This photo shows a general view of Atlanta, Georgia. Baggy trousers that hang way below the belt and expose what the wearer has on underneath could soon be banned in the southern US city of Atlanta, a city council spokesman said.(AFP/File)
Friday, August 24, 2007
Pull up your trousers!!!
This photo shows a general view of Atlanta, Georgia. Baggy trousers that hang way below the belt and expose what the wearer has on underneath could soon be banned in the southern US city of Atlanta, a city council spokesman said.(AFP/File)
Monday, August 20, 2007
Hurricane Dean
"Mean Dean" as they are calling it, Hurricane Dean is on it's way to Cancun, Mexico. Be careful! Cuidado!My Birthday
Well I had an okay birthday, it was the 10th. My mum's uncle passed away on that day. I did not make it to his funeral because of work. My grandmum and aunt came up from Florida for a few days. All is well as can be now. Take care!
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Alex Rodriguez becomes youngest in baseball history to hit 500 home runs
Alex Rodriguez becomes youngest in baseball history to hit 500 home runs
By JAY COHEN, AP Sports Writer
August 4, 2007
NEW YORK (AP) -- Alex Rodriguez leaned to his right and watched the ball as it sailed toward the foul pole in left. When it stayed true, he raised his hands in the air -- the long wait for No. 500 was finally over.
Rodriguez became the youngest player in major league history to hit 500 home runs, connecting on the first pitch he saw Saturday to end a 10-day wait.
"I acted like a goofball running around the bases, but you only hit 500 once," he said after the New York Yankees beat Kansas City 16-8.
The 32-year-old Rodriguez stood at home plate for a second after his first-inning drive off Kyle Davies, waiting to see where it would land.
"I haven't hit one in so long I didn't know if it was going to be foul," he said. "Where that ball started, last week that ball would've hooked foul probably about 20 feet."
After more than a week of watching his teammates hit a lot of home runs, it was A-Rod's turn. He started trotting around the bases with a wide grin on his face as the sellout crowd at Yankee Stadium cheered wildly. He finished with three hits, along with a hug from Derek Jeter.
"I've conceded the fact that you can't will yourself to hit a home run. I tried hard for about five days," Rodriguez said.
A-Rod spoke with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and commissioner Bud Selig after the game. Selig was expected to be in San Diego to watch Barry Bonds try to break Hank Aaron's career home run record, and reportedly hasn't talked to the Giants slugger in years.
Rodriguez homered eight days after his birthday and surpassed Jimmie Foxx (32 years, 338 days) as the youngest player to reach 500. A-Rod is the 22nd player to reach the mark, the second this season behind Frank Thomas -- Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome might get there this year, too.
It may not take very long for Rodriguez to rise to the top of the list, either. Bonds was two away from breaking Aaron's record of 755 heading into San Francisco's game Saturday night.
Rodriguez leads the majors with 36 home runs this season, one more than he hit last year.
"His prime years are ahead of him, basically," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "This is a stop-off for him. It's not a destination."
Rodriguez hugged Jeter and Bobby Abreu, who both scored on the landmark home run, and blew a kiss toward the stands after completing his trip around the bases. His teammates were already on the field and he embraced several of them on his way back to the bench.
"It was awesome and then you kind of get that high school reception when you hit a home run and all of the guys are out of the dugout," Rodriguez said. "It was awesome. Pretty cool."
The crowd buzzed and roared again when A-Rod stuck his head out of the dugout for the long-awaited curtain call, which came 10 days after he hit No. 499.
"He deserves it," teammate Johnny Damon said. "He has been a tremendous asset to this game."
After he took his seat next to Jeter, the Yankees captain reached out and playfully rubbed A-Rod's head as the two superstars laughed. They were close when they were younger but Rodriguez admitted in spring training that their relationship had cooled over the years.
The All-Star third baseman became the third player to hit 500 as a Yankee and the second to do it in the Bronx. Babe Ruth did it at Cleveland on Aug. 11, 1929, and Mickey Mantle reached the mark at home against Baltimore on May 14, 1967.
"Nobody wants to give up a homer, be a part of history that way," Davies said. "I was trying to throw a sinker down and in and I didn't get it down and in far enough."
Rodriguez went into a tailspin after hitting No. 499 on July 25 at Kansas City. He was hitless in a career-worst 22 straight at-bats before ending the slump Thursday.
His 500th came in his 1,855th game. Only two players took fewer games to reach 500: Mark McGwire (1,639) and Ruth (1,740).
"This was a fantastic, monumental achievement," Steinbrenner said in a statement released by spokesman Howard Rubenstein.
A Rutgers student ended up with the ball, and the Yankees said he didn't want to be identified. Team spokesman Jason Zillo was negotiating with the man about the ball.
"I really want it back," Rodriguez said. "But if not, I congratulate him for catching it. Nice catch."
In the meantime, his batting helmet was headed for the Hall of Fame.
A-Rod and Yankees fans have had an up-and-down relationship since he joined the team in 2004.
"It takes awhile in New York," Rodriguez said. "For some people, it takes six months to a year. I think it truly took me three to four years to understand New York."
Robinson Cano tied a career high with four hits and Bobby Abreu scored four runs for New York, which has won five of its last six to improve to a season-best 10 games over .500. Mike Myers (3-0) got the last out of the fifth to earn the win.
Davies lasted just three innings in his first start for Kansas City, which acquired him from the Braves on Tuesday for reliever Octavio Dotel. John Bale (0-1) got the loss.
Rodriguez was the overall No. 1 pick in the 1993 draft by Seattle. One year later, he became the third 18-year-old shortstop in the majors since 1900. At that point, he gave little indication that he would develop into a two-time AL MVP and one of the game's greatest home run hitters.
A-Rod's first home run came on June 12, 1995, against Tom Gordon and Kansas City.
Notes:
Rodriguez scored three times and became the first player in major league history with 10 straight seasons of at least 35 homers, 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-rodriguez-500homers&prov=ap&type=lgns
By JAY COHEN, AP Sports Writer
August 4, 2007
NEW YORK (AP) -- Alex Rodriguez leaned to his right and watched the ball as it sailed toward the foul pole in left. When it stayed true, he raised his hands in the air -- the long wait for No. 500 was finally over.
Rodriguez became the youngest player in major league history to hit 500 home runs, connecting on the first pitch he saw Saturday to end a 10-day wait.
"I acted like a goofball running around the bases, but you only hit 500 once," he said after the New York Yankees beat Kansas City 16-8.
The 32-year-old Rodriguez stood at home plate for a second after his first-inning drive off Kyle Davies, waiting to see where it would land.
"I haven't hit one in so long I didn't know if it was going to be foul," he said. "Where that ball started, last week that ball would've hooked foul probably about 20 feet."
After more than a week of watching his teammates hit a lot of home runs, it was A-Rod's turn. He started trotting around the bases with a wide grin on his face as the sellout crowd at Yankee Stadium cheered wildly. He finished with three hits, along with a hug from Derek Jeter.
"I've conceded the fact that you can't will yourself to hit a home run. I tried hard for about five days," Rodriguez said.
A-Rod spoke with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and commissioner Bud Selig after the game. Selig was expected to be in San Diego to watch Barry Bonds try to break Hank Aaron's career home run record, and reportedly hasn't talked to the Giants slugger in years.
Rodriguez homered eight days after his birthday and surpassed Jimmie Foxx (32 years, 338 days) as the youngest player to reach 500. A-Rod is the 22nd player to reach the mark, the second this season behind Frank Thomas -- Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome might get there this year, too.
It may not take very long for Rodriguez to rise to the top of the list, either. Bonds was two away from breaking Aaron's record of 755 heading into San Francisco's game Saturday night.
Rodriguez leads the majors with 36 home runs this season, one more than he hit last year.
"His prime years are ahead of him, basically," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "This is a stop-off for him. It's not a destination."
Rodriguez hugged Jeter and Bobby Abreu, who both scored on the landmark home run, and blew a kiss toward the stands after completing his trip around the bases. His teammates were already on the field and he embraced several of them on his way back to the bench.
"It was awesome and then you kind of get that high school reception when you hit a home run and all of the guys are out of the dugout," Rodriguez said. "It was awesome. Pretty cool."
The crowd buzzed and roared again when A-Rod stuck his head out of the dugout for the long-awaited curtain call, which came 10 days after he hit No. 499.
"He deserves it," teammate Johnny Damon said. "He has been a tremendous asset to this game."
After he took his seat next to Jeter, the Yankees captain reached out and playfully rubbed A-Rod's head as the two superstars laughed. They were close when they were younger but Rodriguez admitted in spring training that their relationship had cooled over the years.
The All-Star third baseman became the third player to hit 500 as a Yankee and the second to do it in the Bronx. Babe Ruth did it at Cleveland on Aug. 11, 1929, and Mickey Mantle reached the mark at home against Baltimore on May 14, 1967.
"Nobody wants to give up a homer, be a part of history that way," Davies said. "I was trying to throw a sinker down and in and I didn't get it down and in far enough."
Rodriguez went into a tailspin after hitting No. 499 on July 25 at Kansas City. He was hitless in a career-worst 22 straight at-bats before ending the slump Thursday.
His 500th came in his 1,855th game. Only two players took fewer games to reach 500: Mark McGwire (1,639) and Ruth (1,740).
"This was a fantastic, monumental achievement," Steinbrenner said in a statement released by spokesman Howard Rubenstein.
A Rutgers student ended up with the ball, and the Yankees said he didn't want to be identified. Team spokesman Jason Zillo was negotiating with the man about the ball.
"I really want it back," Rodriguez said. "But if not, I congratulate him for catching it. Nice catch."
In the meantime, his batting helmet was headed for the Hall of Fame.
A-Rod and Yankees fans have had an up-and-down relationship since he joined the team in 2004.
"It takes awhile in New York," Rodriguez said. "For some people, it takes six months to a year. I think it truly took me three to four years to understand New York."
Robinson Cano tied a career high with four hits and Bobby Abreu scored four runs for New York, which has won five of its last six to improve to a season-best 10 games over .500. Mike Myers (3-0) got the last out of the fifth to earn the win.
Davies lasted just three innings in his first start for Kansas City, which acquired him from the Braves on Tuesday for reliever Octavio Dotel. John Bale (0-1) got the loss.
Rodriguez was the overall No. 1 pick in the 1993 draft by Seattle. One year later, he became the third 18-year-old shortstop in the majors since 1900. At that point, he gave little indication that he would develop into a two-time AL MVP and one of the game's greatest home run hitters.
A-Rod's first home run came on June 12, 1995, against Tom Gordon and Kansas City.
Notes:
Rodriguez scored three times and became the first player in major league history with 10 straight seasons of at least 35 homers, 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-rodriguez-500homers&prov=ap&type=lgns
Another record poppy crop in Afghanistan
Another record poppy crop in Afghanistan
By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer
Sat Aug 4, 12:27 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Afghanistan will produce another record poppy harvest this year that cements its status as the world's near-sole supplier of the heroin source, yet a furious debate over how to reverse the trend is stalling proposals to cut the crop, U.S. officials say.
As President Bush prepares for weekend talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, divisions within the U.S. administration and among NATO allies have delayed release of a $475 million counternarcotics program for Afghanistan, where intelligence officials see growing links between drugs and the Taliban, the officials said.
U.N. figures to be released in September are expected to show that Afghanistan's poppy production has risen up to 15 percent since 2006 and that the country now accounts for 95 percent of the world's crop, 3 percentage points more than last year, officials familiar with preliminary statistics told The Associated Press.
But counterdrug proposals by some U.S. officials have met fierce resistance, including boosting the amount of forcible poppy field destruction in provinces that grow the most, officials said. The approach also would link millions of dollars in development aid to benchmarks on eradication; arrests and prosecutions of narcotraders, corrupt officials; and on alternative crop production.
Those ideas represent what proponents call an "enhanced carrot-and-stick approach" to supplement existing anti-drug efforts. They are the focus of the new $475 million program outlined in a 995-page report, the release of which has been postponed twice and may be again delayed due to disagreements, officials said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because parts of the report remain classified.
Counternarcotics agents at the State Department had wanted to release a 123-page summary of the strategy last month and then again last week, but were forced to hold off because of concerns it may not be feasible, the officials said.
Now, even as Bush sees Karzai on Sunday and Monday at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Md., a tentative release date of Aug. 9, timed to follow the meetings, appears in jeopardy. Some in the administration, along with NATO allies Britain and Canada, seek revisions that could delay it until at least Aug. 13, the officials said.
The program represents a 13 percent increase over the $420 million in U.S. counternarcotics aid to Afghanistan last year. It would adopt a bold new approach to "coercive eradication" and set out criteria for local officials to receive development assistance based on their cooperation, the officials said.
Although the existing aid, supplemented mainly by Britain and Canada and supported by the NATO force in Afghanistan, has achieved some results — notably an expected rise in the number of "poppy-free" provinces from six to at least 12 and possibly 16, mainly in the north — production elsewhere has soared, they said.
"Afghanistan is providing close to 95 percent of the world's heroin," the State Department's top counternarcotics official, Tom Schweich, said at a recent conference. "That makes it almost a sole-source supplier" and presents a situation "unique in world history."
Almost all the heroin from Afghanistan makes its way to Europe; most of the heroin in the U.S. comes from Latin America.
Afghanistan last year accounted for 92 percent of global opium production, compared with 70 percent in 2000 and 52 percent a decade earlier. The higher yields in Afghanistan brought world production to a record high of 7,286 tons in 2006, 43 percent more than in 2005.
A State Department inspector general's report released Friday noted that the counternarcotics assistance is dwarfed by the estimated $38 billion "street value" of Afghanistan's poppy crop, if all is converted to heroin, and said eradication goals were "not realistic."
Schweich, an advocate of the now-stalled plan, has argued for more vigorous eradication efforts, particularly in southern Helmand province, responsible for some 80 percent of Afghanistan's poppy production. It is where, he says, growers must be punished for ignoring good-faith appeals to switch to alternative, but less lucrative, crops.
"They need to be dealt with in a more severe way," he said at the conference sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "There needs to be a coercive element, that's something we're not going to back away from or shy away from."
But, in fact, many question whether this is the right approach with Afghanistan mired in poverty and in the throes of an insurgency run by the Taliban and residual al-Qaida forces.
Along with Britain, whose troops patrol Helmand, elements in the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development, the Defense Department and White House Office of National Drug Control Policy have expressed concern, saying that more raids will drive farmers with no other income to join extremists.
There is also skepticism about the incentives in the new strategy from those who believe development assistance should not be denied to local communities because of poppy growth, officials said.
Opponents argue that the benefits of such aid, new roads and other infrastructure, schools and hospitals, will themselves be powerful tools to combat the narcotrade once constructed.
One U.S. official said the plan was a good one but might take another year or two before it can be effectively introduced.
___
On the Net:
White House Office of National Drug Control Policy:
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/
State Department Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs:
http://www.state.gov/p/inl/
Audio link to comments on new strategy by acting Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Thomas Schweich at the Center for Strategic and International Studies:
http://www.csis.org/component/option,com_csis_events/task,view/id,1350/
U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime:
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/index.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070804/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_afghanistan
By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer
Sat Aug 4, 12:27 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Afghanistan will produce another record poppy harvest this year that cements its status as the world's near-sole supplier of the heroin source, yet a furious debate over how to reverse the trend is stalling proposals to cut the crop, U.S. officials say.
As President Bush prepares for weekend talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, divisions within the U.S. administration and among NATO allies have delayed release of a $475 million counternarcotics program for Afghanistan, where intelligence officials see growing links between drugs and the Taliban, the officials said.
U.N. figures to be released in September are expected to show that Afghanistan's poppy production has risen up to 15 percent since 2006 and that the country now accounts for 95 percent of the world's crop, 3 percentage points more than last year, officials familiar with preliminary statistics told The Associated Press.
But counterdrug proposals by some U.S. officials have met fierce resistance, including boosting the amount of forcible poppy field destruction in provinces that grow the most, officials said. The approach also would link millions of dollars in development aid to benchmarks on eradication; arrests and prosecutions of narcotraders, corrupt officials; and on alternative crop production.
Those ideas represent what proponents call an "enhanced carrot-and-stick approach" to supplement existing anti-drug efforts. They are the focus of the new $475 million program outlined in a 995-page report, the release of which has been postponed twice and may be again delayed due to disagreements, officials said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because parts of the report remain classified.
Counternarcotics agents at the State Department had wanted to release a 123-page summary of the strategy last month and then again last week, but were forced to hold off because of concerns it may not be feasible, the officials said.
Now, even as Bush sees Karzai on Sunday and Monday at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Md., a tentative release date of Aug. 9, timed to follow the meetings, appears in jeopardy. Some in the administration, along with NATO allies Britain and Canada, seek revisions that could delay it until at least Aug. 13, the officials said.
The program represents a 13 percent increase over the $420 million in U.S. counternarcotics aid to Afghanistan last year. It would adopt a bold new approach to "coercive eradication" and set out criteria for local officials to receive development assistance based on their cooperation, the officials said.
Although the existing aid, supplemented mainly by Britain and Canada and supported by the NATO force in Afghanistan, has achieved some results — notably an expected rise in the number of "poppy-free" provinces from six to at least 12 and possibly 16, mainly in the north — production elsewhere has soared, they said.
"Afghanistan is providing close to 95 percent of the world's heroin," the State Department's top counternarcotics official, Tom Schweich, said at a recent conference. "That makes it almost a sole-source supplier" and presents a situation "unique in world history."
Almost all the heroin from Afghanistan makes its way to Europe; most of the heroin in the U.S. comes from Latin America.
Afghanistan last year accounted for 92 percent of global opium production, compared with 70 percent in 2000 and 52 percent a decade earlier. The higher yields in Afghanistan brought world production to a record high of 7,286 tons in 2006, 43 percent more than in 2005.
A State Department inspector general's report released Friday noted that the counternarcotics assistance is dwarfed by the estimated $38 billion "street value" of Afghanistan's poppy crop, if all is converted to heroin, and said eradication goals were "not realistic."
Schweich, an advocate of the now-stalled plan, has argued for more vigorous eradication efforts, particularly in southern Helmand province, responsible for some 80 percent of Afghanistan's poppy production. It is where, he says, growers must be punished for ignoring good-faith appeals to switch to alternative, but less lucrative, crops.
"They need to be dealt with in a more severe way," he said at the conference sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "There needs to be a coercive element, that's something we're not going to back away from or shy away from."
But, in fact, many question whether this is the right approach with Afghanistan mired in poverty and in the throes of an insurgency run by the Taliban and residual al-Qaida forces.
Along with Britain, whose troops patrol Helmand, elements in the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development, the Defense Department and White House Office of National Drug Control Policy have expressed concern, saying that more raids will drive farmers with no other income to join extremists.
There is also skepticism about the incentives in the new strategy from those who believe development assistance should not be denied to local communities because of poppy growth, officials said.
Opponents argue that the benefits of such aid, new roads and other infrastructure, schools and hospitals, will themselves be powerful tools to combat the narcotrade once constructed.
One U.S. official said the plan was a good one but might take another year or two before it can be effectively introduced.
___
On the Net:
White House Office of National Drug Control Policy:
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/
State Department Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs:
http://www.state.gov/p/inl/
Audio link to comments on new strategy by acting Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Thomas Schweich at the Center for Strategic and International Studies:
http://www.csis.org/component/option,com_csis_events/task,view/id,1350/
U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime:
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/index.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070804/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_afghanistan
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