Wednesday, February 29, 2012

FED:High dollar squeezing orange market


AAP General News (Australia)
08-10-2011
FED:High dollar squeezing orange market

BRISBANE, Aug 10 AAP - An oversupply of oranges and a high Australian dollar has soured
the national citrus market, shaving some orange grower's profits in half.

Citrus Australia said record rain this year produced a bumper crop, with 240,000 tonnes
grown, more than 60,000 tonnes than 2010.

Chief executive Judith Damiani said citrus growers were really struggling as export
returns were extremely low and the subsequent oversupply was forcing domestic returns
down.

"Our citrus growers have survived the drought, frost and pest infestation, but unfortunately
the exchange rate may be the final straw for many growers," she said in a statement.

Victorian farmer Tania Chapman said she'd normally export up to 80 per cent of her
12,000 bins of oranges, but that has reduced to 50 per cent this year.

"It is probably the worst season that we've faced," she told AAP.

"Compared to 2009, returns back to growers are down between 50 and 60 per cent."

She said in some cases people were lucky to be covering their picking costs let alone
the cost of growing the produce.

Citrus Australia will launch a week of action starting Friday to get Australians behind farmers.

Free oranges will be handed out at the MCG on Friday when Hawthorn plays Port Power.

The same stunt will get underway at Parliament House in Sydney, Rundle Mall in Adelaide,
the Murray Street Mall in Perth and the Riverside CityCat Terminal in Brisbane next Tuesday.

AAP ka/crh/jlw

KEYWORD: ORANGES PICS AVAILABLE

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Total fire ban issued for parts of Victoria


AAP General News (Australia)
02-17-2006
Vic: Total fire ban issued for parts of Victoria

A total fire ban takes effect in parts of Victoria today.

The Country Fire Authority says lighting fires in the open is banned in the north eastern
and central districts.

Areas affected include Melbourne .. Ballarat .. Greater Geelong .. Greater Shepparton
and Wangaratta.

The ban .. which began at midnight .. runs for 24 hours.

AAP RTV jb/tm/wz/psm/

KEYWORD: BUSHFIRES VIC (MELBOURNE)

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

QLD:Farmers demand help in milk price war


AAP General News (Australia)
04-14-2011
QLD:Farmers demand help in milk price war

Eds: embargoed to 0600 (AEST) Thursday, April 14

By Kym Agius

BRISBANE, April 14 AAP - The competition watchdog needs to investigate if Coles engaged
in predatory pricing and deceptive conduct by starting a milk price war, the Queensland
Dairyfarmers' Organisation (QDO) says.

A Senate inquiry is under way after Coles dropped the price of its home-brand milk
to $1 a litre on Australia Day, with competitors quickly following suit.

QDO president Brian Tessmann said the cut-throat discounting has already hurt farmers.

"Milk cheques for many dairy farmers have already dropped," he said in a statement.

"Coles executives have dug their heels in, so it is now time for the government to
stand up for farmers and consumers."

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced last month they
were examining "all aspects of the (milk) supply chain" but refused to be specific, even
during evidence to the Senate inquiry on March 10.

QDO lodged 10 recommendations last week to the Senate inquiry and will hand them to
shadow agriculture spokesman John Cobb on Thursday.

Their recommendations focus on what they want the ACCC to investigate.

"We didn't want to leave anybody in doubt what were asking for," a spokesman told AAP.

The recommendations call for the federal government to direct the ACCC to examine Coles
for potential breaches of the Competition and Consumer Act by engaging in predatory pricing
as well as purchasing goods with the intention of selling them below their cost.

Ongoing price, cost and marketing surveillance of the fresh milk supply chain also
needs to be undertaken, the QDO says.

It says legislation should be strengthened to prohibit the abuse of a dominant position
in the market, as well as directly or indirectly imposing unfair purchase or selling prices.

Another recommendation says an independent study is needed of the economic impact of
supermarket store-brand milk procurement, marketing and pricing practices, and calls for
a mandatory code of conduct for relations between dairy farmers, processors, distributors/vendors
and retailers.

Mr Cobb has introduced a motion to federal parliament calling on the ACCC to "immediately
examine the big supermarkets and milk wholesalers ... to ensure they do not have too much
market power and are not anti-competitive".

Debate was adjourned and the motion is expected to be voted on next month.

A spokesman for Mr Cobb and a spokesman for the parliamentary secretary to the Treasury,
David Bradbury, said the motion has bipartisan support.

But Mr Bradbury's spokesman said that the motion would in some ways be just a gesture
of goodwill, as the government did not have the power to direct the ACCC on what it should
investigate.

"To maintain the independence of the ACCC, the Competition and Consumer Act prevents
the government from giving it a specific direction in relation to the enforcement of the
competition law," the spokesman said.

The ACCC's chief executive Graeme Samuel told AAP: "We conduct our investigations independently,
vigorously and free from any political interference".

AAP ka/jl/nb

KEYWORD: MILK (EMBARGOED)

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW:Two police injured in Hunter Valley brawl


AAP General News (Australia)
12-25-2010
NSW:Two police injured in Hunter Valley brawl

SYDNEY, Dec 25 AAP - Two police officers have been injured in a brawl in the NSW Hunter Valley.

About 300 people left two hotels in Scone at 12.15am (AEDT) on Saturday and began congregating
on the New England Highway, obstructing traffic, police said.

When police arrived to clear the roadway and disperse the crowd, a group of up to 30
people began throwing objects and an officer was allegedly assaulted.

A 24-year-old man was arrested and police again warned the crowd to disperse.

It is alleged that as officers attempted to load the man into a police vehicle, a 22-year-old
man and a 21-year-old woman attempted to free him.

Police then issued warnings to the man and woman, after which an officer allegedly
sustained a wound to the forearm when he was struck by a bottle or glass.

More police arrived and arrested the man and woman, plus another 22-year-old man.

All four will be issued a Future Court Attendance Notice for affray and assaulting police.

The two injured officers were treated at Scone Hospital.

Investigations are continuing in relation to the incident and further charges are expected
to be laid, police said.

AAP lxs/sn/apm

KEYWORD: BRAWL

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

QLD:Young whale found dead


AAP General News (Australia)
08-17-2010
QLD:Young whale found dead

BRISBANE, Aug 17 AAP - A young whale has been found dead off the central Queensland
port of Gladstone.

The carcass of the 12m sub-adult humpback is resting on a tidal bank near Facing Island,
within the bounds of Gladstone harbour.

Officers from the Department of Environment and Resource Management inspected the corpse
on Monday after it was found by a fisherman.

"There was no indication of the cause of death," said DERM senior ranger Bruce Knuckey.

The juvenile whale has been dead for some time and a post-mortem examination was not practical.

"As the carcass had already significantly decomposed the department will be unable
to investigate further," Mr Knuckey said.

AAP stg/pjo/maur

KEYWORD: WHALE

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

WA: WA woman killed in Spain while cycling


AAP General News (Australia)
04-08-2010
WA: WA woman killed in Spain while cycling

PERTH, April 8 AAP - A Perth woman killed when an allegedly drunken van driver ploughed
into a pack of cyclists in Spain was a strong supporter of human rights, Oxfam says.

Chanelle Carter, 34, was one of a group of 60 cyclists hit by a van while cycling in
Tarragona, in Spain's northeast on Wednesday.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said consular staff from the Australian
embassy in Madrid were assisting her family in Perth, who had been notified of Ms Carter's
death by West Australian police.

Spanish news website El Mundo reported two Swiss nationals were also injured.

Local police have charged the 57-year-old driver of the van with reckless homicide
and injury, alleging he was under the influence of alcohol about noon when the collision
occurred, the website said.

Oxfam Australia executive director Andrew Hewett said Ms Carter was a strong supporter
of the charity organisation, who dedicated her time, money and talents to help poor people
around the world.

"Over the years she participated in a number of Oxfam fundraising events including cycling
through Laos in 2006," Mr Hewett said.

"She had a particular interest in human rights, indigenous issues and environmental concerns.

"The death of a person like Chanelle is a great loss for so many."

Ms Carter was a senior research scientist in the global technology delivery arm of
Alcoa's refinery at Kwinana, south of Perth.

AAP ah/ldj/tr

KEYWORD: CYCLIST WRAP

2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

ABC 702's What The Papers Say


AAP General News (Australia)
08-26-2009
ABC 702's What The Papers Say

ABC 702 - WHAT THE PAPERS SAY





THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD



Predatory sex clinic is under fire from sexual health experts.



Australia searching for a brand new identity for the country.



A legal decision could scuttle a 14 year old girls solar around the world sail attempt.



THE AUSTRALIAN



Thousands of small businesses facing larger tax bills because of pay increases by state
tribunals.



The Packer family has just sold its head office building in Park street.





THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW



The federal government has rejected business demands to scale back regulatory regime.





Wollies has announced it's going into the hardware business.



The Obama administration will nominate Ben Bernanke as the chief of the central bank.





THE MELBOURNE AGE



Hundreds more jobs to be axed at Holden.



Diggers in Afghanistan will be served Aussie tucker at a cost of four million dollars.



Wollies announced plan to enter the hardware sector to challenge Bunnings.





THE BRISBANE COURIER MAIL



Qld coastal development faces major upheaval with rising water levels.



Former Queensland government minister Gordon Nuttall now faces more charges.





THE WEST AUSTRALIAN



Just five more beds in WA's hospital system compared to two decades ago.



The Perth Royal show has cancelled a number of exhibits because of fears animals could
catch swine flu.





ADELAIDE ADVERTISER





The death of the Murray River Queen.



Stuffed animals now they're in danger.





THE HOBART MERCURY



The death of a Tasmanian teenager who switched the engine off to safe petrol has led
to calls for more driver training.



South Korean planned development on Hobart's eastern shore has sparked concern.



THE CANBERRA TIMES



Canberra railway station will be shafted out of Kingstown for new developments.



Plans afoot to refurbish PM's two major residences





THE NORTHERN TERRITORY NEWS



The Territory is now the last jurisdictions diction to allow fireworks after ACT's
decision to ban it this week.



Three boys who jumped into a creek to try and save their mate have been honoured.





AAP RTV rt fdf

KEYWORD: MONITOR ABC PAPERS (SYDNEY)

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Man in hospital after rock thrown at windscreen of car


AAP General News (Australia)
04-17-2009
NSW: Man in hospital after rock thrown at windscreen of car

SYDNEY, April 17 AAP - A man has been taken to hospital after a rock was thrown at
his car in Sydney's west.

The man was travelling west on the M4 near Beresford Road at Greystanes about 5.45am
(AEST) when the rock was thrown at his car.

The rock smashed through the windscreen of his Subaru and hit him on the head.

He was treated by ambulance officers at the scene before he was taken to Westmead hospital,
where he is in a stable position.

AAP bc/ldj

KEYWORD: ROCK

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

QLD: Cops lied over fatal chase: inquest


AAP General News (Australia)
12-11-2008
QLD: Cops lied over fatal chase: inquest

By Crystal Ja

GOLD COAST, Dec 11 AAP - Police officers deliberately lied about the circumstances
of a fatal motorcycle chase because they knew they had broken pursuit protocols, an inquest
has heard.

Bikie Craig Robert Shepherd, 26, was killed and his female passenger seriously injured
when their motorbike skidded around a tight bend at Beechmont Road on the Gold Coast in
2006.

They had been pursued for over 20km by police, who initially spotted them speeding
along the Pacific Motorway in excess of 160km/h.

Counsel assisting the coroner, Justin Harper, told the inquest Mr Shepherd's speed
and dangerous driving was a major contributor to the crash.

But he said the two police officers involved had deliberately omitted information from
an internal investigation to cover up a series of procedural failures.

Senior Constables Stephen Chapman and Hilton Buckley said they tried twice to contact
the communications command during the pursuit, but were let down by a malfunctioning radio.

Const Chapman admitted to the inquest on Wednesday he could have used his mobile phone
to contact headquarters, having used it twice to call two fellow officers during the chase.

All four officers failed to mention the telephone calls in initial interviews.

"They were misleading in their evidence," Mr Harper told the inquest.

"It's highly unlikely that four of them would have forgotten ... one could, but the
fact that four did it is serious to say the least."

He said the officers were more concerned with catching Mr Shepherd, who had links to
the Odins Warriors motorcycle gang, than prioritising public safety.

Const Chapman earlier said the crash had occurred just moments after he and his partner
had called off the chase.

But they did not stop, pull over or turn off their lights and sirens.

Mr Harper said it was clear the officers were still in pursuit when the motorcycle crashed.

Paul Smith, on behalf of the officers, said: "The officers generally acted within the
(pursuit) policy, but it is conceded there wasn't strict compliance."

Queensland coroner Michael Barnes will deliver his findings on Friday.

AAP cj/pjo/wf/de

KEYWORD: SHEPHERD (PIX AVAILABLE)

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

VIC: Main stories in today's Melbourne newspapers


AAP General News (Australia)
08-08-2008
VIC: Main stories in today's Melbourne newspapers

MELBOURNE, Aug 8 AAP - The main stories in today's Melbourne newspapers:

HERALD SUN

Page 1: Grant Hackett and Libby Trickett have Beijing gold in their sights.

Page 3: A global audience of four billion will be watching when fireworks, red flags,
Chinese opera and the Great Wall take centre stage at tonight's Olympic Games opening
ceremony spectacular.

Page 5: Pentathlete Angie Darby has won her agonising battle to compete in Beijing.

World: With all eyes on Beijing ahead of the Olympics, US President George Bush has
bluntly told China that the US is strongly opposed to the way the Chinese government represses
its people.

Finance: Tabcorp has upped the ante in its legal battle with the Brumby government,
seeking a $680 million payout for being stripped of its poker machine licence post-2012.

Sport: Player Brock McLean has made a thunderous statement on his passion for Melbourne,
donating $10,000 to the AFL club's "Debt Demolition" campaign.

MORE jrd/cmc

KEYWORD: MONITOR FRONTERS VIC

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

WA: Two survivors found at site of midair crash=2


AAP General News (Australia)
02-14-2008
WA: Two survivors found at site of midair crash=2

A Department of Conservation and Environment (DEC) spokesman confirmed the people aboard
were involved in a goat culling program.

"They were on a feral goat control program in Kennedy Range National Park and it involved
DEC and Department of Agriculture staff," the spokesman said.

It is understood the pilots of the helicopter and the plane were contractors.

AAP lk/evt/bwl

KEYWORD: CRASH 2 LEAD 2 PERTH (REOPENS)

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed:Most voters have made up their mind on federal poll: survey


AAP General News (Australia)
08-27-2007
Fed:Most voters have made up their mind on federal poll: survey

By Colin Brinsden

CANBERRA, Aug 27 AAP - Most voters have already made up their minds and are backing
Kevin Rudd and Labor in the federal election, a survey released today shows.

A survey of 1,156 voters conducted for public relations firm Burson-Marsteller by
Research International found 76.6 per cent had already decided who they were going to
vote for, and of them 55.8 per cent were backing Labor.

"Prime Minister John Howard and the Liberals have the fight of their lives on their
hands," Burson-Marsteller's director of public affairs Michael Gillies-Smith said.

"Labor is in the box seat to win this election."

More than 80 per cent of the 40-and-older age bracket were certain about their voting
intentions, as were 65.7 per cent in the 18-29 age group and 68 per cent in the 30-39
group.

However, support for Mr Howard and the Liberals was stronger among voters in the 60-and-older
bracket, at 49.1 per cent, with 40.4 per cent going for Labor.

By gender, 82.9 per cent of males had made made up their mind, compared with 70.5 per
cent of females. according to the survey.

Slightly more women were backing Labor - 59.5 per cent, compared with 52.5 per cent of men.

AAP cb/sb/jl/sp

KEYWORD: VOTE

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Record employment figures not down to Work Choices: Rudd


AAP General News (Australia)
04-12-2007
NSW: Record employment figures not down to Work Choices: Rudd

Opposition Leader KEVIN RUDD has dismissed the Prime Minister's claims Australia's
record low unemployment rate has been driven by the federal government's Work Choices
laws.

Official figures out today show Australia's unemployment rate dropped to 4.5 per cent
in March .. down from 4.6 per cent the previous month.

JOHN HOWARD says the drop is largely a result of his government's industrial relations overhaul.

But Mr RUDD says it's mainly the result of jobs growth in the booming resources sector.

AAP RTV bt/sg/was/wz/bart

KEYWORD: JOBS RUDD (SYDNEY)

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Happy Feet Australia's Lord Of The Rings


AAP General News (Australia)
12-11-2006
Fed: Happy Feet Australia's Lord Of The Rings

The director of the Hollywood blockbuster Happy Feet says it'll be to the Australian
film industry .. what Lord Of The Rings was for New Zealand.

Speaking in Sydney .. GEORGE MILLER says the animated feature is both Australian ..

because it was made here .. and international .. because the actors don't have Australian
accents.

Happy Feet was released in the US last month .. taking more than 160 million dollars
at the box office ..but won't be screened here until Boxing Day.

The hero of the film is Mumble .. an emperor penguin .. voiced by ELIJAH WOOD.

Mumble can't sing in order to attract a mate .. but is a great tap dancer.

It also features the voices of HUGH JACKMAN .. NICOLE KIDMAN .. STEVE IRWIN .. and HUGO WEAVING.

AAP RTV jwm/bm/tm

KEYWORD: HAPPY (SYDNEY)

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NT: Beazley says govt has dropped ball on terror problem


AAP General News (Australia)
08-04-2006
NT: Beazley says govt has dropped ball on terror problem

KIM BEAZLEY says the federal government has dropped the ball on protecting us from
terrorist attacks.

Referring to a report that 200 jihadists will be sent to attack Jewish targets in countries
that support Israel .. the opposition leader says we have major security issues.

He says the government is great at passing laws .. but weak at protecting people on
the transport system and elsewhere.





Mr BEAZLEY's comments come amid reports the man charged with securing Australia's transport
system .. former Federal Police commissioner MICK PALMER .. has resigned from a Northern
Territory inquiry into Aboriginal child abuse.

Media reports suggest he's stood down because of other work commitments.

Mr BEAZLEY says Mr PALMER needs to ensure people are protected from terrorists.

AAP RTV km/ibw/bart

KEYWORD: MIDEAST AUST BEAZLEY (DARWIN)

) 2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: TGA accused of causing collapse of Pan Pharmaceuticals


AAP General News (Australia)
02-14-2006
Fed: TGA accused of causing collapse of Pan Pharmaceuticals

Australia's drug regulator's been accused of causing the collapse of Pan Pharmaceuticals
.. the drugs giant at the centre of the country's biggest medical recall.

Pan's former boss JIM SELIM has launched a series of cross claims against the Therapeutic
Goods Administration .. which he wants to sue over the collapse of the complementary drugs
manufacturer in 2003.

Documents lodged with the Federal Court show Mr SELIM's seeking more than 141 million
dollars in damages.

Mr SELIM cites TGA's investigations of Pan .. and the way it ordered the recall of
Pan's nutritional supplements .. medicines and other products.

AAP RTV bt/was/rt/bart

KEYWORD: PAN (SYDNEY)

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Aiming for Oscar: The gender gimmick

Caryn James
International Herald Tribune
11-22-2005
Groups that hand out awards can be suckers for acting stunts, from Nicole Kidman's fake nose in ''The Hours'' to Adrien Brody's near-starvation for ''The Pianist.'' The tradition is so entrenched that Kate Winslet, playing an outrageous version of herself in the HBO series ''Extras,'' listed a surefire way to get that elusive Academy Award. ''Daniel Day-Lewis in 'My Left Foot?' Oscar. Dustin Hoffman, 'Rain Man?' Oscar,'' she says. ''Seriously, you are guaranteed an Oscar if you play a mental.'' Irreverent, imprecise (the Day-Lewis character was not mentally troubled) yet essentially true.This season she might have added: playing gay. There has been an explosion of Oscar-baiting performances in which straight actors play gay, transvestite or transgender characters. Philip Seymour Hoffman melts into the role of the gay title character in ''Capote,'' while Cillian Murphy plays a transvestite in 1970s Ireland in Neil Jordan's witty, endearing ''Breakfast on Pluto.'' Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger play lovers in ''Brokeback Mountain,'' already better known as ''the gay cowboy movie.'' But big-name actors are leaping into such roles in smaller films, too. Felicity Huffman stretches way beyond ''Desperate Housewives'' as a man about to become a woman in ''Transamerica,'' and Peter Sarsgaard plays a gay Hollywood screenwriter who has an affair with a closeted, married studio executive (Campbell Scott) in the current ''Dying Gaul.''It's this cluster of sexually different roles that is new, not the idea itself. These actors are simply following the Oscar-winning path set more than a decade ago by Tom Hanks as a gay man with AIDS in ''Philadelphia'' and followed by Hilary Swank as the cross-dressing heroine of ''Boys Don't Cry'' and Charlize Theron, whose role in ''Monster'' was a kind of award-baiting triple-whammy: she gained weight, wore fake teeth and played a lesbian. The actors are straight as far as we know (give or take occasional Internet rumors). Our awareness of these nonfiction roles makes it easier for middle-class heterosexual viewers a group that does, after all, include most of us in the audience to embrace characters whose sexual orientations we don't share.This politically incorrect pragmatism aside, portraying gay, transvestite and transsexual characters allows actors to draw on a huge supply of gimmicks wigs and costumes, mannerisms of speech and posture that signify Acting. The transformation of the burly Hoffman is so complete that you might spend five stunned minutes thinking ''That's Philip Seymour Hoffman?'' only to forget very quickly that anyone is acting at all.The film is set during the early '60s, when Truman Capote was researching and writing ''In Cold Blood.'' Hoffman does more than impersonate the real Capote. The mincing delivery of his speech and the lighter-than-air voice become the character's brazen declaration of how special he is. He stands apart from mainstream '60s society not only because he is gay but also because he considers himself a genius, flaunting his wit and flashes of brilliant insight as flamboyantly as he tosses a scarf over his shoulder. It is all part of who he is.In a similarly brilliant turn, Murphy uses the posturing of his cross-dressing character Patrick Braden, who prefers to be called Kitten to make ''Pluto'' unexpectedly moving. The son of an Irish priest and his pretty young housekeeper, Kitten is left on the rectory doorstep as a baby and taken in by a foster mother who rejects him when she finds him trying on a dress. As an adult, Kitten's colorful '70s clothes and makeup are part of his attitude toward life. His favorite expression, a dismissive ''Serious, serious, serious,'' is the equivalent of Scarlett O'Hara's ''Fiddle-dee-dee,'' but his carefree pose is the disguise and defense of a character who finds life too painful, his need for love and acceptance too great, to take seriously.The film's style echoes Kitten's self-protective evasion of reality. He also has the bad luck to be in a disco when it is bombed, leading the police to wrongly arrest him and Kitten to ask one of the officers guarding him, ''If I wasn't a transvestite terrorist, would you marry me?'' The deceptively frivolous ''Breakfast on Pluto'' allows its audience to feel the profound emotions that Kitten spends his life trying to keep at a safe distance. Although we never forget that Kitten is a man and are not meant to, but we come to believe in this character so fully that we forget Murphy is playing him. It isn't necessary, and maybe from the awards angle not desirable, for an actor to disappear so completely into a role. ''Brokeback Mountain'' suggests that more conspicuous acting can be emotionally moving, too. As Jack Twist, Gyllenhaal appears early in the film standing with a hand on his hip, as if he's posing for a Gap ad; fortunately the male-model stance disappears, but it signals that of the two main characters, his is more comfortable in his own skin.Ledger's character, Ennis Del Mar, is the taciturn guy, the one who tucks in his chin and mumbles the few words he speaks so uncomfortable with his own sexual desires and so angry at himself for feeling them that he sometimes doesn't know whether he wants to kiss Jack or punch him.Given these contrasting styles, it's not surprising that after ''Brokeback'' was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival in September the Oscar buzz began for Ledger. His is the less naturalistic performance. We know that he doesn't always mumble and we never quite forget how much he's acting.And when Ennis's wife (played in the film by Michelle Williams), accidentally sees the men kissing and says nothing about it, she offers another way in for a heterosexual audience, as the character we can identify with most easily.''Transamerica'' is ostensibly about essential human relationships too: those between parents and children. Huffman plays Bree, a man living as a woman who, days before gender-reassignment surgery, heads from California to New York to find the now-grown son she fathered.When the two of them drive back cross-country, they visit Bree's parents and we see how the family dynamic has changed now that she's no longer Stanley. Despite the universal element of family, though, this modest film is really about Huffman's performance. She lowers her voice, wears conspicuous wigs and fake nails, and, as Murphy does in ''Pluto,'' allows the emotional reality of the character to show through that layer of deliberate artifice.''The Dying Gaul'' is similarly driven by acting, though in this case it's not nearly enough. Sarsgaard has the flamboyant role here, and he pushes it to the very edge of caricature. This psychological thriller daringly turns Sarsgaard's sympathetic character, who has been preyed on by the studio executive, into a lethal villain. But ''The Dying Gaul'' is done in by a claustrophobic style and a preposterous script. No acting trick, however energetic, can save it. Sometimes mannerisms are character, but sometimes a stunt remains a stunt.

2005 Copyright International Herald Tribune. http://www.iht.com

AP Top News at 8:23 p.m. EST


AP Online
01-21-2005

Bush Starts New Term, Seeks End to Tyranny

President Bush is flanked by first lady Laura Bush as he watches the Inaugural Parade, Thursday, Ja
President Bush is flanked by first lady Laura Bush as he watches the Inaugural Parade, Thursday, Jan. 20, 2005, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) _ George W. Bush embarked on an ambitious second term as president Thursday, telling a world anxious about war and terrorism that the United States would not shrink from new confrontations in pursuit of "the great objective of ending tyranny." Four minutes before noon, Bush placed his left hand on a family Bible and recited 39 tradition-hallowed words that every president since George Washington has uttered.

Tape Urges Iraqis to Prepare for Struggle

A U.S. Army 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry soldier stands near an Iraqi National Guard truck damaged
A U.S. Army 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry soldier stands near an Iraqi National Guard truck damaged in an engagement between U.S. forces and insurgents, in which five insurgents were killed in Mosul, Iraq, Thursday, Jan. 20, 2005. U.S. forces have intensified operations in Iraq's third largest city in a race to make it safe enough for voters to cast ballots in the country's Jan. 30 parliamentary and regional elections. (AP Photo/Jim MacMillan)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) _ Iraq's most feared terror leader called on his followers Thursday to show patience and prepare for a long struggle against the Americans, promising in an audiotape posted on the Internet that "ferocious wars ... take their time" but victory was assured. Elsewhere, U.S. troops launched fresh raids around the northern city of Mosul, killing five suspected insurgents, in a bid to rein in guerrillas and safeguard the Jan. 30 national elections. Iraqi forces sealed off main routes into Baghdad a day after a wave of deadly car bombings.

Palestinian Police to Deploy on Border

In this photo released by the Israeli Defense Force, military officers carry the coffin of Oded Sha
In this photo released by the Israeli Defense Force, military officers carry the coffin of Oded Sharon during his funeral in the town of Gan Yavne in southern Israel Thursday Jan. 20, 2005. Sharon, 36, a Shin Bet agent, was killed Tuesday when a Hamas militant blew himself up near an intersection where a main Palestinian road crosses an access road to a bloc of Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip. Seven Israelis were wounded in the attack. (AP Photo/Tal Naveh, IDF spokesman)

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) _ The planned deployment of Palestinian forces on the Gaza-Israel frontier could be a first step toward a wider return of Palestinians' security control in their areas of Gaza and the West Bank _ the situation before fighting broke out with Israel in 2000, the Palestinian foreign minister said Thursday. Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath made the assessment after Israel and the Palestinians resumed security coordination, agreeing on a Palestinian plan aimed at preventing rocket from Gaza into Israel.

Protesters Target Bush's Inauguration

An unidentified anti-President Bush protestor takes part in a demonstration near the president's in
An unidentified anti-President Bush protestor takes part in a demonstration near the president's inaugural parade, Thursday, Jan. 20, 2005, in Washignton. Demonstrators waving signs that said "Worst President Ever" and "the American Nightmare" jeered the president's motorcade during the inaugural parade. (AP Photo/Heesoon Yim)

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Anti-Bush demonstrators waving signs that said "Worst President Ever" and "the American Nightmare" jeered the president's motorcade during the inaugural parade Thursday. The procession of cars sped up as President Bush neared the designated location for protesters on Pennsylvania Avenue. Two rows of police lined the street in front of the main protest site. Officers stationed atop buildings along the route kept close watch on the crowd.

FBI Adds 10 Names to List in Boston Threat

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The FBI on Thursday added the names of 10 Chinese to the list of those being sought for questioning about a possible terror plot targeting Boston. Two law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, said the names were part of the same anonymous tip that led authorities on Wednesday to announce that they are seeking to question four other Chinese and two Iraqis.

CDC Recommends HIV Drugs for All Exposed

ATLANTA (AP) _ In a major policy shift, the government recommended for the first time Thursday that people exposed to the AIDS virus from rapes, accidents or occasional drug use or unsafe sex receive drug cocktails that can keep them from becoming infected. Previously, federal health officials recommended emergency drug treatment only for health-care workers accidentally stuck with a needle, splashed in the eye with blood, or exposed in some other way on the job. That recommendation was first made in 1996.

Ukraine's Yushchenko to Be Sworn in Sunday

Ukrainian municipal workers decorate the building with orange  color  on the city main square as th
Ukrainian municipal workers decorate the building with orange color on the city main square as they prepare for coming inauguration of President-elect Viktor Yushchenko, in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Jan. 20, 2005. Parliament scheduled a Sunday inauguration for Yushchenko, setting stage for the transition to a new government for Ukraine following months of political crisis. Orange is the color of Yushchenko's party. (AP Photo/ Efrem Lukatsky)

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) _ Viktor Yushchenko will be sworn in Sunday as president of Ukraine, completing his "Orange Revolution" after weeks of political turmoil in which he defeated the Kremlin-backed candidate at the polls and survived a mysterious poisoning plot. Lawmakers on Thursday hurriedly scheduled the inauguration in a decision that came hours after Yushchenko cleared the last of a series of legal obstacles that had arisen since the Dec. 26 election, including an appeal filed in the Supreme Court by loser Viktor Yanukovych.

ABC's 'The View' Gets 'Desperate'

The cast of
The cast of "Desperate Housewives," from left to right, Marcia Cross, Nicolette Sheridan, Felicity Huffman, Teri Hatcher, and Eva Longoria pose backstage after accepting the award for best television series musical or comedy at the 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, Jan. 16, 2005, in Beverly Hills, Calif. During the week of Feb. 7, the five stars will co-host ABC's "The View" while the show broadcasts from Los Angeles. Thet will each join the daytime talk show for a day.(AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

NEW YORK (AP) _ The ladies at "The View" are getting pretty desperate. During the week of Feb. 7, the five stars of "Desperate Housewives" will co-host ABC's "The View" while the show broadcasts from Los Angeles. Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria, Nicollette Sheridan, Felicity Huffman and Marcia Cross will each join the daytime talk show for a day. The Wisteria Lane residents will be filling in for "The View" moderator Meredith Vieira, who will not be making the trip from New York to Los Angeles due to family obligations.

Delta Caps Worst Year in Airline History

A Delta Air Lines jet moves across a taxiway as another aircraft takes off from Hartsfield Jackson
A Delta Air Lines jet moves across a taxiway as another aircraft takes off from Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Thursday, Jan. 20, 2005. Delta Air Lines Inc., which is transforming its business to reduce costs and attract more fliers, blamed high fuel prices, low fares and hefty charges as it reported a $2.2 billion fourth quarter loss that was much steeper than a year ago. The results, announced before the market opened on Thursday, missed Wall Street's reduced expectations and pushed the total losses at the Atlanta-based carrier to $8.5 billion since 2001. (AP Photo/Ric Feld)

ATLANTA (AP) _ Delta Air Lines Inc. blamed high fuel prices, low fares and hefty charges as it reported the worst annual financial performance in the industry's history on Thursday, culminating with a $2.2 billion fourth-quarter loss. Continental Airlines Inc. cited similar difficulties and posted a smaller-than-expected $206 million loss, bringing cumulative fourth quarter losses reported so far by five large U.S. airlines to $3.17 billion.

NHL Labor Talks End With No Progress Made

Bill Daly, NHL vice president and chief legal officer,  speaks at a news conference after meeting a
Bill Daly, NHL vice president and chief legal officer, speaks at a news conference after meeting at O'Hare Airport Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2004, in Chicago. Union Representatives and NHL officials meet in what appears to be a last-ditch effort to save the NHL season.(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

After two days of negotiations, the NHL and the players' association appeared no closer to a deal that could save the hockey season. Representatives from the league and union met for 4 1/2 hours Thursday in Toronto, the second straight day the sides held discussions in an attempt to end the four-month lockout.


Copyright 2005, AP News All Rights Reserved

tetrahydrate

tetrahydrate A crystalline hydrate containing four moles of water per mole of compound.

algal bloom

algal bloom The dense spread of algae which results from changes in the chemistry and/or temperature of lake water. Blooms may be green or red, and are most common in spring or early summer, when primary production outstrips the growth of the consumer organisms. The addition of phosphorus as a result of pollution from fertilizers is an important factor in the growth of algal blooms. The bloom will disappear if the input of fresh phosphorus ceases. See eutrophication.

Viatel Reports Strong First Quarter 2000 Results.

193% Increase in Total Revenue

Construction Completed on Third Phase of Pan-European Network

NEW YORK, May 3 /PRNewswire/ --

Viatel, Inc. (Nasdaq: VYTL) -- a rapidly growing provider of "all distance" communications services to individuals, corporations, ISPs, ASPs and other carriers -- today announced its first quarter 2000 results.

Revenue for the quarter was $180.7 million, nearly a three-fold increase over the $61.6 million recorded during the same period in 1999. EBITDA(a) loss, as a percentage of revenue, narrowed to 6.0% in the first quarter of 2000 from 13.3% for the corresponding prior year period.

"Viatel had yet another excellent quarter, with revenue growing 193% year-over-year," said Michael J. Mahoney, Viatel's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "In addition to delivering strong financial results in the first quarter, we took very significant steps towards realizing our goal of becoming Europe's premier provider of pan-European and trans-Atlantic data and voice services.

* "We appointed William Murphy, former Managing Director of British

Telecom's Enterprise Division, as Viatel's President. Not only is he is

leading our effort to deploy advanced services, he is helping us manage

the rapid growth in our European business as well as our European

network expansion.

* We acquired an AT&T subsidiary, AT&T Communications (UK) Ltd., expanding

our pan-European network throughout the U.K. by 1,700 route kilometers

and adding Enterprise-level corporate customers to our growing customer

base. We also gained a dedicated team of sales, marketing and technical

professionals with significant experience developing, marketing and

supporting a broad suite of products and services for Enterprise and SME

customers.

* We augmented our advanced services product offerings and accelerated our

deployment schedule for data products including frame relay, ATM and IP

services.

* We announced an e-business agreement with Intira Corporation that

enables Viatel customers to leverage complex web-hosting solutions or

"Netsourcing" for SMEs throughout the UK and Europe. Intira will

utilize Viatel's existing network infrastructure to provide

"mission-critical" Netsourcing services to Global 2000 customers.

* We announced our plans to deploy 22,000 fiber kilometers of CLEC

metropolitan fiber in London, Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin, Frankfurt and

Dusseldorf as well as throughout the New York metropolitan area,

enabling the Company to offer high speed integrated data, video and

voice communications over a single integrated network.

* And, we received equity sponsorship from Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst,

Chase Capital Partners and The Blackstone Group."

Mahoney continued, "Already this quarter, we have accomplished a great deal. Just this week, we completed construction on the third phase of our pan-European network.

"With over 7,000 route kilometers of our pan-European network complete, and the balance of the network scheduled for completion by year's end, we are in an extremely advantageous position relative to our competitors. By the end of 2000, we will own and operate a 10,400 route kilometer network linking over 59 cities, giving us one of the largest, state-of-the-art, continuously upgradeable broadband network in service in Western Europe.

"Equally significant, we now own 25% of the Yellow Submarine trans-Atlantic cable, of which Level 3 and Global Crossing own 25% and 50%, respectively. When combined with our long-haul and metropolitan networks, this trans-Atlantic fiber-optic cable will enable us to deliver intercontinental end-to-end integrated services 'on net.' This provides scalable distribution from the largest market in the world to Viatel's European network. We will shortly be able to provide, in many cases, door-to-door services, for example, New York to Berlin, to our customers.

"In all, our operating results and our strategic initiatives demonstrate that we can implement and execute. Through a focused and cohesive strategy, we have built a solid business and continue to expand our network and grow our customer base. We have done more than merely articulate a vision, we have delivered upon our promises," said Mahoney.

Revenue from communications services, which includes basic services (consisting of long distance voice services, 800 services, calling cards, conference calling, fax services, and carrier services) and advanced services (consisting of domestic and international private line services, Internet access, frame relay, and ATM and IP services) increased 232% to $160.6 million from $48.4 million in the same quarter in 1999.

Revenue from basic services was $149.0 million in the first quarter of 2000. Revenue from advanced services was $11.6 million in the quarter. Revenue from capacity sales was $20.0 million compared to $13.2 million in the first quarter of 1999.

Gross margin improved to 28.0% from 17.2% for the comparable quarter of 1999. Sales, general and administrative expense increased in the first quarter of 2000 to $61.4 million, or 34% of revenue, from $18.8 million, or 30.4% of revenue for the corresponding period in 1999. This increase was primarily the result of the expanded geographical reach of our network, additional product offering capabilities and employee-related reorganization expenses.

Net loss attributable to common stockholders was $121.0 million, or ($2.51) per share, for the first quarter of 2000, compared to a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $38.3 million, or ($1.65) per share, for the first quarter of 1999. Substantially all of the increase in the Company's net loss for the quarter was due to increased interest expense, depreciation and amortization expense associated with our network infrastructure initiatives and our acquisition of Destia Communications.

At March 31, 2000, the Company had gross property, plant and equipment of $1.2 billion and $676.2 million of cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and cash securing letters of credit for network construction. Pro forma for the recent financings, the Company had $1.1 billion in cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and cash securing letters of credit for network construction. The Company expects gross property, plant and equipment to exceed $1.6 billion by year-end 2000.

Viatel, Inc. is a rapidly growing provider of all distance communications services -- local and long-distance, voice and data, Web-centric and multimedia -- to end-users, ISPs, ASPs and other carriers in Europe and North America. It currently operates one of the largest international networks, with international gateways in New York and London; state-of-the-art network operations centers in Egham, England and Somerset, New Jersey; and network points of interconnection in over 250 cities. For more information about Viatel and the products and services that it offers, visit www.viatel.com .

Certain matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including construction risks and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's registration statements and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999.

VIATEL, INC.

Unaudited Summary Consolidated Financial and Other Data

(In thousands, except per share data)

Three Months Ended

March 31,

2000 1999

Statement of Operations Data:

Revenue:

Communications services revenue $ 160,640 $ 48,395

Capacity sales 20,038 13,246

Total revenue 180,678 61,641

Operating expenses:

Cost of services and sales 130,162 51,048

Selling, general and administrative 61,428 18,763

Depreciation and amortization 66,666 9,603

Restructuring and impairments 571 --

Total operating expenses 258,827 79,414

Operating loss (78,149) (17,773)

Interest income 7,346 6,828

Interest expense (48,385) (26,166)

Net loss (119,188) (37,111)

Dividends on convertible preferred stock (1,780) (1,177)

Net loss attributable to common stockholders $ (120,968) $ (38,288)

Net loss per common share attributable

to common stockholders $ (2.51) $ (1.65)

Weighted average common shares outstanding 48,202 23,186

Other Financial Data:

EBITDA(a) $ (10,912) $ (8,170)

Billable minutes (000s) 1,433,250 270,808

Balance Sheet Data (000s)(b)

As of March 31,

2000 2000 1999

Pro Forma(c) Actual Actual

Non-restricted cash, cash equivalents,

marketable securities and cash

securing letters of credit

for network construction $ 969,855 $ 516,777 $ 619,994

Restricted cash equivalents and

restricted marketable securities 159,452 159,452 229,796

Property and equipment, net 1,083,322 1,083,322 412,089

Convertible/redeemable

preferred securities 487,469 307,469 48,298

Long-term debt, excluding

current installments 2,044,778 1,756,787 1,292,482

(a) As used herein, "EBITDA" consists of earnings before interest,

income taxes, restructuring and impairment charges, extraordinary

loss, dividends on convertible preferred stock and depreciation and

amortization. EBITDA is a measure commonly used in the

telecommunications industry to analyze companies on the basis of

operating performance. EBITDA is not a measure of financial

performance under generally accepted accounting principles, is not

necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies

and should not be considered as an alternative to net income as a

measure of performance nor as an alternative to cash flow as a measure

of liquidity.

(b) Certain reclassifications have been made to the March 31, 1999 balance

sheet data to conform to the current year's presentation.

(c) Pro forma for the 7.75% Trust Convertible Preferred Securities and the

12.75% Senior Euro Notes offerings completed in April 2000.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

E-commerce is engine of growth.(CHS Electronics' Chairman and CEO Claudio Osorio, keynote speech at Comdex Miami)(Internet/Web/Online Service Information)

E-commerce will be the engine for the sustained growth of the world economy in the years to come, said CHS Electronics' Chairman and CEO Claudio Osorio, in his closing keynote speech last week at Comdex Miami. CHS Electronics distributes microcomputers, peripherals and software.

"It is a brave new world out there. It is a new era where many of the old paradigms have collapsed or are collapsing. It is a cyber-revolution," he said.

The Internet is revolutionizing the business value chain, Osorio said. As transaction costs in the open market approach zero, the size and organizational complexity of modern industrial firms will become uneconomical, he said. Firms will tend to become smaller and will be comprised of complicated webs of well-managed relationships with business partners, Osorio said. He stressed that all parts of the value chain will be interlinked and will operate in real time.

E-commerce has allowed corporations to generate incredible cost savings, Osorio said. A recent study shows that by the year 2002, businesses using the Internet will save $1.25 trillion, up from the current figure of $17 billion. As the stock market clearly shows the rewards for new, lucrative ideas are becoming greater and greater, he said.

In addition, the market is becoming more customer-centric, he said. Traditionally, enterprises have competed on the basis of price and, especially in the computing industry, on the basis of technology, but this will no longer be enough, he said.

"Those two elements today - they barely let you open the doors for business. The customer in the future will demand - on top of having the right price and the most current technology - excellent service, immediate availability and the fastest delivery time," he said.

Osorio went on to say that he believes that the biggest opportunity for growth within the field of e-commerce is broadening it out beyond the U.S. into truly global e-commerce.

Challenges hindering global e-commerce include the small size of individual markets, the higher cost per transaction because of the lack of economies of scale, cultural preferences in terms of what customers demand and language barriers, he said. A logistical backbone will also be required in each individual country.

Describing some of the current channel trends in the IT industry, Osorio said that outsourcing by manufacturers continues to increase. There is also the issue of intermediation vs. disintermediation. Manufacturers of products such as low-end PCs, who have smaller profit margins, do not want to go sell through intermediaries, but manufacturers who don't have a direct sales model that is efficient or big enough face the dilemma of how to go to market.

New forms of intermediation are also appearing, due to this lack of margins, Osorio said. In some instances, the manufacturer chooses to own the inventory all the way through to the moment of sale, so products are put on consignment in the intermediaries' warehouses. In some other cases, the intermediary acts as an agent, receiving a fee per transaction, he said. In yet other instances, the intermediary is simply acting as a point of fulfillment, he said.

The future is "terra incognita," Osorio said. "It is definitely a time where we will be walking a fine line, where no business will be safe. No business will be able to say 'We did it, this is it' because a new business model can be spread out so fast through the Internet and definitely kill you."