Monday, December 21, 2009

“For Detroit Council, New Faces May Offer a New Chance - New York Times” plus 4 more

“For Detroit Council, New Faces May Offer a New Chance - New York Times” plus 4 more

For Detroit Council, New Faces May Offer a New Chance - New York Times

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 08:34 PM PST

DETROIT — More than 160 people competed in the Detroit City Council primary election earlier this year — an unusually large number that reflects, some political analysts say, the widespread weariness with the Council's antics and dysfunction.

Now, as the five winners prepare to take office in a few weeks, expectations are growing that this beleaguered city will see its first significant shift in governance in many years.

The sense of optimism in some corners is based in part on the new members' relationship with Mayor Dave Bing, a no-nonsense businessman and former basketball star who won a full term as mayor last month. The five Council winners — among them, a former television news anchor, a pastor and a former deputy police chief — emphasized the need in their campaigns to work cooperatively with one another and with Mr. Bing, who in his short tenure in office has taken a tough-love approach to the city's many problems.

"Work horses, not show horses," Robert A. Ficano, the Wayne County executive, said of the new members. Mr. Ficano, who has often been critical of the city's political leadership, endorsed all five of the newly elected members and is also a backer of Mr. Bing. The nonpartisan, nine-member Council will now have a majority of newcomers, which Mr. Ficano predicted would result in "a very pragmatic and practical Council."

For years, former Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick, who pleaded guilty last year to felony charges of obstruction of justice, and the City Council had a nonworking relationship. The gridlock at City Hall led to a lack of confidence in government. In particular, it fostered stalemates and miscommunication over business deals and the city's dire finances.

Some of the Council members, moreover, were notorious for not getting along among themselves; and those were only the petty issues. In June, City Councilwoman Monica Conyers resigned after pleading guilty to a felony charge of conspiracy to commit bribery and admitting she had accepted cash-filled envelopes in exchange for her tie-breaking vote on a city contract.

"In the city of Detroit, no one is wildly optimistic about the future at this time, but there is a sense that the politics that will take place will not be the politics that had been taking place prior to this election," said Lawrence A. Dubin, a law professor at the University of Detroit Mercy Law School. "They have expressed a sincere desire to put the city's interests first, which will be refreshing."

Among the newcomers is Charles Pugh, the Council's president-elect, who in his first bid for public office received more votes than any other Council candidate. Some attributed his success to his celebrity as a news anchor, while others cited his life story, which includes a series of setbacks all too familiar in a chronically distressed city.

In the campaign, Mr. Pugh pledged to change the culture at City Hall, and positioned himself as business friendly, hard on crime and supportive of regional mass transit. "We need a higher standard of ethics and transparency and competence and cooperation, not just with each other but with our region and our state," said Mr. Pugh, 38. "That hasn't been the message of the past, but it's a new day."

Mr. Pugh's mother was murdered when he was 3 years old. His father committed suicide four years later. Raised by his grandmother, Mr. Pugh, earned a scholarship to the University of Missouri, where he studied journalism. But more recently, his financial troubles have played out in public: He almost lost his downtown condominium to foreclosure earlier this year after leaving his news position to run for office. The mortgage is being modified, and Mr. Pugh remains in his home.

"I want Detroiters to know that you don't have to come from a rich family, you don't have to have degrees from Harvard, you don't have to be somebody who had two parents, and you don't have to be straight," said Mr. Pugh, who is gay, in a recent interview. "I want people to know that you can go through difficulty, but that difficulty can't define you."

Toward the end of the campaign, Mr. Pugh and four other novice, like-minded candidates decided to join a loose union based on shared ideals, and they all won. The others are Saunteel Jenkins, a social worker; André L. Spivey, a pastor; James Tate, a former police spokesman; and Gary Brown, a former deputy police chief whose wrongful termination lawsuit helped expose statements that led to Mr. Kilpatrick's guilty pleas and resignation.

Four incumbents remain on the City Council, but the new members, at least so far, suggest there will be no animosity between old and new. When the new Council members take office on Jan. 5 , they will face the immediate task of grappling with a $300 million hole in the $3.1 billion budget and a local unemployment rate widely considered underestimated at 27 percent.

"We have to tackle crime and public corruption, a high foreclosure and illiteracy rate," said Mr. Spivey, 35. "We have a lot to do."

Ms. Jenkins, 39, apprenticed with the Council as a college student, then worked for years as a councilwoman's chief of staff. She, too, emphasized the need for more regional unity, and also better race relations.

"One of the things that's very distracting about this region," Ms. Jenkins said, "is that it is one of the most segregated areas in the country — much of what we've done in the public policy area has been based on perceptions formed by our 1967 race riots. We want to form much more cooperative relationships."

Ms. Jenkins's financial troubles also became part of the campaign. She defaulted on a mortgage this year. She has since restructured the loan, and remains in her home. Mr. Pugh and Ms. Jenkins argued that their mortgage issues did not affect their leadership potential.

Voters seemed to agree.

"The situation that a lot of candidates found themselves in was not dissimilar to what people were facing," said Francis Grunow, a civic activist and former executive director of Preservation Wayne, an organization that seeks to protect architecture and neighborhoods. "It raised eyebrows, but it did humanize them and helped people relate to them. I believe it is a good group."

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After walking on, Holley gets carried off - San Francisco Chronicle

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 08:55 PM PST

Holley, mindful of his improbable path to this triumphant scene, wore a wide smile as his teammates hoisted him into the air. By no means does he count as a star, not with only three carries and six catches this season. Most of the periodic media attention he commanded involved talking about Best or Shane Vereen, the swift tailbacks for whom he blocks.

But as the Bears prepare to end their season Wednesday night against Utah in the Poinsettia Bowl - and Holley and 15 other seniors prepare to end their Cal careers - it's worth remembering that not every college football player wades in scholarship offers, savors splashy headlines or eyes a tantalizing future in the NFL.

There also are players such as Holley, a squat, thick-necked fullback whose story smacks of patience and persistence. He received exactly zero scholarship offers coming out of Diamond Ranch High in Pomona. UC Davis showed the most interest, inviting him to play as a walk-on.

Holley, in filling out the universal UC application online, noticed the box for Berkeley. He clicked it. Before long, he received his acceptance letter, convinced his high-school coaches to call their counterparts at Cal and found himself nervously auditioning for a spot in the 2005 freshman class alongside future stars DeSean Jackson and Zack Follett.

"I didn't know if I was on that level or not, because everybody else doubted me," Holley said. "So when I first came here, it was definitely a learning experience. It was humbling."

Holley made the team, but he seldom made it onto the field. He redshirted in 2005, spent '06 on the scout team in practice and the next two seasons as a special-teams stalwart, stuck on the depth chart behind accomplished fullbacks Chris Manderino, Byron Storer and Will Ta'ufo'ou. (Holley earned a scholarship after the '07 season.)

Even this year, with the starting job open, running backs coach Ron Gould was skeptical. He told Holley he needed to lower his body fat and improve his athleticism - so Holley spent the summer outside Atlanta, diligently working out with former Cal player Zach Smith and his father, Chip, who owns a sports performance training company.

Gould was impressed by Holley's quickness and increased strength this season. But that didn't mean Holley carried the ball much, because that's simply not what fullbacks do.

"I tell them, 'Hey, your days of carrying the ball are over. We're going to give it to the tailbacks,' " Gould said. "I don't want them to be delusional. They accept the role - I had some very unselfish players before Brian, so he had a chance to learn from those guys."

It probably helps that Holley has other interests. He wants to become an anesthesiologist after pursuing a pro football career, which led to at least one amusing doctor-patient moment when he broke his fibula during spring practice in 2008.

He was studying pain-relief medicine in a class at the time. So as one doctor explained to Holley his options for pain medication, he jokingly requested etorphine. The doctor recoiled, unaware Holley knew it was a lethal drug - infinitely stronger than morphine and commonly used as an elephant tranquilizer.

This budding medical knowledge also makes Holley fully aware of the risks he takes on the field. His senior thesis - "Cognitive Dysfunction and the Cultural Violence in American Football" - gives him insight into the potential long-term damage, but it doesn't dissuade him from plying his trade.

"Hey, I'm a fullback, man," he said. "You've got to be a little crazy to go in there and hit somebody play after play with your head. I'm more aware of the dangers and it's very interesting to me, but it's not going to change what I love. I love this game."

Holley probably wouldn't mind if his teammates carried him off the field after a game-winning touchdown Wednesday night. But he's realistic - he'll gladly take the send-off at practice after an unlikely and highly satisfying Pac-10 career.

E-mail Ron Kroichick at rkroichick@sfchronicle.com.

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Seven feared dead in Kenyan capital train accident - Investors Business Daily

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 08:34 PM PST

Seven feared dead in Kenyan capital train accident

Posted 11:29 PM ET

Dec 22, 2009 (BBC Monitoring via COMTEX) -- Seven people were feared dead on Monday [21 December] following a train accident in Nairobi's biggest informal settlement.

Witnesses said several others were also suspected to have been trapped when the Uganda-bound train derailed in the Shimoni area at 11.30a.m. [local time], flattening shanties adjacent to the railway. [Passage omitted]

Government officials at the scene, including Lang'ata District Commissioner [DC] Evans Owango, could not give an official death toll. The DC expressed fears that the number of casualties could be very high if all the kiosks had been open and if rumours that some people were in a church were true.

"This area is usually very busy, but we hope that not many people were around at the time of the accident," he said. He blamed a culture of impunity among residents who ignore warnings not to settle on the railway reserve. According to him, two people had been confirmed dead and three others taken to hospital. But he added that no one could give an accurate figure unless the wagons were lifted.

Residents rushed to the scene, not to rescue the victims, but to reap from the misfortune. Two of the derailed wagons were tanks containing cooking oil and people scrambled to scoop the spilt oil.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who is also Lang'ata MP of which Kibera is part, said thorough investigations into train derailments that have taken place around Kibera should be carried out. He said both the government and Rift Valley Railways must look into the operations and maintenance of the rail system. Mr Odinga also consoled the bereaved families.

Source: Daily Nation website, Nairobi, in English 22 Dec 09

BBC Mon AF1 AFEau 221209 mr

BBC Monitoring. Copyright BBC.

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Ahmadinezhad, new Azeri ambassador discuss ties - Investors Business Daily

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 08:34 PM PST

Ahmadinezhad, new Azeri ambassador discuss ties

Posted 11:33 PM ET

Tehran, Dec 21, 2009 (BBC Monitoring via COMTEX) -- The new Azeri ambassador to Tehran conferred on Monday [21 December] with President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad on expansion of relations and cooperation between the two countries.

At the meeting, the new Azeri ambassador submitted his credentials to President Ahmadinezhad.

The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan are regarded as a 'Bridge of Friendship' which fill the gap among countries of the region, said the president.

Expansion of relations between the two countries would serve the interests of both nations as well as all countries of the region, said President Ahmadinezhad.

The Islamic Republic of Iran sees no limit on transfer of its valuable experiences and achievements to Azerbaijan, he pointed out.

There are various grounds for expansion of mutual cooperation in oil, gas, energy, culture, investment, transportation's and cooperation in international arenas, said the Iranian president.

The new Azeri ambassador, for his part, described the two sides' relations as developing and called for further promotion of all-out relations and cooperation between the two countries.

Source: Islamic Republic News Agency website, Tehran, in English 1623 gmt 21 Dec 09

BBC Mon TCU ME1 MEPol 221209 ea/chm

BBC Monitoring. Copyright BBC.

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China looks to WTO probe into U.S. tire duties - YAHOO!

Posted: 21 Dec 2009 07:29 PM PST

BEIJING (Reuters) – China has sought a WTO probe into U.S. duties on Chinese-made tires but was stymied for now by U.S. objections, state media said, the latest in a series of disputes between the two economic giants to reach the global trade umpire.

At a World Trade Organization dispute settlement meeting in Geneva on Monday, China requested the formation of an expert panel to examine the legality of "special safeguard" duties on Chinese tire imports imposed by the Obama administration in September, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The United States successfully raised procedural objections, and China will raise the demand again next month, launching a WTO probe that could take six months or longer to reach a finding, said the report.

Either side then can take issue with the panel finding, eventually pushing the case to a final decision by WTO judges.

"The U.S. government decision to impose the duties lacked a factual basis, and was thus in violation of the relevant WTO rules," the Xinhua report said, citing a statement by Chinese officials in Geneva on Monday.

"This so-called special safeguard was bowing to pressure from domestic protectionism, and violated the international consensus to avoid protectionist measures against the backdrop of the financial and economic crisis," said the statement.

Beijing reacted angrily to President Barack Obama's decision to impose a special 35 percent tariff on Chinese-made tires after the United Steelworkers union complained that imports had tripled between 2004 and 2008 to about 46 million tires.

China worries the decision could set a precedent for other such safeguard barriers against its exports and had already indicated it was looking to take the dispute to the WTO. [ID:nPEK102613]

Washington has said it believes the tire duties do not violate WTO rules.

Trade disputes between Beijing and Washington being heard by the WTO cover products such as steel, poultry, and raw materials.

WTO trade judges on Monday rejected a Chinese appeal against a ruling that many of its curbs on foreign films, books and other cultural products violate trade rules.

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