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Hostess Brands Inc., the bankrupt maker of Wonder bread and Twinkies, said it will fire more than 18,000 workers and liquidate after a nationwide strike by bakery workers crippled operations.
"Companies in bankruptcy don't have any margin for error," Chief Executive Officer Gregory F. Rayburn said in an interview Friday with Betty Liu on "In the Loop" on Bloomberg Television. "We just didn't have enough workers crossing the picket line."
The 82-year-old maker of Hostess CupCakes, Ding Dongs and Ho Hos was undone by the strike after changes in American diets led to years of declining sales while ingredient costs and labor expenses climbed. The decision to liquidate capped a weeklong standoff between the company, once the largest U.S. wholesale baker, and a union that called its proposed labor contract "horrendous."
Rayburn said Hostess will dismiss most of its 18,500 employees and focus on selling assets. Shipments of bread, snack cakes and other products will continue until supplies run out, he said. While Hostess has fielded interest in pieces of the business, its labor contracts and pension obligations have deterred any bids for the whole company, Rayburn said. The company's brand names include Dolly Madison, Drake's, Merita and Butternut.
Twinkies and other Hostess brands will probably disappear from the marketplace, said Tim Ramey, a Lake Oswego, Ore.-based analyst for D.A. Davidson & Co. Any buyer would need a distribution system, he said.
"Without your own distribution, it's pretty problematic," Ramey said by telephone Friday. "Twinkies has been on a slow death spiral for a long time. Somebody might decide they want something to do with it, but it's not likely."
The Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union went on strike Nov. 9 after a bankruptcy judge in White Plains, N.Y., imposed contract concessions opposed by 92 percent of the union's members. The union represents about 5,000 Hostess workers.
"The crisis facing Hostess Brands is the result of nearly a decade of financial and operational mismanagement that resulted in two bankruptcies, mountains of debt, declining sales and lost market share," the union said in a statement Thursday. Hostess "attempted to resolve the mess by attacking the company's most valuable asset — its workers."
In the past 15 months, Hostess has unilaterally ended contractually obligated payments to the workers' pension plan and demanded cuts of as much as 32 percent in wages and benefits, the union said in the statement.
Hostess, based in Irving, Texas, asked a bankruptcy judge Friday to hold a hearing on Monday to approve the company's request to close its 33 remaining bakeries and 565 distribution centers. Some workers will be retained to clean plants and mothball equipment, Hostess said.
Officials of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, representing about 6,700 Hostess employees, were "incredibly disappointed" and "angry" about the shutdown, Rayburn said. The Teamsters union urged the bakers' union Thursday to let members decide by secret ballot whether to continue the walkout.
"The company has clearly been mismanaged for some time," the Teamsters said in a statement Friday. "Unfortunately, the company's operating and financial problems were so severe that it required steep concessions from a variety of stakeholders but not all stakeholders were willing to be constructive."
Drivers represented by the Teamsters earlier ratified a new contract with 8 percent in wage concessions and 17 percent in benefit reductions. Teamsters members "understood what was at stake and voted to protect all jobs at Hostess," the union said in its statement.
Hostess closed three of its 36 plants permanently Nov. 12, blaming the strike. The company said it determined Thursday night that not enough employees had returned to work to restore normal operations.
Bakers' union members "crippled the company's ability to produce and deliver products at multiple facilities," and "bakery operations have been suspended at all plants," the company said in a statement.
Hostess filed under Chapter 11 for a second time in January, listing assets of $982 million and liabilities totaling $1.43 billion. Rayburn, who previously helped to guide companies including Syntax-Brillian Corp., Indianapolis Downs LLC and Sunterra Corp. through bankruptcy, was hired as chief restructuring officer in February and named CEO in March.

subset: commoncrawl


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Stevens Professor Len Imas, a Specialist in Computational Fluid Mechanics, Provides Computer Modeling Expertise in Support of Design of New Zealand's High-Performance Sailboat, a Challenger in the 34th America's Cup
As the "Summer of Racing" gets underway in San Francisco Bay, Dr. Len Imas of Stevens has a front-row seat for some of the most exciting races in the world.
As a recognized specialist in application of computational fluid dynamics methods in yacht R&D, Imas is helping New Zealand's top sailors in their attempt to claim professional yachting's biggest prize – the America's Cup, the oldest trophy in international sport and the most high-profile, competitive and difficult to win.
Imas, an associate professor of ocean engineering, is a hydrodynamics expert and modeling engineer for Emirates Team New Zealand's design group, which developed and built the state-of-the-art, high-performance sailboat the team will use in the 2013 America's Cup, the 34th edition of the competition and the first-ever inshore race. New Zealand is a perennial power in the America's Cup, which is held once every four years and features only the top-ranked teams in the world.
Imas has also participated in three prior America's Cups on behalf of a number of different teams. His know-how of computer modeling and aero-hydrodynamics has helped support recent advances in sailboat technology.
Imas earned his Ph.D. in Numerical Hydrodynamics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.S. / M.Eng. in Aeronautical Engineering from Rensselaer and has been a member of the Stevens faculty since 2003. An amateur sailor, he initially became interested in sailing yacht design and aero-hydromechanics as a graduate student. After a stint working in fluid mechanics in the defense and oil industries, he refocused his career on academia but has remained continuously engaged in racing yacht R&D, specifically R&D involving computer modeling applications. Today, he is viewed as a specialist in the field.
"Technically, a sailboat is a very interesting machine in that it is driven only by wind but its aerodynamics and hydrodynamics are quite complex because of their interaction," Imas said. "A sailing yacht has to operate across a wide range of wind speeds and directions, and sea states, so it is a challenging R&D exercise to try to understand and model the physics behind it, as well as optimize any subsequent design."
In this campaign, Imas applied his computer modeling knowledge to the development of a super-fast AC72 catamaran, the sailboat class chosen for the 2013 America's Cup.
With a lightweight and cutting-edge design, the AC72 can reach speeds approaching 45 miles per hour due to several unique features. The "flying boat" has a giant, 140 foot tall rigid wing, as well as hydrofoils – little underwater wings which reduce overall drag by enabling the boat to sail with its main hulls entirely above the water. At 72 feet long and 13,000 pounds, it is manned by 11 sailors.
"Yachts used in the 2007 America's Cup in Spain reached top speeds of only around 15 miles per hour," said Imas. "When the boat class shifted form from a monohull to the current catamaran, incorporating new technology, there was a huge speed leap."
Imas' specialty – computational hydrodynamics – helped the Emirates Team New Zealand designers develop the optimal shape of the sailboat to reduce drag and maximize speed by providing insights into how fluid flows around the yacht. This is accomplished by conducting virtual computer experiments which simulated various flow conditions, which in turn permit the prediction of forces around the boat.
Imas will spend part of the summer in California as Emirates Team New Zealand and two other challengers compete to race against the defending champion, Oracle Team USA, in the America's Cup Finals in September.
On campus, Imas uses his unique experiences to continuously enhance the curriculum of Stevens classes he teaches, focused on computer-aided ship design, hydrodynamics, numerical hydrodynamics, and yacht design.
Imas finds students are extremely engaged and responsive when they see state-of-the-art tools and techniques applied in a real-world engineering context. For example, last year, a Stevens senior design team even designed a 60-foot foil-assisted catamaran, using some of the same modeling tools.
"In some shape or form I tend to teach some of the content that I apply in actual yacht R&D," Imas said. "The students appreciate the integration of current methods of computer modeling and how they apply to professional sports such as high performance sailing."
While current Stevens students benefit from Imas' singular expertise on racing yachts R&D in their coursework, the university also has a deep legacy connection to the America's Cup – starting in 1851 when the Yacht America, built by the Stevens founding family, initiated the America's Cup competition.
Decades later, in the 1930s, Stevens Mechanical Engineering Professor Kenneth S.M. Davidson founded the Experimental Towing Tank at Stevens, one of the first tow tank facilities for maritime research in the nation. Among its many claims to fame – it was critical in advancing the design and engineering of ferry crafts, seaplanes, destroyers and even submarines – the Experimental Towing Tank revolutionized how sailboats were built. In fact, the winner of the 1937 America's Cup was tested and developed in the Experimental Towing Tank, using scale model experiments to realistically study its behavior in various wind and wave conditions and create the optimal configuration for speed. Many subsequent America's Cup and other grand prix racing yacht models were also tested in the towing tank. Information derived from these studies contributed greatly to present day understanding of sailboat hydromechanics.
The Experimental Towing Tank was rebuilt and renamed the Davidson Laboratory in 1958. Today – as one of the world's leading facilities in the field – its researchers have continued to pioneer numerous advances in ship design and naval architecture and contributed significantly to our basic understanding of maritime security and the marine environment.
Photos courtesy of America's Cup


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A Pakistani former commando who has been linked to multiple terror plots — including a series of planned "Mumbai style" attacks in European cities last summer — has emerged as a possible successor to Osama bin Laden as leader of al-Qaida, according to U.S. officials.
Although Ilyas Kashmiri is barely known to the American public, U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies have increasingly focused on him in recent years. The CIA has targeted him in drone attacks in northwest Pakistan and federal prosecutors have indicted him in a major terrorism case involving a Chicago businessman who goes on trial next week.
An elusive figure who often wears heavily tinted aviator glasses, Kashmiri remains at large and active in plotting new attacks against the West, U.S. officials say. It was Kashmiri who, according to U.S. officials, was the key figure behind a suspected plot for multiple attacks in European cities, patterned after the 2008 Mumbai terror strike, which led to a widely publicized State Department travel advisory in October.
While Ayman al-Zawahri remains the "presumed" successor to bin Laden, the longtime al-Qaida deputy is deeply unpopular in some circles and his elevation is by no means guaranteed, a senior U.S. official told reporters this weekend. If al-Zawahri doesn't make it, Kashmiri may emerge as the dark horse in the ensuing power struggle, the official told NBC on Monday.
"His star has been on the rise for the last several years," said the official. "He would have to be on the al-Qaida short list."
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Kashmiri was at one point a member of the Pakistani military, serving as a commando in a Special Services Group that was once tasked with training Afghan mujahedeen to fight the Soviets.
He was later reassigned to train Kashmiri fighters against the Indians, but broke from the Pakistani army and joined a terrorist group — called Harakat-ul Jihad-i-Islami, or HUJI ("Movement of Islamic Holy War") — that has been closely aligned with al-Qaida.Slideshow: World reacts to death of Osama bin Laden (on this page)
So far, U.S. officials have remained tight-lipped on whether they have found evidence in bin Laden's compound that shows direct contacts between the now deceased al-Qaida leader and Kashmiri. But hints of such links — and of Kashmiri's interest in mass casualty terror plots — are contained in U.S. court documents.
One of those documents was filed in the U.S. government's case against Raja Laharib Khan, a Chicago cab driver from Pakistan, who was charged last year with providing material support to al-Qaida.
An FBI affidavit unsealed as part of the court record in the case alleges that Kahn claimed to have known Kashmiri for 15 years and made frequent visits to Pakistan to meet with him from 2008 to 2010. In a March 17, 2010, conversation with an undercover agent in Chicago that was secretly recorded by the FBI, Khan described a 2008 meeting with Kashmiri in the Pakistani city of Miran Shah in which the two men allegedly discussed bin Laden.
Kashmiri told him that bin Laden was "alive" and "healthy" and still very much in charge of the terror organization, Khan told the undercover agent. "(He is) commanding, he's giving orders."
"Does he give orders to Kashmiri?" the undercover agent asked, according to the transcript.
"Just, yeah, to Kashmiri, then Kashmiri give the order to mujahedeen … al-Qaida and Taliban."
'Blow up buildings'
Later in the conversation, Khan said of Kashmiri, "He's the main key, after Osama bin Laden," according to the document. He also allegedly told the undercover agent that Kashmiri planned to use money that Khan was sending him to purchase weapons and train mujahedeen recruits for operations "in Kashmir, Palestine, Bosnia, and Georgia, Russia."
Read more reporting by Michael Isikoff in 'The Isikoff Files'
He also wanted to train operatives to "blow up buildings" and bridges in the United States, but needed American citizens to come for training to Pakistan, Khan allegedly told the undercover agent; otherwise it was "very hard" to get non-U.S. citizens into the country. (Khan has pleaded not guilty to the charges. His lawyer, Thomas Durkin, said there "is an awful lot of things in the Khan case that don't make any sense, including the government's contention that Kashmiri is part of al-Qaida.")
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- Pakistan threatens to cut NATO's supply line
Kashmiri has been separately indicted in an even bigger terrorism case in Chicago against a local businessman, Tahawwur Hussain Rani, who is charged with providing cover for a Pakistani-born American terrorist, David Coleman Headley, who has confessed to conducting surveillance for the Mumbai terror attacks and plotting with Kashmiri to blow up a Danish newspaper in retaliation for its publication of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad.
According to the indictment, Kashmiri has based his terror operations in western Pakistan and starting in 2007 was "in regular contact with al-Qaida." In February 2009, the indictment charges, Headley met with Kashmiri and another co-defendant in the Waziristan region of Pakistan and handed him surveillance videotapes he had taken of the Copenhagen offices of Jyllands-Posten, the Danish newspaper that had run the cartoons, in order to help plan the terrorist operation.
"During the meeting, Kashmiri indicated that he had already reviewed the Copenhagen videotapes … and suggested that they consider using a truck bomb in the operation," the indictment states. "Kashmiri also indicated he could provide manpower for the operation."
Headley was at Chicago's O'Hare airport, preparing to hop a flight to Philadelphia and then to Pakistan, where he planned to meet Kashmiri again when he was arrested by FBI agents on Oct. 3, 2009. He subsequently pleaded guilty and is expected to be the government's star witness against Rani, whose trial is due to start next week.
Shortly before Headley's arrest, Kashmiri was reported to have been killed by a CIA drone strike in Pakistan. But weeks later, he surfaced briefly, giving an interview to the Asia Times in which he told a reporter that the 2008 Mumbai attacks were "nothing compared to what has already been planned for the future."
© 2013 NBCNews.com Reprints


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How dare you refute us with logic and reason?!?!? Fie on thee, Blue.
How dare you refute us with logic and reason?!?!? Fie on thee, Blue.
Bluesecrets wrote:So sure "meh" applies. But then be honest...go back and look at the so called "classics" they were pretty "meh" too and we tend to over look that fact just because we love them for they were our first love.
Jaffleman wrote:Considering buying the 70404 castle for parts, has anyone been able to make anything useful out of this set? Thinking of just turning it into a singular tower of some sort but there seem to be too many panels for anything decent.
AK_Brickster wrote:Yeah, set designs really don't interest me that much anymore. I look at new sets and think, "Hmm... what can I make out of those parts?" and, "What can I do with those minifigs?"
With that criteria in mind, I'm perfectly happy with the new castle line. Sure, the old "Lions vs. Dragons" bit is pretty well played out, but the torso prints are good, and the helmets, heads, etc are all perfectly usable. Other than the big castle, most of the sets generally have nice generic castle parts that will be useful in a multitude of future applications.
I think very few people at the AFOL level buy the sets just to build them and display them on a shelf. I personally build the sets once just for the experience, but after that they get thrown in with the rest of my parts, so for me, crying about poor set design is a useless endeavor. Like Blue said, this is a toy which is first and foremost designed for little kids. You have to take that into consideration in your evaluation process.
As long as there is a good piece count for the price, and not too many panels, I'm pretty happy just to have castle stuff available.
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Vatican City, May 24, 2012 / 12:13 pm ().-
The Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has published guidelines to help the Church worldwide handle claims of private revelations and apparitions.
In his preface to the new publication, prefect Cardinal William J. Levada voiced his "firm hope" that the norms will aid Church leaders "in their difficult task" of discerning apparitions, revelations and "extraordinary phenomena of presumed supernatural origin."
The norms were drawn-up for internal use in 1978 under Pope Paul VI, and, until now, have never been officially published or translated from Latin.
Yet with many unofficial versions in circulation, however, Cardinal Levada said he believed that "now opportune to publish these Norms, providing translations in the principle languages."
The decision to publish the guidelines comes as a special commission established by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith moves into its third year investigating alleged apparitions by Our Lady in the town of Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Since 1981, it has become a popular site of pilgrimage due to reports of apparitions of the Virgin Mary to six local Catholics.
The committee of bishops, theologians and other experts was convened in March 2010 at the request of Medjugorje's local bishop and under the chairmanship of the former Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini.
The newly published guidelines set out a three-stage process by which a legitimate church authority can come to a decision regarding claims of apparitions or revelations.
First, the claim should be initially judged "according to positive and negative criteria." This investigation can include an assessment of the "personal qualities" of any alleged seers as to their "psychological equilibrium, honesty and rectitude of moral life, sincerity and habitual docility towards ecclesiastical authority, the capacity to return to a normal regimen of a life of faith, etc."
Any potentially authentic revelation must also be of "true theological and spiritual doctrine and immune from error," and should be producing a "healthy devotion and abundant and constant spiritual fruit" such as a "spirit of prayer, conversion, testimonies of charity, etc."
Second, if the local church authorities come to a favorable initial conclusion they can permit some form of public devotion while continuing "overseeing this with great prudence."
Third, a final judgment can then be passed "in light of time passed and of experience" with special regard to "the fecundity of spiritual fruit generated from this new devotion."
Cardinal Levada made clear in his preface to the guidelines that, unlike public revelation, Catholics are not bound to accept the veracity or content of any private revelation, not even those officially approved by church authorities.
Ecclesiastical approval "essentially means that its message contains nothing contrary to faith and morals." He added, however, that private revelations can have a "certain prophetic character" and can also "introduce new emphases, give rise to new forms of piety, or deepen older ones."
Tags: Vatican, Apparitions
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When the ground warms to 64 degrees Fahrenheit, a group of cicadas known as Brood II will infect the East Coast from North Carolina to New York's Hudson Valley. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.
After hanging around underground for 17 years, billions of flying bugs known as cicadas are due to sweep over the East Coast starting sometime in the next month. And although it's too early to predict exactly where or when the brood will appear, this spring's emergence should rate as the most closely watched bug-out in history.
"For entomophobes, this is the season of despair. For the entomophiles, this is the season of joy," said University of Maryland entomologist Michael Raupp, using highfalutin terms for bug-haters and bug-lovers.
The outbreak is expected to start in the Carolinas in April or early May, and work its way up northward to Washington, Philadelphia and New York by early June. Some observers have already reported the first signs of the emergence. The timing depends on the weather: Cicadas dig "escape chimneys" up from the ground where they've been maturing for the past 17 years — and when the temperature reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius), that signals the insects to rise up, wriggle out of their shells, take wing and look for mates.
Be ready for the buzz
The bugs are mostly harmless to plants and humans. The worst a cicada can do is poke you with its pointy proboscis. But the 90-decibel buzz of a sky-darkening swarm can be a bit unnerving to the unprepared. Raupp recalls one harrowing tale from 1962's outbreak, when "the kids were shrieking in the playgrounds as cicadas divebombed them."
In Raupp's view, however, the pluses far outweigh the minuses. The cicada nymphs help aerate garden soil with their burrowing, and when they emerge, the bugs represent a culinary bonanza for birds and other species. (They're said to taste like asparagus. Or shrimp.)
Besides, cicadas are cool. "Without a doubt, they are a true marvel of nature and one that should be enjoyed whenever possible," Raupp writes on his Bug of the Week blog.
University of Connecticut researcher John Cooley tells NBC's Anne Thompson cicadas are "noisy and active."
It's thought that the 17-year life cycle arose to keep the cicadas' predators off their game, and perhaps make the most of climatic variations. Scientists even suspect that the number 17's status as a prime number plays a role. (Some periodical cicada species emerge every 13 years, and 13 is also a prime number.)
This particular group of cicadas, known as Brood II, hasn't surfaced since 1996. But other broods have had their own day in the sun during the intervening years. The big ones include Brood X ("The Big Brood"), which last came out in 2004; and the 13-year Brood XIX ("The Great Southern Brood"), which emerged in 2011.
The buzz online
This year's brood is notable in that it should spread out over the United States' most densely populated region. Entomologists expect the cicadas to show up in the countryside, in woodsy suburbs and even in urban locales such as New York's Central Park.
The New York-based Radiolab science show is preparing for "Swarmageddon" by helping citizen scientists build soil thermometers. Readings from the "cicada detectors" are being shared via an interactive Cicada Tracker map. Meanwhile, the Magicicada website keeps up its own database of cicada sightings. That website, supported by the National Geographic Society, also provides tons of information about the species and what to do with them. (But if it's recipes you need, you might have to look elsewhere.)
Thanks to the rapid rise of crowdsourcing and social media, this year's event is sure to become the most tweeted cicada emergence in history: Cicada Mania suggests using the hashtag #BroodII for the 2013 outbreak, and #Cicadas for general cicada issues. If you want to see the Twitterverse from the cicadas' point of view, just follow @Brood_II. There's a Cicada Mania Facebook page for entomophiles. And if you're an entomophobe, you'll find kindred spirits on the "I Hate Cicadas!!!!!!" Facebook page.
Whether you're an entomophobe or an entomophile, this will all be over soon: Once it starts, the emergence typically lasts only four to six weeks — long enough for Brood II's cicadas to mate, lay their eggs, and get the next generation settled for their 17 years of life underground as root-sucking nymphs.
Take a closer look at the curious 17-year life of the flying bug as the East Coast prepares for an invasion.
More about cicadas:
- Video: WBAL previews the bug invasion
- In death, cicadas boost plant life
- Tasty cicadas may sicken pets
- Cicada screech is actually a love song
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.


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Phillies Alumni holiday favorites
Everyone has a favoriate Christmas carole and everyone remembers receiving a special toy as a child. So, we asked several Phillies Alumni for their favorites.
Hope you enjoy their answers.
Will post one more time before Christmas and once before the new year.
So, Happy Holidays to all!


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Last week, JPMorgan said we're not that far from a "picture perfect world."
Morgan Stanley said the U.S. economy was approaching an "inflection point" in mid-2013 from which growth would really start taking off.
Now, BofA Merrill Lynch is out with a new report, titled "Buy America: The American dream is back."
BAML strategists Ralph Preusser and Athanasios Vamvakidis write (emphasis added):
Markets have fallen in love with the US. This is a significant change from spending the last five years wondering which economy was the worst, the US, Europe, the UK, or Japan.
After repeated positive US data surprises in recent weeks, and particularly the very strong non-farm payroll number last Friday, buy America has become the main market theme, with the USD appreciating and US equities reaching new highs.
The US housing market is also beginning to show signs of a sustainable recovery (see Housing Watch).
The strong US performance despite the substantial fiscal tightening in the months ahead as the sequester kicks in makes the US even more attractive. Just imagine how faster the recovery would have been if the US had a better fiscal policy.
Our bullish USD view for 2013 has so far turned out to be right for the wrong reasons. We have been concerned about the impact of fiscal tightening on the US and the global economy, expecting an increase of demand for the USD in a risk-off market correction. However, the strength of the US recovery so far this year has surprised markets and the correlation between risk appetite and the USD has now turned positive. This has helped our EURUSD straddle trade originally recommended two months ago (see FX Alpha).
The comeback of the dollar – and specifically, this return to positive correlation with stocks – has been a hot topic.
Preusser and Vamvakidis continue:
We have now introduced a short EURAUD recommendation, to take advantage of the current benign environment of rising equities, improving US data and declining volatility (see FX Alpha). For rates investors, we would watch out for what the Fed thinks about the recent improvement in the housing market and its implications for wealth and eventually the labour market, rather than what the equity market thinks (see Liquid Insight).
Big Picture Theme 1 argues that the recent simultaneous advance of the USD and equity markets suggests the possibility of a new norm that may be driven by expectations of US energy independence. The market implications of such a shift could be profound and we are bullish the USD and US cyclical assets, bearish oil and FX vol, and bearish TIPS breakevens.
In other words, it's a lot of the same broad trade recommendations we've heard from several other analysts.
Citi introduced a near identical trade lineup this week.
Long the dollar. Long stocks. Short bonds.


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These Are The 10 Biggest Burger Chains of 2018
Meet - or maybe, meat - the 10 biggest hamburger chains of 2018. Some restaurant names high up on the list will shock absolutely no one, but others serve up a tasty surprise.
The list comes from Nation's Restaurant News and its annual Top 200 report, a proprietary ranking of the foodservice industry's largest restaurant chains and parent companies.
The chains are ranked by U.S. systemwide sales, so if you're in a decent-sized American city, you're likely to live near more than a few of these restaurants.
Coming in at No. 10 is Five Guys, the Virginia-based chain that's spreading like mustard across the nation, with $1.4 billion in U.S. systemwide sales in 2017.
It's followed by Carl's Jr., at No. 9 with $1.5 billion, and that eatery's sibling restaurant, Hardee's, at No. 8, with $2.2 billion.
Texas-based Whataburger comes in at No. 7, with $2.3 billion in sales, with California's Jack in the Box at No. 6 with $3.5 billion.
We all scream for ice cream at Dairy Queen, which scoops up the No. 5 spot with $3.6 billion, with Sonic Drive-In, famed for its icy drinks, landing at No. 4 with $4.4 billion in sales.
The top three are all burger-and-bun powerhouses. Wendy's takes the No. 3 spot with $9.3 billion in sales, followed by No. 2 Burger King with $9.6 billion.
And McDonald's is lovin' it at No. 1, devouring all the competitors with $37.6 billion in U.S. sales.
Wherever you live, there's almost sure to be at least one of these chains close enough that you can get dinner home before the fries cool off. But if you'd rather make your own burgers at home, check out this gallery of the 50 best burger recipes.


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CFCA President Bob Hentzen and 1,000 fellow walkers celebrated his upcoming walk† from Guatemala to Chile with a solidarity walk in the community of San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala. The solidarity walk, which took place on January 23, was almost three miles long and took about two and a half hours.
Guatemalan staff members and CFCA families organized the solidarity walk as a way to kick off preparations for Bob's walk to Chile, which is set to begin Dec. 29, 2009. The route Bob will travel will weave through 12 countries (see below for a list) in Central and South America and is scheduled to conclude in April 2011.
During the solidarity walk, the 12 countries were represented by their national flag along the three-mile trek.
We hope you'll enjoy this video clip of the solidarity walk.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/4550909 w=500&h=350]
Bob will be walking through Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and Chile, although not necessarily in that order. The official route is still being finalized.
The purpose of the walk is to facilitate the building of community and strengthening of the bonds of solidarity among our CFCA families, sponsors and co-workers. Bob will use this walk to thank the families for the inspiring example of their daily walk, and tell them that we love them. He hopes to help counterbalance some of the isolation of poverty and offer the poor a sense of identity with the CFCA community.
"On my journeys, I find that CFCA truly walks with the poor and enables many people of good will to do the same," Bob said.
In 1996, Bob walked more than 4,000 miles from Kansas City, Kan., to Guatemala. His upcoming walk will continue that trek.


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The 2009 BSI Summer Institute will be held from June 14-20th at San Francisco State University.
Details are available at the following link : http://bsili.edulounge.net/
Click here for logistical details.
In an intensive one-week pilot workshop you will work with colleagues and leaders throughout the state to look deeply into answering two fundamental questions:
- How can I help my college establish, advance and sustain a network that supports the success of our students, especially those who are underprepared for learning in college courses?
- How can we work together to create such networks among community colleges in California to support student success throughout our state?
Who should attend?
- Basic Skills Coordinators
- Faculty leaders of local basic skills efforts
Come to develop your understanding of:
- Faculty inquiry
- Networking
- Communities of Practice
- Professional learning
- Institutional transformation
- Evaluation
Leave with:
- A plan to design a successful network on your campus – or improve on one you already have in place
- Models of successful practice
- Access to expertise that you need to help your students succeed
- Connections to colleagues who share your passion and your interests!


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Is Gay Marriage Really "Inevitable?"
Evolution and inevitability are words much in the news lately regarding same-sex marriage. The victory for marriage redefinition advocates in New York has sparked a new round of assertions that Americans can stop thinking about and debating this bas
By Chuck Donovan
Evolution and inevitability are words much in the news lately regarding same-sex marriage. The victory for marriage redefinition advocates in New York has sparked a new round of assertions that Americans can stop thinking about and debating this basic institution of civil society.Vice President Joe Biden sounded a similar theme after the repeal of the military law on homosexual conduct last December. "Inevitability" is a hardy perennial, therefore, but hardly correct. The debate over marriage has entered a new phase, but it is nowhere near an endgame.
First, the redefinition of marriage in New York is not permanent even in the Empire State. It can be reversed by a future legislature or by a legislatively authorized referendum on the issue. The National Organization for Marriage—which was a key player in California's popular vote to overrule legal approval of homosexual unions—plans a multi-million-dollar campaign in New York to restore traditional marriage via the ballot box. Despite gay activists' claims of momentum, to date no popular majority in any U.S. jurisdiction has voted to adopt a same-sex marriage law.
Second, the next state-level fights over the definition of marriage are likely to occur in places where traditional marriage champions are very strong: Minnesota, Indiana, New Hampshire, and Iowa. Faced with gubernatorial resistance to their cause in New Jersey, marriage redefinition advocates are turning to the courts again. But most of these efforts have failed, and courts must reckon with the fact that the headwinds against marriage redefinition remain potent in the vast majority of the states.
Finally, the meaning of marriage and its significance to society are getting fresh attention as matters of both economic and social concern. Expunging marriage between a man and a woman from the law does not erase it from reality. Marriage is a pre-political institution whose decline in or absence from a community will define that community's prospects and shape its ability to thrive.
In this sense, events in Albany may echo events in Boston eight years ago, when one state's decision to impose same-sex marriage on the eve of an election year launched a national debate with enormous consequences. The stakes are even higher now. Informed elections, not the natural selection of "evolving" views, will play the larger part in determining whether same-sex marriage is inevitable or ephemeral.


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Queens of Heart
DARCELLE XV, the oldest drag club in the United States, is a Portland institution. When people enter they leave society's rules and gender restrictions at the door and act as they never would in their day-to-day lives.
A documentary exploring audiences' reactions to the club (see photo) and what those reactions say about society premiered in Los Angeles this fall. Queens of Heart: Community Therapists in Drag is directed by Jan Haaken, PSU professor of psychology. She had the help of PSU graduate students and the full cooperation of Darcelle—Walter Cole—the club's owner and main attraction.
Filmmakers Gus Van Sant and Eric Edwards, and musician Thomas Lauderdale with Pink Martini contributed to the documentary, which was produced by Kwamba Productions of Portland. Queens of Heart is being shopped around to other film festivals and is under consideration by public television.
On Campus
Rushdie book brought to stage
While in hiding, author Salmon Rushdie wrote a bedtime story for his 10-year-old son. The resulting tale became a children's book, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, and was eventually adapted for the stage.
Portland State Prof. Karin Magaldi directs Haroun and the Sea of Stories in Lincoln Performance Hall, 1620 SW Park, February 22-24 and February 27-March 1. All performances are at 7:30 p.m., except for a 2 p.m. matinee on February 24. Tickets are available at the PSU Box Office, 503-725-3307, or through Ticketmaster.
"Set in a city so ruinously sad that it has forgotten its name," Haroun takes the audience on a young boy's journey to find the Sea of Stories so he can help his father, a famed storyteller, regain his ability to devise intricate stories. The fairy tale is told in singsong poetics and is intended for older children and adults who are young at heart.
New film major: That's a wrap
HITCHCOCK, THE ROAD MOVIE, Vietnam on Screen—these are a few of the elective courses available through the new film major in the Theater Arts Department.
"The demand for this degree has been here for a long time," says Sarah Andrews-Collier, Theater Arts chair. "There was not a week that would go by without someone walking in and asking why we didn't have a film major."
The new bachelor's degree offered this fall includes courses from 14 departments. Students will study all forms and genres of the moving image, ranging from the silent film era to present day cinema, television, and digital video production. The faculty is committed to providing strong emphasis on written, oral, and visual expression; critical thinking; an international perspective; and the creative experience.
The human side of welfare reform
BOB, 33, FEELS his diabetes is terminal because he has no health insurance and cannot afford medication. Sarah, 32, has put her dreams and aspirations on hold as she and her seriously disabled eight-year-old son work daily to survive with no insurance.
Vivid stories of Oregonians' need for health insurance coverage as they transition from welfare to work are told in Prof. Karen Seccombe's new book, Just Don't Get Sick.
Seccombe and co-author Kim Hoffman assess the ways in which welfare reform affects the well-being of adults and children. They drew upon data and in-depth interviews with over 500 families in Oregon. Ironically, the low-wage jobs that people in transition typically get provide few benefits; yet often disqualify them and their families from receiving federal aid.
Seccombe is a professor in the PSU School of Community Health, and Hoffman is a senior research associate at Oregon Health & Science University. The two social scientists present a compelling argument for assuring security, stability, and well-being for poor families through health care.
New Works
Other Early Christian Gospels: A Critical Edition of the Surviving Greek Manuscripts
by Andrew Bernhard '02
T & T Clark International, 2007
The Alton Gift
by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Deborah J. Ross MS '73
DAW Hardcover, 2007
Fort Clatsop: Rebuilding an Icon
by the Daily Astorian
PSU Ooligan Press, 2007
Identity Crisis! 50 Redesigns That Transformed Stale Identities Into Successful Brands (includes PSU)
by Jeff Fisher
HOW Books, 2007
Yoga Calm for Children: Educating Heart, Mind, and Body
by Lynea Gillen MS '93 and Jim Gillen
Three Pebble Press, 2007
Red Hot and Rollin': A Retrospection of the Portland Trail Blazers' 1976-77 Championship Season
edited by Matt Love '86
Nestucca Spit Press, 2007
by Roland Smith '86
Harcourt Children's Books, 2007
Prophet Motive: Deguchi Onisaburo, Oomoto, and the Rise of New Religions in Imperial Japan
by Nancy K. Stalker '84
University of Hawaii Press, 2007
Good Friday
by Tony Wolk (English faculty), PSU Ooligan Press, 2007
Picasso's Guernica: The 42 Preliminary Studies on Paper is on display at the Littman Gallery, 250 Smith Memorial Student Union, February 7 through March 26. The sketches show Pablo Picasso's process for creating his famous painting depicting the violence, brutality, and helplessness of war. The studies, published in 1990 in an H.N. Abrams exhibition catalog, are part of the PSU Library's Special Collections.
ABOUT THIS PAGE: We want to hear about your books and recordings and your future exhibits, performances, and directing ventures. Contact the magazine by e-mailing email@example.com, sending a fax to 503-725-4465, or mailing Portland State Magazine, Office of University Communications, PO Box 751, Portland OR 97207-0751.


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It's frustrating. You have Chris acting like a slut, then getting mad when the Dude calls her a tease. EXCUSE ME, but call it like it is!!! She is acting like a tease/slut, showing her goods,flirting, and throwing herself at him every chance she gets. He can do better then a loose Lucy like her. Yes I can see she has more behind her character, however either she needs to address her issues and be a better person by adopting a few morals and values or quit playing mind games with him. He doesn't deserve it.
Yes, she does need to address her issues. And I'm not saying anything more then that.
The appeal of this strip is the heart. Don't care for the "Steve Dallas" wannabe. I agree the slut joke is tastless and the mcribbed is predictible. You have shown you are much more capable than this.
Yep, I am far more capable then just dick and fart jokes....but you're going to have to trust my writing skills. There's a reason and a purpose we're SEEING these reactions.
Read through the archives.
See what Chris herself has said about herself.
Understand both sides of the issue...
...and then see what happens.
A good friend...well...my best friend gave me a quote that I love.
When I think about how I personally tend to define Art in my life it has always been this:
Created material that provokes an emotional resonance within the observer.
And man, do I seem to have created an emotional resonance with those people who are observing these characters.
I have gotten more hate mail, more jabs, and more bloody noses for taking the course of action that I've taken in this strip in the past few weeks.
And all I can say is...BRING IT ON!
I'm NOT going to say anything more then that. Because quite honestly I'll be showing my hand.
But as I've said before, this series is about GROWTH in characters...
...ALL the characters.
SOME will be able to grow, some wont. Some will change considerably, and some will be left to grow old alone and die.
It's a lot like life if you think about it. Oh sure, there are those few lives that are truely spectacular, absolutly breathtaking. Where you die in bed surrounded by loved ones after living a good life, and you can look yourself in the mirror the final day and say "I did it, I did good."
But the bulk of them...the bulk of them end tragically, cut too short, or ending in madness.
And the question is...just who in this strip is going to be able to look themselves in the mirror at the end, and say "I did good?"
The end is coming in about 2 years. Keep that in mind.


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skaye necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 73 diseños de 25 diseñadores freelance.
Casual Gamer
We're setting up a new blog aimed at providing reviews of current video and computer games to a more mature audience. The content will be less technical and targeted at whether or not the game is fun and helping the reader with their buying decisions.
The average video/computer game player in Australia is 30 years old and 35% are female. This group buys over $1B per year in games and have created an industry bigger than Hollywood. We intend to deliver less technical and simplified content.
We are looking for cool, clean logo designs upon which we can build into our over blog design which will also be changing shortly. We'd like something friendly, more mature and inviting. A logo that is a bit playful (as it is a gaming site) but isn't childish as our target audience will skew a bit older.
We have a very quickly made existing typeface style logo that you can see at http://www.casualgamer.com.au It has some colours that we are generally agreeable to but are not entirely locked into them. We are certainly willing to change the typeface/font or the colours so feel free to let our imagination and talent have a wander.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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Spa: Saturday Quotes
Lewis Hamilton (12th, 1:45.122): "We did the best job we could today. We'd always known the car would struggle in the mid-sector corners: being one second down in the mid-sector shows the true downforce level of our car. We expected that we wouldn't have as good an aero package as some of the others - we just didn't know to what extent. I guess today we found out. But I'm not too disappointed - this year has been a rollercoaster ride for everyone, but I'm enjoying it still and I love driving this track. My plan for tomorrow is a points finish."
Heikki Kovalainen (15th, 1:45.259): "This morning, we started to become a little surprised by the pace of some of the other cars. We were struggling in the high-speed corners a little more than in either Hungary or Valencia, where the circuit configurations are slower. We expected today to be tough and our results show we are still lacking in high-speed efficiency, downforce and straight-line speed. Still, it was very close today; there was quite a bit of traffic in the session and, with just a couple more tenths, we could have made it into Q3. I'll be racing hard tomorrow and I feel confident we can go forwards from here. Nevertheless, we know where we are and we're not down because of this. We've shown progress compared with Silverstone and we'll keep pushing to improve on our issues."
Martin Whitmarsh, Team Principal: "First of all, I want to say 'Well done!' to Force India on the occasion of their first ever pole position. But Giancarlo Fisichella's pole wasn't the only unexpected element of today's grid - far from it, in fact - and I think it's fair to say that very few people would have successfully forecast today's top three. As for us, the reality is that we didn't provide our drivers with a quick enough car, and the consequence was a disappointing qualifying result. Having said that, the microclimate here is notoriously unpredictable, and it's a long lap, and form upsets are therefore relatively common. So Lewis and Heikki are both aiming to score points tomorrow."
Norbert Haug, Mercedes Motorsport Director: "Formula 1 is really tough and enormously hard fought these days and creates more and more surprises. Very well done to Giancarlo and Force India for their first pole position on this demanding racetrack. The fact that world champions Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, as well as the current world championship leader Jenson Button, will respectively start from 12th, 13th and 14th describes how unpredictable this sport is these days and that the slightest problem - even if it costs you only a tenth or two - puts you on the back foot. A shame for Lewis and Heikki who could not make it past Q2, Lewis by 0.075 seconds and Heikki by a bit over two tenths. Both drivers suffered in the fast corners in the long middle sector. The times were closer than ever: in Q2, the top 10 was covered by five and a half tenths and the top 15 by seven and a half tenths - on a circuit of more than 7km length! Tomorrow we hopefully can overtake some cars already on the first lap and then build on a good strategy. Even from 12th and 15th, it is not impossible for us to do a decent job in the race and we certainly will try very hard. On a different note: it is of course very pleasing to see that all Mercedes-powered teams - championship leaders Brawn GP, Force India and Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, have put a car on pole at least once during the first 12 grands prix of the season covering a total number of six pole positions so far."
Kimi Raikkonen (6th, 1:46.633): "Of course I would have preferred to have started from further up the grid, but I think we did our best today. We knew it would be hard to be at the front, but all the same, this is a good position, especially as the gaps between the front runners are pretty tight. With more fuel on board, the car handles better than on a light load and that was the case again in this qualifying session. Such an unusual grid makes it even harder to make any predictions for tomorrow and we will have to make the most of any opportunities that present themselves. The final outcome will depend a lot on the first two corners after the start. The fact the car handles differently at various sections of the track can be explained by the lack of aerodynamic downforce we have this season."
Luca Badoer (20th, 1:46.957): "I'm not happy, because this morning, at the end of free practice, I had hoped to make it through to Q2. Unfortunately, partly because of traffic and partly because of a few small problems, I didn't manage to put together a perfect lap. I was counting on doing so on my final run, but there was the incident with Vettel which then led to me going off the track and that put an end to my qualifying. I have made another step forward in terms of performance, but it's still not enough: for me the hardest thing is getting into a rhythm and finding the limits of the car. Unfortunately, there's no opportunity to do the testing that would put that right. I am sure that tomorrow, I will perform better than I did in the Valencia race. I will try and do my best."
Stefano Domenicali, Team Principal: "One could certainly say the starting grid order is unexpected. As we have already seen several times this season, the pecking order between the teams can change really suddenly from one race to the next. For our part, we would have liked to be a little bit higher up with Kimi, but all the same, we are in a position that will allow us to fight for a podium finish, especially when looking at the F60's performance over a long run. As for Luca, once again we could see an improvement in his performance, but unfortunately, it was not enough to avoid him ending up last on the grid again."
Chris Dyer: "We are a bit disappointed because, after yesterday's showing, we expected a better result. Sixth place for Kimi must be assessed in the light of the different fuel loads of all the cars in the top ten. We believe we have come up with a good strategy and, given the car's performance over a long run, we expect that, yet again, we can fight for a place on the podium. As for Luca, everyone can see that, day by day, his performance level is improving: unfortunately, it is not yet at a sufficient level to see him through at least to Q2."
BMW Sauber
Nick Heidfeld (3rd, 1:46.500): "Today's good result is obviously very important for our team. After BMW announced it was pulling out of the sport we are working on securing the future for the team in Hinwil. Nobody has given up in this difficult period of time and today's qualifying result is a reward for it. We did our homework in practice, made several changes and I'm quite happy with the balance of the car. I think the fact that the 2009 cars are run on a medium downforce level here for the first time this year might be the reason for the grid being very different to previous races. In Q2 I firstly got stuck in traffic and then at my second outing I had a set of tires which wasn't as good, therefore I knew I would go faster once I was in Q3. I still wouldn't mind a wet race tomorrow - even though I'm third and we did not take it into consideration in terms of fuel load and downforce level."
Robert Kubica (5th, 1:46.586): "Even yesterday we had a good feeling as we were quite competitive. When we changed the engine before this morning's practice session, I immediately started losing speed on the straights. Unfortunately we were not able to solve the problem before qualifying. This is a bit unlucky as we have a very competitive car for the first time this season. I hope we can solve this issue by tomorrow. I expect a tough race tomorrow as the pack is close together."
Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director: "As has happened in a couple of previous races this season, the balance of power got pretty heavily shaken up today. Of course we are very happy with this qualifying result. For the first time this season we were able to reclaim the position that we safely had last year. It seems that our car and its tires are a pretty good combination on this track. That makes me confident for tomorrow's race. Congratulations to Giancarlo Fisichella and Force India for the first pole position of the team."
Willy Rampf, Technical Director: "Of course qualifying third and fifth is fantastic. Yesterday's results indicated our performance could be pretty good here. We improved the car's set-up overnight and learnt quite a lot about the optimum use of the tires. This was the basis for the strong qualifying. After the tough last couple of weeks, the qualifying result is a reward for the entire team who worked flat out on the further development of the car. A big Thank You to the entire team."
Fernando Alonso (13th, 1:45.136): "Today we just weren't competitive enough and we struggled in both Q1 and Q2 where I did my maximum but still missed out. However, it was an unusual session today as we had big competitors knocked out in Q2. Tomorrow this should make for an interesting race and then there is always the weather which may play a role. So we will not give up and will do our best to fight back tomorrow."
Romain Grosjean (19th, 1:46.359): "It was a difficult session today as there was a lot of traffic. I was blocked on a couple of my quick laps by a Toro Rosso and then my last quick lap was ruined by the yellow flag. However, the car has been good all weekend and I really love this circuit so I will give my maximum to move forward, finish the race and gain more experience."
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: "Today we have seen a very unusual grid formed and unfortunately we are not in the right part of it. It has been difficult to understand where the performance is this weekend because the lap times of the cars are all very close. Fernando just missed out on Q3 and Romain had some issues with traffic. We must now have a look to see whether we can use strategy to gain some points tomorrow."
Jarno Trulli (2nd, 1:46.395): "I am very happy to be on the front row again. We have always known that when things go right we have a very competitive car and all weekend we have looked extremely strong. In qualifying I was always in the top two, even though in first qualifying I took it a bit easy. I did a very quick lap in third qualifying and second place gives us a great chance tomorrow. We dropped the downforce a bit yesterday and spent most of the time balancing the car. Then we made a small change to the set-up this morning so I had better handling and traction for qualifying and it worked well. Also, I spent most of the weekend driving on race fuel so I am very happy with how things have turned out and it is looking pretty good for tomorrow. I have to thank the team who have worked really hard to improve and get a result like this; I dedicate it to all my mechanics."
Timo Glock (7th, 1:46.677): "Today was a good result for the whole team and it is a nice feeling to be fighting at the front again. My lap was pretty tidy so overall I am happy with it; we have worked hard on improving the qualifying pace and we got our reward today. The team brought a new aero package to this race and it seems to be working well. From the start of the weekend we believed we could be strong here because the car felt quick throughout practice and it's great to carry that speed into qualifying. We had good race pace in Hungary and Valencia so I am optimistic for tomorrow. I hope to finish in the top five; it will not be easy but I'm really looking forward to the challenge."
Pascal Vasselon, Senior General Manager Chassis: "It has been a good weekend for us so far and we are happy to be back at the front. We saw from the start of the weekend that both cars were quick and consistent in all conditions and it is a good feeling. For the first time in three races we have qualified where our race pace has been so the weekend looks promising and we are ready for an exciting Sunday tomorrow. Congratulations to our drivers who have done a very impressive job this weekend; they both work extremely hard and it is very satisfying to see that rewarded. I would also like to say thanks to the people back at the factory, as well as those here at the track. They never give up and it is particularly pleasing to deliver a good performance at Spa, which is so close to the factory in Cologne. Now our clear target is to convert this strong qualifying into a result tomorrow."
Toro Rosso-Ferrari
Sebastien Buemi (16th, 1:45.951): "I had a good first run on the Option tire, but with my second set I had a bit of traffic on my warm-up lap and I didn't get my flying lap together. Then at the final braking point I locked up my rear wheels and so the lap was spoilt. Even though we knew it could be difficult to get to Q2, I am disappointed with my performance. Finding the right compromise on set-up is difficult here between running low downforce for the fast sections and having enough to deal with the slower parts. As for the race, we need to look closely at our tire strategy as both types of tire work well here."
Jaime Alguersuari (17th, 1:46.032): "It was always going to be tough to get into Q2. We were lacking speed on the main straight in Sector 1 and Sector 3, but I did a good time in Sector 2. The main thing for me is that I am making progress: in Hungary I was last on the grid, then Valencia 19th and today I am 17th, so it's getting better. Hopefully, I can work my way up to pole one day! I still need to build up more confidence with the car and the tires in the quick corners."
Laurent Meknes, Chief Engineer: "Not the outcome we were expecting. Jaime did a good job, making progress throughout the weekend, in what is only his third race. Sebastien had a very good first run, but unfortunately we could not repeat it on his second one and so we slid out of the Q2 zone. However, we feel we have better potential than we showed this afternoon and we hope we can demonstrate that in tomorrow's race."
Red Bull-Renault
Sebastian Vettel (8th, 1:46.761): "It was quite an interesting session - and not the best for us obviously; eighth and ninth will be tough tomorrow on the grid. Unfortunately I made a mistake on my last flying lap in Q3. I lost the rear going into Turn 14, which leads on to the back straight and lost all the speed, so there was no point in completing the lap. The results were quite a surprise today; I don't think anyone expected Fisi (Fisichella) to be on pole."
Mark Webber (9th, 1:46.788): "That was a strange session - we expected to be more competitive than that. Fisi (Fisichella) on pole! A great day for them, but we were surprised by that. A lot of the guys were too quick for us; it shows you just never know in this game. It should be an interesting race tomorrow. We had to change the engine before qualifying, but that wouldn't affect our result and we were pretty confident going into the session. We put in a new engine as we had to make some checks on the one that we used this morning, but it looks like it is okay."
Christian Horner, Sporting Director: "A different Q3 to normal - I bet none of the bookies predicted that one! Our guys had a strong Q2 and the fuel effect is reasonably large around here, so we'll wait with interest to see what the fuel figures are later today. Congratulations to Force India for their first pole position. We' look forward to what should be a really exciting race tomorrow."
Fabrice Lom, Renault: "Again - a bad day. We apologize to Mark for the electrical problem that we had on his engine - it really seems as though we have a black cloud hanging over our heads at the moment. I can only assure Red Bull and the people that want to beat us that we will never give up - and when this black cloud lifts, we will fight like hell!"
Nico Rosberg (10th, 1:47.362): "We have really struggled all weekend but we managed to get the best out of Q2 and finishing 10th was possibly the best we could achieve carrying quite a lot of fuel. We have a good strategy and therefore I think we can fight for some points tomorrow. It was a very strange qualifying session here today, I think maybe the way the teams are using their tires is making quite a difference."
Kazuki Nakajima (18th, 1:46.307): "We struggled here yesterday in practice, but Nico managed to either drive very well or find a set-up direction that I didn't. I hope I can learn something from the progress he made today and have a better time tomorrow in the race to make up for today's disappointment."
Sam Michael, Technical Director: "We had a difficult day yesterday and we changed a lot of things overnight which definitely made the car better. It was an unbelievably tight qualifying session considering how long the lap is, which goes to show how much of a difference the rules have made. Nico did a fantastic job to get the car through to Q3 and from that point we adjusted our strategy to concentrate on Sunday. Congratulations to Force India for their first pole."
Force India-Mercedes
Giancarlo Fisichella (1st, 1:46.308): "This is one of my favorite circuits, I did well in the past and I was sure we would be competitive again this year. I didn't expect to be on pole though! It feels just great, like a dream. I am so happy for myself, for the team, for the mechanics, the engineers, who have done a fantastic job. They did a great step forward for Valencia for the last race considering our budget and our resources. This morning we had a small accident when I hit a rabbit, but my engineer said it would be lucky and it was ! What a result. I am now not only looking for points, but for more. We've got this far we need to finish the job!"
Adrian Sutil (11th, 1:45.119): "This is an unbelievable day for the team. Congratulations to Giancarlo: it was an amazing result for him and such a good boost for the team. We've worked hard so the guys really deserve it. For me, it was quite a good session but I'm still a little bit disappointed as I couldn't use the soft tire set effectively. The hard set was much better on my car - we don't know why but we will look into it for sure. Normally we should have been Q3 - as Giancarlo showed - but from 11th I still think points are possible. We are quite good on the long run pace, the car feels good and it was from this point of view I am quite happy."
Dr. Vijay Mallya, Team Principal: "What an unbelievable result we have had here. I am so proud of Giancarlo, the team in the garage and the factory and also for the entire Indian nation. There is nothing more to say: we've done both ourselves and the country proud."
Dominic Harlow, Chief Race Engineer: "Simply an incredible result today and full credit to Giancarlo on a series of fantastic laps. We started today a little unsure of our performance, and knew we had to work on the understeer that was in the car yesterday. The engineers worked on it, tried a few things in FP3 and found the right direction. From there both drivers were much happier. For Adrian the two tires seemed closer in performance in qualifying, and somehow he just missed out on Q3, Giancarlo concentrated on the soft tire in Q2 and I think the track improvement came in that direction. I want to say thanks to the tunnel, the factory and to the team and hope that tomorrow we convert this qualifying result to solid points."
Rubens Barrichello (4th, 1:46.513): "I'm extremely happy with our qualifying performance today and the second row of the grid is a great starting position for the race. The results today have to be one of the biggest surprises of the year and it's great for Giancarlo Fisichella to be up there on pole. It's good to see that the 'old-timers' still have it! I took the best out of my car today, particularly in Q2 which was one of my best laps around Spa, but that was only enough for sixth position in that session. We've been quite aggressive on the strategy and the race is wide open tomorrow so I'll push as much as I can and we can get a good result from here."
Jenson Button (14th, 1:45.251): "I didn't expect to qualify in 14th position today but we really struggled with grip levels, particularly on the softer tire. The car hasn't felt quite right all weekend and unfortunately I wasn't able to get any more out of it today. Rubens and I are usually very closely matched but he was quick on the option and I wasn't so we need to look into the reasons for that. I just couldn't find any grip on the softer rubber so the rear end felt unstable and I had no confidence under braking, particularly in the middle sector. It's strange as our set-ups are different but not by much. It's going to be very tough in the race from here but at least we have more time to choose our strategy. We need to get it right and see if we can score some points tomorrow."
Ross Brawn, Team Principal: "It was a challenging qualifying hour today and the end result has seen one of the most mixed-up grids of the season which is great for the sport and will probably make for a very interesting race tomorrow. Rubens put in another very strong performance today and fourth place on the grid, with an aggressive strategy, puts him in a good position for the race tomorrow. It's fair to say that qualifying got away from us a little bit today with Jenson. We have been struggling with the car balance on his side this weekend and although some changes were made overnight, we were not able to get the car to a position which he felt comfortable with. Looking on the positive side, our main championship rivals are behind one of our cars and only a few places ahead of the other. We have focused on our race performance during the practice sessions here and believe we will have the pace to take the fight to them tomorrow."
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If you are black and stopped by police in Niagara County, you are 7.5 times more likely to be arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession than if you are white.
If you are black and in Erie County, the likelihood of being charged is 5.6 times greater than if you are white.
In both counties, that represents a substantial "racial disparity" in how the law is applied, according to a New York Civil Liberties Union report released Thursday.
The main target of the report is the New York City Police Department's controversial "stop and frisk" policy, which is being challenged in U.S. District Court for alleged unconstitutional stops and racial profiling.
But statewide, young men of color are more likely than their white counterparts to be charged with misdemeanor pot possession, said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman in unveiling the findings.
"It's not just the New York City Police Department that has a marijuana problem, but police departments all across the state, from Buffalo to Binghamton. Huge racial disparities exist in counties throughout the state," Lieberman said. "Statewide, blacks are 4.5 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana."
Local police officials willing to comment on the study – some did not return phone calls seeking comment – said marijuana laws are enforced regardless of race and that high-crime neighborhoods where more police are assigned may contribute to the high ratio.
To undo the disparity, Lieberman called on the State Senate to move forward with a bill already approved by the Assembly that would further decriminalize small amounts of marijuana that inadvertently become publicly displayed when police stop and frisk individuals or order suspects to empty their pockets.
Possessing a small amount of pot that is not in public view was decriminalized by the state in 1977. It dropped to a violation similar to a traffic summons.
And while blacks downstate in Brooklyn and Manhattan are at least nine times more likely to be arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession than whites, Lieberman said blacks across the state are arrested in greater numbers than whites on the charge, even though there are more white residents in the state and surveys show young white males use marijuana more often than young black men.
The ratios, she said, are based on 2010 FBI crime statistics.
In Buffalo, the stop-and-frisk approach is not used by officers, according to Buffalo Police Commissioner Daniel Derenda.
He said a number of factors could contribute to blacks being more likely to be arrested on pot charges.
"I don't know what the numbers are for marijuana arrests in Buffalo or the racial breakdown, but some of the poorer neighborhoods in the city are disproportionately minority, and due to economic circumstances in some of those areas, there are unfortunately higher crime rates, and that leads to a larger police presence and at times more arrests across the board, including charges for minor offenses," Derenda said.
Erie County Undersheriff Mark N. Wipperman said that while he cannot address the policies of other police agencies, the Sheriff's Office never uses race as a factor in enforcing laws.
"We don't use race as a determination or a standard in making an arrest, including marijuana laws," he said. "A lot of marijuana arrests do not involve incarceration. The person is given an appearance ticket. The marijuana is confiscated and properly destroyed," Wipperman said.
Cheektowaga Police Capt. James J. Speyer offered an assurance that his department also does not carry out arrests based on race or any factors other than criminal activity.
In expressing surprise over the ratio, Speyer said that he would want to review the study before offering an opinion but added, "I'd like to know what the circumstances were leading up to the charge."
Niagara Falls police and Niagara County sheriff's officials did not return phone calls seeking their response to the study.
Lieberman said there is another travesty occurring in enforcing pot possession laws – the amount of public funds spent by the criminal-justice system.
A study by the NYCLU's parent organization, the American Civil Liberties Union, estimates that in 2010 a total of $678.5 million in New York taxpayer money was spent on arrests and court costs to adjudicate misdemeanor pot charges.
But the greater harm, she said, is the unequal enforcement of the law along racial lines.
"Arresting and jailing thousands of people for possessing small amounts of marijuana does not make safer streets. It only needlessly disrupts people's lives and fosters distrust between the police and the communities they are sworn to serve," Lieberman said.
Gabriel Sayegh, state director of the Drug Policy Alliance in Manhattan, pointed out that young white men have demonstrated significantly higher involvement in using and selling marijuana than young men of color based on surveys conducted over the years.
He also cited a study by Human Rights Watch that analyzed thousands of marijuana arrests over a number of years and determined that individuals arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession rarely go on to commit violent criminal acts.
The highest ratios involving blacks being more likely to be arrested than whites occurred in counties with large urban centers, but the study also found that in 61 of the state's 62 counties, blacks were more likely to face pot possession charges.
"There may be more police in so-called high-crime neighborhoods, but that doesn't explain to us that in overwhelmingly white neighborhoods, the disparity of arrests continues," Lieberman said.
Because there is no category in FBI crime reporting forms for Hispanics arrested for possession of marijuana, those individuals are included with whites arrested on the pot charge, the NYCLU said. If Hispanics were not grouped with whites, civil liberties officials said, the disparity between blacks being arrested more frequently than whites would be even more imbalanced.
Civil liberties officials called on State Senate leaders Dean Skelos, a Republican, and Jeffrey Klein, a Democrat, to move the bill forward decriminalizing public possession of small amounts of marijuana, adding that smoking pot in public would still remain a crime.
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|My Userpage
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- "Is it Eeeve? The most prettiest Pokemon ever? Or is it Glaceon? Nah, Everyone is beautiful in their own way. To Eevee to Glaceon,Everyone is Beautiful."
- — Me
I'm from Quebec my main language is French. So excuse my grammar.
About me
Well, My Username says "Ranger1434" but my real name is Saige. Anywho, I come from Montreal,Quebec. So excuse me if my Grammar,English etc. Its not so good. I used to watch Pokemon when I was about 2. I didn't know what it meant but I was bored so I still kept watching it. When I was about 4 I loved it and kept watching it. Right now I love the old version with Misty and May better then the newer version with Dawn and Iris.
What can you use help with?
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You can leave them a message with the {{Warning}} template.
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Contact a admin, The Admins on this wiki would be Rainbow Shifter, Slayingthehalcyon and EnemyPeacemaker you can contact them via talkpage
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Pages I have created
Midnight Forest (Still working on it)