| Spirit West Coast preparing to rock Del Mar Fairgrounds
DEL MAR, Calif. The All-Stars of Christian music are coming to town. On Memorial Day weekend, May 23 to 25, thousands of Christians will gather for the fifth annual Spirit West Coast festival at the Del Mar fairgrounds. This event, along with its sister concert to be held July 31 to Aug. 2 in Monterey, is the only multiday Christian music festival in the southwestern U.S and ranks as one of the premier Christian music festivals in the nation, drawing more than 40,000 visitors from California, Arizona and Nevada. Festival director Jon Robberson equates the atmosphere at Spirit West Coast to the World Series, the Super Bowl, and the Olympics. "It has a similar energy and dynamic," he said. "There is a spiritual power in coming together." Robertson stresses the importance of believers gathering in an inter-denominational spirit of unity. "If you never come together, you don’t sense the dynamic," he said.
Boulder: Impeach Bush?
Boulder's elected leaders are expected to decide next week whether to draft and vote on a resolution calling for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. For the past few weeks, activists have been showing up at Boulder City Council meetings, carrying signs, handing out "impeach" pins and asking City Council members to take up such a resolution. Similar measures have passed in cities across the country, including Detroit and Telluride. Liz Robinson, one of the organizers of the effort, said people hoping to see impeachment proceedings have given congressional Democrats — who won a majority in the fall of 2006 — plenty of time to act. But since they haven't, she said, locally elected officials should take up the slack. "Whether or not it's the city's business directly, like potholes, I feel this affects all of us," she said.
News briefs from around Kentucky at 5:58 p.m. EST
The Kenyan runner can still hear their angry screams giving away to cries of agony in the days following his homeland's terrifying descent into ethnic violence following the disputed Dec. 27 presidential election. Swept up in the chaos during a visit home for the holidays, Korir spent three tense weeks escaping his homeland and returning to the U.S. The experience gave him a new appreciation for the words in the U.S. national anthem that he learned during a collegiate running career at Murray State and then Louisville. It also crystallized his image of freedom. "I felt like I was home," Korir said of touching down in Louisville on Jan. 16. "That was weird because I always felt like Kenya was home. But the time I came back, I felt so free.
A call was made last night for Scottish banknotes to be legally ...
The issue of legal tender isn't really a big deal here, it only refers to settling debts. As the act of offering payment to a retailer for a product or service is just that, an offer that can be accepted or rejected, Scottish bank notes are in much the same position as Bank of England notes, i.e. the retailer can accept whatever they like whether it is a Bank of Scotland note, a Bank of England note or a bottle of badger musk. It is ridiculous that Scottish notes are often rejected by retailers in England, however a change in law could be a bit messy for the reasons above. I think that a scheme to encourage retailers to be sensible in their payment policies implemented by chambers or commerce, FSB or even Trading Standards would be a better route. .
Embracing the notion of a day of hugs
January, in fact, is also set aside for National Blood Donor Month, Financial Wellness Month, Poison Prevention Awareness Month, National Birth Defects Prevention Month, National Glaucoma Awareness Month, Thyroid Awareness Month, National Radon Action Month, Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, Women’s Self-empowerment Week, National Thank Your Customers Week, Customer Service Day (that was Jan. 17, by the way — hope you enjoyed particularly good service around town last Thursday), Get To Know Your Customer Day (conveniently enough that was also Jan. 17, allowing businesspeople to kill two birds with one stone), and this week is Hunt for Happiness Week, an elusive goal for some, but worth any efforts put forth.There may well be more than the aforementioned; I stopped after looking at three websites devoted to listing such things.
Satisfy Your Internal Culture Vuture
IT SEEMS THE furor over the film Baheb El-Cima isnt about to die down. At press time, the Prosecutor General's Office was still investigating a lawsuit filed by a number of religious leaders and Christian businessmen that could see the film pulled out of theaters. More alarming for those who follow free-speech issues: A second lawsuit filed against the film's director Osama Fawzi and producer Arabian Distribution Company. .
Sentinel Lunchtime Blog (Valentine's Day Edition): The laws of love online
It's been a while since one of my singles blogs have been written and posted. Those of you out there who actually read these things may have wondered if I'd stopped writing because I'm no longer single. Sadly, that's not the case.Today is Valentine's Day and I, like many others, am single. If it weren't for writing this blog, I would have conveniently "forgotten" today was the day of love, flowers, candy and candlelight. However, while perusing stories from the Associated Press, I came across a relationships article detailing a new law in New Jersey requiring online dating sites to perform background checks on its users. As an alum of online dating, my interest was piqued.My first thought was, well, that's a good idea — Internet dating can be dangerous. Then I got to thinking and realized, as the article points out, background checks are pointless in the world of dating.Think about it.
Salmond’s bold new era of progressive nationalism
The new Labour leader, Wendy Alexander, has failed to offer any intellectual challenge to Alex Salmond's populist nationalism, and the party organisation is disintegrating. Labour have feigned opposition to SNP initiatives on issues such as bridge tolls, prescription charges, graduate endowment, and then ended up supporting them. In fact, it is hard to find much that the nationalists have done in the past nine months that Labour really oppose as a matter of principle. They even support Donald Trump's blessed golf course. The truth is that the SNP were doing a lot of things that Labour MSPs would have liked to do, but couldn't because of the London connection. Despite being only one seat behind the SNP, Labour have yet to mount any coherent opposition in Holyrood, and have ceded the initiative on many key issues - such as police numbers, trams, class sizes - to the Tories and the Liberal Democrats.
Weekend Preview
The Ducks are now just 15-11 overall, and tied for next-to-last in the conference at 6-8. UCLA is fighting for a number one seed, but a fairly rough final stretch could present a problem. Prediction: UCLA 73, Oregon 61Arizona State at Washington (Saturday, 6:00 PM, FSN): An interesting game out West. Arizona State has lost two in a row and seven of its last nine, and also has three of its last five games on the road, where the Sun Devils are just 2-5 this season. On the other side, look at the Huskies' play of late. They knocked off UCLA at home last week, and then defeated Arizona last night at home as well. They are now 6-8 in conference play – just 1.5 games out of fourth place. Prediction: Washington 67, Arizona State 62Saint Joseph's at Rhode Island (Sunday, 4:00 PM, Regional TV): Two teams whose at-large hopes took a major hit this past week in the Atlantic-10.
Jose Cuervo Unveils 2008 Ultra-Premium Tequila Vintage Reserve
NEW YORK, Feb. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Thirteen is a lucky number for Jose Cuervo International, the world's leading Tequila company. In an exclusive artist showcase, today the company unveils the 2008 edition of Reserva de la Familia -- which is also the 13th edition -- and its new handcrafted wooden box painted by renowned Mexican artist Fernanda Brunet. The event is hosted by Juan Domingo Beckmann, Executive Director of Casa Cuervo, and the 10th generation of Jose Cuervo descendents, here at Galeria Ramis Barquet. Reserva de la Familia is an award-winning anejo (aged) Tequila made from hand-selected, 100% pure blue agave grown in the Cuervo estate's richest volcanic soils. Reserva de la Familia, the crown jewel of the Jose Cuervo portfolio, is considered to be a collectable masterpiece to spirit connoisseurs around the world for both its superior taste and uniquely designed packaging.
A circle finally closes
The University of Washington Board of Regents rightly has approved awarding honorary baccalaureate degrees to Japanese American students incarcerated in relocation camps during World War II. It is a welcome redress of one of the nation's darkest moments. More than 400 undergraduates were uprooted from their studies after President Franklin Roosevelt in 1942 signed an executive order sending some 120,000 West Coast residents of Japanese ancestry to internment camps.The regents' decision last week capped an extraordinary, collective endeavor on the part of a university librarian, an alumni-magazine editor, UW faculty and administration, and the Japanese American and UW alumni communities, among others. "It's a fantastic effort, from many areas," says Tetsuden Kashima, professor of American ethnic studies who, along with associate professor Gail Nomura, presented the resolution to the regents.
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