"F you and your high powered rifle!" The Gary Fadden incident - The Ayoob files

Situation: A road-rage incident escalates into a deadly pursuit.
Lesson: Keep communications as handy as your gun. Bad guys fear resolutely armed people, not weapons. Remember that full auto can stop a fight--but start an indictment.
It's amazing how often a criminal will say something unbelievably stupid just before he forces a decent citizen to kill him. For many years I've been piecing together a book subtitled "Famous Last Words of Scumbags." The working title will come from the most memorable such incident: "F*** You and Your Automatic Rifle!"

Best Buy Handguns

Here are the top ten handguns that provide maximum quality and function for the dollar.
So, you're in the market for a top-notch handgun and now you're suffering from sticker shock. Good handguns rarely come cheap. Most shooters like old-world craftsmanship, but such labor-intensive manufacturing is expensive.

Pistol versus rifle-armed mass murderer at 70 yards! the Andy Brown incident

Situation: An "active mass murderer" is killing people with an AK clone ... you're 70 yards away, with only a pistol ... and you have the courage to interdict. Who is going to win the death duel?

Which pistol caliber for self defense? Four different people come to four defensible conclusions

One the staple questions of gun magazine readers and Internet gun enthusiasts is, "What's the best caliber for self-defense?" I found myself recently in a district attorney's office, chatting with the DA and two of his investigators. The coats were off, and I noticed we were each wearing different caliber pistols.

"How I lost 20 pounds": American Idol winner Carrie Underwood reveals her very doable strategies for slimming down and getting healthy

We all know Carrie Underwood's story by now: small-town Southern girl makes it big on American Idol, the most popular show on TV. What many of us don't know is that American Idol's fourth-season winner was gaining more than just fame while the show was airing: Carrie put on 20 pounds. "It was crazy," says the now-slimmer star, relaxing in the lounge of a bowling alley in New York City with her tiny terrier, Ace, snuggled up next to her.

10 best gyms: from high-end to hardcore, M & F picks the best places to pump

WHAT MAKES YOU WANT TO WORK OUT at one gym over another? Is it that certain hardcore, no-nonsense atmosphere? The plush locker rooms? Maybe it's the clientele--after all, who wouldn't want to work in with Brad Pitt on cable crossovers? It may be a little bit of all these things. Here, we single out each of our 10 favorite gyms in America for its unique merits. Whatever criteria you have for your best gym, you're sure to find a spot among our picks.

10 questions your gynecologist wants you to ask: don't be shy; speaking up could save your life

The less time your annual gynecology checkup takes, the better - breast exam, pelvic, Pap smear and you're gone.
Wait - not so fast! Maybe you should take a few minutes longer with the gynecologist. You may think all doctors are in a rush to get to the next patient, but most want to give their patients the best care.

12 tips for healthy hair: get the shine, movement and softness you desire fast and easy with our expert advice from top pros

Hair is the ultimate accessory; it can add to (or detract from) your overall look instantly. Keeping it in healthy condition is the most important thing you can do to help it look and feel fabulous. And, while it seems easy, this isn't as simple as minimizing chemical treatments or slathering on a weekly deep conditioner. While these can make your strands softer and less split-end-prone, what really matters is the daily handling; this is what creates the most stress--and potential damage--to your tresses. To help your locks look their best, we asked top experts from around the country for their advice on how to baby your mane every single day. So whether your concern is dullness, damage, frizz or fragility, we have the answers to ease even the toughest hair-care woes. Read on for tips to achieve run-your-fingers-through-it hair.

12 tricks for radiant eyes: plagued by dark circles, puffiness or the wrong-color shadow? Top experts reveal their most eye-opening secrets

If the eyes are the windows to the soul, then you want yours to be wide open and sparkling. That's why we've assembled the best techniques to erase sleepy-looking circles and early morning puffiness, and collected pro tips to make your eyes pop with the right liner, shadows and mascara magic. "Making your eyes look their best takes two things: the right cream to keep the skin around the eyes smooth and the right makeup to enhance your eye color and shape," says international makeup artist Bobbi Brown, author of Bobbi Brown Beauty Evolution (HarperCollins, 2002). Here are the best eye-enhancing tricks of the trade.

Ten stupid things that small property owners do

Landlords Give Keys to Strangers
Would you give your car to a complete stranger? Of course not. But landlords give keys to their buildings (which are worth much more than any car) to complete strangers. Consider what typically happens when a landlord has an apartment for rent. The prospective tenant calls and makes an inquiry about the apartment. The landlord is so happy to get a call he spills his guts to the tenant, and makes an appointment for the prospect to see the apartment.

Everything they won't tell you about prepayment penalties

Prepayment penalties are fees that a borrower must pay the lender if the borrower decides to pay down or pay off the loan principal ahead of schedule.
There are several types of prepayment penalties: Sliding scale; Guaranteed interest; Yield maintenance; Defeasance; Lockout

Mortgage recording tax: are you getting all the credit you deserve?

When you purchase or refinance commercial real estate and certain residential real estate in New York State, the mortgage recording tax can add significantly to your financing costs. Depending on the type of property and its location, the tax can range from 75 cents to $2.75 for each $100 of debt secured by the mortgage.

Learn to properly calculate your operating expenses

The subject of how operating expenses are handled in a lease is often extremely complicated. This article deals with the issues relating to how landlords charge tenants for operating expense escalations and highlights some of the areas on which tenants should focus when negotiating a lease.

Instant millionaires. (Financial Planning For Lottery Winners).

"Wow! I just won $20 million in the lottery. I need your help!" A financial advisor, especially a CPA, may right off the bat start thinking about the tax issues and possible investments. Wrong--according to Susan Bradley, founder of The Sudden Money Institute, www.suddenmoney.com, in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and author of Sudden Money, Managing a Financial Windfall.

Cost of capital for industry and banks

*Robert N. McCauley is Research Officer and Senior Economist, International Finance Department, and Steven A. Zimmer is Senior Economist, International Capital Markets staff, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
1 See footnote at end of text.
A relatively high cost of capital burdens U.S. industry and banks alike. The effects of high capital costs on capital formation in the United States are hard to demonstrate, but are believed to be important, especially in research-intensive high technology industries. The inflow of foreign direct investment into the United States in the late 1970s and the 1980s fits with a cost-of-capital interpretation. Cost-of-capital differences assert themselves with particular force in competition in wholesale banking. How foreign banks will respond to the effect Of recession on the cash flows of U. S. corporations is important, because a high cost of capital has shrunk U.S. banks' market share.

The Adam Smith address: economic theory in a dynamic economic world

FORMAL ECONOMIC theory has become increasingly mathematical, elegant, and precise. It also increasingly has failed to confront the economic problems of societies. Economics, in consequence, is slowly and painfully moving away from the formal mathematical models built around a frictionless, static conceptual structure. Frank Hahn, one of the pioneers of general equilibrium theory expressed it succinctly:

Financial derivatives: applications and policy issues

FINANCIAL DERIVATIVES are instruments whose value is derived from one or more underlying financial asset. The underlying instrument could be a financial security, a securities index, or some combination of securities, indexes, and commodities.
HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF DERIVATIVES
The evolution of financial derivatives during the past two decades is related to the fundamental changes that have occurred in the financial markets. Innovations in financial theory and increased computerization, along with changes in the foreign exchange markets, the credit markets and the capital markets over this period, have contributed to the growth of financial derivatives.

The economic impact of information technology

The economic impact of information technology has been a subject of a great deal of debate. For business economists, it is useful to identify how information technology (IT) is likely to impact the economy, because IT (defined as computer and communications technology and its applications) is likely to have a substantial impact on the economy's growth during the coming decades. The reason for this is the use of IT by nearly all industries in the economy's base, so that IT becomes a universal input to nearly all other outputs. If IT costs decline, they can create substantial economic gains for many of the industries that use IT, because money spent on IT can be invested in other inputs and improvements in production or services. Furthermore, because business relies upon IT to do a wide range of tasks and to create competitive advantage, by facilitating these tasks for end users, important gains are achieved that are difficult to measure in a classic input-output framework. In addition, IT, seen in a larger context, should have even wider impacts on the economy, because new channels of communications, such as the Internet, cellular television, and broadband applications, will provide business with new channels to reach customers and suppliers.

Restructuring and its implications for business economics

Restructuring has been a major force in the world economy at least since the 1970s. Restructuring includes takeovers, mergers, divestitures, spin-offs, split-ups, financial recapitalizations, and going private transactions. This paper discusses: (1) some overall magnitudes, (2) case studies to illustrate the types of forces operating, (3) some generalizations to place the case studies into a framework, and (4) implications for business economics.

Cleanroom design in 10 easy steps

OK, so "easy" may not be a word that comes to mind for designing such sensitive environments. However, that doesn't mean you can't produce a solid cleanroom design by tackling issues in a logical sequence. This article covers each key step, down to handy application-specific tips for adjusting load calculations, planning exfiltration paths, and angling for adequate mechanical room space relative to the cleanroom's class.
Many manufacturing processes need the very stringent environmental conditions provided by a cleanroom. Because cleanrooms have complex mechanical systems and high construction, operating, and energy costs, it is important to perform the cleanroom design in a methodical way. This article will present a step-by-step method for evaluating and designing cleanrooms, factoring in people/material flow, space cleanliness classification, space pressurization, space supply airflow, space air exfiltration, space air balance, variables to be evaluated, mechanical system selection, heating/cooling load calculations, and support space requirements.

Failed businesses in Japan: a study of how different companies have failed, and tips on how to succeed, in the Japanese market

With the Japanese government's push to encourage foreign firms to set up in Japan, along with the enormous success of foreign companies from Goldman Sachs in financial services to LVMH in luxury brands, through to vacuum cleaner maker Dyson, it has become somewhat unfashionable to talk about their not so successful counterparts. However, the travails of the best and brightest of Western capitalism: Vodafone, Carrefour, Burger King, Pret a Manger, Boots, eBay and their many, many less illustrious cousins, indicates that there are some lessons that aren't being learned.

Boost Mobile and AirG launch Boost HOOKT mobile community

Boost customers can now hook into world's largest private-label mobile community
A new friend, maybe even a date, could be in the palm of your hand. Boost Mobile(R), a lifestyle-based telecommunications brand that develops and distributes wireless communications products for the youth market, and AirG, the global leader in powering mobile communities, announced the launch of Boost HOOKT--a private--labeled mobile community. With Boost HOOKT, Boost customers are able to hook into an interactive, geographically localized and interest-categorized mobile community that communicates across multiple wireless platforms and incorporates multiple unique features, including e-mail, IM, picture profiles, presence, and public and private messaging lounges.
"With the addition of Boost HOOKT, our customers now have instant access to a global community filled with individuals from more than 30 countries with similar interests and hobbies.

Commercial kitchen ventilation design: what you need to know

At least three major industry-related groups have made changes in codes or expectations for exhaust systems in the last two years. Stir in the need to stay on top of improved equipment options, local codes, and a variety of usual design issues, and designing today's commercial kitchen is no piece of cake. Read on to master this recipe of old and new concerns.

Life insurance, an investment? Despite what you hear, it's rarely a good choice - includes related article on two non-commission life insurance companies and where to get information on life insurance - Tutorial

Despite What You May Hear, It's Rarely A Good Choice
LISTEN TO AN INSURANCE SALESPERSON FOR EVEN A few minutes and you'll come away convinced of one thing: Life insurance is so insanely complicated you couldn't possibly understand it, so you better just buy some quick. Self-employed people, in particular, are targeted by an industry that would have us believe that its policies are the tax-favored ticket to comfortable retirement, college funds, and the orderly transition of family businesses. They'd like to sell you a policy without even mentioning the words death benefit.

Chewing gum expands the mind

Maybe walking and chewing gum at the same time shouldn't be so tough after all. A joint study carried out by the University of Northumbria and the Cognitive Research Unit in England has found that the act of chewing gum improves short- and long-term memory by as much as 35 percent.

The gangs behind bars

Prison gangs are flourishing across the country. Organized, stealthy and deadly, they are reaching out from their cells to organize and control crime in America's streets.
A 40-year-old gang leader uses his cellular phone to organize an elaborate drug ring and order hits. He commands respect. He wears gang-banger clothing and drapes himself with gold chains. This man is responsible for an entire network of gang members across the state of Illinois. He is Gino Colon, the mastermind behind the Latin Kings. When prosecutors finally caught up with him last August, Colon was indicted for running the Latin Kings' drug-dealing operation from behind prison walls--the state penitentiary in Menard.
"People in society and correctional officers need to understand that immediate control over the prison system is often an illusion at any time," says Cory Godwin, president of the gang-investigators association for the Florida Department of Corrections, or DC. "Contraband equals power."

Orwell's 1984: the future is here: George Orwell believed the stark totalitarian society he described in 1984 actually would arrive by the year 2000, thanks to the slow, sinister influence of socialism

Suppose someone 50 years ago had drawn a picture of the future that looked something like this: You live under the governance of an international alliance composed of a North American Union, China and Europe. Major powers are waging permanent low-level urban warfare. Rocket bombs soar over cities to crash into buildings. There are conflicts involving armies, but they are limited to border regions. Large banners fly downtown to celebrate victory over the nation's enemies.

Give us your best, your brightest - immigration policy benefits US society despite increasing problems - Symposium - Column

For many Americans, the word "immigration" immediately conjures up an image of poor Mexicans scrambling across the border near San Diego to find minimum-wage work and perhaps collect government benefits. Recent public opinion polls confirm that the attitude of the American public toward immigration is highly unfavorable. Central Americans are perceived as welfare abusers who stubbornly refuse to learn English, Haitians are seen as AIDS carriers, Russian Jews are considered to be mafiosi, and Asians are seen as international terrorists. The media reinforce these stereotypes by battering the public with negative depictions of immigrants.

Warning labels don't keep kids from shock CDs

Parental-advisory labels on compact discs and audiotapes are effective only if parents monitor their children's purchases, say store owners who sell to minors.
When Chad Anthony Sisk, a 15-year-old high-school student from Philadelphia, showed up at a congressional hearing recently, he brought with him an assortment of X-rated material.
The material included three compact discs: Il Na Na by Foxy Brown Hardcore by Lil' Kim; and Life After Death by the late Notorious B.I.G., also known as Biggie Smalls or Christopher Wallace. Although all of these albums came with black-and-white parental-advisory stickers denoting obscene language or explicit sexual content, the stickers are useless, Chad told a Senate subcommittee.

America's most wanted j-o-b-s - 10 hottest employment opportunities

Here are the 10 hottest employment opportunities for the next millennium
WHETHER YOU'RE JUST ENTERING THE JOB MARKET or you want to jump-start your current profession, we invite you to check out the 10 hottest careers for 1999 and beyond. The selection taps into a variety of interests, skills, experience requirements and job levels. Salaries, which largely depend on experience and geographical location, range from the low $20s to more than $100,000 annually.

Culture, leadership, and power: the keys to organizational change - includes bibliography

General Motors, IBM, and Sears: three companies facing a need for dramatic change that have already tried, but failed, at major change efforts. Judging from what I've read about these three companies in the business press recently, I'm inclined to believe they

… As ABC's Story on Disney's Pedophile Problem Gets the Spike

If David Westin, the president of ABC News, were to ask the magic mirror on the wall who was fairest of them all, the answer would disappoint him just as it did the wicked queen. Westin, a lawyer with no journalistic experience who took over the news division less than six months ago, already has badly tarnished what conservatives used to regard as the fairest of the TV network-news operations.

ABABA, Marilou I.ABAD, Maurice C.ABADIA, James M.ABANTE, JR., Eduardo R.ABARQUEZ, Anthony Ben C.ABARQUEZ, Ronald Allan C.ABAS, Sheriff M.ABAT, Arthur E.ABAYON, III, Crispulo B.ABDURASAD, Jinmar H.ABEL, Queenie V.ABELEDA, II, Tirso Augustus L.ABELGOS-ESPERA, Ruby Remedios V.ABELLA, Hannah B.ABELLAR, Stella Marie L.ABESAMES, Marleen Joyce P.ABILLADA, JR., Romeo K.ABITRIA, Rommel A.ABLAY, Edgardo C.ABOGADO, Kingston Marie V.ABOT, Clifton P.ABRENICA, Joseph Ryan M.ABRENZOSA, Mario G.ABUAN, Karen G.ABUEG, Frederick F.ABUTAN, Ma.

30 pass Sharia bar examination

Byline: EDD K. USMAN
Thirty out of 77 examinees passed the Sharia bar examination conducted by the Supreme Court in July, 2001, with Samsodin M. Bedar as first placer with 88.72 percent.
Office on Muslim Affairs (OMA) Executive Director Habib Mujahab Hashim said the successful examinees made their compatriots proud and gave life to the practice of Sharia law in the country.

A Delusion of Satan: The Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials

In searching for the truth about the devils of Salem we shall investigate the demons in all human societies and all human souls," writes Frances Hill in A Delusion of Satan: The Full Story of the Salem Witch Trails (Doubleday, $23.95, 269 pp). It is a lofty ambition, aiming to extend spiritual knowledge into historical writing, and Hill pursues it without pause.
Hill holds Samuel Parris, pastor of Salem Village in 1692, most responsible for the hysteria that sent 19 men and women to the hanging tree and caused several other deaths. Parris used Puritanism's "terrifying absolutes of good and evil" to reduce life in his parsonage to a daily trauma of fear, guilt and suspicion.