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UPDATED: Three batters homer for the Class A Lake Erie Captains in a 6-1 win; Class A Mahoning Valley Scrappers also win.

Updated at 12:29 a.m.

AAA Columbus Clippers

Bisons 11, Clippers 4 A nine-run eighth inning sunk Columbus in an International League rout at Buffalo, N.Y., on Thursday. The Clippers' Matt McBride (.400) had three hits.

Notes: Going into Thursday night's game, RH reliever Vinnie Pestano (1-1, nine saves, 1.53) had not allowed a run in his last 13 outings, fanning 19 and allowing seven hits and five walks in 14 1/3 innings. Overall, Pestano had struck out 47, walked 12 and not given up a homer in 35 1/3 innings....IF Josh Rodriguez (.315) was 11-for-30 (.367) with three doubles, three homers and seven RBI in his last seven games....RH reliever Bryce Stowell (0-0, 3.75) had struck out 18 and walked 13 in 12 innings for Columbus, after totaling 74 strikeouts and 19 walks in 47 2/3 innings with Akron and Kinston....2B Cord Phelps (.340) was batting .396 (40-for-101) in his last 27 games....OF Matt McBride was 9-for-25 (.360) with one double, one homer and three RBI in his first six games with Columbus. In his last 26 games at Class AA Akron before being promoted to the Clippers, McBride hit .364 (36-for-99) with 13 homers, 11 doubles, 32 RBI and an .869 slugging percentage....Catcher Damaso Espino has been promoted to the Clippers from Akron, where he was hitting .250 (49-for-196) with four doubles, two homers and 20 RBI....IF Argenis Reyes and catcher have Juan Apodaca have been acquired from the Boston Red Sox organization for cash considerations. Reyes will play for the Clippers and Apodaca joins Class AA Akron. Reyes hit .256 (11-for-43) in 14 games for the Class AAA Pawtucket Red Sox after being released by the Los Angeles Dodgers' organization in April. Reyes, 27, played in 58 games with the New York Mets in 2008-09, batting .205 (26-for-127) with one homer and three stolen bases. He played in the Indians' minor league system from 2001-07.

AA Akron Aeros

Curve 6, Aeros 1 Akron matched a season high with a sixth straight loss as host Altoona, Pa., finished a four-game sweep with an Eastern League victory. Despite just one earned run charged against Aeros pitchers Kelvin De La Cruz and Nick Hagadone, the offense again could not muster enough support.

Notes: Going into Thursday night's game, the Aeros were on a five-game losing streak....2B Jason Kipnis (.337) was 15-for-41 (.366) with two doubles, three triples, one homer and eight RBI in his last 10 games....RHP Omar Aguilar (2-4, 3.62) had not allowed a home run in 49 2/3 innings this season. He had struck out 59, but walked 27....Catcher Damaso Espino has been promoted to AAA Columbus. Catcher Juan Apodaca has been acquired from the Boston Red Sox organization and activated by the Aeros. Apodaca and IF Argenis Reyes, who joined Class AAA Columbus, were acquired for cash considerations. Apodaca has played this season for the Class AAA Pawtucket Red Sox and the Class AA Portland Sea Dogs. In 55 total games this season, Apodaca has a .239 batting average with three home runs and 12 RBI.

Advanced A Kinston Indians

Hillcats 5, Indians 1 Lynchburg's three-run eighth inning led to a Carolina League victory at Kinston, N.C. Travis Turek (3-3) took the loss for Kinston, giving up four runs on six hits in two innings. Karexon Sanchez, Jeremie Tice and Juan Diaz each had two hits for Kinston.

Notes: LH starting pitcher T.J. House (4-8, 3.68) is 2-0 and has given up one run (0.47 ERA) in his last three starts, pitching 19 innings while allowing just six hits and four walks while striking out 12. House, 20, was picked by Cleveland out of Picayune (Miss.) Memorial High School in the 16th round of the 2008 draft....Going into Thursday night's game, catcher Chun Chen (.311) was 12-for-31 (.387) with four doubles, one home run, eight RBI and eight walks in his last nine games.

A Lake County Captains

Captains 6, Dragons 1 Roberto Perez, Delvi Cid and Jason Smit homered to lead Lake County past Dayton in Midwest League action at Eastlake. Captains starter Giovanni Soto (8-6) got the win. He pitched six innings, allowing one run on two hits. He walked two and struck out three. Preston Guilmet came on in the seventh to pick up his ninth save, throwing three scoreless innings.

Notes: RH starting pitcher Brett Brach (3-6, 2.91) is 2-1 with an 0.78 ERA in his last three games, pitching 23 innings and allowing 17 hits and two walks while fanning 12....Going into Thursday night's game, 1B Adam Abraham (.254) was batting .438 (28-for-64) with seven doubles, six homers and 23 RBI in his last 16 games.

A Mahoning Valley Scrappers

Scrappers 3, ValleyCats 2 Diego Seastrunk's RBI sacrifice fly in the ninth gave Mahoning Valley the New York-Penn League victory over Tri-City (Troy, N.Y.) in Niles, Ohio.

Notes: Going into Thursday night's game, OF Jonathan Burnette (.285) was 7-for-18 in his last five games, with two doubles and two homers....OF Carlos Moncrief was also 7-for-18 in his last five games, with a homer and two stolen bases.

Independent Lake Erie Crushers

ThunderBolts 4, Crushers 3 (10) Lake Erie fell to Windy City in suburban Chicago on a walk-off single by Gilberto Mejia in the bottom of the 10th in Frontier League play.

Notes: Going into Thursday night's game, OF Dom Duggan (.234) was 8-for-24 (.333) with two doubles, one triple and one home run in his last eight games.

Source: http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2010/08/cleveland_indians_minor_league_17.html

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New rules could ban gender discrimination for pension annuities and car insurance premiums

Millions of men approaching retirement could be left thousands of pounds worse off if a European court rules on 1 March that insurance companies can no longer use gender to calculate annuity rates and insurance premiums.

Young women drivers will also be hit hard if "gender discrimination" is ruled illegal. An Association of British Insurers research paper claims some under-25s may face motor insurance increases of between 50% and 60% almost overnight ? which could translate into an extra �500-�1,000 a year.

Many in the UK insurance industry believe it is likely the European court of justice (ECJ) will ban insurers from taking a person's sex into account when setting premiums. Such a ruling would have huge ramifications for financial services firms, as it would also force a shake-up in life insurance and private medical insurance pricing.

Proposals for "gender equality" in insurance have been discussed for years. In 2004, the Financial Services Authority spoke out about the "threat" of a ban, warning that this would "override reality" and was "likely to hinder the development of an efficient insurance market". Insurers have also long opposed the idea, highlighting the significant differences in the riskiness of men and women.

In the end, member states were allowed to opt out of an EU prohibition provided certain requirements were met, but the issue has continued to be controversial, and the court in Luxembourg is due to deliver its verdict on a test case by the Belgian consumer body, Test-Achats.

Women tend to pay less for motor insurance because they are deemed to be safer drivers, but because they have a longer life expectancy they fare less well than men when it comes to swapping their accumulated pension pot for an annuity ? the product that provides an income for life.

Insurers and annuity providers have been getting their systems ready so they can offer unisex pricing from 1 March if necessary. Any ruling could apply immediately, though it is possible firms could be allowed a period of transition.

Some have already taken action ? Canada Life decided not to offer a guaranteed period for annuity quotes issued between 25 February and 1 March because it felt it would be wrong to give customers quotes that were guaranteed into March, by which time the current way of setting up annuities could be illegal.

Young male drivers could see their premiums reduced by as much as 25% if a ban comes in, according to the ABI research paper, though some commentators believe it is unlikely that male premiums will fall much, if at all, in the short term.

"Because insurers will no longer be able to take gender into account, their overall approach to setting premium prices is likely to become more cautious, meaning it's likely that drivers of all ages will be hit with further rises," said Mike Hoban, marketing director at the website Confused.com. He added: "It's possible that more young people will decide to drive without insurance if their premiums continue to rise.

An end to gender discrimination would, in theory, mean a better deal for women on annuities, as both sexes would receive the same annuity rates ? but that would be very bad news for men. "Men could see annuity rates slashed by between 5% and 10%," predicted investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown. This would probably put them at or near female rates.

Based on current annuity rates, that would suggest a 65-year-old man with a �100,000 pension pot could be worse off by �340 a year, or well over �8,000 if he were to reach the age of 90. Women, meanwhile, are likely to enjoy "only marginal improvements" in the amount of retirement income they receive, according to Hargreaves Lansdown.

But as most annuities are bought by men, wives who depend on their husbands' retirement incomes stand to lose out because of a measure that is supposed to bring greater equality for women.

Rupert Jones

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/feb/27/pension-sex-equality-european-court-ruling

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marylsommers

Olivier; Donmar; Barbican, all London

In the centre of the Olivier stage is a pale disc like an enormous seed pod. Within it you can just make out a shadowy figure. It pulses, and the theatre reverberates to the beat of a heart. Serried ranks of bare bulbs sizzle, dip and flare, and out of the pod rips a pink, blotched, raw thing whose naked limbs have gone all wrong, as if they've been attached back to front: it slips around the stage in judders, as if it were allergic to the ground on which it has fallen. On one night that thing is Jonny Lee Miller; on the next, it is Benedict Cumberbatch.

The undoubted hit (real people, not just relatives and backers are up on their feet night after night at curtain call) that is Danny Boyle's production of Frankenstein depends on a gorgeously gargantuan feat of design by Mark Tildesley, and on the most magnetic pairing of actors' roles since Olivier and Gielgud played Romeo and Mercutio in tandem 76 years ago. It is not just an ingenious, and commercial, idea to make Cumberbatch and Miller alternate in the roles of Frankenstein and his creature: it goes to the essence of the story. Mary Shelley's 1818 novel ? in which an Enlightenment scientist entangles himself with dark arts, creates a man, and is appalled at the result ? says that monsters are not born but made, and that it is ill-treatment that deforms a character. In Shelley's book the most kindly of people can appear for a moment monstrous. Boyle's production makes this clear in almost Shakespearean rhetoric: the creator or the creation, who sins most?

And who acts best? Well, they sustain each other. Miller (more obvious casting for the creature) actually brings a particular zeal to the scientist ? which is important, as Nick Dear's script is monster-oriented to the point of drowning out the notion of experimental excitement. As the Creature, Cumberbatch is more ludic, Miller more threatening, but in that role both of them combine yowling diction with precise utterance and a wild, staggering gait with dainty gestures: it is as if they were St Vitus dancers performing a gavotte, and Touretters delivering tongue-twisters.

The real strength of Frankenstein, a stark, Beckett-like, master-and-slave confrontation that takes on epic dimensions, is evident when there's just the three of them ? Cumberbatch, Miller and Tildesley's design ? on stage. The two outsiders circle each other in a vast, abstract grey-green landscape overhung by a massive moon. The Creature, huddled in a red robe, flies across a railway track, as a steam engine ? a fragment of satanic mills come to life ? roars towards the audience, scattering sparks and smoke and gigantic shadows, with goggled-up dark figures, the creatures of industry, clinging to its sides. Tildesley's exuberant engineering is not above swagger and showmanship: that chandelier, and the bell hanging over the stalls (there's an interest in watching which spectators pull the rope as they walk down the aisle) are so prominent that if we weren't at the National the words "Andrew Lloyd Webber" might be murmured.

Words aren't the monster's medium. And, given that in this adaptation the story is his, not his maker's, that is just as well. Dear's script is undernourished. Few will object to his getting rid of the guff clogging up Mary Shelley's opening chapters: PB Shelley, who is supposed to have edited the manuscript, could have been more exigent. But what Dear supplies as dialogue is meagre, with the result that the background domestic scenes are starved of interest and plausibility. Even the skill and ease of Naomie Harris and Ella Smith (who is obliged to say of her Frankenmeister: "Well, he has always been peculiar") can't surmount this. Boyle has had his eye but not his ear on the job. Rip out the non-monster-master scenes, turn the rest of the dialogue into reported speech and make the play into a two-hander, and he would have directed not only a thrilling phenomenon but a work of art.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is bouncy, screechy, schmaltzy, quick on the draw, heavy on some overweight feet, garishly coloured, niftily rhymed, sassy and confrontational. And it's a musical: music and lyrics by William Finn, book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman. This is America, and American theatre, in cartoon miniature. The children (full-size adults in short trousers and frou-frou skirts) who compete for lexical supremacy include an overachieving Asian Catholic popsie ? she (hello, tiger mother) knows six languages, plays the sax and piano and does the splits and a ribbon dance ? and a lost girl, in pastel pink with a cuddly rucksack and an inability to hold her head up whose absent mother sends her waves of woolly love from an ashram.

Jamie Lloyd's well-pitched production snaps together the often good rhymes ("exuberance" and "protuberance" do nicely for a boy with an erection) and makes the most of the fetching tunes. It also embraces the idea of embarrassing compulsory participation. This bee has a sting. Christopher Oram has made a school gym in the Donmar: the audience sit on brightly coloured tip-up chairs, a basketball hoop hangs over the action. On press night the critics were given the extra treat of seeing one of our own ? the verbally voracious Henry Hitchings from the Evening Standard ? summoned to the stage. Required to spell "telepathy", he exercised his right to ask for a definition. The judge simply looked at him, wordlessly: Hitchings, of course, knew what he meant.

When I saw Robert Lepage's The Blue Dragon two years ago at the Dublin festival, it seemed visually luxuriant and verbally skinny. The dialogue has sharpened up but it hasn't changed much. The slides from symbol to actuality are magical: Lepage traces an ideogram on a pad, which appears, beautifully blown up on a screen, and is embodied by a dancer who whirls across the stage like a leaf in the wind. The shifts in scale ? from miniature train to a shadow dance of commuters ? are seamless. There are some good jokes: a venerable, bearded Chinese sage looms up on a video, and is revealed to be the face of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Yet, the plot is still too schematic, and the dialogue often robotically executed. It is time for this multimedia wizard to turn another Lepage.

Susannah Clapp

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2011/feb/27/frankenstein-danny-boyle-cumberbatch-miller

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Figures from the Land Registry show house prices fell by 0.9% in the year to January

Comment: Northern Rock's first-time buyer mortgage obscures the real problem

House prices in England and Wales recorded their first year-on-year fall for 15 months during January, latest figures show, as the housing market continued to come under pressure.

The average cost of a home dropped by 0.9% during the year to the end of January to �163,177 ? the first time annual growth has been negative since October 2009, the Land Registry said.

The year-on-year drop came despite house prices edging ahead by 0.2% during the month itself ? the first rise for five months.

Property transactions remained subdued with just 54,012 homes changing hands in November (the latest month for which figures are available) ? the lowest level since May last year and 6% down on October's figure.

House prices have come under increasing pressure due to a lack of demand as potential buyers sit on their hands due to uncertainty in both the housing market and the wider economy, while those who want to make a purchase are struggling to raise the required mortgage finance.

Paul Diggle, property economist at Capital Economics, said: "The small gain in house prices in January is unlikely to signal an end to the weakening trend. Indeed, if our economic forecasts are correct, the downward pressures on house prices are only set to build through 2011."

Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said: "The small rise in house prices in January, following four months of decline, does little to dilute the impression that the the housing market is stuck in the doldrums with prices under pressure.

"We expect house prices to continue to trend down gradually in 2011 after losing ground overall in the latter months of 2010. Specifically, we suspect that house prices will fall by around 5% in 2011 and eventually end up losing around 10% from the peak levels seen in the first half of 2010."

All regions of England and Wales recorded annual house price falls, apart from London, where values have risen by 2.4% during the year to the end of January, and the east, where they have edged up by 0.2%.

Falls have been steepest in Wales, with the average cost of a home diving by 6.1% during the past year, while in Yorkshire and the Humber and the north-east prices have dropped by 2.6% and 2.5% respectively.

The cost of a home in Wales dived by 4.2% during January alone, while prices fell by 2% in the north-west.

Only four regions recorded price rises during the month, with values increasing by 1.6% in London and the south-west, and by 0.5% in the south-east and 0.4% in the east.

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/feb/28/house-prices-year-on-year-fall

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AS the Air Cadets celebrates its 70th Anniversary this year so does local 348 (Ilkeston) Squadron.

The Ilkeston Squadron assembled for the first time on Friday, February 14, 1941 at the Drill Hall in Ilkeston.

The meeting was presided over by Mayor J Hoult and others present were Major T Roe, Ald FP Sudbury, councillors E Bostock and H Trueman, Messrs A Elder, SR Woods, AD Nash, T Ball, E Waterhouse (commanding officer), E Godfrey (treasurer) and J Tillett (secretary).

There was a large attendance on that first night with 150 enrolled into what was known as The Junior Department of the RAF.

The cadets were told to look for their orders in the local press, at the Town Hall and at the squadron headquarters, Ilkeston Secondary School.

Also it was decided to ask for funds to assist in the organization of the squadron.

The original squadron was disbanded in 1947 with 260 cadets enlisted.

The squadron was revived shortly after at its new headquarters on Hallcroft Road and again moved in 1983 to Dale View.

Due to a fire and the headquarters being burned down, 348 Squadron moved to its present location in the TA building in Albert Road.

Much of the history and records of the squadron were lost in the fire and we are appealing to anyone who may have stories or pictures of 348 to get in touch. The number to ring is 0115 9440848 (Tuesday or Thursday evenings).

David Tonge

Chairman

Civilian Committee

348 Squadron

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marylsommers

The swift outfielder went into Tuesday night's game third in the International League in hitting and just one stolen base from the league lead.

FARM REPORT

AAA Columbus Clippers

Mud Hens 7, Clippers 3: Zachary McAllister (8-11, 5.19) gave up five runs in the second inning as host Toledo won its third game over Columbus in four days. Aaron Laffey, on rehab assignment from the Cleveland Indians, pitched 1.1 innings in which he gave up four hits and two runs.

Notes: Going into Tuesday night's game, OF Jose Constanza (.314) was on a nine-game hitting streak, going 17-for-35 (.486) with two doubles, one triple, nine runs and four RBI. Constanza was third in the International League in batting, and his 33 stolen bases (in 38 attempts) were one behind league-leading Desmond Jennings of Durham. Beginning with the 2005 season, Constanza had 209 steals in 258 attempts going into Tuesday night's game. The left-handed hitter, who will turn 27 on Sept. 1, was batting .363 (29-for-80) against left-handed pitching this season....IF Argenis Reyes was 11-for-34 (.323) with two doubles since joining the Clippers....RH reliever Zach Putnam (0-1, 4.67) hadn't allowed a run in his last five games, allowing two hits and one walk in 7 1/3 innings, with eight strikeouts....RH reliever Josh Judy had a 1.84 ERA over his last 26 games, with 40 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings....RH reliever Bryce Stowell (1-1, 5.49) struggled with his control early in his stint with the Clippers, and had walked 17 going into Tuesday night, but had struck out 28 and held hitters to a .167 batting average in 19 2/3 innings. Including his time with Kinston and Akron, Stowell was 3-1 with seven saves and a 2.14 ERA, striking out 102 and walking 36 in 67 1/3 innings, and holding batters to a .183 average.

AA Akron Aeros

Baysox 1-3, Aeros 0-6: Host Bowie (Md.) won a makeup game, and then Lonnie Chisenhall hit a three-run homer in the third inning to lead visiting Akron in the nightcap.

Notes: Going into Tuesday night's games, OF Tim Fedroff (.276) was 10-for-27 (.370) with one double, two triples, one homer and five walks in his last eight games....OF Jerad Head (.310) was batting .420 (29-for-69) with nine homers, five doubles, 21 RBI and 18 runs in his last 19 games with the Aeros....RHP Chen Lee (5-3, 3.47) was 1-0 with an 0.00 ERA in his last 12 games, striking out 14 and allowing just five hits and two walks in 15 innings. Lee had fanned 68 and walked 20 in 62 1/3 innings overall, giving up just four home runs....RH reliever Connor Graham (3-5, two saves, 3.13) was 1-0 with one save and an 0.86 ERA in his last 13 games, striking out 25 and walking four in 21 innings, while allowing 11 hits....OF John Drennen (.303) was 14-for-36 (.389) with two doubles in his last eight games.

Advanced A Kinston Indians

Indians vs. Keys, ppd.: Kinston’s home game against Frederick (Md.) will be made up at 6 p.m. Wednesday night before the regularly scheduled game.

Notes: Going into Tuesday night's game, LH reliever Chris Jones (2-3, two saves, 1.62) had struck out 56, walked 22 and allowed just one homer and a .205 batting average in 61 innings....Catcher Chun Chen (.313) was 13-for-32 (.406) with three doubles, two homers, 10 walks, eight runs and six RBI in his last 11 games....OF Abner Abreu (.253) was 15-for-39 (.385) with four doubles, one triple, nine RBI and six runs in his last 11 games....SS Juan Diaz (.272) was on an eight-game hitting streak, going 12-for-27 (.444) with three doubles, one homer, six RBI and six runs.

A Lake County Captains

Dragons 11, Captains 5: Visiting Lake County took advantage of two Dayton errors in the first inning and a double by Tyler Holt to take a 2-0 lead, but Dayton erupted with 10 runs combined in the second and third to take control. Brett Brach (4-8, 3.55) took the loss.

Notes: Going into Tuesday night's game, 1B Adam Abraham (.256) had one hit, a home run, in 11 at bats in the last three games, but he was still hitting .370 (50-for-135) with nine homers, nine doubles and 35 RBI in his last 32 games....Greg Folgia (.253) was 12-for-31 (.387) with one homer, one double, five runs and four RBI in his last eight games....SS Casey Frawley (.268) was hitting .325 (25-for-77) in August, with four doubles, three triples, two homers, 13 RBI and 13 runs in 20 games....RH reliever Preston Guilmet (3-1, nine saves, 2.45) had struck out 61, walked eight and held batters to a .186 average in 44 innings....RH reliever Jose Flores (0-1, five saves, 2.62) had struck out 42, walked six and allowed 30 hits -- just one homer -- in 34 1/3 innings....Tuesday night's starter, RHP Brett Brach (4-7, 2.87) was 3-2 with a 1.67 ERA in his last six starts, striking out 31, walking three and allowing 32 hits in 43 innings.

A Mahoning Valley Scrappers

Scrappers 1, Spikes 0: Nicholas Bartolone doubled and scored on Richard Martinez’s sacrifice for the only run as host Mahoning Valley defeated State College (Pa.). Gregorio Antonio Rosario (1-1, 5.23) recorded the win.

Notes: Going into Tuesday night's game, OF Brian Heere (.254) was hitting .448 (13-for-29) with two doubles, one triple, seven walks, five runs and three RBI in his last 10 games. His 38 walks ranked second in the New York-Penn League....RHP Casey Gaynor (5-2, 3.38) was 3-1 with a 1.13 ERA in his last five games (three starts), striking out 18, walking seven and allowing 16 hits in 24 innings....LHP James Reichenbach (1-2, three saves, 3.52) had three saves in his last six games, giving up one run on four hits in nine innings, with eight strikeouts and five walks....RH reliever Kyle C. Smith (0-0, 5.53), from Kent State, had not given up an earned run over his last five appearances, striking out 12 in seven innings. Smith had 43 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings and was holding batters to a .206 average.

Independent Lake Erie Crushers

Wild Things 3, Crushers 2 (10): Mark McGonigle led off the bottom of the 10th with a triple to right and scored on a sacrifice fly by John Delaney as Washington (Pa.) defeated Lake Erie.

Notes: Going into Tuesday night's game, the Crushers had been getting superb starting pitching. Tuesday night's starter, Alberto Rolon (2-4, seven saves) was ninth in the Frontier League with a 2.86 ERA in 29 games -- the last seven as a starter. RHP Matthew Smith (9-6, one save, 3.86) was tied for third in wins, making 17 starts in his 20 appearances. RHP Josh Roberts (8-5, 2.97), who has made 18 starts, was tied for seventh in wins and was 10th in ERA. RHP Travis Risser (6-4, 3.14) was 12th in ERA, making 16 starts in 17 outings.

Source: http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2010/08/jose_constanza_continues_to_cr.html

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RESIDENTS are being asked for their views on whether to create a new conservation area alongside a main road.

Erewash Borough Council members believe a stretch of Derby Road, in Long Eaton, is an area of special architectural interest and have proposed the new conservation area as a way of ensuring it is preserved.

Residents are being asked to take part in a public consultation.

Councillor Geoffrey Smith, Erewash Borough Council's lead member for regeneration and planning said: "This stretch of Derby Road contains a concentration of buildings of special architectural interest. Several were designed by locally-important architects and the area represents an important part of Long Eaton's heritage."

The proposed conservation area is linked to Long Eaton's lace industry in the first decade of the 20th Century.

The area would recognise the architecture of houses built for lace manufacturers.

Full details of the consultation can be found at www.erewash.gov.uk/derbyroad. For more information, write to Conservation & Design Officer, Erewash Borough Council, Town Hall, Derby Road, Long Eaton, NG10 1HU or telephone 0845 907 2244.

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The internet has been closed down in Egypt ahead of the biggest protests yet planned against president Hosni Mubarak's 30-year-rule.Emboldened by this month's revolt that toppled the authoritarian leader of Tunisia, Egyptians have staged mass protests since Tuesday in an unprecedented outburst of anger against Mr Mubarak.The angry nationwide demonstrations have swelled into the largest uprising in three decades, in which seven people have been killed and more than 100 injured."This is a revolution," one 16-year-old protester said in Suez."Every day we're coming back here."Internet access was shut down across the country shortly after 12:00am on Friday (local time). Mobile phone text messaging services also appeared to be partially disabled, working only sporadically.Activists have relied on the internet, especially social media services like Twitter and Facebook, to organise their protests.US State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said in a tweet on Twitter: "We are concerned that communications services, including the internet, social media, and even this tweet are being blocked in Egypt."US-based internet monitoring firm Renesys said the total shutdown of the internet it recorded early on Friday was "unprecedented in internet history", going far beyond measures taken during Tunisia's protests or the 2009 uprising in Iran."Renesys observed the virtually simultaneous withdrawal of all routes to Egyptian networks in the internet's global routing table," it said."The Egyptian government's actions tonight have essentially wiped their country from the global map."A page on Facebook social networking site listed more than 30 mosques and churches where protesters were expected gather."Egypt's Muslims and Christians will go out to fight against corruption, unemployment and oppression and absence of freedom."Fires burningIn Suez, which has been ground zero for some of the most violent demonstrations, police fired tear gas at protesters who hurled stones and petrol bombs into the early hours of Friday. Fires burned in the street, filling the air with smoke.The city fire station was ablaze. Waves of protesters charged towards a police station deep into the night. Demonstrators dragged away their wounded comrades into alleys.Security forces shot dead a protester in the north of the Sinai region on Thursday, bringing the death toll to five.Video images obtained by Reuters showed the man among a small group of protesters some distance from the security forces when he suddenly collapsed with a gunshot wound and was dragged away by other demonstrators.The video circulated widely on the internet, galvanising anger.Dr Ben McQueen, an expert on Middle Eastern politics at Monash University in Melbourne, says the deterioration of economic conditions is the catalyst for the unrest."It's not so much the political unrest, it's more about unemployment and food prices and these sorts of things," he said."All of that is coinciding also with the real establishment of this incredibly large young cohort in the Arab world, the population is very much weighted to people within [the ages of] 15 and 30."All of these things sort of coalescing at the same time have created quite a volatile situation in Arab countries that are poor, that are quite populous and have quite ageing leaders and that's a consistent thing we see across Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt and to a lesser extent, in Jordan as well."More arrestsMeanwhile, at least eight senior officials of the country's largest opposition movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, were arrested overnight.A security source said authorities had ordered a crackdown on the group.The Brotherhood has kept a low profile during the protests, although many of its supporters were expected to join demonstrations on Friday.The government has accused the group of planning to exploit the youth protests for its "hidden agendas", while the Brotherhood says it is being used as a scapegoat.Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei has arrived back in the country to join demonstratorsMr ElBaradei, a campaigner for reform in Egypt who won the peace prize for his earlier work as head of the UN nuclear agency, says it is time for Mr Mubarak to step aside."He has served the country for 30 years and it is about time for him to retire," he said.Mr ElBaradei and other opposition figures say the government exploits the Islamist opposition to justify authoritarianism.

Source: http://www.tayyar.org/Tayyar/News/PoliticalNews/en-US/129406814628648630.htm

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marylsommers

A good day for Indians farm teams, as Columbus, Kinston, Lake County win.

MINOR-LEAGUE REPORT

AAA Columbus Clippers

Clippers 10, Indians 5: Jared Goedert's solo homer started a five-run rally in the bottom of the seventh, and Columbus defeated Indianapolis. It was Goedert's 19th homer.

Notes: The Louisville (Ky.) Bats also won, and hold a 1.5-game lead over the Clippers in the Western Division of the International League.

AA Akron Aeros

SeaWolves 7, Aeros 4: Erie (Pa.) scored six runs in the top of the second and defeated Akron. Starter Scott Barnes (6-10) lasted four innings for the Aeros, and yielded all seven runs.

Advanced A Kinston Indians

Indians 15, Red Sox 2: Kinston (N.C.) scored 12 times in the bottom of the fifth to rout Salem (Va.). The K-Tribe sent 15 batters to the plate and collected eight hits in the fifth. The final three runs of the inning scored on Kyle Bellows' ninth homer.

A Lake County Captains

Captains 1, Silver Hawks 0: Three Lake County pitchers scattered six hits and shut out visiting South Bend (Ind.). Starter Brett Brach (5-8) pitched six innings, Jeremy Johnson pitched one inning and Jose Flores pitched the final 1.1 innings and picked up his sixth save. Chris Kersten hit his 12th homer.

A Mahoning Valley Scrappers

Doubledays 4, Scrappers 2: Auburn (N.Y.) scored two in the bottom of the seventh inning to defeat Mahoning Valley in a New York-Penn League game. Kirk Wetmore (2-7) relieved for the Scrappers in the seventh. He gave up both runs, a hit and walked four.

Independent Lake Erie Crushers

Crushers 10, Kings 2: Lake Erie won its last road game of the year, at Kalamazoo (Mich.). The Crushers batted around twice, in the fourth and seventh.

Source: http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2010/08/clippers_stay_close_in_il_west.html

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The beautiful and talented pharmacy student in Belgrade, 21-year-old Nina Radojcic, could not have dreamt of turning into a showbiz star in Serbia overnight. With her magical performance of Kristina Kovac?s song Caroban [Magical] she has earned her ticket for this year?s Eurovision song contest and will represent Serbia at the event which takes place on 11 May in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Source: http://english.blic.rs/Culture-Showbiz//7420/This-song-has-changed-my-life

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Recent interview with Monday Morning. Will the new government take long to be formed? I think that Prime Ministerdesignate Najib Mikati is waiting for an answer from the forces of the new opposition, namely the March 14 forces, and I think this will not take much time.Do you expect the participation of the former majority in the new cabinet, and how do you interpret its preparations to mark thefifth anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005?In my opinion, the March 14 forces do not exist anymore. In 2005, they united with the Free Patriotic Movement and Walid Jumblatt?s bloc. In fact, the expression ?March 14 forces?, is no longer valid since their movement is seen to be fragmented into many currents. In fact, they no longer form a homogeneous bloc.As to their marking of February 14, day, it is a traditional annual gathering. We will note there the absence of the Jumblattist group, and I only hope that this gathering will not be followed by a day of anger similar to that which took place recently in Tripoli and in other cities or regions where there was violence.No to any vindictive ideas How do you conceive the priorities of the new cabinet?The political scenery has changed after the departure of the Hariri government and the political dissensions concerning the indictment to be issued be the Special Tribunal for Lebanon [STL]. The first duty of the new cabinet will be to take a position towards this issue in a wise and intelligence way. We in the Free Patriotic Movement are concerned with finalizing this dossier.Combating corruption and the expropriation of public funds will figure at the top of our priorities. Then, we intend to form a cabinet of action farremoved from any notion of taking revenge.PRIORITY TO THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ISSUESCan we conclude from your words that the new ministerial team will get down to studying the dossiers pertaining to the daily life of the citizens?The exclusion of the factions which dominated the national scene will enable us to speed up the study of these issues and find appropriate solutions for them.How do you explain this change in the positions of some MPs which brought in Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati?Prime Minister Saad Hariri made big mistakes because of his incapacity of clearly reading the changes which took place in the local and regional situation, wagering more on his relationships and the assistance of foreign powers.The Future Movement is now called to make a re-evalution of this new stage in order to participate with the other national parties in the political decisions. On the personal level, our relations are solid with Prime Minister Hariri and his work team, and General Michel Aoun has said that he has for him a paternal affection.But there is a difference between this paternal view and his management of national affairs, which did not succeed.Has the popularity of the FPM leader, General Michel Aoun, increased or not after the latest political developments?All the Christian leaderships affiliated with the Future Movement labor under an obsession with General Aoun, whose option triumphed over those of all the other political forces. They should therefore recognize this fact so as to be able to build together a prosperous future. Any Lebanese observer, especially a Christian observer, can notice in which way the Arab regimes have lost ground by having taken the side of the opposed [March 14] camp, in addition to the fall of this camp in Lebanon on the constitutional and democratic levels. All those who are endowed with a capacity for analysis can understand the intelligent strategy of General Aoun.FOR A REVISION OF THE TAEF AGREEMENT?Is there any tendency inside the FPM in favor of the revision of the Taef Agreement?We are witnessing a crisis of reigme resulting from many factors, some of a political nature, others of a confessional and sectarian kind.Lebanon needs a reforming group representing all the representative forces in the country, without any external interference, to reform our system in a way to make it conform to the modern developments of our time.All the parties should show an availability to elaborate the new political and social contract.What is your vision of the next stage?The next stage will be marked by a period of shortlived tensions, which will be followed quickly, by a stage of political stability, economic prosperity and social justice.Will the March 14 forces participate in the new cabinet? In fact, if they are not represented, the drafting of the new cabinet?s policy statement will not take much time. And how about the indictment of the STL and its timing?We cannot give our opinion on the timing of its publication, but what the former [opposition accomplished, had as an objective was to banish the specter of sectarian conflict from Lebanon. We will deal with this issue on the basis of these constants.How do you assess the relations between President Michel Sleiman and General Aoun?Our wish is that the head of state will remain at an equal distance from all the political forces and consequently, to remain a consensual president. This requires him to shun any idea based on the principle of the political rivalry among the various forces on the Lebanese scene.The rival camp says that Prime Minister-designate Mikati is your candidate. How do you reply?The opposition opted for the candidacy of Prime Minister Mikati on the basis of his attachment to two principles, namely the protection of the Resistance and his commitment to undertake reforms in all the economic and social dossiers.And how about the STL?We should act in order to spare Lebanon the negative repercussions of the international tribunal, especially since it bases its action on ?politicization?, in order to annihilate the Resistance in Lebanon. I should point out here that we will not demand from Prime Minister Mikati more that what Prime Minister Hariri promised during his negotiations with the Syrians, Saudis, Turks and Qataris. The clauses of the compromises are known by everybody, and what Prime Minister Hairir was ready to do, Prime Minister Mikati is also ready to do.What is your analysis of the events in Egypt?I think that the domino system of which America talked when it invaded Iraq is taking an opposite turn. The Americans dreamed of establishing regimes allied with them, and we see demonstrations take place in the Arab countries against foreign interference in their affairs. Also, the rival [March 14] Lebanese party lost an influential ally in the collapse to the Egyptian regime.

Source: http://www.tayyar.org/Tayyar/News/PoliticalNews/en-US/129425751348726980.htm

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Until the regulator toughens up its act, Santander's boss has little inducement to deliver good service

I've seen hardened hackettes melt in the presence of Ant�nio Horta-Os�rio, the handsome and charming boss of Santander, recently poached to run Lloyds Banking Group on an �8m-plus pay packet. But no amount of charm makes up for the alarming collapse in service standards that the bank's many customers have endured.

From 2007 onwards, Horta-Os�rio made promise after promise that tackling service issues was the bank's top priority. Yet, under his watch, the problems seemed to deepen. Yes, acute delays at the bank's probate division were dealt with, and, yes, during the financial crisis Santander absorbed Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley ? operational challenges that would dent any bank's service capability.

But they don't explain why, by the end of the first half of 2010, its official complaints tally was the worst in Britain ? and by a huge margin. Compare it with Nationwide, which, rather like Santander, is a business primarily involved in savings and mortgages. Santander's complaints were running at an extraordinary eight times the level of Nationwide's.

Was Santander really focused on service as its top priority? Or was culling jobs, cutting costs and increasing profits all that really mattered? Judged by those measures alone, Horta-Os�rio was a magnificent success.

His replacement is Ana Botin, the daughter of Emilio Botin, the Spanish bank's chairman. She has already told a Commons select committee the bank is working hard to improve customer service. But when her chief duty over the coming months will be to prepare a partial flotation of the UK business to raise as much as �4bn, one imagines that where the bank stands in a list of retail complaints isn't going to be top priority. And as the daughter of a billionaire, it's unlikely she's ever had to tear her hair out over a �1,000 Isa transfer that's gone wrong.

Bank chiefs are economically rational people. They spend their time meeting goals that will achieve for them the highest personal earnings. Share price, dividends, earnings per share and so on, all go into the mix by which their pay is determined. But not customer service, that somewhat amorphous, immeasurable concept.

However, the FSA does now have an accurate table through which it can rank banks according to the formal number of complaints. In an ideal world I'd like to see the worst-rated bank each half year be fined a trifling �1m ? but for that �1m to be deducted from total boardroom remuneration. The bosses then might make service a real priority. It won't happen, of course.

In Ireland, a country devastated by the actions of grasping bankers, amid a bailout that will leave its citizens in hock for a generation, bankers still went to court to demand bonus payouts. They know no shame.

Maybe a better course of action is for the FSA, or its successor, to use existing powers to bring banks into line. In the past, the regulator has demanded that pension and endowment companies halt the marketing of products and ordered salesforces to be retrained. Salesforces, numbering thousands of men and women, were "taken off the road". If a bank has measurable and persistent poor service, then why not take its salesforce off the road? In other words, ban the bank from selling savings or mortgage products for a period, say a month, while it gets its service in order. Maybe chief executives might then sit up and listen.

To be fair to Santander, its second-half 2010 complaints figures are markedly better. But they're still likely to be the worst of the lot. Ana Botin, your bank has great best-buy products. Now do something about service.

Patrick Collinson

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/blog/2011/feb/26/customer-service-bank-executives-santander

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The son of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi said on Thursday foreign journalists were welcome to enter the country. "We say to the world that we have opened the country to journalists from all over the world," Seif al-Islam said, according to AFP.

He added journalists and diplomats were welcome to verify for themselves what he said were false reports that air strikes had targeted protesters against his father's rule.

Seif al-Islam also said the death toll from Libyan security forces has been limited.

� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

Source: http://www1.albawaba.com/main-headlines/kadhafi-son-says-number-victims-limited

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The Middle East uprisings provide a teachable moment about how the media can reinvent journalism with citizen involvement

It is 10 years, almost exactly, since a website called OhMyNews was established in South Korea with the statement that it regarded "Every citizen is a reporter". Ten years on, and the relationship between the mainstream media and the non-professional press of the people is taking on a different, but perhaps even more radical shape than that which we imagined a decade ago.

If we take the example of the past few weeks of the Arab Spring, the astonishing unfolding story has made two things abundantly clear. One is that without professional journalism, democracy is unsustainable; and the other is that without a strong alliance with, and understanding of, the publishing public, professional journalism is unsustainable.

It is impossible to imagine how a story as vivid as that of Mubarak's fall in Egypt could have been told without the reporting of al-Jazeera, or the battalions of local and foreign correspondents, who worked in difficult and dangerous conditions to piece together a chaotic story. Equally, the aggregation efforts of professional journalists like NPR's Andy Carvin (@acarvin is the must read Twitter stream for many of us), allowed many of us to keep up with what local bloggers and citizens were tweeting or posting through social media links. The fuller the picture ? even if made up of a thousand fragments ? the better the story.

This rich and fast-emerging pattern of co-operation between news outlets and the publishing public represents a more mature state of play for the issue of how professional and amateur reporting fits together. The most encouraging sign for journalism, although maybe an alarming one for business managers, is that we now see dozens of journalists, who were previously constrained to operating on their own sites, posting ever more material and links to places where their audiences might be. Nick Kristof, for instance, from the New York Times, posts updates on his Facebook page which are too long for Twitter, but not complete enough for the NYT. The comments and community that gather around his posts make transparent the links between a reporter and the reception his or her work receives: 200,000 people "like" his page ? that is a pretty strong endorsement.

What journalism in its professional state is now rapidly working out is what work can be done by algorithms and automation and tools, what is better done by witnesses, and what has to be done by journalists. Journalists being those who are both held accountable by professional standards and have institutional protection ? whether it is physical, financial or legal ? to continue to apply the metaphorical shoulder to the door.

In a recent interview, one of the most influential thinkers on the network society, Manuel Castells describes how vital he sees this new relationship of non-professional analysts, witnesses and reporters with the existing corporate media:

"Large media corporations have no choice. They either ally with the internet and people's journalism or they will become marginalised and financially unsustainable. However, that alliance plays a decisive role for social change. Without al-Jazeera, there would have been no revolution in Tunisia."

The "no choice" issue is crucial. When we set up Comment is free at the Guardian in 2006, we strongly felt that inclusion of comment and analysis applied to our own work by our community was not a "nice to have", but a "must have".

In the future, the public will become ever more astute at publication, but they have other parts of their lives, too, and their depth of interest in stories will, as Anne Nelson notes, intensify for periods and then wane at other times. The job of the professional journalist is still, as ever, to report professionally, ask questions and gather the harder information and help hold power to account, but this process now and always will involve a much more visible and closer relationship with the community that supports it.

And journalism will not just be better for it, but might have a longer lifespan than many expected in 2001.

? Emily Bell is speaking at The Morningside Post's second annual conference, "Information Overload? Navigating the Age of Democratised Media", at Columbia University, New York on Friday 25 February. More details via Facebook

Emily Bell

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/feb/25/digital-media-social-media

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A reader wonders if she should save her family from future financial struggles by investing in a funeral plan

Every week a Guardian Money reader submits a question, and it's up to you to help him or her out ? a selection of the best answers will appear in next Saturday's paper.

This week's question:

I am a widow in my seventies, living on a small income and with �6,000 savings. Should I buy a funeral plan with the money, or invest it in some other way? My husband's life insurance was not sufficient for his funeral, and I don't want to leave my family facing a billl.

What are your thoughts?

Jim Griffin

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/blog/2011/feb/25/invest-in-a-funeral-plan

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A good day for Indians farm teams, as Columbus, Kinston, Lake County win.

MINOR-LEAGUE REPORT

AAA Columbus Clippers

Clippers 10, Indians 5: Jared Goedert's solo homer started a five-run rally in the bottom of the seventh, and Columbus defeated Indianapolis. It was Goedert's 19th homer.

Notes: The Louisville (Ky.) Bats also won, and hold a 1.5-game lead over the Clippers in the Western Division of the International League.

AA Akron Aeros

SeaWolves 7, Aeros 4: Erie (Pa.) scored six runs in the top of the second and defeated Akron. Starter Scott Barnes (6-10) lasted four innings for the Aeros, and yielded all seven runs.

Advanced A Kinston Indians

Indians 15, Red Sox 2: Kinston (N.C.) scored 12 times in the bottom of the fifth to rout Salem (Va.). The K-Tribe sent 15 batters to the plate and collected eight hits in the fifth. The final three runs of the inning scored on Kyle Bellows' ninth homer.

A Lake County Captains

Captains 1, Silver Hawks 0: Three Lake County pitchers scattered six hits and shut out visiting South Bend (Ind.). Starter Brett Brach (5-8) pitched six innings, Jeremy Johnson pitched one inning and Jose Flores pitched the final 1.1 innings and picked up his sixth save. Chris Kersten hit his 12th homer.

A Mahoning Valley Scrappers

Doubledays 4, Scrappers 2: Auburn (N.Y.) scored two in the bottom of the seventh inning to defeat Mahoning Valley in a New York-Penn League game. Kirk Wetmore (2-7) relieved for the Scrappers in the seventh. He gave up both runs, a hit and walked four.

Independent Lake Erie Crushers

Crushers 10, Kings 2: Lake Erie won its last road game of the year, at Kalamazoo (Mich.). The Crushers batted around twice, in the fourth and seventh.

Source: http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2010/08/clippers_stay_close_in_il_west.html

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Crystal Bernard Hot Revealing Dress - Wings S03 E01

267 MB | 5:27 | 720 x 480 | MPEG2
http://www.filesonic.com/file/126573791/Crystal.Bernard.Wings.S3E1.mpg

Source: http://www.hollywoodrag.com/index.php?/forums/viewthread/28466/

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