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HERMANN MISSOURI OKTOBERFEST 2010
HERMANN MISSOURI OKTOBERFEST 2010 - CLICK ON PHOTO FOR THIS YEARS SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Whether your looking to replace a broken PSP-3000 or buy your first, you can now same some cold hard cash with the company today announcing new pricing of just $129.99. The price drop was expected before the Nintendo 3DS was set to launch and ahead of the Sony NGP. Along with the systems price drop Destructroid lists various game pricing that has dropped to just $19.99:
Thousands killed in Libya unrest, says deputy UN ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi
From correspondents in Tripoli www.news.com.au
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Feb 25, 2011
THOUSANDS of people have been killed in the Libya unrest, but strongman Muammar Gaddafi may kill himself rather than be caught by his opponents, Libya's deputy UN ambassador says.
"There are already thousands of people who have been killed, we expect more," said the diplomat, Ibrahim Dabbashi, who has turned against the Gaddafi regime.
Mr Dabbashi said that Gaddafi is "psychologically unstable".
"Gaddafi has the choice between being killed or commit suicide," said the envoy.
"He might seek to send some of his family members abroad but I believe he prefers to die in Libya because of his narcissistic character - he wants to act like a hero," he said.
His comments came ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on the Libya crisis. Western nations are pressing for international sanctions against Gaddafi's regime to force an end to the violence, which other accounts say has left hundreds dead.
Mr Dabbashi said "the dictator regime in Tripoli is in its last moments" and that thousands of people have headed for the main Martyrs Square in Tripoli in a standoff with Gaddafi's forces.
"The dictator, to show that he is still in control, he took all his army and his defenders to occupy the square before them," Dabbashi said.
"At the same time he sent terrorists in front of the demonstrators and they are shooting on all the demonstrators, trying to prevent them to move to the Martyrs Square."
The envoy said there are "mercenaries" from Algeria, Tunisia, Mali, Niger, Chad and Ethiopia fighting with Gaddafi's forces.
The Libyan envoy said the international community has to "send a clear message" to Gaddafi to halt the violence.
"Otherwise I think he will continue his killings and today you will have thousands of people killed in Tripoli. It is time to stop this."
Dabbashi has previously called for the United Nations to order a no-fly zone over Libya to halt air attacks on demonstrators.
Gaddafis will 'live and die' in Libya
Gaddafi son, Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, said his family will stay in Libya at all costs despite a bloody uprising shaking his father's regime.
"Our plan is to live and die in Libya,'' he told Turkey's CNN Turk news channel when asked whether his family had a "plan B" in the face of the simmering turmoil in the north African country.
Speaking with a voiceover translation to Turkish, he admitted the regime had lost grip of eastern Libya, but said the authorities would soon regain control of the region.
"There are over two million people in this area, the number of terrorists is 200 or 300 at most. People call us and beg for help. ... We cannot allow a handful of terrorists to control that part of Libya and its people," he said.
"Not the army but the whole nation will resolve this problem," he said when asked whether the military could attack the flashpoint city of Benghazi.
Seif al-Islam also targeted the media and especially Arab news channel Al Jazeera for what he called "lies" on civilian deaths and the activities of African mercenaries helping the regime.
"All fabricated news come from one channel, Al Jazeera. We know the reason," he said, accusing the channel of "supporting" terrorist groups.
He blamed "small terrorist groups" for provoking the turmoil, insisting that the Gaddafi family had no problem with street demonstrations.
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February 25, 2011
A bill limiting the amount farm property owners can be sued passed Thursday in the Missouri House of Representatives. The bill will limit nuisance lawsuits against the owners of land used for agricultural purposes such as animal or crop production.
Numerous lawsuits have been filed in Missouri in recent years alleging that odors from large barns of hogs are a nuisance to neighbors.
The legislation will limit compensatory damage awards to the reduction in fair market or rental values for the neighboring property. It also will limit repeated lawsuits claiming temporary nuisances.
Supporters say the bills are necessary to save Missouri's livestock industry. Opponents say the restrictions would hurt small family farmers who live near the animal farms.
Google tweaks search to punish 'low-quality' sites
By BARBARA ORTUTAY, AP Technology Writer
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Feb 25, 2011
NEW YORK – Google says it has tweaked the formulas steering its Internet search engine to take the rubbish out of its results. The overhaul is designed to lower the rankings of what Google deems "low-quality" sites. That could be a veiled reference to such sites as Demand Media's eHow.com, which critics call online "content farms" — that is, sites producing cheap, abundant, mostly useless content that ranks high in search results. Sites that produce original content or information that Google considers valuable are supposed to rank higher under the new system. The change announced late Thursday affects about 12 percent, or nearly one in every eight, search requests in the U.S. Google Inc. said the new ranking rules eventually will be introduced in other parts of the world, too. The company tweaks its search algorithms, or formulas, hundreds of times a year, but it said many of the changes are so subtle that only a few people notice them. This latest change is "pretty big," the company said in a blog post. "Google depends on the high-quality content created by wonderful websites around the world, and we do have a responsibility to encourage a healthy web ecosystem," Google fellow Amit Singhal and principal engineer Matt Cutts wrote in a blog post. "Therefore, it is important for high-quality sites to be rewarded, and that's exactly what this change does." Demand Media, based in Santa Monica, assigns roughly 13,000 freelance writers to produce stories about frequently searched topics and then sells ads alongside the content at its own websites, including eHow.com and Livestrong.com, and about 375 Internet other destinations operated by its partners. Articles range from the likes of "How to Tie Shoelaces" to "How to Bake a Potato" and more. The company doesn't seem agree with the "content farm" or "content mill" definition.
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By Jim Meyers and Ashley Martella
In an exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV Friday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said President Barack Obama’s decision not to fully enforce the Defense of Marriage law has sparked a constitutional crisis as he has directly violated his constitutional duties by arbitrarily suspending a law.
Gingrich for the first time raised the specter of Obama’s removal from office, noting that, if a “President Sarah Palin” had taken a similar action, there would have been immediate calls for her impeachment.
Obama Attorney General Eric Holder said on Wednesday that the administration will not defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act in the courts, which has banned recognition of same-sex marriage for 15 years. President Clinton signed the act into law in 1996.
Obama’s decision to forego a legal defense of the law has caused a firestorm of anger from conservative groups.
Gingrich slammed Obama for his decision, telling Newsmax that he is not a “one-person Supreme Court” and his decision sets a “very dangerous precedent” that must not be allowed to stand.
In reacting to President Obama ordering no defense of the Defense of Marriage act, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says if Sarah Palin were president and ordered no enforcement of Roe v. Wade, the N.Y. Times and the left would have demanded her impeachment.
“Imagine that Governor Palin had become president. Imagine that she had announced that Roe versus Wade in her view was unconstitutional and therefore the United States government would no longer protect anyone’s right to have an abortion because she personally had decided it should be changed. The news media would have gone crazy. The New York Times would have demanded her impeachment.”
Gingrich’s comments mark the first time a significant Republican leader has raised the specter of impeachment against Obama.
“First of all, he campaigned in favor of [the law]. He is breaking his word to the American people,” Gingrich says.
“Second, he swore an oath on the Bible to become president that he would uphold the Constitution and enforce the laws of the United States. He is not a one-person Supreme Court. The idea that we now have the rule of Obama instead of the rule of law should frighten everybody.
“The fact that the left likes the policy is allowing them to ignore the fact that this is a very unconstitutional act,” Gingrich said.
Gingrich said it is too early to call for Obama’s impeachment, but did not rule it out if he fails to comply with Congress and the constitutional process.
“I believe the House Republicans next week should pass a resolution instructing the president to enforce the law and to obey his own constitutional oath, and they should say if he fails to do so that they will zero out [defund] the office of attorney general and take other steps as necessary until the president agrees to do his job.
“His job is to enforce the rule of law and for us to start replacing the rule of law with the rule of Obama is a very dangerous precedent.
“Clearly it is a dereliction of duty and a violation of his constitutional oath and is something that cannot be allowed to stand.”
By PAUL SCHEMM and BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press
Feb 25, 2011
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BENGHAZI, Libya – Militias loyal to Moammar Gadhafi opened fire Friday on protesters streaming out of mosques and marching across the Libyan capital to demand the regime's ouster, witnesses said, reporting multiple deaths. In rebellious cities in the east, tens of thousands held rallies in support of the first Tripoli protests in days.
Protesters described coming under a hail of bullets as they tried to march from several districts around the city toward Tripoli's central Green Square. One man among a crowd of thousands said gunmen on rooftops and in the streets opened fire with automatic weapons and even an anti-aircraft gun.
"In the first wave of fire, seven people within 10 meters (yards) of me were killed. Many people were shot in the head," the man, who was marching from Tripoli's eastern Tajoura district, told The Associated Press. "It was really like we are dogs."
"We can't see where it is coming from," another protester from Tajoura said of the gunfire. "They don't want to stop." He said a man next to him was shot in the neck.
Militiamen opened fire on other marches in the nearby Souq al-Jomaa and Fashloum districts, where witnesses reported four killed. The reports could not be immediately confirmed.
In the evening, Gadhafi appeared before a crowd over more than 1,000 supporters massed in Green Square and called on them to fight back against protesters and "defend the nation."
"Retaliate against them, retaliate against them," Gadhafi said, speaking by microphone from the ramparts of the Red Castle, a Crusader fort overlooking the square. Wearing a fur cap and sunglasses, he shook his fist in the air, telling the crowd, "Dance, sing and prepare. Prepare to defend Libya, to defend the oil, dignity and independence."
He warned, "At the suitable time we will open the arms depot so all Libyans and tribes become armed, so that Libya becomes red with fire." The crowd waved pictures of the leader and green flags as he said, "I am in the middle of the people in the Green Square. ... This is the people that loves Moammar Gadhafi. If the people of Libya and the Arabs and Africans don't love Moammar Gadhafi then Moammar Gadhafi does not deserve to live."
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Tobruk in the hands of Libya's rebellion
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The Missouri Department of Transportation erected new speed limit signs along a portion of Route 100 east of Washington Friday morning, officially raising the limit from 55 m.p.h. to 60 m.p.h. The new speed limit pertains to a section of the highway between St. John's Road and Old Route 100.
The Franklin County Commission and MoDOT approved raising the speed limit several weeks ago, but needed the new signs to be in place before the limit took effect.
Rte. 100 near the Washington eastern city limits and near I-44 will also see a rise in speed limits from 45 m.p.h. to 55 m.p.h., but that will not occur until driving lanes can be restriped. MoDOT announced this week crews would perform the restriping in mid-March.
___________________________________________________ Missouri Department of Transportation has reported that new speed limit signs on Route 100 east of Washington should be installed Friday, weather permitting, and once that happens then the new speed limit will be in effect. You must obey whatever signs are posted!!! ____________________________________________________ Drivers on Route 100 east of Washington could be legally driving 60 m.p.h in about a week. Missouri Department of Transportation Area Engineer Judy Wagner told KLPW Wednesday new speed limit signs could be erected along the highway by the end of next week. Once the signs are in place, the speed limit will increase.
MoDOT and the Franklin County Commission have already approved orders increasing the speed limit, but need to wait for the new signs to go up before making it official. The limit will increase from 55 to 60 m.p.h. in the "middle" section of Rte. 100 between Washington and I-44. The two ends, which are currently 45 m.p.h., will remain that way for the near future. Eventually, MoDOT plans to increase those limits as well, but needs to wait until warmer temperatures arrive so crews can restripe driving lanes.
Many local drivers, along with Franklin County Presiding Commissioner John Griesheimer, have asked for an increase in the speed limit since MoDOT opened the highway's new driving lanes in the summer of 2010._________________________________________________________________________________
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January 21, 2011
Drivers on Route 100 between Washington and I-44 will soon begin to legally drive a little faster. According to the Missouri Department of Transportation, the speed limit on Rte. 100 between St. John's Road and Old Route 100 will increase from 55 m.p.h to 60 m.p.h. MoDOT will also raise the speed limit from 45 m.p.h. to 55 m.p.h. at the I-44/Villa Ridge and Washington sections of the corridor. Crews will also restripe the five-lane segments on the highway, weather permitting, to make the fifth lane into dedicated left turn lane.
MoDOT evaluated these sections of Route 100 and determined that the speed limit should be increased. MoDOT reviewed the sight distances at each of the entrances along the corridor and used federal guidelines to establish the new speed limit. They evaluated these areas to ensure that the speed limit increase would not jeopardize any sight distance concerns and safety for motorists.
Franklin County Commissioners have to sign an order officially increasing the speed limit, at least for a portion of the highway, Presiding Commissioner John Griesheimer said. That action should come Tuesday, Jan. 25.
_________________________________________________________________________ Four River Conference MVP Shelby Winkelmann scores her 3,000 career High School basketball point, Monday, Feb. 21, 2011.
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Feb 25, 2011
Hermann seniors Ashley Brooks and Shelby Winkelmann were unanimous picks on this year's Four Rivers Conference all-conference basketball team.
This was the fourth time that Winkelmann, a 5-9 guard, has been a unanimous selection to the all-conference team, and the second year in a row she was selected the league's 'Player of the Year.' Brooks, a 5-3 guard, is a first teamer for the second time. She also was a unanimous pick last year.
Laura Rethemeyer of the Lady Bearcats, a junior, received honorable mention.
FIRST TEAM
Shelby Winkelmann Hermann SR
Brittany Harris-Conway St. James JR
Carissa Richardson Sullivan SR
Linda Watson Pacific SR
Rachel Connell St. James SR
Ashley Brooks Hermann SR
Rachael Bassett Union SOPH
Kayla Oetterer New Haven JR
Kati Davis Owensville JR
Bry Pierce St. Clair SR
HONORABLE MENTION
Kelsey Anderson St. Clair SR
Kayla Walters St. James SR
Hannah Roach Owensville JR
Laura Rethemeyer Hermann JR
Jessica Heinle Sullivan SOPH
Jett Bouckaert Sullivan SR
MJ Buschmann St. James SOPH
Rachel Steinhoff New Haven FR
Lizzy Almo Pacific SOPH
Kris Stevens Union SR
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Shelby Winkelmann- Hermann COACH OF THE YEAR: Brad Conway- St. James
ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE:
HERMANN: Ashley Brooks, Janie Gleeson, Corby Hackmann, Karinne Lane, Laura Rethemeyer, Mikaela Ruga, Hannah Steinbeck, Shelby Winkelmann
NEW HAVEN: Kim Conner, Melanie Duvall, Elise McDonald, Abby Menke, Kayla Oetterer, Julie Scheer, Brandy Senecal, Rachel Steinhoff, Taylor Willimann
OWENSVILLE: Miranda Epstein, Frida Engstrom, Kati Davis, Mikayla Fries, Lauren Hendrickson,Whitney Jones, Ashley Wisdom
PACIFIC: Jessica Damico, Sarah Doell, Ashley Fuller, Kim Myers, Lauren Rogers, Abby Spuhl, Caitlin Suerig, Linda Watson
ST. CLAIR: Kelsey Anderson, Sarah Baker, Shannon Duncan, Ashley Fuchs, Karissa Hoffman, Kayla Klenke, Bry Pierce,Brittany Sellers, Tiffany Sellers
ST. JAMES: MJ Buschmann, Rachel Connell, Brittany Harris-Conway, Kristin Hofstetter, Madison Kean, Kasey Marshall, Amanda White, Kayla Walters
SULLIVAN: Bria Bartolotta, Hallie Davis, Jessica Heinle, Aley Lucas, Taylor Lucas, Sierra Pryor, Carissa Richardson
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By JOSH GERSTEIN
2/24/11
Federal investigators trying to find out who leaked information about a CIA attempt to disrupt Iran’s nuclear program obtained a New York Times reporter’s three private credit reports, examined his personal bank records and obtained information about his phone calls and travel, according to a new court filing.
The scope and intrusiveness of the government’s efforts to uncover reporter James Risen’s sources surfaced Thursday in the criminal case of James Sterling, a former CIA officer facing federal criminal charges for allegedly disclosing classified information. Sterling is accused of giving Risen details about what Risen describes as the CIA’s plan to give Iran faulty nuclear blueprints, hoping to temporarily thwart the regime’s ambitions to build an atomic bomb.
n a motion filed in federal court in Alexandria, Sterling’s defense lawyers, Ed MacMahon Jr. and Barry Pollack, reveal that the prosecution has turned over “various telephone records showing calls made by the author James Risen. It has provided three credit reports—Equifax, TransUnion and Experian—for Mr. Risen. It has produced Mr. Risen’s credit card and bank records and certain records of his airline travel.” The revelation alarmed First Amendment advocates, particularly in light of Justice Department rules requiring the attorney general to sign off on subpoenas directed to members of the media and on requests for their phone records. And Risen told POLITICO that the disclosures, while not shocking, made him feel “like a target of spying.”
“We’ve argued that I was a victim of harassment by the government. This seems to bolster that,” Risen said. “Maybe I should ask them what my credit score is.”
Sterling’s attorneys and a Justice Department spokeswoman declined POLITICO’s request for comment.
The government’s interest in Risen’s sources for his 2006 book, “State of War,” has been known since 2008. In particular, investigators have zeroed in on a chapter which details what Risen describes as a botched CIA effort to trip up Iran’s nuclear program. The scheme involved using a Russian defector to deliver the faulty blueprints to the Iranians, but the defector blew the CIA’s plot by alerting the Iranians to the flaws — negating the value of the program, and perhaps even advancing Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Risen was twice subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury to testify about his sources, but the first grand jury dissolved before a judge acted on Risen’s motion to quash the subpoena. Last year, U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema sided with Risen and quashed the second subpoena, though details of her reasoning haven’t been made public.
Soon after that decision, Sterling was indicted.
First Amendment advocates said the Justice Department’s use of business records to find out about Risen’s sources was troubling. Those records, they argue, could potentially expose a wide array of Risen’s sources and confidential contacts — information that might fall beyond the initial investigation that led to Sterling’s indictment.
“To me, in many ways, it’s worse than a direct subpoena,” said Jane Kirtley, a University of Minnesota law professor and former director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “Third-party subpoenas are really, really invidious…. Even if it is targeted, even if they’re trying to just look at the relevant stuff, they’re inevitably going to get material that exposes other things.”
Kirtley also said journalists often aren’t notified when the government asks telecom companies, banks or other service providers for their records.
Asked how journalists could credibly complain about such techniques when most also refuse more direct demands for information about their sources, Kirtley said reporters who become the focus of determined investigators face a “Hobson’s choice.”
“It’s the same thing as if the cops go to someone’s office with a search warrant and say, ‘Give us the information we want and we won’t tear the place apart,’” she said. “If you say ‘tear the place apart,’ all kinds of confidential information that you don’t think the police should have is going to end up in their hands.”
Lawyers tracking the case believed that both former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, who was part of the Bush administration, and current Attorney General Eric Holder gave the go-ahead to subpoena Risen. Under Justice Department rules, the attorney general must approve a subpoena for a journalist and grant permission to obtain “telephone toll records of a member of the news media.”
It’s unclear whether the records investigators obtained about Risen’s phone calls came from his billing records or from records of incoming calls to Sterling or others. The Justice Department guidelines for investigations affecting journalists don’t appear to address travel, bank or credit card records. Risen said the government never notified him that they were seeking his phone records. But he said he got an inkling in 2008 that investigators had collected some information about his calls.
“We heard from several people who had been forced to testify to the grand jury that prosecutors had shown them phone records between me and those people—not the content of calls but the records of calls,” he said. “As a result of what they told us, my lawyers filed a motion with the court as asking how the Justice Department got these phone records and whether or not they had gotten my phone records.”
“We wanted the court to help us decide whether they had abided by the attorney general’s guidelines,” Risen said. “We never got an answer from the court or the government.”
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________________________________________________________________________________ Ex-CIA spy arrested in St. Louis to be released on $10,000 bondBY TODD C. FRANKEL www.STLtoday.comTuesday, January 25, 2011
A former CIA agent from O'Fallon, Mo., recently indicted on charges of leaking government secrets was ordered released today on $10,000 bond by a federal judge in Virginia, despite prosecutors claiming the former agent must be detained to prevent more disclosures.
Jeffrey A. Sterling, 43, was arrested Jan. 6 in St. Louis on 10 counts, including obstruction of justice and unauthorized disclosure of national security information. He is accused of leaking classified documents and information about an agency program to a New York Times reporter. It is believed Sterling is accused of disclosing details of a ruse to thwart Iran's nuclear weapons program.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
At a hearing today in U.S. District Court in Virginia, where Sterling was extradited earlier this month, a judge ordered him released on the $10,000 bond. Sterling also must surrender travel documents and stay in the Washington, D.C., metro area.
READ MORE
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O'FALLON, MO. • The spy came in from the cold nearly a decade ago. He seemed to be adjusting well to his new life, a regular life, one lived out in the open.
Jeffrey A. Sterling no longer needed to tell people, including his mother in Cape Girardeau, he worked for the U.S. State Department when, in fact, he had been employed by the Central Intelligence Agency.
Sterling, now 43, settled down in what once might have served as ideal cover: a small, neat home in a subdivision of small, neat homes, all beige siding and perfect lawns in this fast-growing St. Louis suburb. He got married. He got a job as a health care fraud investigator. He spoke at conferences. He won awards for his work. He started using social media services like Twitter and Facebook, opening up in ways likely unimaginable in his previous work.
He shared his love for the L.A. Lakers and frustration with the St. Louis Cardinals. He liked cigars. He liked riding his bicycle. He was working on a science fiction screenplay.
It is a journey made by others who have left the CIA's clandestine service. And Sterling seemed to have found his place in a world free of cloaks and daggers.
But his journey was different. Sterling left the CIA alone, with nothing, after becoming the first black case officer to sue the CIA for racial discrimination. He started over in St. Louis. Now he's been charged with leaking classified secrets to a reporter.
And this has people sorting through the details of Sterling's life to try divining just who he is, as though he were a spy all over again.
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On Jan. 6, the workaday life Sterling built for himself after the CIA fell apart.
He was at work in downtown St. Louis, at the health insurer Wellpoint Inc., when federal agents arrested him. He was charged with 10 counts, including obstruction of justice and unauthorized disclosure of national security information.
Sterling's arrest shows how the government is moving with new urgency to block the flow of secrets to the public, said Steven Aftergood, an expert on government secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists. This is an "unprecedented" fifth prosecution during President Barack Obama's administration for unauthorized leaks of classified information, more than all previous administrations put together.
"He's in an unenviable position," Aftergood said.
Sterling has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was extradited to federal court in Virginia, home of the CIA. His lawyer is Edward MacMahon Jr., known for representing terrorism suspects such as Zacarias Moussaoui, convicted for his role in the Sept. 11 attacks.
MacMahon questioned why Sterling, who believed his CIA days were behind him, was being prosecuted now.
"If Sterling was such a dangerous person, how come they left him on the street for so long?" MacMahon said. "He's a good American. He's a loyal American. He never put a single person at risk."
The indictment leaves out some particulars, but it is clear prosecutors believe Sterling talked with New York Times reporter James Risen about a secret operation to thwart Iran's nuclear weapons program. Risen wrote about the plot in his 2006 book "State of War: The Secret History of the C.I.A. and the Bush Administration."
The secret operation went by the code name Merlin. It was a classic spy tale. And, as portrayed in Risen's book, a blunder.
A Russian nuclear scientist on the CIA payroll was supposed to pose as a greedy scientist offering the Iranians technical blueprints for a nuclear bomb. The CIA had poisoned the blueprints with a tiny flaw. The hope was the Iranians would spend years chasing a broken design, delaying their nuclear ambitions.
That's not how it went, according to Risen's book.
The Russian scientist spotted the flaw. The CIA agent handling him — and every indication from the indictment is that this was Sterling — had misgivings about pushing on. His superiors brushed off the concerns. And the scientist flew alone to Vienna, Austria, to deliver the plans to Iranian agents, slipping in a handwritten note alerting them to the ruse.
Risen wrote the CIA operation may have given the Iranians an unintended helping hand in going nuclear. But prosecutors say Sterling "falsely characterized" facts to make the mission appeared doomed.
Aftergood noted the Justice Department could have decided to not pursue the disclosure — it amounted to a single chapter in a 250-page book and not much else. "They could've said, 'Let's put it behind us,'" Aftergood said. "But instead they said, 'Let's go all in.'"
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Earlier this month, Sterling walked stiffly into the federal courtroom in St. Louis, hands and feet shackled, two U.S. marshals by his side. Sterling wore a bright orange hooded sweatshirt over orange prison garb, made all the more glaring by the sea of dark jackets surrounding him. He limped as he moved, evidence of recent knee surgery. He was guided to a leather chair, a seat that a marshal earlier had inspected for contraband by flipping it over, just as she had run her hands along the bottom lip of the conference table now in front of him.
Sterling sat next to his attorney. The two men talked a little as they waited for the judge. But Sterling was mostly silent. His handcuffs off, he laid his large hands flat on the dark wood table. He looked younger than his age, his athletic build filling the chair and his brown hair closely cropped. His face, bearing a handsome weariness, showed no emotion. Aside from his orange clothes, he looked like the lawyer he was.
He then let his head fall to his chest, as though lost in thought. He did not appear to glance over at the 40 people in the back of the courtroom — friends, family, media and curious court workers. His wife, Holly, sat in the front row, fighting back tears and holding to her lips a necklace with a ring on the end.
The hearing was brief and routine, a last stop before he was flown to Virginia. The case is expected to take many months, if not longer. Prosecutors have asked that Sterling not be released from prison. In court filings, they worry Sterling will turn to his old CIA tradecraft to disclose more classified government details.
It was like Sterling had never left that world of secrets and spies. His small, neat house in the suburbs had provided him with only the false cover of a new life.
"It can be a very lonely world in a covert environment," said a person familiar with the case who asked not to be named, "especially when you fall outside of it." . Click Here to Read More.
Hermann routs Montgomery Co 02/23 - Shelby Winkelmann had a game-high 31 points to lead Hermann to a 76-19 win over visiting Montgomery Co Wednesday. The Bearcats shot well from outside the 3-point arc, connecting on five of 11 shots. Also finishing in double figures for Hermann were Laura Rethemeyer (12), Ashley Brooks (11) and Corby Hackmann (10). Brandy Reagan led the way for Montgomery Co with 9 points. The leading rebounders for Hermann were Laura Rethemeyer (8) and Shelby Winkelmann (8). Hermann (20-5) will host Wright City on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Montgomery Co (6-13) will host Orchard Farm on Friday at 6 p.m.
Shelby Winkelmann scored 31 points, Wednesday, she is now in the #4 spot All-Time and 23 points shy of #3, with 1 more regular season game to go!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
1. Hannah Wilkerson, Miller High School, Class of 2010 – 3,724 career points
2. Melissa Grider, Marion C. Early High School, Class of 1991 – 3,211 career points
3. Kari Koch, Elsberry High School, Class of 2002 – 3,077 career points
4. Shelby Winkelmann , Class of 2011, Hermann High School - 3054
5. Lauren Dubbert, Madison High School, Class of 2005 – 3,038 career points
6. Joyce Arnsmeyer, Class of 1966, Southern Boone County – 3,036 career points
7.Lisa Ellis, Elsberry High School, Class of 1984 – 2,980 career points
Hermann beats Fatima 02/21 - Shelby Winkelmann scored 34 points to lead Hermann to a 89-71 victory over visiting Fatima Monday. Also finishing in double figures for Hermann was Laura Rethemeyer with 20 points. Allen led the way for Fatima with 35 points and Fick added 21. The leading rebounder for Hermann was Shelby Winkelmann (10). Hermann (19-5) will host Montgomery Co on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Fatima (2-2) plays at home against Southern Boone on Monday, February 28 at 8:30 p.m.
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February 25, 2011
Missouri Governor, Jay Nixon was in town Thursday visiting Hermann High School. In appreciation the school and students named him an Honorary Bearcat.
The Governor had some very nice comments concerning facts about Hermann High School (See Video Below).
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WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - U.S. consumers could see
food costs spiking to levels seen during the food crisis of
2008 as higher commodity and energy prices force companies to
raise prices on products lining grocery store shelves, the
Agriculture Department said on Thursday.
Food prices are forecast to rise a sharp 3.5 percent this
year -- nearly double the overall inflation rate. The lion's
share of the increase is expected in the second half of 2011
when the recent uptick for commodities, such as corn and
soybeans, makes its way through the food system. Just last
month, USDA forecast an increase of 2.5 percent in 2011.
Food prices soared to 4 percent in 2007 and rose to 5.5
percent a year later -- the biggest increase since 1990 -- as
stockpiles ran low around the world.
Volatile agriculture and energy prices could help food
prices challenge those levels in 2011, said USDA economist
Ephraim Leibtag at the department's annual Outlook Forum.
"Given that it's still earlier in the year, I'm prone to
be conservative on the side of the forecast," said Leibtag.
"It's a possibility. I wouldn't be shocked but I'm not
predicting it now."
FOOD INFLATION COULD LEAD TO RIOTS
Global food inflation, the result of growing demand for
food and tight commodity supplies following catastrophic storms
and droughts in leading agriculture producers such as Russia
and Australia, is a growing worry for world leaders.
World Bank chief Robert Zoellick said last week global
food prices have reached "dangerous levels," and warned they
could complicate fragile political and social conditions in the
Middle East and Central Asia.
It would be a stark similarity to 2008 when soaring food
prices sparked food riots and led to political instability in
some parts of the world, including Haiti and Egypt.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the United States
and other global producers are "better prepared to respond" to
rising food prices after the run-up in 2007 and 2008. "We're
keeping an eye on this," he said.
In its new forecast, USDA said food will rise party due to
higher costs for meats, poultry and fish, which make up 12.5
percent of total food spending. Overall, costs for these items
are forecast to rise 4 percent compared with 3 percent forecast
last month.
Prices for fruits and vegetables, which account for 8.4
percent of food spending, also will rise 3.5 percent, an
increase from 3 percent forecast in January. Cereals and bakery
products were increased to up 4 percent from 2.5 percent, and
sugar and sweets up 3 percent from 2.5 percent.
Despite the recent pullback for some commodities such as
wheat, soybeans and corn remain near a 2-1/2 year high. Oil
surged to 2-1/2 year highs near $120 a barrel on Thursday as
the revolt in Libya choked exports but prices later eased as
Saudi Arabia assured European refiners it could fill any supply
shortfalls. [O/R]
Energy is used for everything from producing, transporting
and making packaging for food.
RETAILERS FACE HIGHER INPUT COSTS
Big companies have had to adjust to higher raw material
costs. Kellogg Co (K.N), the world's largest breakfast cereal
company, and consumer goods giant Unilever (ULVR.L) (UNc.AS)
have boosted prices on many of their products to offset rising
costs for ingredients such as grains and sugar.
Grocers are doing what they can to keep prices low, as
they do not want to turn off shoppers already feeling pressure
from higher gasoline costs and the generally bleak economy.
Leibtag said the willingness of retailers to absorb price
increases and not pass all of them onto consumers is, for now,
helping keep prices below their 2007 and 2008 levels.
