http://onlineathens.com/stories/022709/opi_398924605.shtml
It's at least conceivable a vast majority of the 13-member state Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee - all but two, to be exact - had legitimate reasons for missing a Wednesday meeting at which they'd been scheduled to vote on sending a Sunday alcohol sales bill to the Senate floor.

It's also conceivable, however, that the committee of nine Republicans and four Democrats simply is stalling a bill that could become politically problematic for them and their General Assembly colleagues in the upcoming 2010 elections.

It wouldn't be the first time the bill has been bottled up, so to speak. It has failed to get action in the previous two General Assembly sessions.

Senate Bill 16, sponsored by Sen. Seth Harp, R-Midland, isn't a particularly complex piece of legislation. It proposes to allow residents of cities and counties across the state the opportunity to decide whether they want to be able to buy alcohol in retail stores after noon on Sundays, if their local government is willing to call for a referendum on those sales.

During recent legislative sessions, the bill has found legislators waffling among teetotaling conservatives who don't want alcohol available in stores on the Christian holy day, retailers who say they are losing out on potential sales, and the large number of Georgians who simply want a voice in the matter. This year, discussion of the bill is attenuated by the ongoing economic downturn, which has - or should have - legislators scrambling to find any new streams of tax revenue such as Sunday alcohol sales might bring.

Here, briefly, are how the numbers in favor of Sunday store sales of alcohol break down:

Earlier this month, an official with Publix, one of Georgia's largest supermarket chains, told The Associated Press the sale of beer and wine at grocery stores on Sundays would result in $1.4 million in extra excise taxes and at least $3.3 million in new sales tax revenue.

A widely referenced InsiderAdvantage poll undertaken when the issue first surfaced in the General Assembly found 58 percent of Georgians wanted an opportunity to cast a ballot on the issue, a number that rose to 66 percent when respondents were told that only two other states - Connecticut and Indiana - don't allow Sunday store sales of alcohol.

On the other side of the issue, opponents of Sunday store sales relied last year on a widely debunked study done in New Mexico - where voters approved Sunday alcohol sales in 1995 - that purported to show a subsequent increase in alcohol-related traffic accidents and fatalities. This year, opponents opted for an even less convincing approach, bringing a few dozen teenagers into a recent Senate hearing on the bill to make the dubious argument that allowing Sunday store sales would somehow make it easier for young people to illegally buy alcohol, by extending the time it would be available to them.

In addition, and certainly of the utmost concern to state legislators, is the fact that the Christian Coalition of Georgia, according to a Wednesday report in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has "said it would include the issue in its political scorecard that goes out to voters."

At the end of the day, the choice facing Georgia lawmakers is clear - as it has been for a couple of years now. They face a choice of giving a clear majority of Georgians what they want at the risk of offending an at least somewhat powerful conservative Christian voting bloc.

Either way, it's time for lawmakers to stop ducking the issue. The Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee is scheduled to meet again Wednesday. All members should be present, and they should vote to move the bill to the Senate floor, where senators should once and for all make their positions known.

Then, the state House of Representatives should take similarly quick and comprehensive action.

Whether Gov. Sonny Perdue - a teetotaler who has indicated his opposition - eventually signs the bill or doesn't is immaterial. Georgians on both sides of the issue should know, unequivocally, where their local lawmakers stand, so they can cast an informed ballot in the 2010 elections.

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EcoTrain consortium wins contract to update Quebec-Windsor feasibility studies The federal government, Qubec and Ontario have awarded a $3 million contract to update the feasibility studies for high-speed rail in the Quebec-Windsor corridor. The EcoTrain Consortium, composed of the firms Dessau, MMM Group, KPMG, Wilbur Smith Associates and Deutsche Bahn International has been awarded the contract The study, will focus on: HSR technology and route options; transportation demand forecasts; development and operating costs; environmental and social impacts; financial and economic analyses; institutional framework of foreign HSR experiences; implementation scenarios; impacts on other transportation modes; and recommendations on the future action plan. This study will allow governments to understand the scope of the proposed high-speed rail project, such as the environment, the potential demand and financial implications.

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EcoTrain consortium wins contract to update Quebec-Windsor feasibility studies The federal government, Qubec and Ontario have awarded a $3 million contract to update the feasibility studies for high-speed rail in the Quebec-Windsor corridor. The EcoTrain Consortium, composed of the firms Dessau, MMM Group, KPMG, Wilbur Smith Associates and Deutsche Bahn International has been awarded the contract The study, will focus on: HSR technology and route options; transportation demand forecasts; development and operating costs; environmental and social impacts; financial and economic analyses; institutional framework of foreign HSR experiences; implementation scenarios; impacts on other transportation modes; and recommendations on the future action plan. This study will allow governments to understand the scope of the proposed high-speed rail project, such as the environment, the potential demand and financial implications.

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Kansas City is considering a new category of liquor license. Call it wine by the sip.
If approved by the council, package liquor stores could upgrade to the new license and sell wine and only wine for consumption on the premises in servings up to 5 ounces.

The idea is to discourage free-sample freeloaders while allowing retailers and wine specialty shops a practical option to let customers sample their wares.

Ryan Sciara, managing partner of the Cellar Rat Wine Merchants shop at 17th Street and Baltimore Avenue, has been pushing the idea with city officials.

Under the current ordinance, liquor stores cant sell alcoholic beverages by the drink, though they can give away samples all day. But whenever they do, Sciara said, store operators wind up pouring for a steady stream of sippers who usually arent buyers.

We did tastings all the time, he said, but as a business model it wasnt very smart. The object is to increase retail sales.

Our intent is to not be a wine bar, but a tasting room. We pride ourselves for a unique selection of wines, and people need to have a taste before they buy.

One early draft of the ordinance also authorized sample sales of beer and hard liquor, but concerns were raised and those provisions were stripped out.

We didnt want to see people selling shots in liquor stores, said Jim Ready, assistant manager of the citys Regulated Industries Division. This was about wine tasting.

Sciara said he expected to sell samples of about 3 ounces. He hasnt settled on a price yet, but promises it will be enough to discourage freeloaders.

Meanwhile, dont expect to sip a chardonnay while doing your grocery shopping.

The proposal excludes any retailer whose alcoholic beverage sales are not at least 80 percent of the stores total sales. That eliminates grocery and convenience stores, gas stations, drugstores and most other purveyors of packaged liquor, beer and wine. Ready estimated 40 stores in the city might qualify for the new license.

But making the switch wont be automatic. Ready said any interested store owner must get approval from a majority of nearby property owners. Those neighbors shouldnt fear that a license will be a license to party on the premises. Ready said sales-by-the-drink shops will be prohibited from offering entertainment or allowing sipping on patios or anywhere outside the licensed premises.

They can charge whatever they want, said Ready, but they cant use this as a guise to make a bar out of the place.

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![CDATA[VANCOUVER,
ITISH COLUMBIA and NOTTINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM eMediaWorld - Jan. 27, 2009) - Global Health Ventures Inc. (OTCBB:GHLV), a HealthCare Technology merchant bank, is pleased to announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding for the acquisition of an anti-obesity nasal drug product from Critical Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Under the terms of the agreement, Critical Pharmaceuticals licenses an anti-obesity drug product that they have developed using their patented technology known as CriticalSorb to Global Health Ventures on worldwide exclusive basis. A different version of the drug is currently in the late stage of development with some major pharmaceutical companies, but Critical management believes their formulation is far more effective than the current formulation being tested. The parties plan to reach final agreement in the near future, subject to completion of some outstanding conditions.

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Welcome to the world of professional dog training! If you love dogs, this is your opportunity to work with them in a fulfilling, profitable, and healthy profession. Dogs have been used for years to make life easier for the blind, deaf and handicapped. New advances are now taking place in areas like cancer detection and dogs for epileptics. Future careers in dog training are looking exciting! http://www.wonderdogs.bc.ca/dog-trainer-benefits.html#future to read more.
Bens praise-play training method is a system of dog training that really works! Bens program has made news on radio, TV, and newsprint across North America. Why? Because its fun for dogs and their owners and produces incredibly fast results. For feedback from graduates, please view http://www.wonderdogs.bc.ca/dog-training-feedback.html
Ben Kersens School for Dog Training is the only government accredited school for dog trainers in Canada and is registered with the Private Career Training Institutions Agency of British Columbia. Developed from over two decades of experience, Bens guidance will give you the skills and expertise required to excel in your new career. http://www.wonderdogs.bc.ca/dog-training-program.html for more information.

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Welcome to the world of professional dog training! If you love dogs, this is your opportunity to work with them in a fulfilling, profitable, and healthy profession. Dogs have been used for years to make life easier for the blind, deaf and handicapped. New advances are now taking place in areas like cancer detection and dogs for epileptics. Future careers in dog training are looking exciting! http://www.wonderdogs.bc.ca/dog-trainer-benefits.html#future to read more.
Bens praise-play training method is a system of dog training that really works! Bens program has made news on radio, TV, and newsprint across North America. Why? Because its fun for dogs and their owners and produces incredibly fast results. For feedback from graduates, please view http://www.wonderdogs.bc.ca/dog-training-feedback.html
Ben Kersens School for Dog Training is the only government accredited school for dog trainers in Canada and is registered with the Private Career Training Institutions Agency of British Columbia. Developed from over two decades of experience, Bens guidance will give you the skills and expertise required to excel in your new career. http://www.wonderdogs.bc.ca/dog-training-program.html for more information.

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UPDATE: Were delaying the launch of our salary database until Dec. 6th, so that any technical glitches associated with our website relaunch this Saturday dont cause problems for those trying to access it.
By law, public-sector salaries over $75,000 in B.C. have been technically public for more than a decade. But good luck finding them. Some agencies -- including many health authorities -- post them in a fairly public place on their websites. Other agencies bury their disclosure lists at the back of long financial reports while others require you to show up in person and request a paper copy. And regardless of how they make the lists available, the vast majority of agencies only include each staff members name and pay -- with no title. So it is difficult to figure out what each person actually does for a living.

Well, on Saturday, Dec. 6th, The Sun is launching its public-sector salary database, including names, titles and pay for more than 30,000 public servants, including those at Crown Corporations, municipalities, universities and colleges.

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Once again following Chance here, who commented on the Grammy Records of the Year. It looked like fun, so I'm joining in.

2008
Winner: Rehab, Amy Winehouse. I didn't join in the showering of praise for it. Meh.
My Favorite Nominee: Umbrella, Rihanna featuring Jay-Z.
My Favorite Single That Year: Shut Up and Drive, Rihanna. It's sexier and more playful than "Umbrella."

2007
Winner: Not Ready to Make Nice, Dixie Chicks. It's not a terrible song, really, but it's such an obvious choice. It Makes a Statement. It's about the only Dixie Chicks song I can listen to, but it's not something I put on intentionally.
My Favorite Nominee: Crazy, Gnarls Barkley. It's perfection.
My Favorite Single That Year: Crazy, Gnarls Barkley. See previous comment.

2006
Winner: Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Green Day. As I've said before on this blog, I'm not a big fan of what Green Day has on offer. I mean, they're kind of okay, this is one of the better songs, but I don't find them as astounding as other people seem to.
My Favorite Nominee: Gold Digger, Kanye West. The only Kanye single I've ever liked or will like.
My Favorite Single That Year: All These Things That I've Done, the Killers.

2005
Winner: Here We Go Again, Ray Charles Norah Jones. You know, I'm not even sure I've ever heard this.
My Favorite Nominee: American Idiot, Green Day. Not much of a crop this year in the nominee pool, but I actually do really like this song.
My Favorite Single That Year: American Idiot, Green Day.

2004
Winner: Clocks, Coldplay. One of the few songs I give them credit for in their endless quest to become the Divine Comedy without anyone noticing. Overrated, but a decent adult contemporary song.
My Favorite Nominee: Hey Ya, OutKast. A perfect pop single. It was overplayed (as was "Clocks"), but it's just so damn good.
My Favorite Single That Year: Hey Ya, OutKast.

2003
Winner: Don't Know Why, Norah Jones. Pretty, but it got old fast. Very adult contemporary, which is still the sound that wins the Grammys. The only Norah Jones song I love is "Sunrise."
My Favorite Nominee: Without Me, Eminem. I hate the guy, but his music is very well-produced. This is pretty much the one song of his I like.
My Favorite Single That Year: Beautiful, Christina Aguilera.

2002
Winner: Walk On, U2. I couldn't pick this song out of a line-up. I like about enough U2 songs to fill a single CD.
My Favorite Nominee: Ms. Jackson, OutKast. I notice "Fallin'" by Alicia Keys was nominated, too. That's a song I'll be thrilled to never hear again.
My Favorite Single That Year: Lady Marmelade, Christina Aguilera, Pink, Mya Li'l Kim. The only thing I liked to come out of Moulin Rouge.

2001
Winner: Beautiful Day, U2. Now that's a U2 song that I like very much. And it makes me feel pretty good.
My Favorite Nominee: Beautiful Day, U2.
My Favorite Single That Year: Beautiful Day, U2.

2000
Winner: Smooth, Santana featuring Rob Thomas. I got so sick of this song playing every minute on every radio station and commercial. I think Santana's pretty overrated, to be honest.
My Favorite Nominee: I don't like any of the songs nominated this year.
My Favorite Single That Year: ...Baby One More Time, Britney Spears. Dopey, sure, but everything that makes a pop single great.

1999
Winner: My Heart Will Go On, Celine Dion. This was very easy to get sick of as well; cloying and over-the-top and insisting on its own epic greatness. Blurg. The music's pretty; I have a string quartet version that didn't make it onto the soundtrack (from a promo CD) that's lovely. It doesn't need Celine Dion or lyrics to work. It sounds better without them.
My Favorite Nominee: Ray of Light, Madonna. I don't have much to say about it, but it works.
My Favorite Single That Year: Flagpole Sitta, Harvey Danger. That song just makes me feel awesome. I love it.

1998
Winner: Sunny Came Home, Shawn Colvin. Music from the nineties has an overwhelming percentage of suck, more than any decade. It's like America went through menopause and could only listen to this kind of sappy pap. I hate this thing, and thanks to the Crap and Crap Lite stations being played where I worked constantly, I heard it way too many fucking times.
My Favorite Nominee: MMMBop, Hanson. It's a default choice; it's the one I think is okay whereas I despise all the others (especially "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" by Paul Cole, which should be classified a form of abuse).
My Favorite Single That Year: The End Is the Beginning Is the End, Smashing Pumpkins. I love that they used it in the Watchmen trailer.

1997
Winner: Change the World, Eric Clapton. I'm not much of a Clapton fan, really. I did like this song, although it's association with the awful Scientology-promoting John Travolta film Phenomenon counts against it a tad. It's not earth-shaking, but it's a solid, not-unpleasant song.
My Favorite Nominee: 1979, Smashing Pumpkins. Haunting, beautiful, and bittersweet.
My Favorite Single That Year: 1979, Smashing Pumpkins.

1996
Winner: Kiss from a Rose, Seal. I think it's a beautiful song. I used to hear it a lot on the radio as I was driving to work in the winter at a very dark 5 in the morning. That's the perfect time to hear it. It'll take you on a trip.
My Favorite Nominee: Kiss from a Rose, Seal.
My Favorite Single That Year: Kiss from a Rose, Seal.

1995
Winner: All I Wanna Do, Sheryl Crow. Blurg. Not a song I like.
My Favorite Nominee: Streets of Philadelphia, Bruce Springsteen. Beautiful, sad, and seething with quiet ange, disappointment, and acceptance of fear.
My Favorite Single That Year: Streets of Philadelphia, Bruce Springsteen.

1994
Winner: I Will Always Love You, Whitney Houston. Piece of overplayed shit. Especially in comparison to the original Dolly Parton song, which is perfect.
My Favorite Nominee: The River of Dreams, Billy Joel.
My Favorite Single That Year: Fields of Gold, Sting. Kind of a cheesy choice, perhaps, but I can always hear it and always love it. It's simple and pretty.

1993
Winner: Tears in Heaven, Eric Clapton. It doesn't quite hold up for me, honestly, but it's miles better than fellow nominee "Achy Breaky Heart." It's a very pretty song, but not my favorite of Clapton's.
My Favorite Nominee: Constant Craving, k.d. lang. I like the passion.
My Favorite Single That Year: One, U2. One of the most achingly beautiful songs I've ever heard.

1992
Winner: Unforgettable, Natalie Cole. The fact that the Grammys honored that hacky, schlocky, sympathy-begging, cloying bit of grave-robbing Natalie Cole did to cash in on honor her father is as sad as it is unsurprising.
My Favorite Nominee: Losing My Religion, R.E.M. It was overplayed, but if you listen to it now, it sounds almost fresh again. It really is just a good song.
My Favorite Single That Year: Crazy, Seal.

1991
Winner: Another Day in Paradise, Phil Collins. Preachy, annoying, and not even the best song from that Phil Collins album. (Actually, I just checked and sadly, it is. I despise "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven," and "I Wish It Would Rain" just sounds like a rip-off of "Wish You Were Here" with Clapton on guitar.)
My Favorite Nominee: Nothing Compares 2 U, Sinead O'Connor. Of the sappy, preachy, sad sack songs that were nominated this year, this is the one that's actually a good song. (Also, "U Can't Touch This" was nominated this year, but come on, man.)
My Favorite Single This Year: Enjoy the Silence, Depeche Mode. Now there's a love song.

1990
Winner: Wind Beneath My Wings, Bette Midler. I hate this song, and my dad pissed me off by playing it at his wedding reception for his mother, which I specifically told him not to do because it was such a fucking cliche. He said he wouldn't; he did. Wow, my grandma must have been one of 10 million special woman so uniquely honored that year. It's the equivalent of buying your dad a tie on Father's Day.
My Favorite Nominee: The End of the Innocence, Don Henley. Chance is right on when he calls it deceptively angry. It adds some world-weariness on top of that, too. Beautiful song.
My Favorite Single That Year: A Little Respect, Erasure. I usually come out on the side of pop, I guess. Although besides the catchiness, I think the lyrics are beautiful. One of my all time favorite lyrics comes from this song: "What religion or reason could drive a man to forsake his lover?"

1989
Winner: Don't Worry, Be Happy, Bobby McFerrin. I always liked this song, but it sure wasn't the best of the year. I think part of it was the novelty of McFerrin doing the whole thing a cappella. Which is admittedly neat.
My Favorite Nominee: Don't Worry, Be Happy, Bobby McFerrin.
My Favorite Single That Year: Sweet Child O' Mine, Guns 'n' Roses. The most perfect song they ever recorded.

1988
Winner: Graceland, Paul Simon. I'm not a big fan of this song for whatever reason. It's nice, but it's okay. I wouldn't turn it off if it came on the radio station. Really, I just don't dig Paul Simon's solo work that much.
My Favorite Nominee: Back in the High Life Again, Steve Winwood. Admittedly, mostly because it reminds me of better times. But it's pretty.
My Favorite Single That Year: With or Without You, U2. Grammy nominated the more ubiquitous and much less beautiful "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," a song I don't like. "With or Without You" is real passion.

1987
Winner: Higher Love, Steve Winwood. Meh. It's okay.
My Favorite Nominee: Sledgehammer, Peter Gabriel. It's a lot of sucky nominees this year, but this is a great song.
My Favorite Single That Year: True Colors, Cyndi Lauper. A beautiful love song, especially for people who don't feel so great about themselves. I guess I like genuine songs about understanding, I would say.

1986
Winner: We Are the World, USA for Africa. Of course. Nothing else was going to win this year. As a song, it's okay. The real fun is trying to pick out all the singers. I mean, you know, it's Really Important, but it's just okay.
My Favorite Nominee: Money for Nothing, Dire Straits. One of their couple of songs I like. One of my favorite guitar solos.
My Favorite Single That Year: Take on Me, a-Ha. Pop perfection in all of its catchy, bubblegum glory.

1985
Winner: What's Love Got to Do with It, Tina Turner. There's genuine force behind it (although I think "Private Dancer" is her best song), real heartbreak.
My Favorite Nominee: Dancing in the Dark, Bruce Springsteen. At his most pop. I love this song.
My Favorite Song That Year: Time After Time, Cyndi Lauper. Gorgeous and simple.

1984
Winner: Beat It, Michael Jackson. Not much of a surprise, I guess. And it's a good song. Eddie Van Halen's guitar solo alone...
My Favorite Nominee: Flashdance... What a Feeling, Irene Cara. All of the nominees this year are pretty good but nothing I feel especially attached to. This is one of those cheesy pop songs I like.
My Favorite Single That Year: Our House, Madness. One of the most perfect songs I've ever loved.

1983
Winner: Rosanna, Toto. It's okay.
My Favorite Nominee: Steppin' Out, Joe Jackson. That one always got me and carried me off.
My Favorite Single That Year: Under Pressure, Queen David Bowie. Everything that's shitty about society in four and a half minutes. "And love dares you to care for the people on the edge of the night."

1982
Winner: Bette Davis Eyes, Kim Carnes. Meh. I don't feel strongly either way.
My Favorite Nominee: (Just Like) Starting Over, John Lennon. What a great song. I can't believe it lost to Kim Carnes... greatness versus... well, nothing worth commenting on. As usual, John Lennon just nails life and relationships with this song.
My Favorite Single This Year: In the Air Tonight, Phil Collins. Collins used to be a man who just knew darkness and how it felt to be depressed and angry.

1981
Winner: Sailing, Christopher Cross. Put me to sleep, why don't ya?
My Favorite Nominee: Theme from New York, New York, Frank Sinatra.
My Favorite Single That Year: Let My Love Open the Door, Pete Townshend. As great a song as he ever wrote for the Who, his best solo work, and one of his most genuinely passionate songs.

1980
Winner: What a Fool Believes, the Doobie Brothers. I'm not a fan of theirs. This is probably the one song of theirs I'd say I liked. Still, Record of the Year? Feh.
My Favorite Nominee: I Will Survive, Gloria Gaynor. I like the sweep of it.
My Favorite Single That Year: Video Killed the Radio Star, the Buggles. Another perfect pop record.

1979
Winner: Just the Way You Are, Billy Joel. It is a pretty song, however much Joel claims now that he wrote it accidentally. Is he ever going to stop apologizing for having good commercial instincts? One of his less angry songs, too. I've always liked it.
My Favorite Nominee: Baker Street, Gerry Rafferty. Or as I always used to call it, "That One with the Great Saxophone Part."
My Favorite Single That Year: Who Are You, the Who. My favorite song of theirs, for reasons I can't quite define. But it's a great damn song.

1978
Winner: Hotel California, the Eagles. I hate the Eagles, but I'll give them this one song. This is a damn good song.
My Favorite Nominee: Hotel California, the Eagles.
My Favorite Single That Year: Hotel California, the Eagles.

1977
Winner: This Masquerade, George Benson. I couldn't tell you how this goes.
My Favorite Nominee: Afternoon Delight, Starland Vocal Band. It's delightful.
My Favorite Single That Year: Somebody to Love, Queen. A beautiful epic of emotion. One of my favorite songs ever.

1976
Winner: Love Will Keep Us Together, the Captain Tennille. It's okay.
My Favorite Nominee: At Seventeen, Janis Ian.
My Favorite Single That Year: Young Americans, David Bowie. That one packs a wallop and makes "Love Will Keep Us Together" sound pretty frivolous.

1975
Winner: I Honestly Love You, Olivia Newton-John. I honestly detest this cloying, overwrought song.
My Favorite Nominee: Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me, Elton John. You want passion? There you go. Skip the other song entirely.
My Favorite Single That Year: Cat's in the Cradle, Harry Chapin. Hey, hey, it's a cliched choice for a reason.

1974
Winner: Killing Me Softly with His Song, Roberta Flack. It's pretty. It's also soporific.
My Favorite Nominee: You're So Vain, Carly Simon. A nice kiss-off song.
My Favorite Single That Year: Mind Games, John Lennon. Gorgeous.

1973
Winner: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Roberta Flack. I've always found this song kind of overwrought.
My Favorite Nominee: American Pie, Don McLean. Come on, how could you pick a different one? (Although I've always loved Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Alone Again (Naturally)," a deceptively bleak and saddening song.)
My Favorite Single That Year: Let's Stay Together, Al Green. You want to get laid? You need some Al Green music.

1972
Winner: It's Too Late, Carole King. I can't place it off the top of my head, but I've never liked Carole King's as a singer.
My Favorite Nominee: My Sweet Lord, George Harrison. It's not much of a song, really, but I didn't like any of the other nominees much.
My Favorite Single That Year: Imagine, John Lennon. I can't believe this was never nominated for Record of the Year. What the hell?

1971
Winner: Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon and Garfunkel. An undeniably beautiful song.
My Favorite Nominee: Let It Be, the Beatles. Still Paul McCartney's most beautiful effort.
My Favorite Single That Year: Let It Be, the Beatles. Seriously, they didn't pick this?

1970
Winner: Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In, the Fifth Dimension. Definitely a good song.
My Favorite Nominee: A Boy Named Sue, Johnny Cash. It's funny and Cash delivers it well. I'll always pull for Shel Silverstein.
My Favorite Single That Year: Suspicious Minds, Elvis Presley. His final masterpiece, one of his best songs (in my top five).

1969
Winner: Mrs. Robinson, Simon and Garfunkel. Good but not really special.
My Favorite Nominee: Hey Jude, the Beatles. A masterpiece.
My Favorite Single That Year: (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay, Otis Redding. One of the most quietly perfect songs I've ever heard.

1968
Winner: Up, Up and Away, the Fifth Dimension. What a lame choice. I mean, it's a cute song, but what a lame choice at this point in music history.
My Favorite Nominee: My Cup Runneth Over, Ed Ames.
My Favorite Single That Year: Can't Take My Eyes Off You, Frankie Valli. But that's the tip of the iceberg; this year produced, off the top of my head, "Heroes and Villains," "All You Need Is Love," "I Was Made to Love Her," "Light My Fire," "A Whiter Shade of Pale," and "(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman," and Grammy nominates "Ode to Billie Joe"? Lame, lame, lame.

1967
Winner: Strangers in the Night, Frank Sinatra. A good song, one I always liked.
My Favorite Nominee: Strangers in the Night, Frank Sinatra.
My Favorite Single That Year: Good Vibrations, the Beach Boys. Another incredible year for rock, and the Grammys can only acknowledge "Monday, Monday." What a foolish institution to pass over the greatness they did.

1966
Winner: A Taste of Honey, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. The best of the several thousand versions that seem to be out there.
My Favorite Nominee: Yesterday, the Beatles. As beautiful a song as was ever written.
My Favorite Single That Year: Like a Rolling Stone, Bob Dylan. Transcendent.

1965
Winner: The Girl from Ipanema, Stan Getz João Gilberto. A lovely little song that I've always liked as background music.
My Favorite Nominee: Downtown, Petula Clark. I forget just how beautiful this one is.
My Favorite Single That Year: Don't Worry, Baby, the Beach Boys. Perfect.

1964
Winner: Days of Wine and Roses, Henry Mancini. Nothing song from a rather turgid movie.
My Favorite Nominee: Dominique, the Singing Nun. That's painful to say, but the nominees this year are just that bad. Again, zero acknowledgement of rock and roll or even the great folk music from this time.
My Favorite Single That Year: Surfer Girl, the Beach Boys. Hey, Brian Wilson just knows how to hit me where it counts. Teenage love deified.

1963
Winner: I Left My Heart in San Francisco, Tony Bennett. A beautiful song.
My Favorite Nominee: I Left My Heart in San Francisco, Tony Bennett.
My Favorite Single That Year: Telstar, the Tornados. That one always takes me right off and makes me love being alive.

1962
Winner: Moon River, Henry Mancini. I'm never sorry to have heard this song. It's always beautiful, and always necessary.
My Favorite Nominee: Moon River, Henry Mancini. Infinitesimal second: "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck.
My Favorite Single That Year: Stand by Me, Ben E. King. The best time to hear this song is in the still of the deep night.

1961
Winner: Theme from A Summer Place, Percy Faith. The music is pretty.
My Favorite Nominee: Georgia on My Mind, Ray Charles. It's insane that this didn't win. This is the very definition of a beautiful song.
My Favorite Single That Year: Georgia on My Mind, Ray Charles.

1960
Winner: Mack the Knife, Bobby Darin. I like this song; it's fun as hell to sing along to.
My Favorite Nominee: Mack the Knife, Bobby Darin.
My Favorite Single That Year: Sleepwalk, Santo Johnny. Another great late night song.

1959
Winner: Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare), Domenico Modugno. Okay. I can't believe anyone does this song better than Dean Martin, personally. I don't believe I've heard this version.
My Favorite Nominee: The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late), David Seville. I know, I know, but I love this song. It's a Christmas staple to me. It reminds me of being a kid and spending the lead-up to Christmas at my grandmother's house. It's a cozy song for me.
My Favorite Single That Year: Summertime Blues, Eddie Cochran. As vital a song as there is, considering how much rock continues to borrow from it. And more than that, just a catchy tune.

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Rhodes Scholars named for 2009 (AP)
AP - Thirty-two men and women from across the United States have been selected as Rhodes Scholars for 2009, the scholarship trust announced Sunday.

Richardson at Commerce, Summers as economic adviser (Politico)
Politico - Democratic sources report two major decisions by President-elect Obama: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) will be named secretary of Commerce, subject to final vetting. And Lawrence Summers, Treasury secretary in the Clinton administration, will be White House economic adviser.

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Financial mess and gathering recession dominate Barack Obama's agenda

HE HAD always planned for the economy to be his priority. Just not this economy.
As candidate, Barack Obama crafted a platform to address the concerns that preoccupied voters earlier this year: high energy and health-care costs, stagnant middle-class incomes and rising foreclosures. But such problems pale beside the eruptions since August. Americas housing crisis has become a global financial panic; the economy, which was muddling along as recently as July, may be in its deepest recession in decades. Consumer confidence, as our chart shows, is at its lowest in more than half a century (except for a brief sharp dip in 1980).
Only twice since the 1920s has economic angst played such an important role in a presidential electionand both the previous occasions make imperfect templates. When Franklin Roosevelt defeated Herbert Hoover in 1932, the Depression had been going on for three years, thousands of banks had failed and unemployment was 25%. When Ronald Reagan beat Jimmy Carter in 1980, inflation had been high for years, hovering at 12% as voters headed to the polls. The current crisis has been under way for little more than a year, the first failure of a big financial institution was in March and the latest figure for unemployment (in September) was just over 6%. Inflation this year topped 5%, mostly because of soaring petrol prices, and is now heading down. What distinguishes todays economic environment is that it is such a sharp break from a long period of low inflation and shallow recessions, an era lasting 26 years which some economists named the great moderation. Indeed, the median-age voter this year has known little else, notes Michael Barone, a political expert at the American Enterprise Institute. There have been financial upsets, such as the 1987 stockmarket crash and the 2001 dotcom bust. But they lacked the destructive power of this years financial tempest which has capsized banks, money-market mutual funds, insurers, hedge funds, car manufacturersand countries as disparate as Iceland and Ukraine.
Against this background, Mr Obama confronts three distinct though related challenges: the financial crisis, mortgages and foreclosures, and recession. Of these, the financial mess has to be dealt with first. Problems in the financial system, explains Douglas Elmendorf, an economist at the Brookings Institution, evolve in a matter of hours, days and weeks.
If Mr Obama is lucky, he will take office on January 20th with financial affairs more or less under control thanks to steps taken by Henry Paulson, the treasury secretary, and the Federal Reserve. The government is buying equity in banks and guaranteeing their debt, and the Fed has dramatically expanded its lending to all manner of borrowers. There are signs of success. Stocks have risen from their lows of a week ago. Banks are growing a bit more willing to lend to each other, judging by the decline in rates on three-month interbank dollar loans (although that rate remains extremely high in relation to the Feds target rate).
But for the healing to continue more government intervention will almost certainly be needed. As a slumping economy turns more debts bad, more financial firms will founderand Mr Obama must decide whether to rescue them. He will press for conditions, such as lending commitments, which Mr Paulson shied away from.
The Treasury is expected to ask for the second $350 billion tranche of the $700 billion in bail-out funds. It may even need more as the list of supplicants grows. GMAC, the finance affiliate of General Motors, which said on Wednesday November 5th that its mortgage unit might fail, is seeking access to the Treasurys bail-out funds. Insurers want to qualify too. Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, a bank regulator, is pressing for more aggressive (and costly) measures to reduce foreclosures. Some non-financial companies, such as the carmakers, will also come close to bankruptcy. Their requests for help will get a sympathetic ear from Mr Obama.
Because of the extreme fragility of market confidence, the way the presidential transition is handled is crucial. Mr Obamas preparations have been extensive and George Bush himself has prepared the ground for a smooth handover. The president-elect may name the main members of his economic team within days to reassure investors that the replacement of Mr Paulson will be seamless. Both Lawrence Summers, who held the office under Bill Clinton, and Timothy Geithner, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, are on the shortlist of candidates to take over. Mr Bush has even been urged to take the unprecedented step of nominating some of his successors team. But Stephen Hess, at the Brookings Institution, gives warning that this could force Mr Obama to compromise with the outgoing administration on important decisions.
Even if the worst of the financial crisis has passed (a dangerous assumption), the worst for the economy is almost certainly ahead. After their near-death experience, bankers have turned exceedingly cautious. A Fed survey released this week shows them tightening lending standards to consumers by a greater margin than at any time in the surveys 40-year history, except for Mr Carters short-lived imposition of credit controls. General Motors says that last months car sales, relative to the population, have been the lowest since 1945.

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Despite playing two leading roles in one of television’s hottest sci-fi shows, Vancouver actress Grace Park still basks in the (relative) anonymity of her hometown.
“Battlestar (Galactica) has had a lot of success, but is still underground,” said Park, in a Downtown hotel yesterday.
“It hasn’t broken into mainstream. Your average Joe in Wyoming won’t know who I am. If I went to Nebraska a lot of people would be like, ‘Who’s that Chinese girl?’”
Park, 34, who is of Korean descent, was born in California and moved as toddler to Vancouver. She grew up in Kerris-dale and graduated from the University of B.C. with a degree in psychology.
Her first real acting role was in the Vancouver-shot CBC teen-drama Edgemont and she currently stars in three television series, including Battlestar and AE’s The Cleaner.
Beginning Monday at 9 p.m., Park can also be seen as U.S. Homeland Security Agent Liz Carver in the final six episodes of CBC’s The Border.
But despite the busy schedule, Park said her fame is limited — something she relishes.
“I thought it was better to be special, but after a while, I think it’s better to be normal … people complain that there’s no star system in Canada, but it’s kind of a relief.
Recently, Park sat with Daniel Dae Kim (from ABC’s Lost) on Robson Street. While passersby waved and pointed at Kim, most failed to recognize her.
Park said there’s something “slightly underground, suppressive” about Canadian culture that edges away from celebrity hype.
“It’s actually kind of nice. If you have to go out to a restaurant you’re not going to have people stand at your table, put their arm around you and expect you take a photo with them.
“There’s a respect and a sense of space and equality.

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VANCOUVER - Dropping real-estate values are sending more British Columbians into financial crisis and causing a spike in personal bankruptcies, according to professional debt counsellors.
Federal Industry Ministry data show that B.C. consumer bankruptcy filings for August were up more than 10 per cent over the same period last year.
August also saw a 16.3-per-cent increase in proposal filings, an alternative to bankruptcy.
And that was an improvement over July, when B.C. consumer bankruptcy filings were up 14 per cent over the same period last year and proposal filings were up 20 per cent.
s a big jump, said B.C. Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals director Lana Gilbertson. We dont know if it will continue upwards, but during the recessions of 1981 and 1990-91 there were rapid increases in insolvency rates.
Our professional community is seeing more and more individuals who cant sell their property for what they thought it was worth and who cant refinance or borrow more money against their property. Theyre stuck, she said.
For several years, Canadians have suffered from high levels of household debt, low rates of personal savings and feelings of stress about their finances, said Gilbertson.
But a strong real estate market  in B.C. kept many afloat as homeowners were able to use a growing equity in their property to offset their consumer debt, she said.

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http://progressive-economics.ca/feed
Open Letter from Canadian Economists on the Current Economic Crisis and the Appropriate Government Response
The Progressive Economics Forum organized an open letter, and released it on October 8, 2008. Signatories include four chairs of economics  departments, two former Presidents  of the Canadian Economics Association, a former federal  Secretary of State (Finance), and  a former Quebec Minister  of  Industry.

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http://progressive-economics.ca/feed
Open Letter from Canadian Economists on the Current Economic Crisis and the Appropriate Government Response
The Progressive Economics Forum organized an open letter, and released it on October 8, 2008. Signatories include four chairs of economics  departments, two former Presidents  of the Canadian Economics Association, a former federal  Secretary of State (Finance), and  a former Quebec Minister  of  Industry.

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NIGMS Allots $5M for New Database to House Protein-Ligand Data; Pharma to Contribute
NIGMS said that the database, called the Community Structure-Activity Resource, will help advance computer-aided drug design methods and software development. A key aspect of the resource will be the participation of pharmaceutical firms, who will contribute unpublished data, NIGMS said.

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