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Tang Bomb: Liquid Explosives Are the New...

weiweiwei — Mon, 26 May 2008 11:19:24 +0200

Far-fetched as it sounds, bombs made from hydrogen peroxide and the breakfast powder drink

Tang could have taken down seven planes bound for the U.S. and Canada — using flash cameras

to trigger the explosions.A British court saw video evidence this week of the "liquid

explosives plot," an alleged terrorist cabal British police say they thwarted in August

2006. The suspects allegedly had planned to use common household chemicals to mix bombs

while aboard jets flying over the Atlantic.The alleged plot, and the excellent police work

that went into busting it, resulted in the tough carry-on restrictions passengers face

before boarding an airplane. Knowing the dangers of liquid explosives should make the hassle

of tossing your bottles when traveling a lot easier to bear.Peter Wright, a lawyer

prosecuting the case in London against eight of the 18 accused suspects, called the bombs "a

deadly cargo." It's a simple one, too.Prosecutors say the alleged terrorists intended to

carry the components on board each plane to form a bomb.One was a mix of hydrogen peroxide

and Tang. The citric acid in the Tang acts as a catalyst, making the mixture deadly.The

other component is a mixture known as HMTD — hexamethylene triperoxide diamine, a chemical

cocktail made from readily available household and commercial ingredients. HMTD is extremely

unstable and can be set off by heat, movement and even contact with metal.Prosecutors say

the suspects had planned to hide the Tang-and-bleach mixture in plastic soda bottles and the

HMTD in hollowed-out AA batteries. The initial charge would have been set off in the HMTD,

causing a larger explosion.According to Erroll Southers, the chief of intelligence and

counterterrorism at Los Angeles International Airport, peroxide-based bombs are on the rise

all over the world."Peroxide-based explosives are the weapon of choice in the Middle East,"

he said. "They leave no residue, they’re extremely volatile, they’re easy to make and they

’ve been quite effective."Just one bottle-sized bomb could be powerful enough to rip a hole

in a plane’s hull — certain tragedy for the passengers aboard the seven targeted

flights.Prosecutors say the attack was planned for between August and December, two of the

busiest months of the year for air travel. Had the planes been full, nearly 2,000 people

would have been killed.Jurors in the trial were shown video of what those explosions would

have looked like. Scientists at the Forensic Explosives Laboratory in London re-created the

device, but as a precaution they left the testing area and had a robotic arm mix the deadly

chemicals.It was a smart move: The tiny bomb destroyed one of the video cameras and sprayed

the lab with pieces of the protective walls meant to contain the blast.Next time you're

feeling inconvenienced because you can't take a bottle of shampoo or soda pop through

security, think again. Those restrictions at the gate are there to ensure that you'll reach

your destination safe and sound.

Sushi, chardonnay and classic cars

weiweiwei — Mon, 26 May 2008 11:17:52 +0200

Sushi Ginger After attending the Green Valley symposium a few months ago, I decided to

visit sushi restaurants in Petaluma. Clean, crisp, cold chardonnay is a perfect match for

sushi, so I set out just as the “Salute to American Graffiti” celebration was getting

under way.My first stop was Hiro’s Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar, located at 107

Petaluma Blvd. North. Hiro’s was booming. It was a very busy weekend and bustling with hot

rods and people everywhere. Roars of engines whined into the warm summer air. My cold glass

of 2006 Dutton Goldfield chardonnay was lightly oaked and locked to my hand like a hungry

Jamaican Bobsled Team racing down the ice.My co-pilot and old friend, Augie, was on his

first assignment with me. We were hungry and I had a good feeling Hiro was going to come at

us with something big in this first drag race of fine wine vs. fine sushi. Hiro greeted us

warmly, as always.With the wine chilling, the first wave of nigiri came out. It was a

decadent array of squid (ika), salmon (sake) and fatty tuna (toro). The catch: they were all

seared — but only slightly. We had already sampled the chardonnay and determined that there

was some oak to this treasure — but not too much — and he proceeded to have the chef

create this special dish.What was seared on the fish fenced itself brilliantly with the

toastiness in the wine. With aromas of pear and green melon circling brilliantly in my

olfactory, the love of each piece melted in my mouth, ultimately to drown down in wine like

a cold stone thrown into the bright summer air that sank into the depths of a warm pond.Now

I was getting green apple flavors — this wine was changing. It was complex and the second

dish arrived: It was a top-notch roll of complexity fortified with salmon and adorned with

salmon roe. Hiro then came out with yet another dish — a massive construction of California

roll with inches of toasted crab. Below the dish was a beautiful fire-red puree of Thai

pepper to render this the leader of all Dynamite Rolls. It seemed to pair perfectly with all

the high-octane fueling outside on the streets. Ba-boom! It was hot, but very delicious.Next

stop was Kabuki restaurant and sushi bar at 17 Petaluma Blvd. North. Seated right in front

of my chef, Akio, the room echoed with soft voices off the red brick wall. I ordered some

basic nigiri sushi. Tako (octopus) is a favorite of mine since my father and I spear fished

in the oceans off Japan the summer of my junior year at Petaluma High School. My choice of

wine was another Green Valley gem, the Marimar Estate Don Miguel Vineyard 2006 chardonnay.

It has notes of lemon zest and warmed, yellow, orchard apple. The tako was fresh and stirred

with the chardonnay into a beautiful culinary whirlwind. Next on the sushi strip was the

soft-shell crab. The thick, molasses-like sauce was wrong for the light and flavorful crab

and didn’t pair with chardonnay well, but the crab alone was just fine with the wine.The

next dish was in-season blue fin tuna. Smeared with wasabi and tackled by a mound of ginger,

this tasty helping of beautiful, fresh fish went down smoothly. My next piece, unagi, was

done correctly. The unagi (eel) was smothered in a thick teriyaki glaze, wrapped in seaweed

and sprinkled with sesame seeds. Cold wine with lemon notes chased it down.My last piece,

fatty tuna (toro) was followed by a big mouthful of this Green Valley beauty and the wasabi

continued to burn clean.For my last stop, I ventured across town to a real hot spot on the

sushi scene. Owned and run by Chef Steven Tam, Gohan is a very comfortable and upscale sushi

restaurant and bar located across from Orchard Supply Hardware in the new center off North

McDowell Boulevard.Right away, a huge plate of rolls passed me by to another table. It

looked like a California roll sliced and laid flat but with more. On top was at least an

inch of crab meat adorned with black and blue roe (fish eggs). Steve calls this one the

Carburetor.For Gohan, I chose the Ironhorse 2006 chardonnay. Cold and crisp and with no oak,

it still somehow poured into my mouth as a slightly creamy chardonnay. The minerality was

soft, the lemon and pit fruit, opulent but, most importantly, it was gentle and caressing.My

first dish was a specialty: fresh, thin-sliced halibut in carpaccio style, laid out like a

confident, winning hand of poker, its owner giving mixed signals not to give away the

success that lay below. On the bottom were paper-thin cucumber slices and, for a topper,

paper-thin jalapeno slices. This was so tasty with this chardonnay.Next, I was dribbling

fresh cut lemon over a nice plate of a half-dozen myagi oysters that lay in the shell with

some Lake Sonoma Sauvignon blanc and a yuzu sauce adorned with green and blue caviar and

slices of green onion. I grabbed the first mollusk and pulled the meat from the shell into

my mouth. Flavors raced wildly from the acid in the sauce, the salt of the caviar, a dabble

of green onion, the brininess of the oyster, and then the soft, meaty flesh.At the end, the

oyster was creamy, very fresh and bright. Oh yes, the wine — I grabbed the Ironhorse.

Immediately, the creaminess of the oyster met the lemony-orchard fruit and the perfect

levels of acidity created a splendor both of palate and mind.Next came a big, beautiful

presentation of Japanese scampi. It lay in a pool of mild-to-rich crème sauce. Cooked into

it was wakame seaweed. Slices of lemon posed atop this articulated contemporary piece and

big shrimp guarded its base.My first bite was amazing. The scampi was so fresh and the cream

sauce just lifted into my mouth and carried the scampi down and into my belly. The

minerality of the wine and the cold climate apple flavors in it resonated with the buttery

cream sauce, cutting through, covering, unfolding and releasing it into my senses.Steve

insisted on one more piece for a finale: a pancake of shizo leaf (Japanese green tea) topped

with halibut, a cream sauce and tobiko (caviar). Again, a hit, a winner, a knockout — a

finalist in any drag race.Overall, sushi is very good in this town. Having lived in Japan, I

can be a harsh critic; I expect the best. The wines I paired with it were phenomenal. To top

it off, a wonderful weekend of high-performance and antique cars from all over the country.

Petaluma defines what Arthur Fonzarelli once coined as “cool.”(Jason Jenkins is the owner

of Vine and Barrel, a wine shop at 143 Kentucky St. He offers Wednesday night wine education

classes from 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturday tastings from 4 to 7 p.m. He can be contacted at 765-

1112. The Web site is www.vineandbar rel.com)

Consumer goods steady to up prices on ri...

weiweiwei — Mon, 26 May 2008 11:16:18 +0200

Refrigeration Components LG Electronics, Godrej Appliances, among other consumer

durables companies, plan to raise prices of television sets, refrigerators, washing machines

and other products by as much as 5 per cent in June to offset an increase in cost of steel,

copper and other inputs. The revision in prices, the second in four months, may push

inflation higher.Market leader LG Electronics will revise television prices by 3 per cent,

while the refrigerators and washing machines will get dearer by 3-5 per cent, V

Ramachandran, director (sales and marketing), LG India, said. The company may raise the

prices of airconditioners by 7 per cent later.Mirc Electronics and Godrej Appliances may

also hike prices in June. Gullu Mirchandani, chairman Mirc Electronics, said, "A hike of 5-7

per cent is inevitable as raw material costs have gone up while imports have become

expensive."The rise in prices is expected to partly offset increase in raw material costs,

which consumer durable makers were forced to absorb in the past few months. Raw material

costs for appliance makers have risen by 10-12 per cent since February.The cost of steel

alone, which comprises almost 30 per cent of products like refrigerators and washing

machines, has grown by 40 per cent in past four months.Other key commodities like copper and

aluminium have soared by close to 20 per cent. George Menezes, COO Godrej Appliances,

observed, "The companies are still absorbing almost half of the pressures by passing only 3

-5 per cent of the cost."The refrigeration and other non-electrical machinery group has a

weight of 0.98909 in the wholesale price index (WPI), which is used to measure headline

inflation in India. Within the group, colour televisions have a weight of 0.33056, while

airconditioners have a weight of 0.0879.LG on the other hand differs. "While we have tried

to maintain our prices but with the dual impact of rising input cost and depreciating rupee

we can no longer defer the intended price hike," Ramachandran explains.With the dollar

becoming stronger against the rupee, manufacturers will have to pay more for completely

built units (CBUs) and other components imported into the country.The weakening currency

becomes a cause of concern for the companies as premium products in vogues like double door

high-end refrigerators, LCDs and front load washing machines are largely imported for

sale.Earlier this year, lack of incentives in the Union budget and building input cost

pressure had prompted companies, such as Godrej Appliances and Samsung Electronics, to hike

prices by 2-3 per cent on certain product categories. However, Samsung has decided against

revising prices for the second time this year.

Who's More Red, White and Blue-Collar?

weiweiwei — Mon, 26 May 2008 11:15:06 +0200

Pork Collar LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- If he weren't so busy waiting tables at O'Charley's or

scanning Wal-Mart for discount meat to feed his four kids, Scott Winschief thinks he might

make a pretty good candidate for president of the United States. For the past six months, he

has watched on television in his double-wide mobile home as Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and

Barack Obama have traveled around the country and imitated his lifestyle. Badly.They posed

for photos in the same kind of factory where Winschief, 44, pinched a nerve in his back

hauling 1,800-pound coils of wire in 140-degree heat. They visited bars and drained pints of

the domestic beer that fills Winschief's fridge. They toured barns occupied by animals like

the ones he fed at 4 a.m. every day so he could pay for a few years of college. They

reminisced about shooting guns like the ones displayed inside almost every house in his

rural neighborhood.The presidential race has turned into a riveting competition for

ordinariness, as both campaigns have concluded that whoever does a better job of winning

over voters like Winschief -- an average blue-collar man in an average American town of

60,000 -- is more likely to triumph in Tuesday's primaries in Indiana and North Carolina.

Identifying with the common man has been a requisite in presidential elections for almost

two centuries. But the stakes are especially high in a race largely defined by an economic

crisis, and campaign experts say the candidates have gone especially far in their appeals.In

the past six weeks, Clinton hammered down a shot of Crown Royal whiskey -- not necessarily

the first choice of the workingman -- and chased it with a beer. Obama visited a

Pennsylvania sports bar and sampled a Yuengling after making sure it wasn't "some designer

beer." Clinton told stories about learning to shoot behind the cottage her grandfather

built. Obama went bowling.Whether these voyeurs of blue-collar existence yield results

depends on how people like Winschief perceive them. Are these genuine attempts at connection

or overly calculated tactics to win voters? Are they telling moments that reveal a

candidate's humanity or patronizing charades that reveal a candidate's guile?Last Tuesday

night, Winschief cradled his custom-made bowling ball at Arrowhead Bowl in downtown

Lafayette. It was league night, a staple of his schedule for the past decade, and he

shuffled a deck of Hooters playing cards on the table in front of him and gulped Miller Lite

from a plastic cup. One of Winschief's teammates mentioned Obama's recent misadventures at a

bowling alley, where he rolled a succession of gutter balls (with the help of a couple of

young children who rolled a couple of frames) en route to a score of 37. The friend wondered

whether there was an adult in Lafayette who couldn't beat Obama's abysmal total.Winschief,

an undecided Democrat, pondered this for a second as he glanced up at his own score -- 164

with three of 10 frames left to bowl."I love him for trying, but that's awful," he said. "A

37? It kind of makes you wonder why he's even bowling in the first place."Presidential

candidates have strived relentlessly downward in social class ever since the 1840s, when

William Henry Harrison created what historians now call the "common-man myth." While most of

his peers campaigned from their estates, Harrison traveled the country and spoke under a

banner depicting a log cabin and a bottle of hard cider. He won the presidency by a

landslide, and his campaign model became the new standard.With few exemptions since,

American voters have picked presidents who mimic the public's most ordinary habits -- men

who regularly mention drinking, or NASCAR, or old-fashioned farm work. Ronald Reagan liked

to be photographed chopping wood. George H.W. Bush spoke longingly about pork rinds. Bill

Clinton stopped at McDonald's while on the campaign trial, even when it required a side

trip. And George W. Bush is a champion brush-clearer.Disruption to this role-playing occurs

only when a politician makes a blunder so glaring that it reveals him to be a jester in

costume. Gerald Ford bit into a tamale without husking it while campaigning on the Mexican

border in 1976, and he extolled its deliciousness before realizing he had consumed the

wrapper. John F. Kerry ordered a cheesesteak at Pat's in Philadelphia and asked for Swiss

cheese, even though Pat's had specialized in subs with Cheez Whiz for 70 years.

Local artists to get a platform at craft...

weiweiwei — Mon, 26 May 2008 11:02:07 +0200

Jade Craft The Narromine Branch of the Macquarie Regional Library will organize an Art

and Craft Expo from May 22 to 24 celebrating Library and Information Week for 2008.The three

day exposition will mainly exhibit a plethora of artefacts from members of local art and

craft group referred to as Kraftie Inks.Moreover a workshop of silver jewelry will also take

place at night on the first day of the expo.Visitors can expect to see on display, marvelous

and extraordinary creations by craftsman. Experts believe that this event will provide a

platform to local artist and give a boost to the handicraft industry of Australia.The key

handicraft products exported by Australia include ceramic arts and crafts, jade jewelry,

decorative hand blown glass, abalone jewelry, paper crafts and home wares. An event like

this can attract international buyers and help expand exports.

Food allergies blamed rashly

weiweiwei — Mon, 26 May 2008 11:01:01 +0200

Instant Food A leading immunologist yesterday said that although surveys showed 10 to

20 per cent of Australian adults believed one or more foods made them ill, a much smaller

number - between 1 and 2 per cent of adults - had a true food allergy.Connie Katelaris,

professor of immunology and allergy at the University of Western Sydney, said that although

some of the difference was accounted for by less dangerous but still unpleasant food

sensitivities, both categories were still overdiagnosed.As a result, many people were

needlessly limiting their diets - in some cases restricting themselves to just three or four

specific foods - in the false belief this would do them good. In fact, they were simply

putting themselves at risk of malnutrition and further ill-health.Professor Katelaris told a

recent medical conference that "these imagined food allergies are far more likely to be

reported by women than by men", and the phenomenon was being fuelled by the popularity of

instant but bogus tests offered by some alternative medicine practitioners, which purported

to detect food allergies by analysing hair or blood."It's an attractive diagnosis to

individuals because it seems to give them control," Professor Katelaris told The

Australian."It's easy for people to understand. They think, 'If I change my diet, I will be

OK'."It's harder to explain that their rash is caused by an immune problem, which is quite

complicated."Although genuine food allergy affected about 6 per cent of children, most of

these cases were resolved. About 97 per cent of children allergic to dairy products shed

their sensitivity by adulthood, while two-thirds of children outgrew allergy to eggs and 20

per cent lost their allergy to peanuts.Immunologists and other doctors agreed that food

allergy was being overblown.Stephen Shumack, honorary secretary of the Australasian College

of Dermatologists, said dermatologists had "suspected for quite some time" that many

supposed food allergies were nothing of the sort."I hate to use the word 'hysterical', but

certainly people who have this perception tend to be more psychologically disturbed," he

said.

NXP Semiconductors announces First Quart...

weiweiwei — Thu, 22 May 2008 10:10:39 +0200

Cable Seal Cable Seal Semiconductors has announced first quarter sales of USD 1,519

million, a comparable growth of 0.8% on the first quarter of 2007 and a comparable decline

of 7.5% over the fourth quarter of 2007, reflecting the continuing softness of the overall

market as well as normal seasonal weakness. Adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter was USD 183

million, the same level as the first quarter of 2007, but down from USD 349 million in the

fourth quarter of 2007. Adjusted EBITA showed a USD 37 million increase to USD 41 million

this quarter compared to USD 4 million in the same period last year, reflecting improved

gross margin and operational profitability, despite the weak dollar. Frans van Houten,

President and CEO of NXP Semiconductors, commented: “We were able to achieve a sales level

in line with our guidance provided, as the result of better than anticipated sales in both

the MultiMarket Semiconductors’ and Automotive & Identification businesses. Our cash

position has reduced in the first quarter to USD 519 million. Apart from the payment for

GloNav, this reduction is largely caused by changes in working capital, reflecting the

seasonal pattern. The continued focus on our Business Renewal strategy is paying off and the

cost savings we have already achieved from that strategy have led to an improved gross

margin offsetting some of the currency effects on profitability. We continue to strengthen

our operations and remain on course to deliver USD 375 million of cost savings on a run-rate

basis by the end of 2008.” The Automotive & Identification business continues to perform

well. The Mobile & Personal business delivered solid growth in an overall weak market.

MultiMarket Semiconductors was under pressure but performed reasonably well.” Outlook: the

company expects a year-on-year mid single-digit sales decrease on a comparable basis. This

translates into a low single-digit sequential sales decrease in the second quarter of 2008

on a comparable basis.

Auto Scanner: Please shed some light on...

weiweiwei — Thu, 22 May 2008 10:09:17 +0200

Automatic switch I was listening to you when you were on the radio with Jordan Rich on March

7 and you described a problem with headlights that we have with our 1993 Honda Civic. At the

first position on the light "stalk," the parking lights, tail lights and dashboard lights

are on, as they are supposed to be. As soon as you turn to the next position, the headlights

go on, but all the other lights go off. I know it has something to do with a switch. Since

this is an electrical problem, I'd like to have some idea of the magnitude, before we take

the Civic to a garage for repair. Honda garages in Maine are few and far between, and our

track record with inexperienced Honda mechanics is painful. Any advice you can provide would

be appreciated. I can appreciate your hesitation in taking your car to just anyone. However

the job itself is very basic and takes less than an hour to make the replacement. The kicker

is, however, the part costs about $210. To find a qualified mechanic, go to your nearest

Napa auto parts store and ask the parts seller which shop he or she services that is the

most competent to do this job. You can also Google Napa Auto Care shops on the Internet to

find the shop closest to you. I have a 1998 Riviera. The check engine light keeps coming on.

The code says it is the CAM sensor, but I have replaced it three times and the light comes

back on. Do you know of any past problems with this? Any help you can give me would be

appreciated as I have had this problem for the past three years. There are many particulars

that could turn on the light. However, the most common and most commonly overlooked reason

for this failure is the magnetic button that is attached to the CAM gear. This magnet

triggers the sensor. If the CAM is walking or if the magnet is weak, you will keep having

this intermittent problem. We bought our first brand new car in 19 years last May — a 2007

RAV-4, automatic 4WD — and we have always been religious about 3,000 mile oil changes (thus

we have histories of 314,000 miles with original clutch and 312,000 or 285,000 miles on

several previous vehicles). In addition to "do I need to use synthetic, since I have since I

bought the car 31,000 miles ago?" is "the dealership says every 5,000 vs. our traditional

3,000. Is that OK?" Your letter is self-explanatory. You are doing everything I have

recommended and you are getting record-setting distance in your cars. Thanks for proving the

auto scanner to be right. Just keep doing what you are doing. Car Care Tip: When your car is

on the lift for its oil change job, have the technician spin all four wheels to check for

excess brake drag, which will rob you of fuel mileage.

Town board relents, will dead-end Lakevi...

weiweiwei — Thu, 22 May 2008 10:08:09 +0200

Connector Block It took years of pleading, but residents and business owners along

Minocqua's Lakeview Drive finally got their way Tuesday when the town board approved a plan

to dead-end the road at its intersection with Hwy. 51. The move will block the south end of

Lakeview and effectively cut off what has long been a much-used shortcut both to and from

Lakeland Union High School and to and from Hwy. 70 W. Motorists use the latter route to

bypass traffic lights at Hwy. 51 and Hwy. 70 West. The decision almost didn't happen. As

town officials readied the year's final road project plans for approval at Tuesday night's

special meeting, they decided to pare the Lakeview project from the list. That's because the

paving bids had exceeded what the town had budgeted, necessitating the elimination of some

planned improvements, and because the state Department of Transportation told the town it

would pay for the Lakeview intersection closure in 2011 as part of its planned Hwy. 51 and J

project. But that didn't sit well with several citizens attending the session, who cited the

road's primary use as a shortcut and the safety issues associated with motorists driving far

faster than the speed limit. As she has in the past, Kelly Phillips, owner of the Bay View

Lodge, cited speeding. That puts the many children who stay at her motel in the summer - a

figure she estimated at about 325 for last season - in danger because they cross the road to

get to Lake Minocqua, she said.

Bad break leads to good break for tire c...

weiweiwei — Thu, 22 May 2008 10:07:04 +0200

Cable Lug That’s Ben Brown’s facetious view of his degree in economics from Davidson

College. You remember Davidson, the small liberal arts college in North Carolina whose

basketball team cracked the elite eight in the NCAA Tournament, before falling by two points

to eventual national champion Kansas. If you paid attention during the tournament coverage,

you probably learned that a Davidson education is pricey -- around $40,000 a year. Among the

school’s alumni, doctors and lawyers number in the thousands. Two former governors of North

Carolina (Jim Holshouser and Jim Martin) and one former president of the United States

(Woodrow Wilson) attended college there. Now you can add to that list: one front tire

changer. “I didn’t study tire changing -- that’s a fact,” said Brown, who changes the

front tires on Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman’s No. 12 Dodge. Collectively, Newman’s

crew will defend its title in Thursday’s Sprint Pit Crew Challenge at Time Warner Cable

Arena in Charlotte, N.C. When he enrolled at Davidson, Brown had no mechanical background

and no interest in NASCAR racing. He studied economics and played shortstop on the Wildcats

’ baseball team, well enough to convince himself and others in the know that he would be

drafted by a major-league organization after his senior season in 2000. Then Brown’s life

changed, suddenly and dramatically. He was hitting .348 through 37 games of his final season

when he broke his leg, ending his baseball career. After graduation, Brown spent the next

two years “playing softball and goofing off,” as he put it. He took a job as an estimator

for his father’s construction company, where he still works during the week. Then came a

strange and unexpected offer. Newman’s rear tire carrier, Trent Cherry, who had played

football against Brown in high school, asked if he would consider trying out for a pit crew

job. “Trent knew I was done with sports and living in Charlotte and not really using my

athleticism to any gain, so he called me up and asked if I wanted to and got me a tryout,”

Brown said Saturday at Darlington Raceway, while gluing lug nuts to front tires arranged in

tidy rows behind the pit wall. “I had to run a 40 (yard dash), do a bench press, vertical

jump, body fat -- all kinds of stuff. Basically, I got a gig as a developmental guy, and

that’s really where it all started.” Brown started coming to the track as a backup.

Fieldsheer Highland Jacket/Booster Pants

weiweiwei — Thu, 22 May 2008 10:05:50 +0200

Taslan Nylon We go through gear around here like six-year-old boys wear holes in the knees

of their best pair of school jeans. Which means we want gear that's not going to shred in

case of a get-off, is durable enough to wear for days on end, shields us from water yet is

still porous so that we don't feel like we're riding in a sweatbox, and has lots of pockets

to stuff all of our necessities in. To meet our stringent list of demands, Fieldsheer sent

over a solid riding combo in the form of its Highland Jacket and Booster Pants.Our

Fieldsheer Highland Jacket came in an attractive silver and black. The 660 Denier Nylon

Taslan outer shell is flexible enough that it didn't require a long break-in period like

leather does. The shell is thick enough that it kept me plenty warm on chilly coastal

mornings during our 1100 mile trek up California's Highway 1 and ventilates well enough to

continue wearing comfortably when the sun comes out. Riding along the Pacific coastline, we

inevitably got rained on, so we can vouch for Fieldsheer's claim that the jacket is

waterproof.A highlight of the jacket is its ability to be adjusted for a custom fit. The

Fieldsheer Highland Jacket has Velcro adjustments at the wrists, waist and neck. There's a

pair of snaps on each arm to further cut down on cold wind shooting up your sleeve. This is

part of Fieldsheer's unique 4-step adjustable sleeve volume control in the upper and lower

sleeves that aims to keep the armor snug for all arm sizes regardless of whether you have

the liner in or not. Depending on how you like to wear your jacket, you can have it skin-

hugging tight or a little more loose-fitting. The Highland Jacket has a Thermo Pilot Liner

that is soft and comfortable. The liner comes out and Fieldsheer claims it can be worn

separately as a jacket, but I only used the jacket in chilly conditions, so I never had a

need to remove it.The jacket has been tailored to fit riders in an upright riding position,

so the bottom of the jacket sits just below my waist line. It does have an eight-inch waist

zip connector and a universal snap belt connector in the back that easily attaches to the

Booster Pants to keep it from creeping up and letting cold air in.Another feature we liked

about the Highland Jacket is its abundance of pockets. Check out this list - two zipped

front hand warmer pockets, three upper chest plus one for your mobile phone, two lower

cargo, one zipped map, one inside Velcro, and one other inside mobile phone pocket, just in

case. There's more than enough compartments to misplace your motorcycle's keys, which I did

once. But it still scores high for providing plenty of storage space.The top of the pockets

fold over the bottom and cinch down tight with Velcro, ensuring that water doesn't get in

and short out your electronic devices. The hand pockets work two-fold. The top pocket is

large enough for a wallet or folded maps and the underlying pocket is smaller but has the

bonus security of zipping up tight.And while the quality construction of the jacket is

guaranteed to keep you dry, we appreciated that the venting system worked well also. Two

vents in front unzip at the shoulder and a larger vent runs between your shoulder blades.

Open all three up and the Highland Jacket circulates enough air to cool you down quick.One

area where the Highland Jacket doesn't score as high is in protection. There is a Ballistic

nylon overlay that reinforces select areas like the elbows, but overall the armor is light.

The padding in the elbows is the most protective, but it slides around slightly and you have

to maneuver it back into place when putting on the jacket. There's light padding in the

shoulders and a soft armor plate in the back. All of the armor is CE-approved and removable,

but it's definitely not reinforced enough for hard impacts.The overall design is very

stylish. Even though there's a ton of pockets, it doesn't detract from the jacket's appeal.

It not only looks good, but Fieldsheer also keeps rider's safety in mind, with reflective

piping on tabs under the chest pockets and in the pinstripe-style trim that runs under the

arms and around the shoulders. The piping is reflective Phoslite and increases a rider's

nighttime visibility, and includes a spot-reflective, high abrasive material in back.And

even though the Fieldsheer Highland Jacket and the Booster Jacket aren't sold together as a

full riding suit, they were built to complement each other. Our pants were the same silver

and black as the jacket and when you zip them together it's almost as good as having a full

-length suit.The Booster Pants bare many of the same attributes as the jacket. They are

waterproof, but the 600 denier Carbolex material is porous enough to allow the pants to

breath. Airflow is assisted by two vents in the thighs. A removable liner adds another layer

of protection and is comfortable on bare skin. The pants button at the waist and have a

Velcro storm flap covering the zipper.The Booster Pants don't have as many pockets as the

jacket, but all four of them (two front, two back) zip up tight. The pockets are about a

hands-length deep, which is good for your license and cash, but there's so much storage

potential in the jacket that you don't really need to use the pants' pockets.One of the

Booster pants' best features is its three-quarter length zippers up both legs. Even legs

need a chance to breathe, and if you're layering up for a cold-weather ride, it makes

getting ready a tad easier. The leg-length zippers have the same style of storm flap that

covers the zipper on the crotch, so wind working its way through the teeth isn't an issue.

The bottom of the pants cinch at the ankles courtesy of more Velcro attachments.The only

other detractor from an otherwise stellar riding suit is when it comes time to clean the

nylon exterior. It got some pretty good stains on it when JC was kicking up some dirt on a

recent off-road ride, and you aren't supposed to machine wash or dry clean the outer

garment. The liners are removable and washable, but the outside shell requires a thorough

sponge bath with a non-biological treatment. Sorry, Clorox, but no bleach action here.The

Fieldsheer gear has proven its versatility. It got my seal of approval when I wore it on our

1100-mile quest up the California coastline, Bart wore it riding the 2008 Kawasaki ZX-14 one

day when the local temps dipped into the 30's, and JC also abused it - I mean, used it on a

two day test of the 2008 BMW GS1200. And no, it's not one size fits all, it just happens

that all three of us happen to have similar builds and are in the six-foot tall range,

albeit JC probably had to really cinch in the pants tight because he's about 40-lbs lighter

than me. After months of wear and numerous excursions, there's not a loose thread visible

anywhere. It has served us faithfully and gets Motorcycle USA's three thumbs up.

Exports of textile & apparel in April co...

weiweiwei — Thu, 22 May 2008 10:04:22 +0200

apparel fabric According to the data from General Administration of Customs, exports of

textile and apparel in April were valuaed at around 14.286 billion U.S. dollar, up 20.79%

from last month, and up 11.34% compared with the same period last year.Among them, yarn

fabric and products were 5.982 billion U.S. dollar, clothes and apparel attachment was 8.304

billion U.S. dollar.In first 8 month of 2007/08 season(2007.09-2008.04), cumulative export

of fabrics clothes were about 113.934 billion U.S. dollar, increase by 17.71% year-on-

year.Among them yarn, fabric and products increased by 22.05% to 40.456 billion U.S. dollar,

clothes and apparel attachment increased by 15.44% to 73.477 billion U.S. dollar compared

with the same period of last season.

Sira-sira store: Storm food DID

weiweiwei — Wed, 21 May 2008 13:15:33 +0200

I tell you that it’s been raining in Cebu City in the month of flowers? It’s May and it’s raining. For almost a week, we’ve had nothing but rain, rain and more rain. Oh, did I tell you it rained?Stormy weather has a way of perking up the appetite. Could it be the cold and pelting rain? Could it be the fact that rain shuts us out from our usual outdoor activities, and so it forces us to snuggle up with a loved one in the sofa to watch old movies?You wonder how inactivity can cause so much hunger. It seems that your stomach switches to autopilot, becomes so focused on food that it pesters you for fuel and more fuel.At home, as soon as we hear the first pitter-patter of rain falling on our roof, my aunt Blitte reaches out for the greens sleeping in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator.Utan Bisaya, a kind of soup, is what we usually have when the rain strikes again. A steaming bowl of this soup—made with squash, flaked fish, sliced okra, and green leafy vegetables—quashes the coldness of the day and the worries that do come back on another day.The ideal partner for this soup is fried pork chop with hot sauce or crispy fried pork cubes.“It increases the palatability of the food,” Uncle Gustav tells me. “But the meat cancels all the goodness that the vegetable soup give.”For guilt-free pairing, my aunt often fries fish and covers it with one of her special sauces. I like best the barbecue sauce because it makes me feel I am eating meat, minus the fear of early death due to cholesterol-clogged arteries and too much good living.Other standbys at home are tinned fish and meat.When the wind buffets on our windows, and the rain threatens to drown all our garden plants, out go the canned sardines and luncheon meat like good soldiers ready to serve their country.One soup we like at home is misua, a kind of noodle, so fine it breaks on touch.My aunt uses only a few packs to cook a pot of misua soup. She stirs fry onions, garlic and bell pepper. Then she adds the sardines, and follows this up with water or fish stock.Misua is not misua if you don’t add sponge gourd, sliced into chunks or thick rings.The fruit vegetable gives the soup a fragrance that reminds you of sunny days. It adds a subtle sweetness to the soup so that you don’t need anything else but a bit of salt to taste. Oh, and a dash of white pepper.Sometimes my aunt adds shredded cabbage. Around five minutes before the vegetables are done, she adds the noodles. She lets the soup come to a boil; then shuts off the heat.“This prevents the noodles from turning into pudding,” she tells me.As I sip the storm soup, I close my eyes and think of other days when life didn’t have the inconvenience of submerged streets and washed out houses due to the power of water gone wild.There are better things to think of when life offers nothing but trouble, disrespect, ingratitude and lack of care.Out there, the sun is hiding behind rain clouds and bad news. I just have to drink my soup to the last drop. I know there will not always be storms in life.

Namibia: A Blessing in Disguise

weiweiwei — Wed, 21 May 2008 13:12:09 +0200

On a sad note floods from the overflowing Cuvelai system displaced thousands, inundating many homes in northern Namibia, but on the other hand they are a rich source of much-sought-after catfish.They would also serve as the most unlikely promotional tool for the Namibia Fish Consumption Trust in its quest to promote fish consumption locally.Namibia, despite its abundance of marine resources, has one of the lowest fish consumptions per capita in Africa partly because in the past only the then low-value fish such as horse-mackerel and dentex fish were supplied locally.One of the main reasons why Namibians consume merely ten percent of fish caught offshore is that the local traditional diet is mostly meat based.It is much easier to find open-air stands where roasted chunks of delicious meat are sliced into small pieces and sold, unlike fried fish that in most cases has to be bought at pricey restaurants.But with the floods in the north people selling slowly coal-roasted beef called 'kapana' are said to be losing out because many of their consumers are buying bundles of catfish freshly caught from nearby oshanas.From sunrise to sunset Okanjengedi Bridge between Oshakati and Ongwediva and the Suicide Bridge that has gained notoriety for its high suicide rate, provide a good representative example of fishing activities in the northern regions of Oshikoto, Oshana, Omusati and Ohangwena.Some of the more intrepid part-time fishermen have pitched up makeshift tents along the water canal that supplies the four regions with water from Angola, and now also a rich source for the Oshanas alongside it.School children when not attending classes can be seen dangling neatly tied bundles of fresh or dry catfish for sale to motorists and to pedestrians alongside roads, more so along the main road from Oshakati to Outapi.And the odd dried frog is also thrown into this mix of entrepreneurial spirit, while a few fishmongers could be seen going from house to house.A kilogramme of this fish sells for as little as N$5 or N$10, unlike beef that would set back a consumer some N$20, prompting many to opt for fish that apart from its affordability also has nutritional benefits that far outweigh meatThis fish is mainly caught with hooks baited with smaller fry while others use mosquito nets and a wide array of fishing baskets strategically placed at a place where fish-rich water gushes from one oshana to another through culverts. It merely takes a few minutes to catch one fish.After the fish are landed they are tied together and left to bob limply on a wet surface to ensure they are as fresh as possible when sold to motorists.The mahangu harvest this year has been exceptionally low leaving many granaries almost empty and the income from the sale of catfish is used to buy millet flour, sugar, salt, cooking oil, candles and other essentials.One of the reasons for the poor yield is an outbreak of armyworms that stripped many millet fields bare, leaving farmers high and dry.But the floodwater teem with an extraordinary quantity of shoals of catfish that tempt men, women and children to fully seize this rare moment to cash in on this easy to catch water-dwelling manna.Literally speaking, catfish are everywhere and hundreds of people have been transformed into fishermen who every day catch sizable amounts of fish from the oshanas and from culverts and bridges along the main roads.Okanjengedi and Ogongo bridges that resemble a fisherman's paradise with fish being caught with all manner of improvised tools, mosquito nets and sacks is a nice representative example of the happenings in the north.The central areas of the north comprise the lower drainage of the Cuvelai river system, which rises in southern Angola and drains through Owambo to the Etosha Pan.The amount of annual water flow through this area of the Cuvelai depends on the level of rainfall in the headwaters and the size of the resulting floods.The floods, known locally as efundjas, are variable: in some years the floods reach Owambo and in some they don't and three times since 1941 the floods have been large enough to reach the Etosha Pan.In the northern regions with its flat terrain and impermeable soil, the Cuvelai system forms oshanas, which are shallow often vegetated interconnected channels and pans with very low gradients in which water accumulates, moves or stands. Young fish from the Cuvelai headwaters colonise oshanas during the annual floods.The size of the annual harvest always varies in size and though there have been no systematic surveys of these catches, it appears this year's harvest is above average as could be attested by the substantial fish catches.Though data is hard to come by there has been an estimated catch of 250 tons from seven oshanas over a period of 60 days and this happened during a small efundja. Some villagers said the last time they witnessed flooding of this magnitude was in 1968 when there was a record fish catch.Her head covered with a baby pink doek and clad in a green T-shirt and a blue jeans-trousers folded at the knees, Monica Sam a 26-year-old single parent of two school-going children typifies the fishing activities in the north. She seems representative of this seasonal group of fishers.Each morning at 10h00 or so this sole breadwinner treks briskly to the oshana nearby her village at Omuhozu near Outapi in Omusati Region.Her fishing shift lasts until 16h00 by which time she would have sold an average of N$100 of fish and gutted and cleaned a bagful of newly caught fish."We started catching fish over a month ago. We have been fishing seasonally from these efundjas but this year's amount of fish is exceptional - it is just too much fish," she told New Era.She and her children eat some of the fish and the surplus she guts, cuts it in the middle and soaks it in vinegar before drying it for leaner times. While the other dried fish she says she packs into sacks ready to be sold to people from Oshakati, Ondangwa, Ongwediva and even Windhoek.Monica says with the money from fish sales she has been able to buy millet flour, soap, cooking oil and to pay for her children's school fees.Though the efundjas are teeming with bountiful fish, the same cannot be said when it comes to the harvesting of giant, edible frogs that used flood waters to escape from being caught by expectant villagers, she said.Namibia's arid climate means that inland freshwater fisheries is relatively small. Only in the north-eastern and north-western regions of Caprivi, Okavango, Omusati, Ohangwena, Oshikoto and Oshana are sizeable freshwater fisheries found.Inland fisheries are mainly subsistence based and typically labour intensive, with low catch per unit effort, and catches are mainly consumed by the fishers, their immediate families and extended families or within their communities, with very little surplus sold.In Kavango and Caprivi more than 100 000 people depend on this resource for their daily protein needs.Fish consumption in Caprivi ranks over beef, game and poultry and has economic significance for communities. The key fish species are silver catfish, squeaker, bulldog, tiger fish, tilapia, silver robber, dash tail barb and sharp tooth catfish.Both seawater and freshwater fish are a superior source of nutrients vital to growth and good health. Fish yields high amounts of protein, vitamins, minerals and polyunsaturated fats. It is also a valuable source of vitamins A and D necessary for healthy skin and the development of bones. It plays an important role in growth and the repair of body tissue.

Kraft Reformulates Oreo,

weiweiwei — Wed, 21 May 2008 13:10:35 +0200

Wafer Biscuit Unlike its iconic American counterpart, the Oreo sold in China is frequently long, thin, four-layered and coated in chocolate. But both kinds of cookies have one important thing in common: They are now best sellers.The Oreo has long been the top-selling cookie in the U.S. market. But Kraft Foods Inc. had to reinvent the Oreo to make it sell well in the world's most populous nation. While Chinese Oreo sales represent a tiny fraction of Kraft's $37.2 billion in annual revenue, the cookie's journey in China exemplifies the kind of entrepreneurial transformation that Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld is trying to spread throughout the food giant.Kraft, the world's second largest food company by revenue, reported a 13% drop in first-quarter net income Wednesday because of high commodity costs and increased spending on product research and marketing. Its international business, which now represents 40% of Kraft's revenue thanks to the company's recent acquisition of Groupe Danone's biscuits business, was a bright spot in the quarter, aided by the weak dollar. Kraft's profit in the European Union rose 48%, excluding special charges, and its profit in developing markets rose 57%.To try to increase growth at the company, Ms. Rosenfeld has been putting more power in the hands of Kraft's various business units around the globe, telling employees that decisions about Kraft products shouldn't all be made by people at the Northfield, Ill., headquarters.To take advantage of the European preference for dark chocolate, Kraft is introducing dark chocolate in Germany under its Milka brand. Research in Russia showed that consumers there like premium instant coffee, so Kraft is positioning its Carte Noire freeze-dried coffee as upscale by placing it at film festivals, fashion shows and operas. And in the Philippines, where iced tea is popular, Kraft last year launched iced-tea-flavored Tang. Ms. Rosenfeld has also been encouraging marketers to "reframe" product categories, no longer thinking, for example, that an Oreo has to be a round sandwich cookie.Oreos were first introduced in 1912 in the U.S., but it wasn't until 1996 that Kraft introduced Oreos to Chinese consumers. Nine years later, a makeover began. Shawn Warren, a 37-year-old Kraft veteran who had spent many years marketing the company's cookies and crackers around the world, arrived in Asia in 2005 and noticed that Oreo's China sales had been flat for the previous five years.Back then, Kraft was selling the U.S. version of Oreos in China. Albert Einstein's definition of insanity -- doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results -- "characterized what we were doing," says Mr. Warren, vice president of marketing for Kraft Foods International.The Chinese weren't big cookie eaters. The market for biscuits in fiscal 2007 was just $1.3 billion, compared with $3.5 billion in the U.S. at food retailers excluding Wal-Mart Stores Inc.Mr. Warren assigned his team to a lengthy research project that yielded some interesting findings. For one thing, Kraft learned that traditional Oreos were too sweet for Chinese tastes. Also, the packages of 14 Oreos priced at 72 cents were too expensive.The company developed 20 prototypes of reduced-sugar Oreos and tested them with Chinese consumers before arriving at a formula that tasted right. Kraft also introduced packages containing fewer Oreos for just 29 cents.Some Chinese consumers still find the Oreos too sweet. One 30-year-old consumer who was shopping for groceries in the eastern part of Beijing recently, said that he likes the cookie but that "many of my friends think I am a bit weird to stick to Oreo cookies, as most of them think it too sweet to be accepted."Mr. Warren also noticed China's growing thirst for milk, which Kraft wasn't fully exploiting. In fact, increased milk demand in China and other developing markets -- as well as tighter supplies resulting from recent droughts in milk-producing countries and a reduction of subsidies for European dairy farmers -- has pushed up milk prices around the world. That has put pressure on food manufacturers like Kraft, whose biggest business is cheese, but it has also created opportunity.In China, Kraft began a grassroots marketing campaign to educate Chinese consumers about the American tradition of pairing milk with cookies. The company created an Oreo apprentice program at 30 Chinese universities that drew 6,000 student applications.Three hundred of the applicants were trained to become Oreo brand ambassadors. Some of the students rode around Beijing on bicycles outfitted with wheel covers resembling Oreos and handed out cookies to more than 300,000 consumers. Others held Oreo-themed basketball games to reinforce the idea of dunking cookies in milk. Television commercials showed kids twisting apart Oreo cookies, licking the cream center and dipping the chocolate cookie halves into glasses of milk.[Irene Rosenfeld]Ms. Rosenfeld calls the bicycle campaign "a stroke of genius that only could have come from local managers. The more opportunity our local managers have to deal with local conditions will be a source of competitive advantage for us."Still, Kraft realized it needed to do more than just tweak its recipe to capture a bigger share of the Chinese biscuit market. China's cookie-wafer segment was growing faster than traditional biscuit-like cookies, and Kraft was trailing rival Nestlé SA, the world's largest food company by revenue, which had introduced chocolate-covered wafers there in 1998.So in China in 2006 Kraft remade the Oreo itself, introducing for the first time an Oreo that looked almost nothing like the original. The new Chinese Oreo consisted of four layers of crispy wafer filled with vanilla and chocolate cream, coated in chocolate. Kraft developed a proprietary handling process to ensure that the chocolate product could be shipped across the country, withstanding the cold climate in the north and the hot, humid weather in the south, yet still be ready to melt in the mouth.Tailoring Western brands to Eastern tastes isn't a new idea, but it has proved more difficult for some companies than others. When Campbell Soup Co. tried to enter China in the early 1990s, it sold the same ready-to-eat soups found in American grocery stores and they flopped. Now, Campbell is trying to crack the Chinese soup market again with flavorful broths it hopes will fit with the Chinese tradition of making soup from scratch.Yum Brands Inc. has had success in China with its KFC fried-chicken chain by offering menu items familiar to Chinese consumers, such as congee, or rice porridge, and the Dragon Twister, a sandwich wrap filled with chicken, Peking duck sauce, cucumbers and scallions. Some of Nestlé's snack wafers in China come in such flavors as sesame and red bean.Kraft's Oreo efforts have paid off. In 2006, Oreo wafer sticks became the best-selling biscuit in China, outpacing HaoChiDian, a biscuit brand made by the Chinese company Dali. The new Oreos are also outselling traditional round Oreos in China, and Kraft has begun selling the wafers elsewhere in Asia, as well as in Australia and Canada. Kraft has also introduced wafer rolls, a tube-shaped wafer lined with cream, in China. The hollow cookie can be used as a straw through which to drink milk.Over the past two years, Kraft has doubled its Oreo revenue in China, and with the help of those sales, that revenue topped $1 billion world-wide for the first time last year.