Bush's administration, was that the Afghan government would be unable to pay for them for the foreseeable future. The NATO document shows that the U.S. will end up footing most of the bill.

The Obama administration has boosted the training mission in preparation for next year's drawdown. The United States spent over $20 billion on training between 2003 and 2009 and expects to spend about the same this year and next alone.

The head of the NATO training mission, U.S. Lt. Gen. Bill Caldwell, said bolstering Afghanistan's security forces is cost-efficient.

"It will always be more expensive to have a coalition force doing something than an Afghan counterpart," Caldwell said in a written response to questions from The Associated Press.

Caldwell said he is sensitive to the concern that the United States is creating dependence and is looking for ways of cutting costs.

"This dependency is something that we think about all the time," he said. "We know the sooner the Afghan systems are up and running the sooner coalition forces can transition responsibilities to the sovereign government."

Todd Harrison, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, said it will be difficult to wean the Afghan security forces quickly.

"We really do have a long way to go before this winds down," he said.

Caldwell has said he aims to have Afghan security forces at sufficient numbers by Oct. 31, 2011, three months after President Barack Obama's deadline to start U.S. withdrawals. The mission has had to deal with illiteracy, corruption and desertion among Afghan forces.

Caldwell has said he aims to have Afghan security forces at sufficient numbers to begin a U.S. withdrawal by October 2011. The mission has had to deal with illiteracy, corruption and desertion among Afghan forces.

With much skepticism in Congress, the levels of financing outlined in the document are not guaranteed. While the roughly $6 billion annual cost would not be an enormous line in the defense budget, the administration is facing pressure to shrink the federal deficit.

Even Caldwell has predicted that desertion and injury rates are so high among Afghan forces that NATO will have to recruit and train 141,000 people to ensure it has the 56,000 additional personnel needed next fall.

As money for infrastructure tapers off, most of the projected spending is to retain forces by paying salaries, food and housing.

___

Associated Press writer Slobodan Lekic contributed to this report from Brussels.

Milan and Juventus look on at Pittodrie

European champions AC Milan, Manchester United, Juventus,Chelsea, Lyon, Spurs and Panathinaikos had scouts at Pittodrie towatch the Dons v Lokomotiv Moscow clash.

Birmingham City assistant boss Eric Black, pictured, was alsopresent.

Former Dons hero Black has now been informed his old club want toextend their loan deal for18-year-old Birmingham winger Sone Aluko.

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood said: "Sone will have learned alot from playing against the Russians.

"He will also feature in our other two UEFA Cup matches andhopefully in January's CIS Cup semi-final against Dundee United.

"Sone is enjoying himself with us, but could find himself stuckon the bench in the English Premiership.

"It's now up to Birmingham, he is their player."

Palau president: Gitmo detainees scared of China

Some Chinese Muslims detained at Guantanamo Bay are hesitant about accepting this tiny Pacific nation's offer to take them in because they fear it cannot shield them from China, Palau's president said Tuesday.

An American official in Palau described the concerns as unwarranted, pointing out that Beijing has no political influence over the island country. It was also unclear whether the detainees even have a say in where they will be resettled.

The 13 Uighurs, Turkic Muslims from the far west of China, have been held by the United States since their capture in Afghanistan and Pakistan in 2001. The Pentagon determined last year that they were not "enemy combatants" _ but the men have been stuck in legal limbo ever since.

China considers them separatists and has demanded they be sent home for trial. U.S. officials have said the men could be executed if they are returned to China and have refused to send them there.

This month, Palau stepped in, agreeing to President Barack Obama's request to take the Uighurs as part of plans to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba.

But when a Palauan fact-finding team went to Guantanamo to assess the needs of the 13 men, they found them highly concerned about their post-detention safety, President Johnson Toribiong said.

The Uighurs, who knew nothing about Palau, grew anxious after they saw the country on a map and its relative proximity to China _ although the islands lie deep in the Pacific Ocean, more than 1,700 miles (2,735 kilometers) southeast of the Chinese coast.

Toribiong said the men were nervous about Palau's ability to protect them from Beijing.

"Some said (Palau) is too small," Toribiong said. "And when they showed pictures of Palau, there was a photo showing some Chinese signs. And that led them to ask, 'Do you have an army? Do you have a navy?' because they are concerned about their safety from the Chinese."

The president said his delegation tried to assure them that the country was well protected by the U.S.

Mark Bezner, the top U.S. representative in Palau, called the Uighurs' concerns unfounded. He said there have been no discussions about possible security for the Uighurs once they arrive and that such arrangements are unnecessary.

"There are no major concerns locally for their safety," said Bezner, U.S. charge d'affaires in Palau.

The fact that Palau does not recognize China "makes it a more attractive option" than other countries with diplomatic relations with Beijing, Bezner said. There is no vehicle for China to exert political pressure on Palau to turn the Uighurs over, he added.

Ngiraibelas Tmetuchl, special assistant the president, said Palau would never hand the Uighurs over to Beijing.

Palau is one of the word's smallest countries. It does not have diplomatic relations with China and instead has developed strong ties with Taiwan.

Some shops and infrastructure projects bear Chinese signs because of the sizable Taiwanese presence in Palau.

Palau does not have its own military but as a former U.S. trust territory it operates under a Compact of Free Association, which makes the United States responsible for its security and defense.

It remains unclear when, if ever, the Uighurs (pronounced WEE'-gurs) might arrive. Both Palau and U.S. officials have previously said that the transfer was not guaranteed and that meetings were still being held on the topic.

It is also not clear how much say the Uighurs have in their final destination and whether they could reject a move to Palau.

Toribiong has said Palau has already accepted the men and now awaits confirmation from the United States and the attorneys of the men.

George Clarke, an attorney who represents two of the Uighurs, said his clients shared similar concerns about China before he explained the geopolitical picture of the Pacific region. Those who remain unconvinced harbor genuine yet baseless concerns, he said.

"There's an impression that China is a big bogeyman in the region and that they can do whatever they want," Clarke said.

He said the more serious concern for his clients is their potential legal status and documentation in Palau. He said a final decision on their transfer had not yet been communicated to him.

Stevenson Kuartei, a Palauan physician who evaluated the detainees' medical condition in Guantanamo, said detention has taken a mental toll.

The deeply religious men, who would be unable to travel abroad while in Palau, also told the delegation that they would still feel confined if they were unable to undertake the Hajj; under Islam, all able-bodied Muslims are obligated to make the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, at least once in their lives.

"There's something that's making them feel like they are in detention regardless of the fence," Kuartei said. "In coming to Palau, they still feel like it would be detention."

The future of Air Canada

Air Canada, the closest thing we have to a national heritage, seems to be in a profound crisis. What should we do? Allow a US company such as United Airlines or American Airlines to acquire it?

Nationalize it, again? Or should we encourage new investors (like Onex) to take control? Air Canada has undeniably become the least popular of Canada's major corporations. But this is no reason to be unconcerned.

Until the federal government clarifies its views on air transportation, Air Canada's future will remain in jeopardy.

The capital-intensive airline industry has been cursed. Worldwide, it is in a perennial state of crisis. Yesterday's winners - Delta and British Airways - are in deep trouble today. Even United Airlines, the current high flier, had a brush with bankruptcy 10 years ago.

The airline industry suffers from chronic problems tied to capacity adjustments and excessive indebtedness and has to cope with a volatile and fickle clientele. Last, turbulent labour relations and a fully unionized workplace give the industry a rigid cost structure.

No wonder airlines have a short lifespan. Remember Pan American, Eastern, Canadian, Nordair and Wardair? The ax falls often, lopping off the most vulnerable. By simple process of elimination, it is not surprising that Air Canada finds itself teetering on the brink. One major blow could push it into bankruptcy.

Air Canada's other problem is that it is an east-west airline in an economy that is increasingly forging north-south links.

Does a trans-Canadian airline have any relevance in a continental context? Would it be better to integrate it into the operations of a major North American carrier than to wait for economic reality to impose it?

The federal government can't wash its hands of Air Canada's fate. The airline industry throughout the world is an oligopoly, thus requiring government intervention to ensure meaningful competition. Canada's geography also makes air transport a critical industry. The federal government cannot ignore Air Canada pricing strategies and its service policies toward lesspopulated regions. The government must ensure public interest takes precedence over the greed of airline management, which is as concerned about the stock price as the quality of service to its customers. Particular attention has to be paid to ensure virtual abusive monopolies do not arise in big cities like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver by the virtue of controlling landing rights. Indeed, if Air Canada were to increase its current market share, government intervention would be advisable.

What's more, if a crisis were to put an alternative airline such as Air Transat or Westjet in jeopardy, the government may have to intervene financially to ensure healthy competition. In short, as essential as Air Canada is to the country, it shouldn't be given free rein.

The lumber crisis showed us the uglier side of US policy making, and the ability of US corporations to enlist the power of their government.

Through well-targeted contributions, US companies can buy the staunch support of the administration and, as in the lumber dispute, use it to counter Canadian policies.

The US forced the provinces to change their forest management systems to bring them in line with US systems.

Just imagine the power a US airline controlling Air Canada and opposing Canadian government policy could wield: phone calls from the US ambassador, stormy declarations in Congress, muted threats of reprisals. When profit is more important than ensuring a costlier public interest alternative, it can happen. Many US multinationals do not feel bound by Canadian public interest. As long as they feel they can marshal the support of friends in Washington to defend their case, we'd better keep them away from our strategic sectors.

Canada needs an east-west transport policy and sufficient political leverage over the airlines serving these routes. The Canadian government should formally declare it will not let Air Canada fall into the hands of a foreign carrier. Such a policy would be addressed to Air Canada's current management and to any group of investors considering taking control with a view to selling the company to foreign interests down the road. Such a decision may affect Air Canada's share price. But let's keep in mind that in the past two years, it has fluctuated between $2 and $20 without government intervention. When all is said and done, the Canadian government will never be as merciless to Air Canada shareholders as financial markets and management have already proven to be.

[Author Affiliation]

Marcel Cote is a senior associate at SECOR Inc. in Montreal

John Lee Harris Sr., mail carrier, state trooper

John Lee Harris Sr. was a hardworking man who took many jobs tosupport his family.

He spent 25 years at U.S. Steel and 17 years at the Swiss meat-packing plant in Chicago. He also was a mail carrier and an IllinoisState Police trooper. He retired in 1983.

Mr. Harris died Nov. 26 at St. Margaret Hospital in Hammond, Ind.,after a long illness. He was 79.

"He was a jovial person," said Portia Harris, his wife of 31years. "He was always kidding with the children, calling them by hispet name, `Turkey.' One of his favorite greetings was, `When are yougoing to Mississippi?' "

Stella Foster, the assistant to Chicago Sun-Times columnist IrvKupcinet, said she will "dearly miss" Mr. Harris. "He was the last ofmy uncles," she said. "He was a very special person. His humor couldmake you laugh, even if you were sad."

Mr. Harris, the oldest of four children, was born in Silver City,Miss.

The family moved to Chicago when Mr. Harris was a teenager. Hecompleted his high school education, and at 18 he was drafted intothe Navy during World War II. He received an honorable discharge.

In 1968, Mr. Harris married Portia Johnson, daughter of radio andtelevision gospel personality Isabel Joseph-Johnson. "We shared ajoyful and loving relationship," his wife said.

He was the father of six.

Mr. Harris enjoyed fishing on Chicago's Lake Michigan shore, andhe would return to Mississippi and fish at Silver City. He also likedbowling.

Other survivors include sons Roosevelt II, Wilbur and John HarrisJr., daughters Isadore, Porald and Kylah, grandchildren Naree andAdel, sister Mamie Lee Foster, nieces Jamie Foster Brown, ShirleyFoster Hunter and Linda Ruth Harris and nephews Lee Williams Jr. andKenneth Williams.

A wake will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. Friday at Emmanuel BaptistChurch, 8301 S. Damen. The funeral will begin at 8 p.m. Burial willbe at 9 a.m. Saturday in Lincoln Cemetery, 11900 S. Kedzie, BlueIsland.

Whistling Straits' length, bunkers remain hot topics

HAVEN, Wis. -- The grumbling about the difficulty of WhistlingStraits remained at a low rumble Monday, though Shigeki Maruyama saidit all after climbing the steep hill behind the 18th green.

Aye-yi-yi," Maruyama said before collapsing on his back.

While the golf world breathlessly waits to see how the world'sbest players will fare on Pete Dye's creation, only one thing iscertain: On Sunday night," Lee Westwood said, there will be somebodywith no complaints at all."

Westwood was one of the few voicing a mild gripe, callingWhistling Straits a bit too long." His pal Darren Clarke said it'sthe toughest course he ever played, but also the fairest.

I was very impressed," Clarke said. I didn't realize there werethat many par-6s on one course."

Fred Funk even called it a fun test," though Jim Furyk disputedthat notion.

I'd be surprised if Mr. Dye wanted it to be fun for us," Furyksaid.

The most controversial feature appears to be the mammoth 18thgreen. Players on the front of the 18,000-square-foot surface mighthave to chip to reach a back hole location.

Dye, however, defended his design, saying, Someone will get tothis course." He pointed out that a rainy summer has made both thefairways and greens relatively soft and receptive.

This will be a popcorn [course]," he said before pausing. You caninterpret that any way you want. Sometimes people choke on popcorn."

BUNKER MENTALITY: The PGA of America appears to have quelled apotential controversy with its ruling on Whistling Straits' 1,000-plus bunkers.

Originally, all bunkers outside the gallery ropes were to beplayed as waste areas," meaning players could ground their clubs,take practice swings and remove loose impediments. Now every bunkerwill be treated as a hazard, though a local rule allowing the removalof stones will be in effect.

You can't pick and choose," Furyk said. This way it's pretty clear-cut and decisive."

All bunkers inside the ropes will be raked before each round, butthose outside the ropes are likely to be filled with footprints andtire tracks. One Phil Mickelson fan had written Phil's year" in abunker near the first green Monday.

They are hazards at the end of the day," Westwood said, so if yougo in them, you should be penalized."

DRAWING POWER: It won't be hard to find the biggest galleries forthe first two rounds. They'll be following the grouping of formerchampions Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and John Daly: respectively, No. 1in the world rankings, No. 1 on the PGA Tour money list and the No. 1curiosity.

In the traditional grouping of the year's first three majorwinners, Brian Bateman has replaced U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen,who withdrew Sunday because of a hip injury suffered in a jet-skiaccident. Bateman will play with Masters winner Mickelson and BritishOpen champ Todd Hamilton.

DISABLED LIST: The attrition rate has been high for a majorchampionship. Former champions Steve Elkington (groin injury) andLarry Nelson (wrist injury) became the seventh and eighth players towithdraw.

Also sitting this one out are Goosen, Jeff Maggert (impendingbirth of twins), Tom Watson (neck injury), Thomas Bjorn (neckinjury), Toshi Izawa (sinus infection) and Nick Price, who citedfamily obligations.

Funk, who enters the week eighth in the Ryder Cup standings, saidhe wasn't too confident" last week that he could play because of arib injury. But he was able to swing at 90 percent strength Mondayand said he should be fine by Thursday.

US hockey beats Finland to reach junior semifinals

RPI star Jerry D'Amigo scored two goals, and St. Cloud State's Mike Lee made 23 saves to help the United States beat Finland 6-2 on Saturday night for a spot in the world junior semifinals.

The United States will face Sweden in the second semifinal Sunday night. Five-time defending champion Canada will play Switzerland in the first semifinal. Switzerland beat Russia 3-2 in overtime in the first quarterfinal Saturday.

North Dakota's Danny Kristo, Notre Dame's Kyle Palmieri, Denver's Matt Donovan and Boston College's Chris Kreider also scored. Minnesota's Jordan Schroeder had three assists to push his career points total in the event to a record 26, one more than former NHL star Jeremy Roenick's previous mark.

"Getting up 2-0 on that team kind of puts them back," Schroeder said. "You don't want to get down to those guys because it's tough to comeback."

The Americans rebounded from a 5-4 shootout loss to Canada on Thursday night.

"A lot of good things came out of that game," coach Dean Blais said. "If we knew we could skate with them, then we could skate with anybody."

Eero Elo and Iiro Pakarinen scored for Finland, and Joni Ortio made 38 saves.

"We were too nervous," Finland captain Jyri Niemi said. "We weren't ready to play and they scored right away and we put ourselves in a big whole right off the bat. We didn't have any luck, but you have to earn your luck."

Earlier, Nino Niederreiter tied it with 33 seconds left in regulation, then scored at 9:47 of overtime to lift Switzerland past Russia.

"We know we don't have a big country as far as hockey is concerned, and everybody can think whatever they want," goalie Benjamin Conz said after making 50 saves.

"Sometimes people take us too lightly, like they did today against the Russians, and you see what kind of things can happen."

In overtime, Niederreiter cut across the hash marks and fired a shot past goalie Igor Bobkov. The puck appeared to be deflected in by defenceman Patrick Geering, but the goal was officially credited to Niederreiter.

"I don't know what to say. It's just amazing," Niederreiter said.

Russian coach Vladimir Plyushchev blamed his team's defense.

"It was a big mistake by the defense," Plyushchev said. "It was an elementary task that normally the player would do."

Michael Loichat opened the scoring for the Swiss, beating Bobkov on a wraparound at 8:25 of the second period. Vladimir Tarasenko tied it with 1:16 left in the period, and Kirill Petrov put Russia ahead 16 second later off a feed from Nikita Filatov.

In relegation play, Slovakia beat Austria 3-2.

Joe Scanlan

Joe Scanlan

WALLSPACE

The day that I visited Joe Scanlan's "Three Works" at Wallspace - the artist's first solo show at a New York gallery in a decade - he was there, bag of food in hand, clearly digging in for an afternoon's work. It wasn't a performance (though I wondered) or even one of the scheduled moments to change the "round robin" configuration of works on view. Instead, it seemed, he was there to tweak some element that had him unsatisfied, to refine, mid-exhibition, a stray aesthetic element or imperfect detail.

The impulse seemed incongruous enough with the work on view. While material exactitude or even aesthetic pleasure are hardly of minor consequence to Scanlan, the pieces here were relatively modest, and, indeed, two were always presented in a disassembled form. In the rear of the gallery was Empire, 2005, a flag made, according to the press release, of "remnant fabric," whose wood scaffolding was, when I visited, taken apart, its various parts leaning against the wall. Sitting on the floor in another corner was Id�e Fixe, 2009; having been "on view" the previous week, it consisted partly of a box filled with Styrofoam balls and seemed like a stand-in for (as opposed to a tribute to) David Hammons's Bliz-aard Ball Sale, 1983. And near the entrance was The Massachusetts Wedding Bed, 2004, the only fully assembled piece on my visit, a wooden bed frame bookended by floor rugs, with an unplugged spotlight nearby, its electrical cord dangling pathetically by its side. These pieces had previously been exhibited by Scanlan in Europe during the past ten years, and the artist's statement for this show indicated he planned to exchange their places over the course of the show; each one would have its moment of fully assembled prominence here at some point during the cycle. But in any constellation, they seemed not so much the stuff of any finished project as an exhibition by approximation, more a deconstruction than reconstruction of Scanlan's earlier efforts abroad.

Yet deconstruction can be a style, too, and, in fact, such a tension seemed very much Scanlan's focus, as it has been in the past. A folded broadsheet, Free Speech, 2011, reprinted various essays by the artist, including the short text "Entropy for Sale"(2005), in which he maps economist Joseph Schumpeter's theory of "creative destruction" - whereby capitalism "need[s] to perpetually destroy itself in order to profit from its own regeneration" - onto the ideas of Robert Smithson. Similarly, in an essay for Artforum in April 2008, Scanlan conceptual artists for creating new markets even as they eschewed old ones, and for underlining the ways in which ideas and finance are intertwined so that work can be an end unto itself, always creating the potential for more work in turn. In this regard, it comes as little surprise that Scanlan should have been puttering around the gallery space when I was there, preparing to break things down and/or set other things up. What gets produced in this scene is, in other words, the act of production.

As if to suggest more was to come, Scanlan's checklist mentions six pieces, though the exhibition's title was "Three Works." But the issue of shifting terms seemed more consequential in light of Scanlan's decision to highlight particular political contexts in relation to the machinations of more ostensibly general kinds of commercial production. The first appearance of the tongue-in-cheek, "made to order" Massachusetts Wedding Bed, for instance, coincided with the fiery Bush-era debates around gay marriage; and a number of texts reprinted or works represented here were also steeped in issues that, however resonant, have the discomfiting effect of the just-past. It could be that Scanlan, in finally bringing these pieces back home as so many remnants of pieces executed abroad, has made the New York gallery his "non-site." Or, as likely, the artist is operating as a sort of expat in his own country, maintaining his own unique provisionality within the ever-provisional operations of American economics, suggesting that free speech always has its price.

- Johanna Burton

Distilled as new wine: Worship in a congregation of refugees and immigrants

How can our ever-changing community of faith worship cross-culturally in a way that is faithful to our holy God of love? When our backgrounds-levels of formal education, life experiences, and political realities-are very diverse, can we find unity of purpose and spirit through our common worship?

We gather as those whose lives have been crushed

Toronto Mennonite New Life Church is a small Spanish-speaking Anabaptist congregation that is part of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada. On most Sundays, eight or 10 different nationalities are represented when we gather for worship. Most of us are Latin American refugees and immigrants. Civil wars and strife have raged across Central and South America, and the superpowers of the past and the empire of the present have ruled us with an iron grip. Some who have gotten caught up in, and been victims of, these struggles have come to Toronto seeking a new home in a land where they can start again.

Ours is a transient community of individuals and families torn by the tensions and paradoxes that are the aftermath of refugee experience as it confronts present realities of limitation and deprivation. Havoc exists at the heart of family life, and instability leaves people fragile and broken. Grief is part of daily life. Those in the older generation cannot let go of what they have lost, and youths want to forget where they came from and embrace the new culture, to fit in and belong somewhere-if only to a gang. Fragmentation and loss of identity make for fearful hearts and crushed spirits.

In the midst of this fear, in the face of a struggle with unknown powers that are sucking people down into depression, or enticing them with supposed freedoms, we at New Life offer a variety of services. Through the church, people are invited into a space for exploring faith in God and God's call to become part of a new community. As the presence of God grows in our hearts, we become a fellowship, a new body of believers who are learning to listen to the Lord. This communion with God and our fellow pilgrims is what we read about in I Peter 2:10: "Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." We believe and proclaim the gospel of peace and try to sow the seeds of life of the Prince of Peace in the hearts of those who are drawn near.

Every Sunday the congregation is different. We never know who will be able to attend. Newcomers have very little security. Permanent work is hard to find. Opportunities to earn money are sometimes available only on weekends. Some who have participated in our circle for several months or even years are deported to their countries of origin.

We are finding out that the experience of building community is like placing ourselves in a winepress; it contains our crushed lives and brings us close to one another as we go through the process of being transformed together into new wine. As we let go of our pain and brokenness, we are distilled so the essence of God's life in us can emerge.

Scripture reveals to us a God of nomads and refugees

To address the needs of refugees and immigrants, we have developed two worship services, one on Sunday morning and the other on Wednesday evening. They are spaces in time, offering worship and pastoral care for a journey of constant invitation to dwell in the security of the one our Scriptures reveal to be the God of pilgrims, desert nomads, refugees and outcasts.

The main difference between Sunday and Wednesday worship is in the use of Scripture. Sunday mornings we follow the Revised Common Lectionary. These ecumenically chosen readings provide a framework for worship and praise around a theme that is the basis for an exposition of the Word and for our communal prayer time. For people who have never participated in a church service, and for those who come from different traditions, discovering the basis of our faith is a unifying experience. Through the Scriptures, the Spirit continues to reveal to our hearts who God is and how God is at work in the world.

Our Wednesday worship is organized around systematic study of a book selected from the Bible.

The Old Testament uses the image of the vine as a metaphor for the people of God. In the New Testament, Jesus calls himself the vine, and his people are the branches that produce fruit if we abide in him. The metaphor is expanded into the trampling of the grapes in the winepress. Jesus endured being crushed for us. This image becomes a balm for us in our broken lives, as we identify with the experience of being crushed. Scripture draws us close when we discover that-from beginning to end-it illuminates and describes our experience of suffering. Here is the foundation for community building: the Spirit revealing God's nature and we seeing ourselves mirrored in this revelation.

We pour our grief into the cup of Christ's suffering

In both services we offer the Eucharist (thanksgiving service) once a month and on special occasions. At present, we serve communion on the first Sunday of each month and the third Wednesday. The Eucharist is a proclamation of the basis of our faith, the pathway to God left to us by Christ himself. Evangelism at its best happens through this remembrance proclamation.

We partake of this meal of the living Christ himself as the supreme food from heaven for our earthly journey. Like God's people who were fed manna in the wilderness, we are invited into a nourishing relationship through eating the bread that is different from all foods, because it comes from above. The more we are fed by this experience of the mystery of God's presence as we partake, the more the presence of the eternal is revealed to us, so that our faith grows and unfolds in deeper communion and strength for the journey through the wilderness of unknowing.

As we are called to participate in this meal, our worship reaches into the timelessness of eternity. We are then set free to see God breaking through into the present. As we are drawn into God's eternal present, we become increasingly aware of God's intervention in the world of now, on our behalf. Before the foundations of the world were laid, God preordained that the Lamb of God would be slain for us, so we could be clothed in the garments of Christ. God provides the robes of righteousness through the living Word of redemption, to replace our own garments of inadequate covering.

It is in participating in the Eucharist that we are united in a new bond, and become blood brothers and blood sisters. Through the body and blood of Christ, we become a worshipping community. We are no longer strangers, but family, with God as our father and Jesus as our brother.

As we are nurtured and filled, we desire to become channels of this new life for others. The experience of having been crushed makes us vulnerable and able to identify with other vulnerable ones. It is only when we pass on the blessing we have received that we continue to be filled. The Eucharist becomes the sustaining food and drink that brings true meaning to our past and present experience of being crushed grapes that are now becoming holy wine.

Singing articulates our gratitude and longing to belong

Our songs of praise and adoration are a visible, communal, musical expression of the gratitude in our hearts. The experience of singing together binds us in an offering of mutuality as we join in voicing the same words. The poetic forms carry a message about our intimate relationship to our Lord.

The whole of the worship team strives to prepare a meaningful sequence of hymns and songs that include children and adults in expressions of joy, reflection, adoration, praise and reverence. Sometimes we invite corporate dance with children and adults. The purpose is to guide us into a time of reflection and openness to the message of the Word. As we are caught up, our individual voices become one, and we find ourselves receptive and open.

One of the hymns from the Honduran Anabaptist community of faith that has become very meaningful to us is:

You called me, Lord my God,

my hands are ready now

to build with you, O God,

a fellowship of faith.

No angels can perform

the task given to transform

a world in pain and grief

to wholeness, joy and peace.

But God chose human hands

his mandate to fulfill.

Lord, help me in this work,

to do your holy will.

Blessed are the faithful ones,

those who strive for love and peace,

proclaiming to all justice

while living liberty.

This song recognizes our human condition, a personal call from God to be involved in building a new community with others, and a continued challenge to live in a new freedom. This liberty restores us to practise justice without ignoring the injustices, as we build a community of people of peace.

The refrain of another favourite hymn from the Paraguayan Anabaptist community affirms that "God is calling forth a people his true Israel to be. I belong to God's own people by his power and grace to be." God is the initiator and the enabler who desires to grant us what we covet: to be brought into a new community, to be the new wine of meaning and healing that embraces the past and transforms it.

In prayer we seek God

The fourth and final element of our worship-communal prayer-incorporates abundant thanksgiving, petitions, intercession and praise. The methods of prayer are varied. Sometimes the leader responds to the requests or expressions of thanksgiving with the phrase, Tor this we pray to the Lord," which is followed by the congregational refrain, "Lord, hear our prayer." Other times, people rise and pray spontaneously.

Sometimes someone may be asked to pray for another, perhaps because the intercessor has lived through a similar experience and can pray with great empathy for the one in need of prayer. On Wednesdays we often give opportunity for everyone who is present to pray aloud for the requests that are brought to the community.

Every two months we incorporate a healing service into our Wednesday gathering. Prayers for healing of body, mind and spirit are followed by anointing with oil and communion. On these occasions each person who requests prayer is prayed for in private-one-on-one, with full confidential!ty-by someone asked in advance to be available to offer such prayers. We have often held these services with Toronto United Mennonite Church and had people pray in different languages. A physician joins us for these services to pray for her patients in great need.

These services are deeply moving and are requested by the congregants. Occasionally we have also had prayer vigils for specific needs to seek God more intensely. This practice, combined with fasting, is especially needed when someone brings a request for a prayer of liberation.

Sometimes we receive people who do not speak Spanish, and several members of the congregation who are good at simultaneous translation into English can step in to translate during the service. We welcome these visits and the opportunity to interact with visitors and friends of the participants, who are themselves exploring faith. In God's power and strength, we try to be faithful in what we do and say.

The greeting of peace is our final embrace with our brothers and sisters, as we face the mission that each of us returns to.

Sharing a meal strengthens us for the journey

Every Sunday morning we eat a simple meal together. In a sense, our sharing bread is a continuation of our worship. Each Sunday a different family is responsible for preparing and serving the meal. On Wednesdays the communal meal is eaten as people come in from work before the service.

These times of sharing our food and having fellowship are community-building experiences through which we get to know one another better. Both physical and spiritual bread of life strengthen us for the daily journey.

We are slowly becoming "poured-out wine" for our God, as Oswald Chambers wrote. When I first read this phrase I had not experienced what Chambers meant. I could understand the concept in my head, but it was not in my experience. Now, in a closer walk with God, I am just beginning to understand how we arrive at the willingness to become poured-out wine. Daily we are crushed and yet not defeated. Daily we offer to God the blood of our lives that is being transformed into new wine: the best wine from the winepress of trodden grapes!

Sometimes someone may be asked to pray for another, perhaps because the intercessor has lived through a similar experience and can pray with great empathy for the one in need of prayer.

[Author Affiliation]

-Betty Kennedy de Puricelli

The author was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She and husband Adolfo Puricelli direct a multi-service community centre for newcomers to Canada and serve as pastors of Toronto Mennonite New Life Church. Reprinted, by permission of the publisher, from Vision: A Journal for Church and Theology 6 (Fall 2005); www.MennoVision.org.

Expense Management ; Extensity

Extensity / 2200 Powell St., Suite 300, Emeryville, CA 94608 / (510) 594-5700 / [http://www.extensity.com] www.extensity.com

PARENT COMPANY: Geac Computer Corp. (GAC.TO)

EMPLOYEES: 140*

*Extensity employees before the acquisition by Geac

Elizabeth Ireland

SVP, Marketing, Geac Enterprise Solutions

Was SVP, Marketing, at Extensity. Responsible for all product marketing (pricing, positioning, strategy) for the Extensity suite of applications. Had been a VP at MapInfo and, earlier, a CPA.

Mark Oney

SVP, Front Office Engineering, Geac Enterprise Solutions

Was SVP, Engineering, at Extensity. Heads Geac Americas front- office engineering organization, including the Extensity product line. Worked at Apple and Xerox.

Products

Extensity 6 is the latest version of the core offering - modules include Expense Reports, Timesheets, Travel Plans, Check Requests, Procurement, Extensity Connect (a dashboard, or interface), and Extensity Reporting (for business intelligence, powered by Business Objects). Also: Extensity System Administration Tool (for self- maintenance).

Gobbled Up, but Not Forgotten

Now that Extensity is no longer independent, but rather a division of enterprise-software company Geac, users might be forgiven for wondering to whom to make out this month's check. Except no one seems fazed.

If anything, UCLA's Rebecca Beatty suggests, "recently the support's been even a little bit better than before." During her 1999 implementation, Extensity switched out the lead person she'd been expecting to work with. "We never got that person back. It was a difficult period."

The state university signed a contract in mid-1998 (and UCLA's purchase order came the following year) but the first user didn't go live until 2002. (Extensity won out "because Concur wouldn't let us talk to a customer until we'd signed a contract"; Extensity provided a site visit.) Even now, only a fraction of the campus is on the system. "It's been a hard road, and difficult," she says.

Extensity "didn't quite understand what they were getting into with a university setting - and we didn't understand either." In the business world, for example, approvals by proxy "are the exception; in an academic environment they're the norm. Faculty don't do their own expense reports; they have others do it." As a result, "we've had to do a lot of customization," but despite it all, Beatty feels confident her 11,000 pending users will be up and running by year's end.

Office Depot's Cathy Kollman (a member of Extensity's customer- advisory board) says that "when I had issues they'd get their highest level people on it - but sometimes it took a little longer than I wanted." For Ball Corp.'s Mona Heffernan, there's "a little bit of control over the system that we wish we had. The kinds of fields the user will see, for example - we can't do that ourselves." It's frustrating, she says, that "we have to go to Extensity for that."

CH2M Hill's Mike Walker says his firm "was just going to recode an in-house application when we stumbled across Extensity" in 2000, but now a 5,000-seat license is held up at just 100 users. "It's not rolled out for a number of reasons," Walker says. Mostly, though, it's "because the cost of rolling it out - the user-education cost - is massive." To be of any use to them at all, he says, the system "requires a 90-minute training session."

Spirent Controller Phil Walton agrees: "It's education that's the bottleneck now - not the technology."

Spirent's Walton Says configurability cuts both ways.

"All the set-ups are in there, but to set them up takes a lot of time and focus."

Other Financials**

Total assets $43.6M

Stockholders' equity $33.0M

Cash & equivalents $35.2M

Long-term debt None

Accumulated deficit -$114M

Market value at 3/24 N.A.

**AS OF sept 30, EXCEPT WHERE NOTED; Company acquired march 6 by Geac

Includes short-term investments

running at a loss

extensity OPERATING RESULTS*

2002YTD* 2001A 2000

Revenue $14.3M $35.1M $24.9M

Gross margin 49.2% 57.6% 37.2%

Operating loss -$14.3M -$28.6M -$39.6M

Net loss -$13.6M -$26.0M -$34.5M

Net margin -95.2% -74.0% -138.8%

Earnings per share -0.55 -$1.09 -$1.63 R&D expenditure $5.6M $12.0M $14.1M

*Fiscal year ends Dec. 31; 2002 ytd RESULTS REFLECT FIRST 9 MONTHS

A2001 includes $6.2M restructuring, other one-time charges

Sources: 10K Wizard, company reports

Reference Checks

UCLA

Rebecca Beatty

Dir., Business Services, Corp. Finance

(310) 794-8688

Project: University has gone live with 1,000 of intended 12,000 users.

Office Depot

Cathy Kollman

Director, Accounts Payable

(561) 438-3335

Project: World's second-largest office-supply chain successfully cut back its 4-to-6-week reimbursement time. Just upgraded to version 6.

Rohm & Haas

Henry Good

Dir., Travel and Insurance

(215) 592-3132

Project: The chemical producer signed a three-year contract to run Version 6 on a hosted basis directly with Extensity.

CH2M HILL

Mike Walker

Director, I.T.

(720) 286-2112

Project: Global project-delivery firm needed both time and expense reporting, Web-based access, and an offline client. Running 5.6.1.

Spirent Communications

Phil Walton

Controller

(818) 598-4024

Project: Network-technology company rolled out Extensity 6 to its North American divisions over the last few months; moving on to Europe next quarter and Asia after that.

Ball Corp.

Mona Heffernan

Director, Business Analysis

(303) 460-5507

Project: Packaging provider and aerospace company split its deployment - version 5.6 for aerospace division and 6.0 to the rest of the company.

Marconi

Sharon Bailey

Director of Accounting

(817) 575-2307

Project: Former Reltec division was one of the original beta testers, and is only now upgrading from Extensity 1.0.9 to version 6.

Executives listed here are all users of Extensity's software. Their willingness to talk has been confirmed by Baseline.

French automakers design for increased recycling

FRENCH AUTOMAKERS DESIGN FOR INCREASED RECYCLING

The first deadline for meeting the recycling goals set in a 1993 agreement among French recycling specialists is only three years away, when no more than 15 percent by weight of a car may be disposed in France. New models will have to be at least 90 percent recyclable. By 2015, the maximum level of disposal will be five percent by weight. The country's auto industry is responding by making design adjustments to increase the viability of recycling vehicles. Innovations in some cars include: Marking plastic parts weighing over 3.5 ounces for future sorting; Clipping on instead of gluing auto trim parts such as side moldings to simplify removal; Minimizing the use of copper and other residual metals to improve the quality of recovered scrap; and Limiting the number of different plastics used in manufacturing. More end uses for recycled auto materials also are being developed, such as plastics in concrete production or backfill and tires in floor coverings.

Reversing trend, cable modems win over DSL

Cable companies attracted more Internet subscribers than phone companies did in the first quarter, reversing a 3 1/2-year trend, according to a research report Thursday.

The 19 largest cable companies in the U.S. added 1.19 million broadband subscribers in the January-to-March period, according to a tally by Leichtman Research Group.

Phone companies added 1.01 million DSL customer in the same period, the report said.

Since the third quarter of 2004, phone companies had been adding subscribers faster than cable, closing in on cable's lead in total subscribers. But that lead is now widening, with cable companies having a total of 34.7 million subscribers compared with 29.5 million at the phone companies.

"With telephone companies generally curtailing prior aggressive price-based offers to woo subscribers, the telcos added about two-thirds as many broadband subscribers as a year ago," wrote Bruce Leichtman, president of the firm.

Phone companies have moved resources into upgrading their networks rather than marketing basic DSL service. Verizon Communications Inc. is replacing its copper network with fiber, and added a net of just 4,000 subscribers to its copper-based DSL service in the first quarter. It gained 262,000 customers for its fiber-based service.

AT&T, the country's largest Internet service provider, is focused on raising DSL speeds in some areas so it can provide TV service over phone lines.

Meanwhile, cable companies are poised to boost their maximum available Internet speeds this year with a relatively cheap upgrade using new cable modem technology.

___

On the Net:

http://www.leichtmanresearch.com/

Helen G. Kushnick, Leno's ex-manager

NEW YORK Helen Gorman Kushnick, who managed Jay Leno's rise fromsmall-time comic to host of "The Tonight Show" but was fired asexecutive producer four months after Leno replaced Johnny Carson, hasdied.

Ms. Kushnick, 51, who had battled cancer for several years, diedWednesday at her home in Manhattan, said Jane Rosenthal, a closefriend.

In the weeks after Leno took over as full-time host of "TheTonight Show" in May, 1992, the show sustained an avalanche ofcriticism as ratings dipped deeper than expected.

Ms. Kushnick was fired after she was accused of demanding thatguests booked by "Tonight" not appear on rival talk shows. Herdisappointment over the dismissal lasted for years, said her longtimeLos Angeles attorney, Barry Langberg.

"She was hurt by it, and she didn't ever stop being hurt by it,including Leno's treatment of her," Langberg said.

Leno did not wish to comment on her death, a spokeswoman for"The Tonight Show" said.

"She had a tough side to her. She was a negotiator, she waspersistent, but she also was a very generous, loyal person," Langbergsaid.

Survivors include a daughter, Sara Rose, and a brother, JosephGorman.

Pakistan: 3 killed in suspected US missile strike

A suspected U.S. missile strike killed three people late Saturday in a Pakistani town close to the Afghan border, the latest in a series of attacks in a region where top al-Qaida leaders are believed to be hiding, two intelligence officials said.

Two unmanned drones were seen above the town of Miran Shah in north Waziristan minutes before missiles hit a factory in the town, the officials said, based on reports from informants in the town. Three people were killed, but no other information was immediately available, they said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

U.S. officials were not immediately available for comment.

Al-Qaida and Taliban fighters have established bases throughout Pakistan's semiautonomous tribal regions, where they are said to plan attacks on U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan as well as violence in Pakistan.

Under U.S. pressure, Pakistan has carried out military offensives against insurgents while also trying to woo various tribes to turn against extremists. But in recent weeks, the U.S. has signaled its impatience with Pakistani efforts by apparently stepping up cross-border assaults on alleged militant targets.

The U.S. is suspected in at least 11 missile strikes on the Pakistan side of the Afghan border since mid-August, killing more than 100 people, most of them alleged militants, according to an Associated Press count based on figures provided by Pakistan intelligence officials.

The United States rarely confirms or denies the attacks, which provoke anger among many Pakistanis. Pakistan's military and civilian leaders have criticized the strikes as violations of their country's sovereignty, but have not forcefully demanded that Washington stop them, provoking criticism from Muslim conservatives.

Sophisticated attack leaves 77 dead in India

The level of sophistication in the bombings that killed at least 77 people in northeastern India indicates that local militants had help from other terrorist groups in carrying out the attacks, officials said Friday.

The scale and planning behind Thursday's 13 coordinated blasts in Assam state surprised authorities, who struggled to determine who was behind the attacks _ among the worst ever in a region plagued by separatism and ethnic violence.

The death toll in the explosions rose to 77 on Friday after more than a dozen people died from their injuries overnight, said Subhas Das, the state's home commissioner. More than 300 people were wounded.

Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, the Assam state inspector general of police, said the state's largest separatist group, the United Liberation Front of Asom, or ULFA, was the main target of the investigation, but added that the sophistication of the blasts suggested the rebel group was "assisted by a force who has adequate expertise in such attacks." He did not elaborate.

Anjan Borehaur, an ULFA spokesman, denied his group had any role in the blasts.

"We are not behind these blasts in any way and it is the work of the Indian occupation forces," he said in an Assamese language e-mail sent to reporters.

ULFA is one of the largest and most feared of several dozen militant groups active in the region, having launched dozens of attacks since it took up arms in 1979.

Most of the groups want independent homelands in India's northeast, an isolated region wedged between Bangladesh, Bhutan, China and Myanmar with only a thin corridor connecting it to the rest of India.

ULFA says Assam and the rest of the northeast _ whose inhabitants are ethnically closer to Burma and China _ were never traditionally part of India and that the federal government has been exploiting the area's natural resources while doing little for the indigenous people.

The region has also seen repeated violence between indigenous tribes and migrants to the area from other parts of India. Last year, militants massacred about 70 migrant workers from northern India, and in October more than 50 people were killed in violence between members of the Bodo tribe and migrants, most of whom were Muslims.

But the separatist group has never carried out an attack of this size and complexity, which closely resembled bombings that have rocked other Indian cities this year. Those attacks were blamed on well-financed and well-armed Islamic militant groups.

Officials have refused to identify any suspected groups. However, Indian media reports quoted unidentified senior police officers as saying they were looking at possible links to the Harkat-e-Jehad-e Islami militant group, based in nearby Bangladesh.

India has frequently accused the group of involvement in attacks but offered little proof.

A local television station, News Live, said it received a text message from a previously unknown group claiming responsibility.

The group, calling itself the Islamic Security Force (Indian Mujahadeen), also warned of future attacks, News Live said.

The name echoes that of the Indian Mujahadeen, a group unknown until May when it said it was behind bombings in the western city of Jaipur which killed 61 people. It also claimed responsibility for blasts in the western state of Gujarat in July which killed at least 45 and blasts in New Delhi in September that killed 21.

A senior police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was in progress, said police were unaware of the group and were trying to track down the phone from which the message was sent.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the U.S. condemned the attacks.

"There is absolutely no justification for the use of violence against innocent people," he said.

Indian investigators and forensic experts sifted through the rubble of the blasts Friday for clues.

Mahanta said a preliminary investigation indicated the militants had used PE-3, a complex plastic explosive.

On Friday, police fired rubber bullets to disperse angry mobs who took to the streets of the state capital, Gauhati, stoning and attacking vehicles and buildings, said C.K. Bhuyan, a local magistrate. He said no one was injured by the rubber bullets.

Similar incidents took place Thursday.

A curfew was imposed in parts of the city on Friday, Bhuyan said.

The bombs were planted in cars and rickshaws, and the largest explosion occurred near the office of Assam's top government official, leaving bodies and charred, mangled cars and motorcycles strewn across the road.

Poodle punting; Canada Post punishes a Winnipeg postie for following the manual and booting a dog.(Brief Article)

Dogs have attacked 48-year-old Paul Schellenberg of Winnipeg nearly a dozen times in his 24 years as a postman. His pants have been shredded and he has required tetanus shots for multiple bites and lacerations. Last November, he narrowly avoided being bitten yet again, this time by a snarling miniature poodle that hurled itself at him with teeth bared. Mr. Schellenberg "reflexively" put his boot to the little beast, and sent it off yelping. That should have been the end of it. But the dog's owner filed a complaint, and, Canada Post reacted by suspending Mr. Schellenberg without pay.

The altercation happened one morning in mid-November, when Mr. Schellenberg was partway through his 385-house route in the middle-class Winnipeg district of North Kildonan. His next stop was a two-bedroom, limestone-faced bungalow on Edison Avenue. As he strode into the yard he paid little heed to the small, beige poodle-type dog sitting on the driveway "minding its own business," as he puts it. A car was parked in the driveway, with a still-unidentified man sitting in it.

The postman put the mail in the box, turned and was about to leave when he was inexplicably charged by the dog. "It had his teeth bared, and it came at me snarling and growling," says Mr. Schellenberg. Previous unprovoked dog attacks have led him to be wary, he says, so "I didn't give it a chance to bite me. I kicked out at it reflexively to get rid of it." The man in the car did nothing.

Mr. Schellenberg apparently did exactly what Canada Post's policy manual instructs carriers to do when confronted with an aggressive dog. In the general delivery information manual that is part of letter-carrier training, a section entitled "Delivery Hazards" states: "Protect yourself, using [the mail] satchel, dog stopper [a spray repellant], or any means justified at the time." Last year, dogs triggered 327 incidents nationwide that were serious enough to require carriers to take sick time or medical leave.

Mr. Schellenberg argues he acted appropriately in this case. Though he stands six feet six inches tall and weighs 240 pounds, he notes that "even little dogs bite hard." Uninjured, he completed his route. Days later the owner, whose name has not been released, laid a complaint, claiming Mr. Schellenberg caused a hairline fracture of the poodle's jaw and a small lesion to its lip that bled slightly.

Canada Post's reaction was to suspend Mr. Schellenberg for 10 days. After he argued he had acted in self-defence, the suspension was cut in half. As far as he is concerned, however, any suspension is unjust because the dog owner is the one at fault. "If his dog wasn't out and loose, I couldn't have kicked it," he maintains.

Mr. Schellenberg appears to have the law on his side. Manitoba's Animal Liability Act states that owners must keep their dogs leashed or within a fenced area at all times. In addition, according to Rand Parker of the city's animal services branch, if a dog attacks someone on the owner's property, the owner is liable.

Canada Post officials have declined to comment on the heavily publicized case, ostensibly for privacy reasons, and also demanded that Mr. Schellenberg not speak to the news media. That, however, did not halt a nationwide flood of interest. CNN, Reuters and the CBC all requested interviews with the now notorious "pooch kicker," as one newspaper headline dubbed him. A Winnipeg daily had great fun with the incident, illustrating its story with a caricature of an oversized Mr. Schellenberg punting a tiny poodle like a football.

Other mail carriers and many ordinary Winnipegers saw it differently, however, and lined up behind Mr. Schellenberg, according to his union's grievance officer, Bob Tyre. Some posties even discussed staging a one-day walkout to protest the punishment. The groundswell of support for the mailman, says Mr. Tyre, is something Canada Post had not reckoned on. He says the company is reconsidering even the shorter suspension.

What irks Mr. Schellenberg most, however, is that even though he was following the training manual, he has been warned that another such incident could get him fired. "The thing is, if I had really wanted to kick the dog hard, they would have had to scrape him off my shoe," he says. "To my knowledge, I am the first letter carrier in Canada to be suspended for defending myself against a dog attack. And I've been taken off that route because the incident supposedly tarnished the image of Canada Post."

Poodle punting; Canada Post punishes a Winnipeg postie for following the manual and booting a dog.(Brief Article)

Dogs have attacked 48-year-old Paul Schellenberg of Winnipeg nearly a dozen times in his 24 years as a postman. His pants have been shredded and he has required tetanus shots for multiple bites and lacerations. Last November, he narrowly avoided being bitten yet again, this time by a snarling miniature poodle that hurled itself at him with teeth bared. Mr. Schellenberg "reflexively" put his boot to the little beast, and sent it off yelping. That should have been the end of it. But the dog's owner filed a complaint, and, Canada Post reacted by suspending Mr. Schellenberg without pay.

The altercation happened one morning in mid-November, when Mr. Schellenberg was partway through his 385-house route in the middle-class Winnipeg district of North Kildonan. His next stop was a two-bedroom, limestone-faced bungalow on Edison Avenue. As he strode into the yard he paid little heed to the small, beige poodle-type dog sitting on the driveway "minding its own business," as he puts it. A car was parked in the driveway, with a still-unidentified man sitting in it.

The postman put the mail in the box, turned and was about to leave when he was inexplicably charged by the dog. "It had his teeth bared, and it came at me snarling and growling," says Mr. Schellenberg. Previous unprovoked dog attacks have led him to be wary, he says, so "I didn't give it a chance to bite me. I kicked out at it reflexively to get rid of it." The man in the car did nothing.

Mr. Schellenberg apparently did exactly what Canada Post's policy manual instructs carriers to do when confronted with an aggressive dog. In the general delivery information manual that is part of letter-carrier training, a section entitled "Delivery Hazards" states: "Protect yourself, using [the mail] satchel, dog stopper [a spray repellant], or any means justified at the time." Last year, dogs triggered 327 incidents nationwide that were serious enough to require carriers to take sick time or medical leave.

Mr. Schellenberg argues he acted appropriately in this case. Though he stands six feet six inches tall and weighs 240 pounds, he notes that "even little dogs bite hard." Uninjured, he completed his route. Days later the owner, whose name has not been released, laid a complaint, claiming Mr. Schellenberg caused a hairline fracture of the poodle's jaw and a small lesion to its lip that bled slightly.

Canada Post's reaction was to suspend Mr. Schellenberg for 10 days. After he argued he had acted in self-defence, the suspension was cut in half. As far as he is concerned, however, any suspension is unjust because the dog owner is the one at fault. "If his dog wasn't out and loose, I couldn't have kicked it," he maintains.

Mr. Schellenberg appears to have the law on his side. Manitoba's Animal Liability Act states that owners must keep their dogs leashed or within a fenced area at all times. In addition, according to Rand Parker of the city's animal services branch, if a dog attacks someone on the owner's property, the owner is liable.

Canada Post officials have declined to comment on the heavily publicized case, ostensibly for privacy reasons, and also demanded that Mr. Schellenberg not speak to the news media. That, however, did not halt a nationwide flood of interest. CNN, Reuters and the CBC all requested interviews with the now notorious "pooch kicker," as one newspaper headline dubbed him. A Winnipeg daily had great fun with the incident, illustrating its story with a caricature of an oversized Mr. Schellenberg punting a tiny poodle like a football.

Other mail carriers and many ordinary Winnipegers saw it differently, however, and lined up behind Mr. Schellenberg, according to his union's grievance officer, Bob Tyre. Some posties even discussed staging a one-day walkout to protest the punishment. The groundswell of support for the mailman, says Mr. Tyre, is something Canada Post had not reckoned on. He says the company is reconsidering even the shorter suspension.

What irks Mr. Schellenberg most, however, is that even though he was following the training manual, he has been warned that another such incident could get him fired. "The thing is, if I had really wanted to kick the dog hard, they would have had to scrape him off my shoe," he says. "To my knowledge, I am the first letter carrier in Canada to be suspended for defending myself against a dog attack. And I've been taken off that route because the incident supposedly tarnished the image of Canada Post."

Waves of Fun Waterpark announces end of season

The Putnam County Waves of Fun Waterpark in Hurricane will closefor the season at 6 p.m. Monday, the Putnam County Parks andRecreation Commission announced. The …

TALK ABOUT THE 'PASSION '.(Preview)

David Griggs-Janower may be a choral music conductor and educator, but he fills his mind with a lot more than notes. Deep study of history and culture, religion and scripture regularly goes into his preparation for a performance, especially when he's taking on something as monumental as J.S. Bach's "St. John Passion," which his Albany Pro Musica will be performing on Saturday night at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.

"The chorus started rehearsing it the first Tuesday in January, but I've been working on it since the summer. I've been reading the gospels and books about St. John and Luther and Bach as well as studying the music," says Griggs-Janower. "I enjoy this …

U S WEST WEIGHING 2 BUYOUT OFFERS.(BUSINESS)

Byline: NOELLE KNOX Business Writer

NEW YORK -- Wall Street is closely watching U S West Inc., the focus of two competing buyout offers, now that another telecommunications company involved in the takeover bids has made its decision.

U S West, a Colorado-based Baby Bell telephone company, is weighing a $34 billion offer from Qwest Communications International Inc. against a $32.5 billion bid from Global Crossing Ltd.

U S West and Frontier Corp., a Rochester long-distance phone company, had previously agreed to merge with Global Crossing Ltd. before receiving tandem bids from Qwest on Sunday.

Frontier said Thursday it is sticking to its deal …