Louis Oosthuizen pulls away for British Open victory
Posted in Celeb, News, what on July 18th, 2010 by admin – Comments Off
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Hardly anyone knew Louis Oosthuizen, much less how to pronounce his name. Not many will forget the performance he delivered at the home of golf to capture the British Open.
A week after the World Cup ended, South Africa had more reason to celebrate Sunday, this from a most unlikely source. Oosthuizen, a 27-year-old who had only made one cut in his previous eight major golf championships, blew away the field at St. Andrews for a victory that looked as easy as when Tiger Woods first won here a decade ago.
Oosthuizen (WUHST’-hy-zen) made only two bogeys over the final 35 holes in a strong wind that swept across the Old Course. He led over the final 48 holes and closed with a one-under-par 71 for a seven-shot victory over Lee Westwood of England.
Judge rejects pay cuts for California state workers
Posted in Celeb, Education, News, Politics on July 17th, 2010 by admin – Comments OffMore than 200,000 state employees will receive their full wages in July and August after a state judge on Friday denied an injunction sought by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to cut their pay.
The Schwarzenegger administration had asked the court to order that the employees’ pay immediately be reduced to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour because there is no state budget in place.
The governor has maintained, and two courts have agreed, that state law requires the reductions as California enters the third week of the fiscal year without a spending plan. But state Controller John Chiang, who prints the paychecks, has insisted that he cannot implement the order because of the state’s outdated computer system.
Switzerland rejects extradition of Roman Polanski in sex case
Posted in Celeb, Crime, News, Tech, what on July 12th, 2010 by admin – Comments Off
Oscar-winning film director Roman Polanski will not be extradited to the United States to face sentencing for having sex with a 13-year-old girl more than 30 years ago, Swiss authorities announced Monday.
The Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police said the U.S. had failed to turn over certain documents requested by the Swiss. The department also said Polanski, who maintains a vacation home in Switzerland, could reliably expect not to be arrested and deported because the U.S. knew of his frequent presence there over the last few years but never acted on it.
Polanski, 76, has already been released from house arrest, the justice department said.
Suspect’s arrest is a milestone for the community and the police
Posted in Celeb, Crime, News, what on July 11th, 2010 by admin – Comments OffThe news conference called last week by the mayor, the police chief and other officials at the new Los Angeles Police Department headquarters was meant to celebrate the capture of a suspect in a decades-long series of murders in South Los Angeles.
But in a far more subtle way, the proceedings also served as a slap-down to the notion of the moment — that government is bloated and unresponsive, unworthy of support and unable to produce success in the quick time frames expected by its citizenry.
Here government, by way of its foot soldiers the detectives and crime lab workers, had worked. Not necessarily quickly and not always impeccably. Still, elected officials had taken risky stances. Employees being mocked by candidates as overpaid and sumptuously pensioned had worked together to break the case open. A police department and a community that regarded each other with animosity a generation ago stood side by side, exchanging praise.
One cup to rouse them all
Posted in Celeb, News, Politics, what on July 10th, 2010 by admin – Comments OffIt was sweet to be an American on that hot afternoon beneath the palms.
For the 90 minutes when the U.S. soccer team recently played Algeria in the World Cup, two Americans in a Cairo cafe received thumbs up and smiles. Not because they were particularly endearing, but at that moment their team was on its way to defeating Egypt’s archrival, a nemesis whose mention draws clenched teeth and bitterness.
Algeria had months earlier knocked Egypt out during the World Cup qualifiers, so it was only natural that the Egyptians, who on most days aren’t enamored with the U.S., would cheer for an American victory in South Africa. Or, more succinctly, an Algerian defeat. The Yanks came through, although this being summer in Egypt, the electricity died and TV screens went blank. Waiters bit their lips and apologized. No one in the cafe saw the winning goal but a cheer rose in the distance around a man listening to a radio.
In Kabul, Gen. Petraeus, Ambassador Eikenberry stress unity
Posted in Celeb, News on July 3rd, 2010 by admin – Comments OffTen days after his predecessor was fired over remarks that laid bare a dysfunctional civilian-military relationship, the new American commander in Afghanistan sought Saturday to put a unified face on the U.S.-led war effort.
U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, who arrived Friday to assume command of U.S. and Western forces here, made his public debut in Kabul at a Fourth of July weekend celebration at the U.S. Embassy.
He and U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, who presides over the world’s largest American diplomatic mission, used brief remarks there to drive home the message that they would heed President Obama’s stern order to put aside internal rivalries.
In Kabul, Gen. Petraeus, Ambassador Eikenberry stress unity
Posted in Celeb, News on July 3rd, 2010 by admin – Comments OffTen days after his predecessor was fired over remarks that laid bare a dysfunctional civilian-military relationship, the new American commander in Afghanistan sought Saturday to put a unified face on the U.S.-led war effort.
U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, who arrived Friday to assume command of U.S. and Western forces here, made his public debut in Kabul at a Fourth of July weekend celebration at the U.S. Embassy.
He and U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, who presides over the world’s largest American diplomatic mission, used brief remarks there to drive home the message that they would heed President Obama’s stern order to put aside internal rivalries.
U.S. defeats Algeria, 1-0, in World Cup
Posted in Celeb, News, what on June 25th, 2010 by admin – Comments OffFirst came the goal, then came the celebration.
Then came the tears.
After lifting the U.S. soccer team to the most dramatic – and one of the most important – victories in its history Wednesday, Landon Donovan broke down briefly at a postgame news conference.
New Agers, neo-pagans see Stonehenge solstice
Posted in Celeb, Education, Health, News, what on June 21st, 2010 by admin – Comments OffThousands of New Agers and neo-pagans danced and whooped in delight Monday as a bright early morning sun rose above the ancient stone circle Stonehenge, marking the summer solstice.
About 20,000 people crowded the prehistoric site on Salisbury Plain, southern England, to see the sunrise at 4:52 A.M. (1152EST), after an annual all-night party.
The event typically draws thousands of alternative-minded revelers to the monument, as they wait for dawn at the Heel Stone, a pockmarked pillar just outside the circle proper, which aligns with the rising sun.
