NY Worker Accused of Stealing Artifacts

A long-time state archivist was accused on Monday of stealing hundreds of historic artifacts and documents from the New York State Library, including two Davy Crockett Almanacs, and selling some on eBay.

Daniel Lorello, 54, an archives and records management specialist in the state Education Department since 1979, was arraigned Monday on charges of grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and scheme to defraud.

He was released on his own recognizance and placed on administrative leave from his $71,732-a-year job with the department, which runs the state library. Lorello made no comment as he left court and a message left on his answering …

City Has To Grab The Opportunities Now

Richard Davis, senior relationship manager of Lloyds TSB,Plymouth, addresses the state of the city at the end of 2002 PLYMOUTHis a city whose time has come but only if we grab the opportunitiesnow available to us.

Lets get the bad news out of the way first. It's been reallydisappointing to see such quality employers in the manufacturingsector such as Stafford Miller, Acheson Colloids and Paper Convertingdeciding to close their Plymouth operations while others are slimmingdown.

Although the news that a medical company from Surrey is relocatingto the old JDS Uniphase building creating some 100 jobs is verywelcome, realistically there are unlikely to be as many …

"Lenten gifts"

The writer, from Winnipeg, dedicates this poem to Doreen Snyder of Waterloo, Ontario, who died on the first Sunday of Lent, March 1. Leona said she was working on the last part of the poem when she heard of Doreen's death. "I will miss sharing grandmothering with her," commented Leona, whose son is married to Doreen's daughter.

I

except for three wise men bringing gifts of gold myrrh and frankincense (strange gifts for an infant child) he tended to be the giver not the receiver

always, people pressing and pushing and shoving around him with outstretched hands reaching and touching and wanting so much: bread and fish and water turned into wine and healing and wisdom …

EU pushes for bloc-wide kidnap alert

A European Union official called on justice ministers of the 27 member nations Tuesday to agree on plans for a bloc-wide early warning system to report missing children.

Under the EU alert network plan drafted last year, based on the U.S. "Amber Alert" system, policing authorities would work to make their national networks more compatible to improve cross-border searches.

Police and justice officials could use a hot line system to raise a public alarm when a child is believed to have been taken to another country in the bloc. Television, radio and highway signs can be used to announce names or show pictures of missing children.

The only …

Verizon says iPhone challenger goes on sale Nov. 6

Verizon Wireless will start selling its answer to the iPhone _ the Droid _ for $200 next week as the company taps into the growing appetite for smart phones that go far beyond making calls.

The Droid could help Verizon retain its status as the nation's largest wireless carrier and contribute to a turnaround of its manufacturer, Motorola Inc., which hasn't produced a hit since the wildly popular Razr phone in 2005.

The new device also could give a boost to Google Inc., which used the Droid to unveil new mapping software that could challenge standalone navigational devices, sending GPS gadget maker Garmin Ltd.'s stock plunging.

Verizon revealed …

Overhauled Indians remain optimistic

The Cleveland Indians have undergone a huge turnover in the lasttwo years.

That might be good or it might be bad, depending on whether thenew faces and personalities mesh.

"If your premise is to try to have a championship-caliber clubevery year, you'd like to have some stability," general manager JohnHart said. "It's important. I like it. But I can't demand that theplayers all stay here."Manager Mike Hargrove said comparing the 1996 team, withdeparted stars Albert Belle and Kenny Lofton, to the 1997 team is"like comparing apples and oranges. The personality of this team isdefinitely a lot better than last year's."This one is a much more media-friendly team. …

Latest developments in Arab world's unrest

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SYRIA

Syria sends troop reinforcements to two Damascus suburbs that have witnessed anti-government protests as authorities round up dozens in the capital. Activists expect protests to escalate during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins next week. The moves by security forces appear to be an attempt to prevent wide-scale demonstrations when Muslims being the month of fasting from dawn to dusk.

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LIBYA

The part of Libya under Moammar Gadhafi's control is wracked by shortages in fuel, food and cash despite a veneer of normalcy, according to a U.N. fact-finding mission. The United Nations says its weeklong mission to the country identified a lack …

Israel to US: No building halt in east Jerusalem

Aides to Israel's prime minister said Thursday that he has officially rejected President Barack Obama's demand to suspend all construction in contested east Jerusalem, a move that threatens to entrench a year-old deadlock in Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.

The aides said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered his government's position to Obama over the weekend, ahead of the scheduled arrival later Thursday of the U.S. president's special Mideast envoy, George Mitchell. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the contact between the two leaders was private.

Washington had put Mitchell's shuttle diplomacy on hold for more than a month as it …

Advance Life keeps plugging in the lab; Hopes the money holds out while it works on a multitude of drugs, including a new antibiotic

Michael Moore's "Sicko" alleges that pharmaceutical companies aregouging America. Maybe some of them are.

But consider the gamble being made by small biotech developmentcompanies that are enduring years of steady losses until the momentthat -- perhaps -- they can perfect the magic pill or potion thatbecomes the next penicillin. The fact is that these companies andtheir shareholders -- not the giant pharmas -- are the folks takingmost of the risk on today's front lines of medicine.

To show you how much is wagered by fledgling labs and howsignificantly they're contributing to fighting disease, look atAdvanced Life Sciences in suburban Woodridge (Nasdaq: ADLS). …

FIFA chief says clubs will never overshadow national teams

Money-spinning soccer clubs, especially in Europe, are unlikely to sound the death knell for national teams, the head of the sport's world body said Tuesday.

FIA president Sepp Blatter told reporters there is a growing movement to stop the "overwhelming presence of non-national players" in different leagues and clubs, which would ensure that national teams remain a viable force.

"I cannot see that the national team will disappear in favor of club," said Blatter, who is in Kuala Lumpur to attend a women's soccer meeting organized by the Asian Football Confederation.

Blatter's comments are the latest salvo in his continuing tiff …

Boettcher, Wilfried

Boettcher, Wilfried, German cellist and conductor; b. Bremen, Aug. 11, 1929; d. Uzes-Saint Siffret, France, Aug. 22, 1994. He studied cello with Arthur Troester at the Hamburg Hochschule für Musik (diploma, 1955) and with Fournier in Paris (1955–56). He was first cellist in the Bremen Radio Orch. (1948–50) and in the Hannover Opera orch. (1956–58). From 1958 to 1965 he was a prof, of cello at the Vienna Academy of Music. In 1959 he founded Die Wiener Solisten, which he conducted until …

Body of 11-Month-Old Found in N.C. Attic

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - The body of an 11-month-old girl reported missing after her soldier father returned from a deployment in Iraq was found in the attic of her home, authorities said.

Harmony Jude Creech apparently had been dead for weeks, Harnett County Sheriff Larry Rollins said late Saturday night. Rollins said the child's mother, Johni Michelle Heuser, told investigators she had found the baby dead in its crib and put the body in the attic of her home.

Neighbors said they had been bothered by a foul smell for several weeks and that the smell only subsided recently when overnight temperatures dropped. Several neighbors said they had searched their yards for dead animals because of the smell.

Harmony's father, Ronald Earl Creech II, returned from a 15-month deployment in Iraq on Friday hoping to see his daughter. Harmony was born while he was overseas, police said.

Creech is assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, which is based at Fort Bragg.

Rollins said Creech was picked up at Pope Air Force Base on Friday by his mother and driven to his daughter's home near Spring Lake. They awakened the baby's mother and found the baby missing.

An Amber Alert was issued after the baby was reported missing.

Rollins said investigators were still interviewing Heuser, and the investigation continues.

An autopsy will be performed on the child's body to determined how she died, police said.

Spanish League Glance

A glance at the 20 clubs ahead of the new Spanish season, which begins Aug. 30:

ALMERIA

Founded: 1989

Colors: red and white

Stadium: Estadio Juegos Mediterraneos (capacity 22,000)

Coach: Gonzalo Arconada (first season)

Honors: none

Last season: 8th

Key acquisitions: Hernan Pellerano (Velez), Esteban Solari (Pumas), Pablo Piatti (Estudiantes), Michel (Flamengo)

Significant departures: Felipe Melo (Fiorentina)

Prospects: New coach faces tough task to repeat last season's surprise placing.

ATHLETIC BILBAO

Founded: 1898

Colors: red, white and black

Stadium: San Mames (capacity 40,000)

Coach: Joaquin Caparros (second season)

Honors: 8 leagues, 23 cups

Last season: 11th

Key acquisitions: Inigo Velez (Murcia)

Significant departures: Daniel Aranzubia (Deportivo La Coruna), Luis Prieto (Valladolid)

Prospects: Caparros' drive will again keep team out of relegation dogfight.

ATLETICO MADRID

Founded: 1903

Colors: red, white and blue

Stadium: Vicente Calderon (capacity 54,851)

Coach: Javier Aguirre (third season)

Honors: 9 leagues, 9 cups, 1 Cup Winners' Cup, 1 World Club Championship

Last season: 4th

Key acquisitions: Paulo Assuncao (FC Porto), Gregory Coupet (Lyon), Florent Sinama-Pongolle (Recreativo Huelva), John Heitinga (Ajax), Tomas Ujfalusi (Fiorentina)

Significant departures: Ze Castro and Miguel Angel "Mista" Ferrer (both Deportivo La Coruna), Jose Antonio Reyes (Benfica), Braulio Nobrega (Zaragoza)

Prospects: Another top-four finish within reach.

FC BARCELONA

Founded: 1899

Colors: navy and crimson

Stadium: Camp Nou (capacity 98,772)

Coach: Pep Guardiola (first season)

Last season: 3rd

Honors: 18 leagues, 24 cups, European champion 2 times, 4 Cup Winners' Cups, 3 Inter City Fairs Cups, 2 European Supercups

Key acquisitions: Alexander Hleb (Arsenal), Seydou Keita and Dani Alves (Sevilla), Martin Caceres (Recreativo Huelva), Gerard Pique (Manchester United), Henrique (Sao Paulo)

Significant departures: Ronaldinho and Gianluca Zambrotta (AC Milan), Deco (Chelsea), Edmilson (Villarreal), Giovani Dos Santos (Tottenham), Santiago Ezquerro (Osasuna), Oleguer Presas (Ajax), Lilian Thuram (retired)

Prospects: A good start under inexperienced Guardiola could lead to a return to honours.

DEPORTIVO LA CORUNA

Founded: 1906

Colors: blue and white

Stadium: Riazor (capacity 34,600)

Coach: Miguel Angel Lotina (second season)

Honors: 1 league, 2 cups

Last season: 9th

Key acquisitions: Daniel Aranzubia (Athletic Bilbao), Ze Castro and Miguel Angel "Mista" Ferrer (both Atletico Madrid), Omar Bravo (Chivas),

Significant departures: Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle)

Prospects: Encouraging prospects after brilliant second half of last season.

ESPANYOL

Founded: 1900

Colors: blue and white

Stadium: Lluis Companys Olympic (capacity 56,000)

Coach: Bartolome "Tintin" Marquez (first season)

Honors: 4 cups

Last season: 12th

Key acquisitions: Roman Martinez (Arsenal Sarandi), Cristian Alvarez (Rosario), Gregory Beranger (Numancia)

Significant departures: Clemente Rodriguez (Spartak Moscow), Fredson Camara (Goias)

Prospects: Another respectable placing likely.

GETAFE

Founded: 1946

Color: blue

Stadium: Alfonso Perez Coliseum (capacity 17,000)

Coach: Victor Munoz (first season)

Honors: none

Last season: 14th

Key acquisitions: Esteban Granero and Roberto Soldado (both Real Madrid), Jaime Gavilan (Valencia), Joffre Guerron (Universidad de Quito), Ibrahim Kas (Besiktas), Eugen Polanski (Borussia Moenchengladbach)

Significant departures: Pablo Redondo (Gimnastic Tarragona), Luis Garcia (Tenerife)

Prospects: Midtable.

MALAGA

Founded: 1994

Colors: blue and white

Stadium: La Rosaleda (capacity 22,800)

Coach: Antonio Tapia (first season)

Honors: none

Last season: Promoted

Key acquisitions: Miguel Angel Lozano and Fernando Fernandez (both Real Betis), Welington (Grasshoppers), Iban Cuadrado (Murcia)

Significant departures: Paulo Jorge (Benfica), Antonio Hidalgo (Zaragoza)

Prospects: Little cause for confidence.

MALLORCA

Founded: 1916

Colors: red and black

Stadium: Son Moix (capacity 23,142)

Coach: Gregorio Manzano (fourth season)

Honors: 1 cup

Last season: 7th

Key acquisitions: Jose Luis Marti (Sevilla), Josemi Gonzalez (Villarreal), Alhassane Keita (Al Ittihad), Ayoze Diaz (Racing Santander), Enrique Corrales (Osasuna)

Significant departures: Dani Guiza (Fenerbahce), Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle), Ariel Ibagaza (Villarreal), Fernando Navarro (Sevilla), Angelos Basinas (AEK Athens)

Prospects: Lack of firepower may prevent repeat of last season's eyecatching form.

NUMANCIA

Founded: 1945

Colors: red and blue

Stadium: Los Pajaritos (capacity 9,700)

Coach: Sergio Kresic (first season)

Honors: none

Last season: promoted

Key acquisitions: Alberto Montejo (Zaragoza), Alvaro Anton (Valladolid), Antonio Guayre (Celta Vigo)

Significant departures: Gregory Beranger (Espanyol)

Prospects: In danger of swift return to second division.

OSASUNA

Founded: 1920

Colors: red and black

Stadium: Reyno de Navarra (capacity 19,800)

Coach: Jose Angel Ziganda (third season)

Honors: none

Last season: 17th

Key acquisitions: Santiago Ezquerro (Barcelona), Masoud Shojaei (Al Sharjah), Tiago Gomes (Benfica), Roversio Rodrigues (Pacos Ferreira), Krisztian Vadocz (NEC Nijmegen)

Significant departures: Enrique Corrales (Mallorca), Rodolofo Arruabarrena (Legia Warsaw)

Prospects: Survival is again principal aim.

RACING SANTANDER

Founded: 1913

Colors: white and green

Stadium: El Sardinero (capacity 22,251)

Coach: Juan Ramon Muniz (first season)

Honors: none

Last season: 6th

Key acquisitions: Laszlo Sepsi (Benfica), Vitorino Antunes (AS Roma), Ze Antonio (Borussia Moenchengladbach)

Significant departures: Aldo Duscher (Sevilla)

Prospects: Unlikely to reproduce best-ever season last time round.

REAL BETIS

Founded: 1907

Colors: green and white

Stadium: Manuel Ruiz de Lopera (capacity 55,500)

Coach: Paco Chaparro (second season)

Honors: 1 league, 2 cups

Last season: 13th

Key acquisitions: Mehmet Aurelio (Fenerbahce), Achille Emana (Toulouse)

Significant departures: Toni Doblas (Villarreal), Francisco Maldonado (Sporting Gijon), Miguel Angel Lozano and Fernando Fernandez (both Malaga)

Prospects: Lower half of the standings again.

REAL MADRID

Founded: 1902

Color: white

Stadium: Santiago Bernabeu (capacity 80,000)

Coach: Bernd Schuster (second season)

Honors: 31 leagues, 17 cups, European champion 9 times, 2 UEFA Cups, 3 World Club Championships, 1 European Supercup

Last season: 1st

Key acquisitions: Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburg)

Significant departures: Julio Baptista (AS Roma), Esteban Granero and Roberto Soldado (both Getafe), Javier Balboa (Benfica)

Prospects: Favorite for a third straight title.

RECREATIVO HUELVA

Founded: 1899

Colors: blue and white

Stadium: Nuevo Colombino (capacity 19,860)

Coach: Manolo Zambrano (first season)

Honors: none

Last season: 16th

Key acquisitions: Andres Lamas (Montevideo), Nasief Morris (Panathinaikos), Sebastian Nayar (Boca Juniors)

Significant departures: Florent Sinama-Pongolle (Atletico Madrid), Carlos Martins (Benfica), Pampa Calvo (Boca Juniors), Stefano Sorrentino (Cagliari), Gerard Lopez (PAOK Salonika)

Prospects: Another struggle ahead.

SEVILLA

Founded: 1905

Color: white

Stadium: Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan (capacity 45,500)

Coach: Manolo Jimenez (second season)

Honors: 1 league, 4 cups, 2 UEFA Cups, 1 European Supercup

Last season: 5th

Key acquisitions: Fernando Navarro (Mallorca), Abdoulay Konko (Genoa), Lautaro Acosta (Lanus), Koffi Ndri Romaric (Le Mans), Sebastien Squillaci (Lyon), Aldo Duscher (Racing Santander)

Significant departures: Daniel Alves and Seydou Keita (Barcelona), Morgan De Sanctis (Galatasaray), Christian Poulsen (Juventus), Jose Luis Marti (Mallorca)

Prospects: Another top-five finish if replacements for transferred players gel.

SPORTING GIJON

Founded: 1905

Colors: red, white and blue

Stadium: El Molinon (capacity 25,885)

Coach: Manuel Preciado (third season)

Honors: None.

Last season: Promoted

Key acquisitions: Francisco Maldonado (Real Betis), Juergen "Colin" Romero (Ajax)

Significant departures:

Prospects: Back in top flight but probably not for long.

VALENCIA

Founded: 1919

Colors: white and black

Stadium: Mestalla (capacity 55,000)

Coach: Unai Emery (first season)

Honors: 6 leagues, 7 cups, 1 UEFA Cup, 1 Cup Winners' Cup, 2 Inter City Fairs Cups, 2 European Supercups

Last season: 10th

Key acquisitions: Renan Brito (Internacional de Portoalegre)

Significant departures: Jaime Gavilan (Getafe), Marco Caneira (Sporting Lisbon), Javier Arizmendi (Zaragoza), Santiago Canizares (retired)

Prospects: Boardroom strife and financial woes may again hit aspirations.

VALLADOLID

Founded: 1928

Colors: violet and white

Stadium: Municipal Jose Zorrilla (capacity 27,000)

Coach: Jose Luis Mendilibar (third season)

Honors: 1 league cup

Last season: 15th

Key acquisitions: Marcos Aguirre (Lanus), Justo Villar (Newell's Old Boys)

Significant departures: Joseba Llorente (Villarreal),

Prospects: Relegation possibles.

VILLARREAL

Founded: 1923

Color: yellow

Stadium: El Madrigal (capacity 23,000)

Coach: Manuel Pellegrini (fifth season)

Honors: none

Last season: 2nd

Key acquisitions: Ariel Ibagaza (Mallorca), Josy Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Edmilson (Barcelona), Joseba Llorente (Valladolid), Robert Flores (River Plate Uruguay)

Significant departures: Martin Caceres (Barcelona), Josemi Gonzalez (Mallorca), Leandro Somoza (Velez Sarsfield), Jon Dahl Tomasson (Feyenoord), Rio Mavuba (Lille)

Prospects: Top four if it avoids Champions League distractions.

Sirius says it now complies with Nasdaq rules

Satellite radio provider Sirius XM Radio Inc. said Monday it's been notified it now complies with the Nasdaq's independent director and audit committee requirements.

Sirius had been notified by the Nasdaq on July 9 that it didn't comply with the requirements in order to stay listed after one of its independent directors resigned.

Now, after the resignation of Gary Parsons as chairman and director, independent directors under the Nasdaq rules now constitute a majority of the company's board, Sirius said.

Parsons founded XM Satellite Radio and was its chairman before the company's merger with Sirius.

Shares fell 1 cents, or 2 percent, to about 66 cents in midday trading.

It's so hot, you just. . . [gotta try it ]: Youth is served by special Ritz-Carlton concierge

When you're a visitor in town, there's nothing like having a well-informed local to clue you into the city's cool sights. Kids andteenagers staying at the swank Ritz-Carlton Chicago Hotel throughLabor Day find an instant expert in Danielle Bidus, a kid/teenconcierge who shares tips on finding the Windy City's kid-friendliest shops, eateries and attractions.

The Ritz first filled the kid/teen concierge position last summer(other Four Seasons-owned properties in Atlanta, New York,Philadelphia, London and Toronto also have them). So from 10 a.m. to6:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Bidus takes her post alongsidethe hotel's regular concierge on the 12th floor, answering questionsfrom guests who walk up to her desk and those who text her cell phonefrom outside.

During check-in, if parents aren't "too overwhelmed with theirkids, I go up to them and introduce myself," says Bidus, a 20-year-old junior studying photography at Loyola University. Youngsters geta copy of her weekly Kid & Teen Concierge newsletter and Bidus'personalized business card with her e-mail and cell phone number (sothey can call while out sightseeing). From her post, she can hookthem up with everything from restaurant reservations to beach bagsfor visits to nearby Oak Street.

The typical questions?

"Usually, they ask what kinds of restaurants are kid-friendly,"she says.

Ask Bidus for neat dining spots, and she won't toss out the usualsuspects like the Cheesecake Factory and Gino's East. She mentionsRL, the upscale restaurant located in Ralph Lauren's North MichiganAvenue flagship space. "They don't have a kid menu," she says, "butthey'll do macaroni and cheese."

Bidus also is big on Kamehachi, a Japanese restaurant and sushibar at 240 E. Ontario. "The atmosphere's awesome," says Bidus, whothinks this Streeterville location is cool for teens. "They canexperiment with sushi but it's not too expensive."

Shopping's also an iffy topic for some guests. Perhaps "theirdaughter is 14 and wants to know what places are cool for her age.With teens, some come up to me but usually [it's] their parents.Sometimes they're like, 'I'm too cool.'" She often steers them tonearby H&M, Guess?, Express and the Gap.

Concierges at fine hotels are used to answering questions not justfrom their own guests but from travelers staying at other properties -- and from locals who value their judgment. Bidus says it happens"quite a bit. There are people who come in for dinner or have stayedat other Four Seasons and come over to see what I'm about," she says,realizing her job is still a novelty within the hotel industry. It'spart of "Four Seasons 411," a company-wide program that targetstraveling families with kids.

Although she's officially out of her teens, Bidus uses her 9-year-old nephew as a filter for what's cool with kids. And she does herown research during her off-days, "just going [out] with friends, orI'll go to a restaurant because I know it might be kid-friendly and Imight want to recommend it. I really like when I can help people andthey're happy."

Ritz-Carlton Chicago, 160 E. Pearson. Call (312) 266-1000.

UN envoy says Congo rebels want to join army

The leader of a rebellion in eastern Congo wants to merge his troops into the government army as part of a peace deal that would include protections for the African nation's ethnic minorities, a U.N. envoy said Monday.

The mediator, former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, said rebel commander Laurent Nkunda wants to meet with the government side to discuss political, economic and security issues. The envoy said previously that Congolese President Joseph Kabila "is not adverse to such a dialogue."

Talking with reporters after briefing U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Obasanjo said he does not consider Nkunda's demands "outrageous" and expressed confidence that the rebels and government can sit down to resolve their differences.

Years of sporadic violence in eastern Congo intensified in August and Nkunda's fighters have won control of large areas in fighting that has uprooted more than 250,000 people. The rebels have set up their own local administrations and collect taxes on goods moving through their territory.

Nkunda's critics say he is only interested in expanding his power and profiting from Congo's mineral wealth. Nkunda, a former general who quit Congo's army in 2004 to launch the rebellion, contends he is only trying to protect the region's ethnic Tutsis from Hutu militias that fled to Congo after Rwanda's 1994 genocide that killed more than 500,000 people, most of them Tutsis.

Obasanjo said that is the case Nkunda made in expressing interest in a peace deal with Congo's government, saying he wants to make sure minority groups are protected and secure.

"He asked for integration of his soldiers with the national army, and integration of those responsible for administration in the areas he occupied with the administrative cadre of the government," Obasanjo said.

"He will want some form of a guarantee to ensure that those from inside who are integrated are safe and secure. He also talks about good governance and a professional army, well-trained, well-equipped and well-disciplined."

Congo's army is a ragtag, poorly paid collection of the defeated army of ousted dictator Mobutu Sese Seko and several of the rebel groups that helped overthrow him, including Kabila's fighters.

Obasanjo said he asked Nkunda what he personally wants. "He said if his requests are met, he would only want to remain a career soldier."

"I don't see anything wrong with him wanting to be integrated into his national army," Obasanjo added.

Global Fund, China agree to cut $95m from grants

BEIJING (AP) — A global health fund and China have agreed to cut $95 million from grants for disease-fighting programs in the country amid donor pressure to prevent misuse of money and reduce aid given to the world's second-largest economy.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria's spokesman in Geneva Jon Liden said Monday that during recent discussions, China moved to take over most training expenses and other costs that allowed the saving of about $95 million from unpaid grants.

The cut makes up nearly a third of the $270 million in grants that had been in the pipeline for China.

The move also comes as the Fund has come under scrutiny from donors after disclosing alleged fraud in its grants in some other countries.

Who Moved My Cheese?

Who Moved My Cheese?

By Spencer Johnson, M.D.

(Putnam, New York, 1998) 94 pages, hardbound $19.95

Foreword by Kenneth Blanchard, Ph.D.

Reviewed by LTC John Lesko, U.S. Army Reserve, a Decision Coach and Group Facilitator with Anteon Corp. He provides collaborative decision-support services to the U.S. Air Force acquisition community. Lesko is also a member of the Army Acquisition Corps and a frequent contributor to Army AL&T. Contact him at John.Lesko@saftas.com.

The national business bestseller Who Moved My Cheese? is a simple parable that reveals profound truths about change. This amusing and enlightening story concerns four characters living in a maze and looking for cheese to nourish and make themselves happy.

Two of the characters are mice named Sniff and Scurry. The others are "little people" the size of mice who look and act a lot like people. Their names are Hem and Haw. "Cheese" is a metaphor for what you want to have in life, whether it is a good job, a loving relationship, money, a possession, health, or spiritual peace of mind. The maze is where you look for what you want: the organization you work for, the family you live with, or the community you live in. In the story, the characters face unexpected change. Eventually, one of them deals with it successfully and writes what he has learned from his experience on the maze walls.

In the foreword, Kenneth Blanchard reveals the entire plot and describes "the story behind the story" well before the author tells the tale. It is unusual for those who write a foreword to steal such content from the principal author. However, it is Blanchard who first explains how some people act like Sniff-sniffing out change early and following their nose. Others react like Scurry, who scurries quickly into action trying new paths to find new cheese. Others may deny the situation and resist change like Hem, who fears that change will lead to worse things. Finally, the story's hero, Haw, offers comic relief and serves as the narrator of this tale. He learns to adapt, overcome his fears, and act to find new cheese.

Johnson, however, tells the story like no other storyteller. He fully develops each pint-sized character. Readers learn about emotions, habits, and fears, then discover the "handwriting on the wall" as Haw scratches out guidance for his friends in the form of business axioms, observations, or guideposts to steer Hem (and the reader) to a better future. Johnson's storytelling technique is masterful, leading readers to examine their motives, strengths, and weaknesses along the way. Dr. Johnson prescribes a remedy that also helps Haw, the story's least proactive character.

So why should a member of the acquisition community purchase or borrow this very short book written about two rodents and two cartoon-like characters? Philosophically speaking, one can call on the poet Robert Burns who said, "The best laid schemes o'mice and men/Gang aft a-gley." Such sage advice has universal appeal and application. But more substantive reasons come from the significance of this story to any company's business situation in today's stress-filled environment.

Clients within the acquisition community include all stakeholders who might affect a program's outcome. Warfighters, maintainers, suppliers, commercial partners, Congress, Defense executives, etc.; any may decide to move your cheese. Those in a program office must be ready to adapt to new challenges and opportunities. As technology advances, acquisition professionals must keep their skills current. They must be willing to insert new technology into existing systems. They must remain mentally sharp and maintain positive attitudes toward accepting and dealing with inevitable change.

Successful programs bring new capabilities and will transform the Army. Therefore, today's acquisition professional should think of the skills needed both in adapting to change and in serving as a change agent.

Some say that Who Moved My Cheese? is Johnson's best work to date. This is high praise, given that Johnson and Blanchard are coauthors of The One Minute Manager, the book that gave American business "management by walking around" and related techniques for building high-performance teams. This book is a practical guide for just about anyone who wants to succeed in a changing world.

Elvis is gone, but Barnum lives on

No, I didn't watch it last night; and, no, I don't want to hearabout it. Please.

I have a closed mind on the subject. Elvis is dead. Those bluesuede shoes are as empty as Al Capone's vault.

But there is accumulating evidence, it seems to me, that P.T.Barnum - who supposedly died just 100 years ago last month - maystill be alive.

There are reports he might have been sighted more than oncelately in the neighborhood of the executive suites at WGN-Channel 9.

You remember Barnum. Got his start by buying a slave womanalleged to be (at the time) 161 years old and to have been GeorgeWashington's nurse.

It was a hoax, of course, sort of like Geraldo Rivera's infamousgig opening the Capone vault on Channel 9 a while back.

Didn't stop Barnum, though, any more than truckloads of derisionhave stopped Geraldo, still a regular on Channel 9.

Old P.T. moved on to open a museum and shamelessly exploit thelikes of midget Tom Thumb and Chang and Eng, a pair of Siamese twins.Made a ton of money. Even made it to Buckingham Palace, where TomThumb danced and did his imitation of Napoleon for Queen Victoria.Barnum's grandest triumph, of course, was the Barnum & Bailey Circus,"The Greatest Show on Earth."

But surely his most valuable and enduring contribution toAmerican civilization was his observation (also obviously his rulingprinciple) that "there's a sucker born every minute."

Dead (or alive) right, you were (or are), P.T. And no one aroundhere seems to have a better grip on that bit of wisdom than theprogramming Barnums at Channel 9, who probably counted on having atleast several minutes' worth of those suckers tuned in last night fortwo hours' worth of "The Elvis Files."

Every time I turned on a ballgame for the last week, there wasthis guy Bill Bixby (an actor who appeared in a couple of movies withthe late - yes, the late - Elvis Presley), promoting what was beingadvertised as an examination of the evidence that Elvis might yet beextant and among us.

Bixby was saying, over and over, that he used to think Elvisdied in 1977, but that, after studying the "files" to be discussed onthe show, he now has doubts and so had agreed to host the show.

Anyway, I looked up a story from last Sunday's paper, by PeterFarrell of Newhouse News Service, and found that the show's promoterswere promising "startling new facts" along with "previously sealedFBI documents," etc., on whatever-happened-to-Elvis. "All live fromLas Vegas." Of course. Where else?

They were also allowing time for viewers to call in questionsor, of course, report any last-minute sightings of Elvis. For asmall 900-number fee, of course.

Well, I have not sighted Elvis since the funeral. But I do havesome questions. Such as: Why would the programming chiefs at Channel9 go for this kind of moronic, exploitative slush? Aren't theyembarassed?

And do they really regard their audience as the kind of peoplewho might think Elvis is actually still here? I'm disappointed. (Aseven former boxing champ Muhammad Ali shrewdly observes on camera,according to Farrell's story, Elvis never came around much after1977.)

If they think it's not Elvis in that coffin, who is it? And whydidn't the producers or Channel 9 just buy a shovel and check?What? Spoil a chance to trim the suckers - again? Are you kidding?Tell 'em, P.T.

Raymond R. Coffey is the editor of the Chicago Sun-Timeseditorial pages.

Aide: India's home minister offers resignation

With corpses still being pulled from a once-besieged hotel, India's top security official offered his resignation Sunday as the government struggled under growing accusations of security failures following terror attacks that killed 174 people.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil submitted his resignation letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh but has not received a response, aide R.K. Kumar said. The prime minister's office had no immediate comment.

Patil has become highly unpopular during a long series of terror attacks.

"Our Politicians Fiddle as Innocents Die," read a headline Sunday in the Times of India newspaper, part of a growing chorus of criticism.

A day after the siege ended, authorities were still removing victims bodies from the ritzy Taj Mahal hotel, where three suspected Muslim militants made a last stand before Indian commandos killed them in a blaze of gunfire and explosions.

On Sunday, the landmark waterfront hotel, popular among foreign tourists and Indian high society, was surrounded by metal barricades, its shattered windows boarded over. At the iconic Gateway of India basalt arch nearby, a shrine of candles, flowers and messages commemorated victims.

"We have been to two funerals already," Mumbai resident Karin Dutta said as she placed a small bouquet of white flowers for several friends killed in the hotel. "We're going to another one now."

The rampage was carried out by gunmen at 10 sites across Mumbai starting Wednesday night. At least 239 were wounded.

One site, the Cafe Leopold, a famous tourist restaurant and the scene of one of the first attacks, opened Sunday for the first time since the mayhem _ but police asked it to close just minutes later because they said the eatery needed permission first.

Mirrors, doors and paneling were riddled with bullet holes from the assault that killed seven people there.

"I want them (the attackers) to feel we have won, they have lost," restaurant manager Farzad Jehani said of the symbolic opening. "We're back in action."

The death toll was revised down Sunday from 195 after authorities said some bodies were counted twice, but they said it could rise again as areas of the Taj Mahal were still being searched. Among the dead were 18 foreigners, including six Americans. Nine gunmen were killed.

The dead also included Germans, Canadians, Israelis and nationals from Britain, Italy, Japan, China, Thailand, Australia and Singapore.

A previously unknown Muslim group called Deccan Mujahideen _ a name suggesting origins inside India _ has claimed responsibility for the attacks that killed more than 170 people. But Indian officials said the sole surviving gunman, now in custody, was from Pakistan and voiced suspicions of their neighbor.

Pakistan denied it was involved and demanded evidence.

The assaults have raised fears among U.S. officials about a possible surge in violence between Pakistan and India. The nuclear-armed rivals have fought three wars against each other, two over the disputed region of Kashmir.

Prime Minister Singh called a rare meeting of leaders from the country's main political parties to discuss the situation Sunday.

As officials pointed the finger at "elements in Pakistan," public ire over the government's actions widened.

"People are worried, but the key difference is anger," said Rajesh Jain, chief executive officer at a brokerage firm, Pranav Securities. "Does the government have the will, the ability to tackle the dangers we face?"

Each new detail about the attackers raised more questions about training and preparations of the gunmen, who used sophisticated weapons as well as GPS technology and mobile and satellite phones to communicate.

"Whenever they were under a little bit of pressure they would hurl a grenade. They freely used grenades," said J.K. Dutt, director general of India's elite commando unit.

Authorities say the gunmen may have arrived in Mumbai on a trawler that was found abandoned and drifting off the coast with a bound corpse aboard a day after the attacks started.

The government suspects they then transferred to a dinghy and docked at a fishermen's colony near the two hotels and Jewish center targeted in the assaults.

Local fishermen were suspicious of the group of young men, police inspector Dattatray Rajbhog said.

"The fishermen shouted at them and asked who they were and where they had come from. But they abused them and fled," he said.

Suspicions in Indian media quickly settled on the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, long seen as a creation of the Pakistani intelligence service to help wage its clandestine war against India in disputed Kashmir.

A U.S. counterterrorism official said some "signatures of the attack" were consistent with Lashkar and Jaish-e-Mohammed, another group that has operated in Kashmir. Both are reported to be linked to al-Qaida.

President George W. Bush pledged full U.S. support for the investigation, saying the killers "will not have the final word." FBI agents were sent to India to help with the probe.

It was the country's deadliest terrorist act since 1993 serial bombings in Mumbai killed 257 people.

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Associated Press writers Ravi Nessman, Ramola Talwar Badam, Erika Kinetz and Anita Chang contributed to this report from Mumbai, and Foster Klug and Lara Jakes Jordan contributed from Washington.