Thursday, March 15, 2012

Chile names 23-man WCup squad

Chile coach Marcelo Bielsa has omitted defender Roberto Cereceda from his final 23-man squad for the World Cup.

Cereceda was included in the initial squad as cover for Universidad de Chile midfielder Marco Estrada, who has since proven his fitness.

The final squad named Tuesday, which is dominated by European-based players, includes Real Zaragoza forward Humberto Suazo, who has been reported in various media as having suffered a hamstring injury in training this week.

Bielsa reduced his 30-man squad to 25 players last month, before further paring it back with the omission of striker Hector Mancilla shortly after.

___

County man catches a robber without its mask: Rare albino raccoon caught outside city

Conward "Red" Humphreys is used to finding fat, sneaky raccoonsraiding his chicken coop at night.

What threw him a couple of days ago was the white fur, glowing redeyes and missing mask of the animal that padded onto his property.

Humphreys on Tuesday found what seems to be an albino raccoon, arare white or off-white breed of the familiar creature often foundmaking a racket with garbage cans and pet food dishes.

Humphreys, who uses a cage to catch and release raccoons thatfrequently creep into his yard and dine on his chickens, planned torelease the strange and surprising creature back into the wild today.

He found it sitting in the cage late Tuesday …

Sundhage Hired to Coach US Women

Former Swedish star Pia Sundhage was hired Tuesday to lead the U.S. women's soccer team through the 2008 Olympics, as American officials turn to a foreign coach for the first time.

Sundhage, an assistant for China during this year's World Cup, is familiar with many of the U.S. players after coaching in WUSA during the league's three years of existence.

The 47-year-old Sundhage replaces Greg Ryan, whose contract was not renewed after the Americans finished third at the World Cup. His departure followed a contentious decision to switch goalies before the U.S. team's lopsided semifinal loss.

Ryan was 45-1-9, with the lone loss resulting in the …

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Are you ready for the new Apple tablet?

For all the excitement and discussion about the next great thing from Apple, its groundbreaking new tablet computer, one things seems to get lost in translation:

IT DOESN'T EXIST …

At last - McCaskey's shot at a McRoast

There probably isn't anyone who would enjoy roasting Jim McMahonmore than Michael McCaskey.

Now the Bears owner has his opportunity.

McCaskey - ridiculed extensively by McMahon in his best-sellingbook McMahon! - has been invited to be a roaster at "McMahon of theYear - A Roast."

And you thought Sugar Ray Leonard-Marvelous Marvin Hagler wasthe fight of the century.

McCaskey has yet to respond to the invitation, and yesterday didnot return a phone call on the subject.

If he decides to attend the April 24 event at the ChicagoHilton, …

Official: Japan Prime Minister to Resign

TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose year-old government has suffered a string of damaging scandals and a humiliating electoral defeat, has told ruling party leaders he intends to resign, an official said Wednesday.

Tadamori Oshima, parliamentary affairs chief for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said Abe would make a statement later in the day.

"Unfortunately, he will announce that he will resign," Oshima told party members.

National broadcaster NHK said Abe made the announcement in a morning meeting with ruling party leaders, citing unidentified top officials of the Liberal Democratic Party. Other TV networks carried similar reports.

Italy's Mediaset looks to grow in pay TV market

In one small corner of the media market, the world of Italian pay television, it's Berlusconi vs. Murdoch.

The chief financial officer of Mediaset, founded by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi before he went into politics, doesn't look at it that way, though.

Marco Giordani says Mediaset's push into pay television, which until two years was inhabited only by Murdoch's Sky Italia, was sparked by the advent of new technology in the form of digital terrestrial and the decline of advertising revenues on traditional free-to-air television _ not as an epic battle of media moguls.

"The decision to enter this market is not a decision to go up against …

Contrasting wines best with ham, lamb

It's lamb and ham time. It's spring. It's Easter. Celebratethe season with wines that make special occasions even more festiveand flavorful.

I love Pinot Noir from almost anywhere in the world with lamb.But I found some great Pinot Noir renderings closer to home inOregon.

Over-all, my old Oregon favorites are still pleasing my palatewith their 1989 releases.

Ponzi 1989 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley ($15) offers a licoriceand orange bouquet and plenty of ripe cherry flavor. The color isslightly light cherry, but the flavor is intense. The price isroughly $20-$22 a bottle.

Adelsheim Vineyards 1989 Pinot Noir, Seven Springs Vineyard($20) is …

UN launches new assessment of NKorea food needs

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United Nations said Monday it had begun a new assessment of impoverished North Korea's food needs, as an influential Republican U.S. senator warned the Obama administration against resuming such aid to the communist nation without adequate monitoring.

Sen. Richard Lugar, the leading Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said any resumption should depend on ensuring that aid gets to hungry civilians rather than to the military, "whose care is already a priority over the rest of the population."

North Korea suffered a famine in the early and mid 1990s and still struggles to feed its people. It reportedly has asked the United States and other …

Venus Williams aiming to win more titles in 2010

Venus Williams is intent on winning more tournaments in 2010 than her two titles last year and plans to start by retaining the Dubai Tennis Championship.

Williams won back-to-back events in Dubai and Acapulco in 2009 but then lost in the final at Wimbledon, Stanford and the season-ending WTA Tour Championship in Doha.

The American has won five Wimbledon titles, the last in 2008, but hasn't won any other major since the 2001 U.S. Open.

"I may not have won many tournaments but I came close to winning a couple of big ones last year," Williams said. "Obviously, I go into each tournament wanting to win. And I am aware that I haven't won …

[ OUT & ABOUT ]

Odetta, known as "The Queen of American Folk Music," will give twoconcerts on Saturday at the Art Institute of Chicago.

The two free concerts, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., are geared forfamilies and were designed especially for the Art Institute.

The singer …

Belarus police stifle opposition rally in capital

MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Police in Belarus detained at least three opposition activists and prevented dozens more from protesting against the jailing of opposition leaders in a rare downtown rally in the capital.

An Associated Press journalist saw police detain the activists on central Oktyabrskaya square Friday evening as dozens came there with portraits of two presidential candidates and activists who have been jailed since December.

Protesters shouted: "Gadhafi for today, Lukashenko tomorrow!" Police did not use violence to disperse the rally, but they took away a megaphone and the portraits of opposition leaders from the protesters, and mingled in their group, preventing them …

Memories abound on 300 march

Commissioner Bud Selig is a history buff, especially when itinvolves numbers.

"I've been enchanted by the number 300 since watching Warren Spahnwin his 300th in 1961 in Milwaukee when I was a boy," said Selig, whowas at Wrigley Field on Sunday to watch Greg Maddux's bid to join theelite club. "I can tell you all about the game. It was 2-1 over theCubs, and Gino Cimoli made a great catch in the outfield.

"I was just thinking about who Maddux reminds me of, and I'd haveto say Warren himself. Maddux is professional like Warren and was atrue pitcher like Warren."

Maddux wasn't the pitcher of record in the Cubs' 6-3 victory,leaving after six innings with the Cubs trailing 3-2. Selig said heprobably will watch Maddux's next attempt at 300 this weekend in SanFrancisco against the Giants.

Phillies manager Larry Bowa was two years removed from the Cubs asa player when Maddux made his debut.

"I don't want to say he was cocky when he first came up, but youcould tell he believed in himself," Bowa said. "Few pitchers changespeeds like he does. He's particularly tough when he has two strikeson the batter.

"He's a good athlete, too. He likes to hit and run the bases, andhe's great with his glove. I've seen him make plays you wouldn'tbelieve.

"He's a pretty special guy as a player and a person, certainly thekind you'd want on your team."

Phillies coach John Vukovich was a Cubs coach when Maddux, then20, beat the Reds 11-3 in Cincinnati on Sept. 7, 1986, for his firstvictory.

"I'd heard a lot about him, but I wasn't smart enough to say atthe time, Hey, this guy is going to win 300 games,"' Vukovich said."He threw harder then, but he didn't have the assortment of pitchesyou need to win consistently up here."

Vukovich remembers the first pregame meeting he had with Madduxand catcher Keith Moreland to go over Reds hitters.

"We were going over the signs -- one for a fastball, two for acurve, three for a slider," Vukovich said. "Maddux felt we shouldhave a sign for the cutter, but Moreland said, I can catch whateveryou throw.'

"Right away, Greg said, You can't catch this one if you don't knowit's coming.'

"What impresses me is, he hasn't changed a bit. He loves to pitch,he likes swinging the bat. He even likes shagging flies."

Cubs bench coach Dick Pole thinks Maddux's boyish looks havehelped his career.

"He doesn't look like a hit man," Pole said. "I've seen a lot ofguys go out to the mound looking like they could kill the batter, butit's the other way around. Greg goes out looking like he's going toget killed, but he's the one doing the slaying."

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Water Act Critical for Clinton, Environmentalists

WASHINGTON The Safe Drinking Water Act - environmentallegislation trickling through the legislative process on Capitol Hill- would not seem to be the sort of measure that could color apresident's political future.

And yet, with Congress slated to begin debate on the bill in thecoming week, the nation's principal environmental organizations aremaking the water act the bellwether of their future relations withPresident Clinton.

If in the coming weeks the president joins their fight toprotect water quality standards from compromises sought by manystates and local water-management agencies, environmentalists saythat their relations with the administration - which got off to arocky start - will be amicable.

They reason that, after Clinton retreated in the face ofopposition on so many initiatives important to them, he must take astand for the bill. A tough White House posture would scareopponents, rally environmentalists and set a new tone for a welter ofenvironmental legislation to follow.

But if, in their eyes, the president ducks the fight and allowsCongress to lower drinking water standards, environmentalists say thefuture of relations may be irreparably harmed. And that, in turn,could prompt the nation's green groups to sit out Clinton'sre-election campaign, as well as a few races that are seen asimportant to his fate - such as California's gubernatorial race.

How did it come to this?

It is a measure of the ferment in relations between the Clintonadministration and the environmental community that thereauthorization of an obscure law such as the Safe Drinking Water Acthas become a potential turning point for the nation'senvironmentalists.

After 12 years of Republican administrations, whenenvironmentalists found the White House door virtually closed tothem, the first year of the Clinton administration brought themaccess to the president and personnel appointments that surpassedtheir hopes.

And yet, said Jim Maddy, executive director of the League ofConservation Voters, there is a "broadly felt sense" among the greengroups that the Clinton administration's rhetorical embrace of theircauses has not translated into clear policy victories.

The disappointment began when Clinton, facing a storm of Senateopposition, withdrew a proposal to raise fees charged to ranchers forgrazing their livestock on federal lands - an increase that had beenhailed by the green groups. That pattern continued when Clintonbacked down on imposing a broad-gauged energy tax sought byenvironmentalists after congressional critics balked.

On issues as varied as pesticide reform, greenhouse gasreduction and a plan to clean up the Everglades, environmentalistslament that the Clinton administration has reached for politicallyexpedient compromises that pose risks to the environment and publichealth.

In the administration's defense, officials pointed to theenvironmental stature of its appointees, the ambition of Clinton'sagenda and the access and consideration accorded to green groups inadministration deliberations. But they also complained of theenvironmentalists' "overly optimistic view of what could beaccomplished."

Italian govt seeks to cut deficit by (EURO)25 bln

Italians are bracing for spending cuts as the government seeks to put its accounts in order to protect the nation's high debt load from market speculation.

Parliament is set to approve hotly contested spending cuts on Tuesday, which could include pay freezes for most public workers, but cuts for those highest paid, and may include trims to the nation's revered health system. The education minister has even suggested starting schools at the end of September instead of the middle of the month, allowing families to take longer vacations and boost tourism.

Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti has pledged to go after high salaries in the nation's bloated bureacracy, reportedly seeking cuts of 5 percent to those who earn more than (EURO)90,000 and 10 percent for those who earn more than (EURO)120,000. In addition, freezing public salaries for three years would save (EURO)3 billion.

That cuts would cut the deficit by (EURO)25 billion ($31 billion), to 2.7 percent of GDP, by 2012. The measure is aimed at keeping Italy's bond auctions healthy. Despite concern of contagion from Greece, the Treasury has had no trouble covering its bond sales in recent auctions.

Italian officials have cited the fact that about half of Italian bonds are sold domestically as reason to believe its high debt, at about 115 percent of GDP, is stable and less liable to fall prone to market speculation.

Such spending cuts would be welcome by Italian workers, among Europe's lowest paid with an average salary of (EURO)14,700 ($18,000) a year, and the hardest hit in Italy by the crisis, which has idled factories and put many on temporary layoff with reduced compensation.

"In Italy, there are many people who earn too much and it is always those who produce wares and primary goods that make sacrifices," said Alfonso Perrotta, who was passing out pamphlets last week against the privatization of the public water supply in central Rome. "I agree with the cuts that Tremonti has proposed. It is right that they should pay for this crisis, and not those who conduct honest lives of sacrifices and hard work."

In Italy, the high debt level maintained by the country has injected cash into the system, creating a false sense of well-being that cannot be sustained, said Bocconi University economist Fabrizio Pezzani.

"We distribute riches without having produced them. This creates a living standard that is above their own possibility. We need to see where we are spending these resouorces, where we are spending badly, and we need to progressively intervene to reduce" the waste," Pezzani said.

As an example, he cited state spending for daycare, which varies from (EURO)6,000 ($7,362) for every child in Modena in the wealthy north, to (EURO)15,000 ($18,405) in Palermo, Sicily. The difference becomes a sort of welfare payment that is siphoned off, and clearly not necessary for the real job.

"If I spend (EURO)15,000 it is clear I am financing a system of masked welfare. We cannot maintain it," he said.

Most economists agree Italy's real issue is finding ways to spur growth, including by loosening up the labor market, and in cutting tax evasion.

Colombo isn't an exciting pick, but selection does make sense

There was so much talk about ceilings and floors on Saturday,you'd swear Jerry Angelo was a building contractor instead of an NFLgeneral manager. Of course, general managers are often called thearchitect of the team, so maybe the metaphors were appropriate.

Still, it was a bit disturbing to hear Angelo brag about his first-round pick, Boston College offensive tackle Marc Colombo, by sayingthe Bears figure at worst we know he's going to be a good rank-and-file player in the league."

Angelo's draft philosophy centers on finding a player with littledownside as opposed to big upside--an acceptable floor instead of ahigh ceiling.

Angelo says the key to the Bears' success last season was the playof the offensive and defensive lines. Throw in the decision to dumpleft tackle Blake Brockermeyer in a cost-cutting move and the loss ofbackup Jimmy Herndon to Houston in free agency and the selection ofColombo makes a lot of sense.

It's not a sexy pick. Offensive linemen never are. Theorganization was so underwhelmed, they didn't even fly the BostonCollege star in for the obligatory back-slapping, hand-claspingphotograph with team jersey and team president. Come back on Mondayfor that magic moment.

Technically, Colombo will now compete with last season's fifth-round pick, Bernard Robertson, for the job that used to belong toBrockermeyer.

The job looks to be Colombo's to lose. Sure, the Bears loveRobertson, and they figure he'll wind up starting on their linesomewhere, someday. He was slated to step in for Olin Kreutz had thecenter not returned to the Bears for less money than Miami offered.Kreutz still got $22.5 million.

Colombo should make about 10 percent more than last year's No. 29overall pick, Ryan Pickett, was given by the St. Louis Rams. Pickett,who held out the first two days of training camp, signed a five-year, $5.995 million deal. So Colombo might get in the range of $6.59million on a five-year deal. That's millions more than Robertson.

The late George Young, legendary general manager of the New YorkGiants, called the NFL draft The Dance of the Elephants," a termreflecting Young's belief that the way to build a football team wasby taking large men capable of enduring the weekly car wrecks thatmake up an NFL season.

Angelo and director of college scouting Greg Gabriel are wellaware of the philosophy because both have backgrounds in the Giants'scouting system. Problem is, Colombo might be more giraffe thanelephant. He's about 6-8 and weighs 313 pounds. Tall tackles can runinto problems in the NFL because they are so susceptible to havingtheir long legs rolled from behind.

Colombo knows all about the problem because it happened to himlast season against Notre Dame. He tore the bottom part of his rightquadriceps.

Robertson, at 6-2, is short for a left tackle. But the Bears saythey like his squatty body type because it signals an ability to holdup to the wear-and-tear of the position. Now they say Colombo'sheight doesn't expose him to any more trouble than anyone else. Curious.

What the Bears love most about Colombo is the same quality theyhave found in Kreutz and James Williams--offensive linemen with nastydispositions. Colombo was ejected from a game against Virginia Techin 1999 for fighting. He's a distant relation to boxing great RockyMarciano. Well, actually he's a second cousin to former BostonCollege teammate Steven Marciano, a grandson of Rocky's.

To be honest, I don't think many offensive linemen do [have anasty disposition], and I think it's a plus when you find somebodywho does," Colombo said.

It might be a better quality than a good floor.

OVERVIEW

The longest first round in NFL draft history featured acontroversial delay when the Dallas Cowboys went beyond the allotted15 minutes to pull off a trade with Kansas City. The Chiefs were oneof five teams to move up in the draft for a player they targeted.They took North Carolina defensive tackle Ryan Sims at No. 6, secondsbefore Minnesota could grab him. The Vikings weren't thrilled withthe outcome, but got a nice parachute by landing Miami OT BryantMcKinnie (right) at No. 7. The New York Giants gave up a fourth-round pick to move up one slot and take Miami TE Jeremy Shockey atNo. 14 when they feared Tennessee would trade away their guy tosomeone else. Oakland moved twice in order to land Miami CB PhillipBuchanon, and Green Bay jumped up to grab WR Javon Walker at No. 20.New England jumped up 11 spots to take TE Daniel Graham at No. 21.The first surprise of the opening round was Detroit's decision tograb quarterback Joey Harrington at No. 3 after all but anointinglast year's fifth-rounder, Mike McMahon, as its starter. The biggestsurprise was Cincinnati's decision to take Arizona State OT LeviJones at No. 10 even though the player might have been available 10-15 picks later.

THE TOP FIVE

Dallas: Got the best S, Roy Williams, best G, Andre Gurode, andlanded WR Antonio Bryant, a projected first-rounder.

Oakland: The double trade was goofy, but the Raiders got CBPhillip Buchanon and LB Napoleon Harris.

Denver: The offense gets a big lift from the combination of WRAshley Lelie and RB Clinton Portis.

Baltimore: Miami S Ed Reed was a real value at No. 24 and need wasfilled with Notre Dame DT Anthony Weaver.

Carolina: Julius Peppers was right decision at No. 2 overall;DeShaun Foster was the top RB on the Bears' board.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

Tampa Bay: Bucs spent first- and second-round picks on coach JonGruden; a complete non-factor in this draft.

Miami: It got value in the trade for Ricky Williams, but didn'thave any impact on Saturday.

Cincinnati: Nothing wrong with taking an OT to improve run game,but why not get value from your pick?

Seattle: Traded down with an eye on Daniel Graham, but had toreach for character question Jerramy Stevens.

Atlanta: Paid a fortune for Warrick Dunn, then gave up on JamalAnderson by taking T.J. Duckett.

THE NFC NORTH

Detroit, A: Joey Harrington (right) was the right pick at No. 3,while second-rounder DE Kalimba Edwards could be a blue-chipper.

Minnesota, A: The Vikings preferred Ryan Sims, but landed a gem inBryant McKinnie.

BEARS, B: Landed a starting left tackle in Marc Colombo, a tallcorner in Roosevelt Williams, a nasty offensive lineman in TerrenceMetcalf and a high fourth-round selection.

Green Bay, C: Gave up a lot in trade up for boom-or-bust WR JavonWalker; the Packers could have gotten help at that position later.

**********************

**Fourth round (sixth pick within the round, 104th overall, fromDallas);

**Fifth (fifth within the round, 140th overall, from Dallas);

**Fifth (30th within the round, 165th overall);

**Sixth (27th within the round, 199th overall, from Miami);

**Sixth (31st within the round, 203rd overall);

**Sixth (38th within the round, 210th overall, compensatory).

STAT PACK

5

The number of players from Miami (Fla.) taken in the first round,which ties the all-time record set by USC in 1968. The fab five, inorder, were OT Bryant McKinnie (Minnesota, 7th overall); TE JeremyShockey (N.Y. Giants, 14), CB Phillip Buchanon (Oakland, 17); S EdReed (Baltimore, 24) and CB Mike Rumph (San Francisco, 27).

3

The number of tight ends taken in the first round, which matchesthe 1970 draft as the most in NFL history. The big three this year:Miami's Jeremy Shockey (N.Y. Giants, No. 14 overall); Colorado'sDaniel Graham (New England, 21) and Washington's Jerramy Stevens(Seattle, 28).

Assessing semantic coherence and logical fallacies in joint probability estimates

A constellation of joint probability estimates is semantically coherent when the quantitative relationship among estimates of P(A), P(B), P(A and B), and P(A or B) is consistent with the relationship among the sets described in the problem statement. The possible probability estimates can form an extremely large number of permutations. However, this entire problem space can be reduced to six theoretically meaningful patterns: logically fallacious (conjunction or disjunction fallacies), identical sets (e.g., water and H2O), mutually exclusive sets (e.g., horses and zebras), subsets (e.g., robins and birds), overlapping sets (e.g., accountants and musicians), and inconsistent overlapping sets. Determining which of these patterns describes any set of probability estimates has been automated using Excel spreadsheet formulae. Researchers may use the semantic coherence technique to examine the consequences of differently worded problems, individual differences, or experimental manipulations. The spreadsheet described above can be downloaded as a supplement from http://brm.psychonomic-journals.org/content/supplemental.

How do we know whether a probability estimate is any good? Researchers have developed a number of metrics to address this question. Hammond (2000) identified two general strategies for assessing the quality of judgments such as probability estimates: correspondence and coherence (Adam & Reyna, 2005). Correspondence is satisfied when a person's judgments achieve empirical accuracy, and coherence is satisfied when a person's judgments achieve logical, mathematical, or statistical consistency (Hammond, 2000, p. 53).

Benchmarks for assessing probability judgments by employing a correspondence standard include empirical accuracy (Reyna & Adam, 2003; Yates, Lee, Shinotsuka, Patalano, & Sieck, 1998) and calibration (Keren, 1991). Correspondence benchmarks have a number of attractive features, including their potential as measures of expertise (Wright, Bolger, & Rowe, 2002) and their implications for successful behavior in contemporary and evolutionary contexts. Unfortunately, in many settings, it is difficult or impossible to independently assess the empirical accuracy of probability estimates. Moreover, in some cases, correspondence is of relatively little utility for understanding psychological processes, as when external factors such as luck play a large role in determining accuracy.

Coherence benchmarks typically include measures of logical fallacies-patterns of responses that are internally inconsistent with respect to the axioms of probability theory and logic (Tversky & Kahneman, 1983). Logical fallacies have been found consistently in the study of probability judgments (e.g., Gilovich, Griffin, & Kahneman, 2002). A conjunction fallacy is committed when a conjunction of events (A and B) is judged to be more probable than one of its constituents (e.g., A). A disjunction fallacy occurs when a disjunction of events (A or B) is judged to be less probable than any of its constituents (Bar-Hillel & Neter, 1993; Young, Nussbaum, & Monin, 2007).

Recently, Wolfe and Reyna (2010) developed a new metric for joint probabilities, semantic coherence, which is a more stringent coherence standard than whether a logical fallacy has been committed. This metric describes whether a constellation of nonfallacious probability judgments is consistent with the relationship among the sets in the problem statement. For any two sets or classes of objects where the relationship between the two is stipulated, there are four possible relationships: identical sets, where all A are B and all B are A; mutually exclusive sets, where sets A and B have no members in common; subsets, where all members of set A belong to B but B also has members that do not belong to A; and overlapping sets, where some A are B and some B are A, but also some A are not B and some B are not A. A constellation of joint probability estimates can be said to be semantically coherent when the quantitative relationship among estimates of P(A), P(B), P(A and B), and P(A or B) is consistent with the stipulated relationship among sets (e.g., one set is a subset of the other set).

This approach can be used to distinguish among the consequences of different theoretically motivated interventions designed to improve performance. For example, Wolfe and Reyna (2010) examined the effectiveness of pedagogic analogies and teaching the logic of the 2 � 2 table with respect to logical fallacies and semantic coherence. They found that both interventions improved semantic coherence but, generally, only the table intervention reduced fallacies, confirming predictions arising from fuzzy-trace theory (FTT). Other researchers may use the semantic coherence technique described here to examine the properties of differently worded problems, study individual differences in working memory, or test manipulations derived from other theories. For example, this approach could be extended to the study of causal reasoning (Lien & Cheng, 2000) by manipulating the wording of problems to represent genuine causes or noncausal covariation and examining semantic coherence under varying experimental conditions. Assessing semantic coherence is not dependent on any particular theoretical framework.

To illustrate the difference between logical fallacies and semantic coherence, consider the problem of a birdwatcher who is trying to determine whether a particular bird is a bluebird, an indigo bunting, or something else. Assume that P(bluebird) is the probability that the bird is a bluebird; similarly, P(indigo bunting) is the probability that the bird is an indigo bunting (bluebird and indigo bunting are mutually exclusive sets). If someone estimated P(bluebird) = .2, P(indigo bunting) = .2, and P(bluebird and indigo bunting) = .4, he or she would demonstrate a conjunction fallacy, because the probability of bluebird and indigo bunting cannot exceed the probability of indigo bunting alone. Consider the pattern of responding P(bluebird) = .2, P(indigo bunting) 5 .1, P(bluebird and indigo bunting) = 0, and P(bluebird or indigo bunting) = .3. This pattern is not fallacious and is consistent with the semantic description of mutually exclusive sets. Now consider the pattern of responding P(bluebird) = .6, P(indigo bunting) = .6, P(bluebird and indigo bunting) = .6, and P(bluebird or indigo bunting) = .6; then the birdwatcher has not committed a logical fallacy. However, this pattern is not semantically coherent with respect to the problem materials, because bluebirds and indigo buntings are mutually exclusive and, thus, P(bluebird and indigo bunting) should be 0. The issue is not the quality of any particular estimate (e.g., the probability of its being an indigo bunting is estimated to be .1); rather, it is the internal consistency of the whole set of responses.

Consider another example that involves subsets. For the problem of estimating the probability that the thing perched in a tree is a bird, a bluebird, or something else, the pattern of responding P(bluebird) = .2, P(bird) = .9, P(bluebird and bird) = .2, and P(bluebird or bird) = .9 is consistent with the semantic description of subsets, that bluebird is a subset of the set of birds. A semantically coherent constellation of responses, by definition, commits no logical fallacies of conjunction or disjunc tion. However, to be considered fully semantically coherent, a pattern of responses must match what is understood about the problem domain. Thus, the pattern of responding given above-P(A) = .2, P(B) = .1, P(A and B) = 0, P(A or B) = .3-is semantically coherent for problems in which the meaning of the problems describes mutually exclusive sets, but this same (equally nonfallacious) pattern of responses would not be semantically coherent with a problem describing subsets, because the conjunctive probability must equal the probability of the subset and the disjunctive probability must equal the probability of the larger, more inclusive set.

The task of asking people to estimate the probability of two events and their conjunctive and disjunctive probabilities allows researchers to consider the patterns of probability estimates that map onto two coherence benchmarks, logical fallacy and semantic coherence. Using integers between 0% and 100% to make probability estimates, there are over one hundred million possible permutations of two probability estimates and their conjunctive and disjunctive probabilities (although, of course, the number of permutations can be made larger or smaller, depending on the number of digits used in making each estimate-i.e., .1 or .001). This entire problem space can be reduced to six theoretically meaningful patterns: logical fallacy, identical sets, mutually exclusive sets, subsets, overlapping sets, or inconsistent overlapping sets. Thus, analyzing joint probability estimates in terms of logical fallacies and semantic coherence helps bring order to a wide range of behavior, revealing systematic patterns that would otherwise go unnoticed. The purpose of this article is to describe the logic behind these analyses and to share the specific Excel spreadsheet formula for making these calculations with the research community. The spreadsheet is available as a downloadable supplement for this article.

To illustrate, consider the following problem from Wolfe and Reyna (2010), where pilot testing and posttesting confirmed that the relationship between horses and zebras is generally perceived as one of mutually exclusive sets. Participants read a brief vignette about horses and zebras and then estimated P(horse), P(zebra), P(horse and zebra), and P(horse or zebra). Because making all estimates the same is a meaningful pattern, we asked the participants to make another, unlikely estimate to distinguish identical sets from a careless pattern of giving identical responses for each estimate. In this case, we asked the participants to estimate P(ostrich):

Valerie is a photographer for a famous magazine. She was on a photo shoot in an African wildlife park when she heard the sound of hoof beats in the distance. Not wanting to miss a shot, she grabbed for her camera and turned around.

Please rate the probability of each of these statements about the story above using a rating scale from 0% (impossible) to 100% (completely certain).

What is the probability that the hoof beats she heard were made by an ostrich?_____

What is the probability that the hoof beats she heard were made by a horse?_____

What is the probability that the hoof beats she heard were made by a zebra?_____

What is the probability that the hoof beats she heard were made by a zebra that is a horse?_____

What is the probability that the hoof beats she heard were made by either a zebra or a horse?_____

Mutually exclusive sets are sets with no overlapping members (e.g., apples and oranges). A constellation of four estimates is consistent with the semantic description mutually exclusive sets when (1) P(A) + P(B) < 1.0, (2) P(A) + P(B) = P(A or B), and (3) P(A or B) = 0. In cases in which P(A) = 0; P(B) > 0, P(A and B) = 0, and P(A or B) = P(B), we categorized the pattern as mutually exclusive sets, which was rare in the Wolfe and Reyna experiments. Other researchers may elect to handle these cases differently. Figure 1 shows a segment of the spreadsheet where Participant 1 has estimated P(ostrich) = 1%, P(horse) = 10%, P(zebra) = 80%, P(horse and zebra) = 0%, and P(horse or zebra) = 90%. The spreadsheet categorizes this pattern as mutually exclusive sets, because P(horse and zebra) = 0% and P(horse or zebra) = P(horse) + P(zebra).

A constellation of four estimates is consistent with the semantic description subset (e.g., roses and flowers) when (in the case in which A is a subset of B) (1) P(A) < P(B), (2) P(A) = P(A and B), and (3) P(B) = P(A or B). Figure 2 shows a segment of the spreadsheet where Par- ticipant 2 has estimated P(ostrich) = 5%, P(horse) = 90%, P(zebra) = 5%, P(horse and zebra) = 5%, and P(horse or zebra) = 90%. The spreadsheet categorizes this pattern as zebra is a subset of horse, because P(horse) > P(zebra), P(horse and zebra) = P(zebra), and P(horse or zebra) = P(horse). It is important to note that this is not a fallacious pattern of responses. However, it is not semantically coherent with respect to the problem materials, which call for mutually exclusive sets. This same pattern would be semantically coherent for another set of materials-for example, those describing flowers and roses.

When A and B are identical sets (e.g., water and H2O), P(A not B) = 0 and P(B not A) = 0. A constellation of four estimates P(A), P(B), P(A and B), and P(A or B) is consistent with the semantic description identical set when P(A) = P(B) = P(A and B) = P(A or B) ≠ 0. Figure 3 shows a segment of the spreadsheet where Participant 4 has estimated P(ostrich) = 0%, P(horse) = 10%, P(zebra) = 10%, P(horse and zebra) = 10%, and P(horse or zebra) = 10%. The spreadsheet categorizes this pattern as identical sets, because P(horse) = P(horse or zebra), P(horse) = P(zebra), and P(horse and zebra) = P(horse or zebra), indicating that all four estimates are the same. in this case, 10%. In our experiments (Wolfe & Reyna, 2010), an additional cell checks that the estimate for an unlikely event.in this case, P(ostrich).is not the same as the other four, thereby enabling us to distinguish between identical sets and a lazy pattern of responding by hitting the same key for each question.

There are three patterns of conjunction fallacies and three patterns of disjunction fallacies. Conjunction fallacies are (1) P(A and B) > P(A), (2) P(A and B) > P(B), and (3) P(A and B) < P(A) 1 P(B) 2 1.0. The most common, and most frequently studied, conjunction error is one in which the conjunction of two events P(A and B) is erroneously considered more probable than one of those events, P(A). This is depicted in Figure 4 as Participant = having estimated P(horse) = 2% and yet P(horse and zebra) = 90%. The following are disjunction errors: (1) P(A or B) < P(A), (2) P(A or B) < P(B), and (3) P(A or B) > P(A) + P(B). The most frequent and commonly studied disjunction error is when the disjunc- tion of two events, P(A or B), is erroneously considered less probable than one of those events. Figure = depicts this situation, where Participant 6 has estimated P(horse or zebra) = 75% and yet P(zebra) = 90%.

In some circumstances, it is fallacious to estimate P(A and B) too low or P(A or B) too high. For example, if one estimates that P(A) = .9, and P(B) = .9, it would be fallacious to estimate P(A and B) = .5, a conjunction fallacy. Figure 6 illustrates this kind of disjunction error, where P(A and B) is too low. Participant 8 has estimated P(horse) = 90%, P(zebra) = 90%, and yet P(horse and zebra) = 50%. The formula categorizes a constellation of responses to be a conjunction error if P(A and B) > P(A) + P(B) 2 1.0. In other words, the lower boundary of the conjunctive probability P(A and B) should be constrained when the sum of the constituents exceeds 1.0.

Turning to the case in which the disjunctive probability is too high, if one estimated P(A) = .1 and P(B) = .1, estimating the P(A or B) = .9 would be a disjunction fallacy. Figure 7 shows a situation in which Participant 7 has estimated P(horse) = 5%, P(zebra) = 60%, and yet P(horse or zebra) = 80%. The formula categorizes a constellation of responses as a disjunction fallacy if P(A or B) > P(A) + P(B). In other words, the probability of Event A or Event B should generally be equal to or greater than each of those constituents, but not greater than their sum. Thus, these Excel formulae can be used to study different kinds of conjunction and disjunction fallacies, depending on the goals and interests of the researcher.

The last two categories of responses are consistent and inconsistent overlapping sets. Our Excel spreadsheet handles these by first identifying total overlapping sets and then determining whether or not they are internally consistent. Total overlapping sets are simply those cases in which the spreadsheet has not shown a fallacy or mutually exclusive sets, subsets, or identical sets (i.e., the value of each of those cells is 0). To determine whether this overlapping set is consistent or inconsistent, it establishes whether the value of P(A or B) is identical to what would be predicted by the other three estimates P(A), P(B), and P(A and B). Figure 8 shows how the expected value of P(A or B) is determined as P(A and B) plus the unique contribution of A, P(A not B), plus the unique contribution of B, P(B not A). In the case depicted in Figure 8, Participant 7 has estimated P(horse) = 40%, P(zebra) = 60%, P(horse and zebra) = 15%, and P(horse or zebra) = 80%. Here, the expected value of P(horse or zebra) = (40% - 15%) + 15% 1 (60% - 15%) = 85%. As is illustrated in Figure 8, the deviation from internal consistency is the absolute value of the participant's estimated P(A or B) minus the expected value of P(A or B)-in this case, 5%. When participants' estimates are internally consistent, this value is 0. By definition, mutually exclusive sets, subsets, and identical sets are internally consistent, with no difference between the expected and observed P(A or B). Internally inconsistent overlapping sets are those cases in which total overlapping sets (1 or 0) multiplied by deviations from internal consistency is greater than 0. Thus, if total overlapping sets is 0 and/or deviation from internal consistency is 0, a constellation will not be categorized as inconsistent overlapping sets.

Consistent overlapping sets (e.g., feminists and bank tellers) are determined by the Excel spreadsheet to be all remaining cases in which the constellation of the four estimates P(A), P(B), P(A and B), and P(A or B) is shown not to be fallacious or to consist of subsets, identical sets, or mutually exclusive sets or cases in which the marginal totals of P(A) plus P(not A) fail to sum to one. Consistent overlapping sets are those remaining cases. The spreadsheet categorizes a constellation of responses as consistent overlapping sets if they are first labeled total overlapping sets but not inconsistent overlapping sets-specifically, if total overlapping sets (1 or 0) minus inconsistent overlapping sets equals 1.

Inconsistent overlapping sets occur when no first-order (or single) logical fallacy has been committed but when P(A or B) ≠ [P(A) - P(A and B)] + P(A and B) + [P(B) - P(A and B)]. For example, one of Wolfe and Reynafs (2010) participants estimated P(A) = .3, P(B) = .3, P(A and B) = .15, P(A or B) = .60. Either of the joint probability estimates is permissible by itself, but if P(A and B) is .15, P(A or B) should be .45, not .6. In these cases, no first-order fallacy has been committed, but the marginal totals do not sum to one.that is, P(A) 1 P(not A) ≠ 1.0. Some researchers may categorize these as fallacious patterns of responding, and others may prefer to categorize them separately, because no single estimate can be identified as fallacious in and of itself. When someone estimates P(A and B) > P(A), it is clear that the estimate of P(A and B) is fallacious. In the case of inconsistent overlapping sets, it is the pattern of all four estimates that is fallacious. An advantage of separating inconsistent overlapping sets from first-order fallacies is that it allows researchers to pursue different questions about semantic coherence and fallacies to examine these patterns individually or to combine them.

DISCUSSION

The techniques described above effectively reduce a very large problem space to a handful of meaningful patterns. The research reported in Wolfe and Reyna (2010) was theoretically motivated by FTT, a dual-process theory of memory and cognition with broad ramifications for the study of judgment and decision making (Reyna, 2004; Reyna & Brainerd, 1995; Wolfe, 1995). However, semantic coherence as a benchmark is not dependent on FTT or any particular theory of judgment and decision making, and researchers operating within other theoretical frameworks may fruitfully investigate conditions affecting semantic coherence using the techniques described here.

Although the Excel formulae described here have proved to be quite reliable and useful, they do suffer from a few shortcomings, and automating the process of categorizing patterns of responses does not substitute for inspecting one's data. There are a few patterns that cannot be uniquely interpreted. In particular, cases in which all responses are 0% or 100% can be conceived of in more than one way. For example, if someone estimated the probability that George Washington was an extraterrestrial visitor at 0 and that he was a sumo wrestler at 0, it would be problematic to attribute the constellation of estimates P(extraterrestrial) = 0, P(sumo wrestler) 5 0, P(extraterrestrial and sumo wrestler) = 0, and P(extraterrestrial or sumo wrestler) = 0 to mean that extraterrestrials and sumo wrestlers are identical sets.

It is also important to be cautious about misattributing semantic coherence in cases in which probabilities at different levels of a hierarchy are misaligned (Lagnado & Shanks, 2003). For example, in a case in which there are four job candidates, three men and one woman, it may be perfectly reasonable and semantically coherent to believe that Jane has a greater chance of being hired than Tom, Dick, or Harry and that it is more likely that a man will be hired than a woman. To illustrate, someone may attribute the probability of Jane's being hired at .4 and give each of the men a .2 chance, resulting in a .6 probability that the person hired will be a man.

The concept of semantic coherence can be expanded to other domains beyond conjunctive and disjunctive probabilities. One of our next steps is to apply these techniques to conditional probabilities-that is, P(A| B). The concepts of mutually exclusive sets, identical sets, and subsets can fruitfully be applied in these conditional probabilities (Reyna & Mills, 2007). For mutually exclusive sets, when people estimate P(A) and P(B), P(A| B) = 0 and P(B | A) = 0; the pattern is semantically coherent with respect to mutually exclusive sets. For subsets (A is a subset of B), when people estimate P(A) and P(B) > P(A), P(A| B) = P(A) /P(B) and P(B | A) = 1.0; the pattern is semantically coherent with respect to subsets. For identical sets, when people estimate P(A) and P(B) 5 P(A), P(A|B) = 1.0 and P(B|A) = 1.0; the pattern is semantically coherent with respect to identical sets. For overlapping sets, when people estimate P(A) and P(B), then estimate P(A| B) > 0 and < 1.0, and then estimate P(B | A) = [P(A| B) 3 P(B)] /P(A), the pattern is semantically coherent with respect to consistent overlapping sets. The concept of semantic coherence can also be applied to independent sets for which A and B are orthogonal and conditional probabilities provide no additional information. For example, the probability of drawing an ace from a deck of playing cards is independent of the probability of drawing a red card. Whether or not one has drawn a red card provides no additional information about whether or not an ace has been drawn. A pattern of responses is semantically coherent with respect to independent sets when P(A| B) = P(A) and P(B | A) = P(B).

Extending the notion of semantic coherence to conditional probabilities may have implications for the Bayesian or probabilistic approach to reasoning (Evans, 2007; Oaksford & Chater, 2007; Over, 2009). From this perspective, people judge the natural language proposition if A then B to be the conditional probability P(A| B) (Evans, 2007), and probability heuristics are applied to a range of reasoning phenomena. Employing semantic coherence within this new paradigm may help distinguish among models of reasoning (Oaksford & Chater, 2007), as well as models of probabilistic inference.

Semantic coherence provides another useful yardstick for assessing probability estimation. It is a higher standard than logical fallacies, yet, like fallacies, semantic coherence is a measure of internal consistency. We are only beginning to explore the conditions under which semantic coherence improves or is degraded. Although these conditions are not well understood, their investigation should shed new light on the processes of estimating probability.

[Sidebar]

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS

An Excel spreadsheet for automating calculation of the probability space for any set of probability estimates may be downloaded from http://brm.psychonomic-journals.org/content/supplemental.

(Manuscript received November 11, 2009; revision accepted for publication January 25, 2010.)

[Reference]

REFERENCES

Adam, M. B., & Reyna, V. F. (2005). Coherence and correspondence cri- teria for rationality: Experts' estimation of risks of sexually transmitted infections. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 18, 169-186.

Bar-Hillel, M., & Neter, E. (1993). How alike is it versus how likely is it? A disjunction fallacy in probability judgments. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 65, 1119-1131.

Evans, J. St. B. T. (2007). Hypothetical thinking: Dual processes in reasoning and judgement. Hove, U.K.: Psychology Press.

Gilovich, T., Griffin, D. [W.], & Kahneman, D. (Eds.) (2002). Heuristics and biases: The psychology of intuitive judgment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hammond, K. R. (2000). Coherence and correspondence theories in judgment and decision making. In T. Connolly, H. R. Arkes, & K. R. Hammond (Eds.), Judgment and decision making: An interdisciplinary reader (2nd ed., pp. 53-65). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Keren, G. (1991). Calibration and probability judgments: Conceptual and methodological issues. Acta Psychologica, 77, 217-273.

Lagnado, D. A., & Shanks, D. R. (2003). The influence of hierarchy on probability judgment. Cognition, 89, 157-178.

Lien, Y., & Cheng, P. W. (2000). Distinguishing genuine from spurious causes: A coherence hypothesis. Cognitive Psychology, 40, 87-137.

Oaksford, M., & Chater, N. (2007). Bayesian rationality: The probabilistic approach to human reasoning. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Over, D. E. (2009). New paradigm psychology of reasoning. Thinking & Reasoning, 15, 431-438.

Reyna, V. F. (2004). How people make decisions that involve risk. A dual-processes approach. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13, 60-66.

Reyna, V. F., & Adam, M. B. (2003). Fuzzy-trace theory, risk communication, and product labeling in sexually transmitted diseases. Risk Analysis, 23, 325-342.

Reyna, V. F., & Brainerd, C. J. (1995). Fuzzy-trace theory: An interim synthesis. Learning & Individual Differences, 7, 1-75.

Reyna, V. F., & Mills, B. [A.] (2007). Converging evidence supports fuzzy-trace theory's nested sets hypothesis, but not the frequency hypothesis. Behavioral & Brain Sciences, 30, 278-280.

Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1983). Extensional versus intuitive reasoning: The conjunction fallacy in probability judgment. Psychological Review, 90, 293-315.

Wolfe, C. R. (1995). Information seeking on Bayesian conditional probability problems: A fuzzy-trace theory account. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 8, 85-108.

Wolfe, C. R., & Reyna, V. F. (2010). Semantic coherence and fallacies in estimating joint probabilities. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 23, 203-223. doi:10.1002/bdm.650

Wright, G., Bolger, F., & Rowe, G. (2002). An empirical test of the relative validity of expert and lay judgments of risk. Risk Analysis, 22, 1107-1122.

Yates, J. F., Lee, J.-W., Shinotsuka, H., Patalano, A. L., & Sieck, W. R. (1998). Cross-cultural variations in probability judgment accuracy: Beyond general knowledge overconfidence? Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes, 74, 89-117.

Young, S. D., Nussbaum, A. D., & Monin, B. (2007). Potential moral stigma and reactions to sexually transmitted diseases: Evidence for a disjunction fallacy. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 789-799.

[Author Affiliation]

CHRISTOPHER R. WOLFE

Miami University, Oxford, Ohio

AND

VALERIE F. REYNA

Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

C. R. Wolfe, wolfecr@muohio.edu

[Author Affiliation]

AUTHOR NOTE

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to C. R. Wolfe, Department of Psychology, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056 (e-mail: wolfecr@muohio.edu).

Plods could be on quads

Putting Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) on a quad bikewould speed up the law in Glastonbury, a taxi driver is suggesting.

Chris Wickham, chairman of the town's PACT panel, is a fan of thefour-wheelers and is looking for support to make his plod-on-a-quadidea a reality.

He raised it at the Police and Communities Together (PACT)meeting in Glastonbury last week - where it met with support fromlocal police, councillors and officers.

However, there is no budget to buy a decent Pounds 5,000 bike,plus training and maintenance costs. If the town wants to see fasterresponses from police it needs to find the money itself.

The taxi driver said: "Anti-social behaviour keeps coming up atthe PACT meetings and people are very passionate about it.

"If this idea works the three PCSOs and the beat manager cancover twice as much ground in half the time.

"Using a pedal bike up Windmill Hill would take 15 minutes androlling up in a police car gives people time to run away.

"We could police Tor Leisure, the back of Morrisons and all thealleyways of the town and use shortcuts."

Mr Wickham also pointed to the green credentials of a quad bike,which does 40 miles to the gallon, as opposed to 20 miles by mostcars.

Mr Wickham is sounding out support for the venture and welcomesany fundraising ideas to pay for the bike. Contact him on 01458833106 or email chrisatcjwtaxis@aol.com.

TWO CENTS WORTH

Bursting the bubble: Bubble gum, that childhood staple, has a lot ofshortcomings when you start to examine it closely. Zillions, theConsumer Reports magazine for children, tested several brands ofbubble gum and found that a lot of twists on the old theme don't workvery well. For example, the testers - dozens of youngsters - foundthat Soft Bazooka, designed to be easier on the jaws, was gentler onthe gums for only a short while. Nickelodeon's Bubble Gum Lab, whichlets kids mix their own gum, turned into a gritty, lumpy mass withunimpressive bubbles. Loud gum, which is supposed to be noisy, didlive up to its name. But the testers found it was tough to chew andthe bubbles were too small.Secret of success: Companies that continue to slash away at theirpayrolls and other expenses may find their shareholders less thanthrilled with the results. Mercer Management Consulting studied theresults of nearly 800 big companies and found that the market valueof companies that used a strategy of profitable growth increased 21percent between 1991 and 1996. Meanwhile, cost-cutting companies'value rose only 12 percent. "The stock market appears to be givingfewer rewards to companies that still think they can shrink togreatness," said Eric Almquist, a Mercer director.All you need is love: Many Beatles fans fondly remember the "bed-in"that John and Yoko had in March, 1969, when they stayed in bed in anAmsterdam Hilton suite as part of a peace demonstration. Nearlythree decades later, the hotel has redone the suite in honor of thecouple. The ceiling in the bedroom contains an enlargement of thecover of the album "The Plastic Ono Band/Live Peace in Toronto1969." The hotel says the suite has been restored to much the sameway it looked when John Lennon and Yoko Ono stayed there, but the'90s luxuries that hotel guests have come to expect have beenincluded. Deadline for procrastinators: If you applied for anautomatic four-month extension for filing your federal income-taxreturns back in April, the new deadline is Aug. 15. If you stillneed time, you can get a two-month extension, until Oct. 15, byfiling Form 2688. Ratings game: When it comes to supermarkets,price isn't everything. Three of the highest overall scorers among35 supermarket chains rated in the August issue of Consumer Reportsmagazine weren't the ones whose costs pleased readers the most.Rather, the Publix, Raley's and Harris Teeter chains excelled in"cleanliness," "courtesy" and "checkout speed" - and had high-qualitymeat and produce - while scoring relatively low in price. The chainsthat shoppers rated cheapest were Giant, H.E. Butt, Meijer, ShopRiteand Wal-Mart Supercenter.

MU policy allows for pagan holidays, There may be no: ; other U.S. school; with such a guideline

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

When George Fain visits a grave today to mark a pagan holiday,she won't have to worry about the work she's missing in her classesat Marshall University in Huntington.

That's because her absence on the Samhain holiday has beenapproved by the school, which for the first time is recognizingpagan students' desire to be excused from class for religiousholidays and festivals.

The university with an enrollment of about 14,000 may be the onlyschool in the country to formally protect pagan students from beingpenalized by missing work that falls on religious holidays, althoughother schools have catchall policies they say protect students fromevery religious faith.

But as members of the eclectic group of faiths gathered under theterm "pagan" become more willing to publicly assert their beliefs,Fain suggests other schools may follow Marshall's example.

"I think we may have opened a door," Fain said. "Now that we knowwe can be protected, that the government will stand behind us and wefeel safe, it's going to be more prevalent."

The state's largest university, West Virginia University, doesnot have a policy specifically addressing pagan holidays.

The decision to allow pagan students to make up missed work fromclasses on holidays was simply an extension of existing universitypolicy toward members of other religious groups, according toMarshall's Dean of Student Affairs Steve Hensley.

"I don't think there are a lot of students here who have thosebeliefs, but we want to respect them," Hensley said. "It was reallyjust a matter of looking into it, and deciding what was the rightthing."

Although the university had considered adopting a calendar ofspecific pagan holidays on which excuses for absence would begranted, Hensley said he ultimately decided to adopt a case-by-casepolicy.

Students are responsible for establishing that they are religiousbelievers and that the holiday in question is important to theirrespective tradition by filing a written request with Hensley. Theuniversity is aware of the potential for some students to falselyclaim to be pagan in a bid to skip a midterm they haven't studiedfor.

"What we're trying to do is get at what students' core beliefsare," he said.

It's not easy to say whether Marshall is the only university withsuch a policy. Experts on paganism contacted for this story say theyaren't aware of others. A call to the American Association ofCollegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers was not immediatelyreturned Wednesday.

Some schools have catchall policies that allow students to beexcused for any religious holiday. Such a policy has been formallyin place at LeHigh University in Pennsylvania for about eight years,according to Lloyd Steffen, a professor of religion and theuniversity's chaplain.

Such an accommodation for pagans is also rare in Britain, thebirthplace of modern paganism.

"Nobody yet gets any holiday for pagan festivals in the UnitedKingdom. It seems to be an American original," said Ronald Hutton, ahistory professor at the University of Bristol in England.

By specifically including pagans, Marshall is taking an importantstep toward recognizing the validity of their beliefs, said JasonPitzl-Waters, an authority on paganism who edits the Wild Hunt Website from Milwaukee.

"That's part of the struggle for modern pagans," said Pitzl-Waters, a pagan. "Even though modern paganism has been in publicsince the 1950s, a lot of people still see it as a rebelliousteenage activity, not necessarily something you do as a religiousobservance."

That's starting to change, according to Helen Berger, a sociologyprofessor at West Chester University in Pennsylvania.

In particular, she cited the recent decision by the Department ofDefense to agree to pagan requests that the five-pointed star -sometimes called the pentacle - be allowed on the gravestones ofveterans in national cemeteries.

"That was a major win, and it's encouraged them to start lookingfor areas where they can gain the rights and recognition that otherreligions have," Berger said.

The term "pagan" encompasses a diverse array of faiths who caninclude those seeking to reconstruct the forms of pre-Christianreligious worship in Northern Europe to the better-known Wiccans,who draw largely on more recent sources.

"What binds us together isn't our theology, necessarily," Pitzl-Waters said. "What binds us together is a sense of communal practiceand togetherness."

Putting a number on pagan believers in the United States can bedifficult. Estimates range from 400,000 to 1 million. Part of theproblem is that many believers may feel uncomfortable acknowledginga faith that is still regarded with suspicion.

Monday, March 12, 2012

NEWS SHORTS

MAKE THAT 30 STORIES

Maybe they're making up for the hole. Gary Rogers, the new developer of what was once known as the Boise Tower on 8th Street between Idaho and Main, now wants the new building to be even taller.

Originally, Rogers told city officials and the media he hoped to make the new tower about 25 stories high. Well, things change. Now, the founder of Charterhouse Boise Downtown Properties LLC thinks the building might go to 30 stories.

"We've had to go back and redesign the building entirely," Rogers told a recent meeting of the Capital City Development Corporation. "There is the possibility that we may exceed 25 stories, possibly up to as many as 30."

Prospects of a new skyscraper sent eyebrows skyward as well.

"That's, to me, kind of an alarming increase," said City Councilor Alan Shealy, who sits on the board of CCDC. He worried that a new 30-story skyscraper might inspire an architectural build-off.

"The game of one-upmanship tends to take hold," Shealy said. "I would hate to see a bunch of skyscrapers dominate the Boise skyline."

Although the CCDC's urban renewal guidelines restrict buildings to a 20-story height, city ordinances, oddly, do not restrict developers to a height limit.

"In my opinion, if you're going to have very tall buildings in downtown Boise, that's where you'd have it," said Bruce Chatterton, Boise's director of Planning and Development Services. He added that he had yet to see the latest plans for the tower.

Rogers told Shealy that he doubted his building's height would inspire copycat designs on Boise's skyline.

"We'll bring you a design that you'll like," he said.

Meanwhile, Rogers is asking for volunteers to help him remove the massive banner sign that's hanging off a neighboring building, announcing the former design known as the Boise Towers. Getting a crane to remove the sign, Rogers said, was proving to be too expensive. One alternative, he said, was to get a crew to rappel down the side of the building and remove the banner by hand.

"I'm so anxious to get that sign down, I'd be ready to go over the edge," said CCDC commissioner John May.

OLD SPAGHETTI FACTORY HEADS FOR BOISE

Downtown Boise is about to get another chain restaurant. The Old Spaghetti Factory has its sights set on the old Capitol Lithograph building on Idaho Street, between 6th Street and Capitol Boulevard. That would plunk a nationwide chain of Italian restaurants next to a downtown Boise fixture: Louie's Pizza and Italian Restaurant. See a problem here? If Louie's owner Chris Mallane does, he's not talking about it.

"I don't care who goes next to us," Mallane told BW. But he did take the time to write the Capital City Development Corporation telling them that he wanted no part in helping to fund a sidewalk redevelopment the group is contemplating on the block. The owners of the Capitol Lithograph building, working with the Spaghetti Factory, intend to pretty up the sidewalk, erasing four parking spaces but creating outdoor dining space. So why did Mallane want out?

"We can speculate that he's concerned about competition as a result of this tenant," CCDC project manager Mike Hall told the board. "CCDC, I don't think, is in the business of regulating competition."

To help offset the estimated $130,000 it would take to change the sidewalk, the CCDC is planning to offer a no-interest loan to the developers to the tune of $48,000, due back to CCDC when the project is complete. With prodding from Mike Dolby, representing Capitol Lithograph, the commission opted to go ahead with the loan, removing Louie's Pizza from the agreement to develop the sidewalk. Only City Councilor David Eberle voted against going forward but, he said, not because he did not support the project.

"(Old Spaghetti Factory's) design needs this," Dolby said. "Will Louie's Restaurant benefit from this? Absolutely. If this is prevention of competition, this is not the forum for that."

A LAME DUCK SESSION?

If Gov. Jim Risch goes ahead and calls a special session to chat up property taxes, he'll be calling back several lawmakers who've already said they're done with the place. That includes the retiring leaders of both the House and Senate tax committees, Sen. Hal Bunderson of Meridian and Rep. Dolores Crow of Nampa. Both Republicans are done, but if Risch calls, they'd be back, along with House Speaker Bruce Newcomb, a Burley Republican who also has said he is retiring.

"They're lame ducks. They're not going to be held accountable," said House Minority Leader Wendy Jaquet of Ketchum. "It's one thing to come home from the session and be accountable. It's not very appropriate."

But into the void of property tax debates, Keith Allred sees opportunity. The director of The Common Interest scored a few points last session with ideas on open meetings and tax policy, and is hoping to do so again if Risch calls a session.

Having a few lame ducks, Allred said, creates "an unusual dynamic." He's hoping they might consider two ideas for reducing property taxes and helping maintain funding for schools. First, he said, lawmakers could create a county-specific property-tax index that could be used to create homeowners exemptions county by county, instead of a statewide rate that averages home values from booming counties along with ones that are not experiencing the same fast growth rate. That way, Allred said, individual counties who are experiencing vastly different rates of growth could maintain their own tailored tax exemptions and avoid the ups or downs created by a statewide index. The other option, he said, would be to go ahead and run with the idea of using the state's current budget surplus for a one-time fix, something even Risch has said might come up.

"I'm out there, sowing seeds of these alternatives," Allred said. Either fix, he said, could be managed in a couple of days in the Statehouse, lame ducks or no.

GAY PRIDE PROTESTER: OUCH

Raymond Rodriguez might have expected some feedback. When he showed up at the Boise Gay Pride parade carrying a sign that read "Homosexuality is an abomination," he was not, as you might imagine, the most popular guy on the block. But now he's filed a report with the Boise Police Department because he said he was attacked by gay-rights supporters who thought his presence was, to say the least, inappropriate.

Rodriguez, who is a regular fixture outside Planned Parenthood (BW, News, "The Sign People, " March 24) said he was "hit, spit on, and attacked with metal crutches."

"People actually wanted to hurt us," Rodriguez, 21, said. The "us" refers to his brother and father, who also held signs reading "America needs to repent" and "Gay is unnatural." Without a suspect identified, BPD spokeswoman Lynn Hightower said there wasn't much for officers to go on. Rodriguez said that although gay-rights supporters asked that he be arrested for disrupting a peaceful event, he agreed to leave.

More than 700 people rallied downtown last weekend in what was otherwise a more-than-successful show of support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Idahoans.

war in Iraq

U.S. CASUALTIES: As of Tuesday, June 13, 2,498 U.S. service members (including 14 Idahoans) have died since the war in Iraq began in March 2003: 1,970 in combat and 528 from non-combat related incidents and accidents. Injured service members total 9,989. In the last week, 16 U.S. soldiers died.

Since President George W. Bush declared "mission accomplished" aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln on May 1, 2003, 2,352 soldiers have died.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Defense

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS: Estimated between 38,355 and 42,747.

Source: www.iraqbodycount.net

COST OF IRAQ WAR: $288,176,856,204

Source: www.costofwar.com

-Shea Andersen

Monks stay calm during California quake

A monk felt the ground shake violently inside a Thai Buddhist temple, and his thoughts calmly drifted toward the birth of Buddha.

For Thawatchai Imprapra, the magnitude-5.4 earthquake that shook Southern California on Tuesday was not a time to panic but to remember the special religious meaning behind seismic events. There were no immediate reports of serious injuries or major damage from the quake.

The 52-year-old monk from Thailand said he and six other monks were finishing their lunch at the Wat Buddhi Buddhist Temple when a "boom, like a small explosion" shook the ground and rattled panels off their kitchen wall. He said he remained calm, noting that seismic events accompanied the three important steps in the life of the Buddha _ his birth, his enlightenment and his first sermon.

"When you offer your life for the Buddha, if something happens let it happen," he said.

Imprapra did not know it at the time, but he and his fellow monks were directly above the earthquake's epicenter. The temple sustained minimal damage from the quake _ which Imprapra said was by far the largest since he came to the U.S. in 1989.

Others in the neighborhood did not react as calmly to the shaking. Gay Caldwell, 72, recalled sitting inside her mobile home when she felt the ground trembling and panicked.

"I screamed for my husband three times," she said, "I says, 'Jesus Christ,' and my cereal fell right out of my spoon. It really shook our place."

Like thousands of others in Chino Hills, Caldwell and the monks shrugged off the earthquake by midafternoon and were returning to business as usual.

Imprapra returned to his chanting and meditation, rituals that take up at least two hours every day.

Police search for Champions League final biter

Police are searching for a Manchester United fan who bit off part of a man's ear at the Champions League final in Rome.

Greater Manchester Police made the appeal Wednesday, releasing video footage and still pictures.

Police said the 46-year-old victim had intervened during an altercation between the offender and a woman outside the Stadio Olimpico before United lost to Barcelona in May.

The victim was threatened by the offender, but the attack didn't come until they later came face-to-face again in the stadium.

Police said that "the offender saw the victim again inside the stadium and without provocation, violently attacked him."

The offender was wearing a blue United away shirt.

JonBenet's mom tired of suspicion

ATLANTA A defiant Patsy Ramsey challenged Colorado authoritiesWednesday to charge her in the slaying of her 6-year-old daughter,JonBenet. She said that after four years of being under policesuspicion, she and her husband are weary, frustrated and desperatefor some normalcy in their lives.

"I'm beyond being hurt or embarrassed," said Ramsey, who with herhusband, John, again denied having anything to do with JonBenet'sdeath. "If you think I did it, let's have a trial and get it overwith."

In a wide-ranging interview, the Ramseys described how being thefocus of a murder mystery that continues to receive worldwideattention has wrecked their finances, challenged their resolve andled them and their 13-year-old son into a cocoon-like lifestyle, withno television or newspapers in their home.

The interview followed a day and a half of questioning by Coloradoauthorities, who say they continue to consider John and Patsy Ramseyas being "under an umbrella of suspicion" in the slaying of JonBenet.The slaying occurred in December 1996 in the Ramseys' Boulder, Colo.,home, which they sold before moving to Atlanta.

The Ramseys said they agreed to be questioned by authorities forthe first time in two years because they were desperate to advancethe probe into their daughter's death, and saw no other way to try todirect it away from them.

On ABC's "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, special prosecutorMichael Kane declined Patsy Ramsey's invitation to clear the couple.

"Our purpose is not to clear anybody. Our purpose is to find outwho killed the little girl," said Kane, who participated in thequestioning of the Ramseys in Atlanta. Colorado officials were notavailable for further comment.

In their interview, the Ramseys said they believe they will becleared only when the person who killed their daughter kills again.They said it was clear from the authorities' questions that PatsyRamsey is the primary target of the investigation.

Lincecum shuts down Padres, NL West level again

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Tim Lincecum won his third straight start following a career-high, five-game losing streak and had a two-run single as the San Francisco Giants punished San Diego ace Mat Latos to win 6-1 Sunday.

The win cut the struggling Padres' lead to less than one percentage point atop the National League West.

The Giants won three of four games after having lost nine of their first 11 against the Padres this year. The teams will meet in a season-ending series at San Francisco Oct. 1-3.

San Diego (80-62) leads San Francisco (81-63) by .5634 to .5625. Colorado is just 1 1/2 games back.

Rookie Buster Posey hit a two-run homer off Latos (14-6), who allowed five runs and seven hits in four innings, his worst start since April 26.

Rockies 4, Diamondbacks 2

At Denver, pinch-hitter Jason Giambi hit a two-run homer off Sam Demel (1-1) with two outs in the ninth, giving Colorado its 10th straight win.

Jonathan Herrera started the rally when he reached on an error by second baseman Kelly Johnson.

Colorado's winning streak is the longest in the NL this season and one game short of the major league best shared by the Chicago White Sox and Texas.

Phillies 3, Mets 0

At New York, Roy Oswalt (12-13) pitched a four-hitter for his second complete game this season as Philadelphia blanked New York.

Raul Ibanez hit a solo homer off Jon Niese (9-8), and Chase Utley and Ryan Howard had RBI singles for the Phillies (83-61), who nosed ahead of second-place Atlanta in the NL East by winning for the fifth time in six games.

Pirates 3, Reds 1

At Cincinnati, Andrew McCutchen hit a three-run double in the ninth off Francisco Cordero (6-5), who blew his second straight save chance in Pittsburgh's loss to Cincinnati.

Park Chan-ho (1-1) allowed a walk in the eighth inning to get the win. Joel Hanrahan loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth before striking out Chris Heisey for his fifth save in nine tries.

Cardinals 7, Braves 3

At Atlanta, Albert Pujols hit two home runs to power St. Louis past Atlanta and drop the braves out of first place.

Pujols passed Hall of Famer Stan Musial for the most multihomer games in Cardinals history with 38, including five this season.

Kyle Lohse (3-7) allowed two runs in 5 1-3 innings to beat Tim Hudson (15-8), who lost his third straight.

The second-place Cardinals gained a game in the NL Central but still trail Cincinnati by six.

Marlins 6, Nationals 5

At Washington, Mike Stanton homered twice off Jordan Zimmermann (0-1) and drove in three runs as Florida completed a three-game sweep of Washington.

Florida won 10 of its last 11 games against Washington to win the season series 13-5. The last-place Nationals have lost five in a row overall, falling a season-high 23 games under .500 at 60-83.

Brian Sanches (1-2) won in relief, striking out four in 1 2-3 innings, and Clay Hensley got three outs for his third save.

Astros 7, Dodgers 4

At Houston, Hunter Pence had his team-leading 24th homer among his three hits, and Carlos Lee hit his 21st homer as Houston earned a split of the four-game series with Los Angeles.

Gustavo Chacin (2-2) escaped a bases-loaded jam with two outs in the fifth to keep the score tied 4-all. He and five other relievers combined for 4 1-3 innings of two-hit ball. Brandon Lyon pitched a hitless ninth for his 15th save.

Houston scored twice against Ramon Troncoso (1-3) in the fifth.

Brewers 2, Cubs 0

At Milwaukee, Yovani Gallardo (12-7) pitched four-hit ball for seven innings to win for the first time in seven starts since Aug. 8, and he doubled and scored on Ryan Braun's fifth-inning double in Milwaukee's shut out of Chicago.

Casey McGehee homered in the eighth after the Brewers scored their first run of the three-game series.

Casey Coleman (1-2) allowed one run and five hits in six innings.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

GRAND MESA, UNCOMPAHGRE AND GUNNISON NATIONAL FOREST GETS DEPUTY FOREST SUPERVISOR

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's U.S. Forest Service unit - Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests - issued the following press release:

The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forest (GMUG) announced that for the first time ever, the Forest has a Deputy Forest Supervisor. Forest Supervisor Charlie Richmond, introduced Ms. Kendall Clark to employees this past week.

Ms. Clark will work out of the Forest Headquarters Office in Delta and will share leadership responsibility for the GMUG National Forest. Richmond stated, "Kendall comes to us with a rich and diverse background of skills and experience both as a Forest Service employee as well as, from her experience in the private sector." Richmond went on to say, "We are really happy to have Kendall here and she will be a great help in managing the Forest and working with our publics."

Most recently, Kendall Clark has been working on the Carson National Forest in New Mexico as the Acting Forest Supervisor. She has also worked on the Gila, the Nez Perce, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests and she was the Area Ranger for Hell's Canyon National Recreation Area. Ms. Clark stated, "I am so happy to be here and I am looking forward to getting in the field to learn more about the Forest and the communities within and surrounding it." Clark went on to say, "I look forward to meeting many of our Forest users, partners, and local governments in the weeks ahead and learning about their concerns and ideas for the future management of the Forest."Contact: Lee Ann Loupe, 970/263-5829.

Lee Ann Loupe, 970/263-5829.

GRAND MESA, UNCOMPAHGRE AND GUNNISON NATIONAL FOREST GETS DEPUTY FOREST SUPERVISOR

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's U.S. Forest Service unit - Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests - issued the following press release:

The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forest (GMUG) announced that for the first time ever, the Forest has a Deputy Forest Supervisor. Forest Supervisor Charlie Richmond, introduced Ms. Kendall Clark to employees this past week.

Ms. Clark will work out of the Forest Headquarters Office in Delta and will share leadership responsibility for the GMUG National Forest. Richmond stated, "Kendall comes to us with a rich and diverse background of skills and experience both as a Forest Service employee as well as, from her experience in the private sector." Richmond went on to say, "We are really happy to have Kendall here and she will be a great help in managing the Forest and working with our publics."

Most recently, Kendall Clark has been working on the Carson National Forest in New Mexico as the Acting Forest Supervisor. She has also worked on the Gila, the Nez Perce, and Wallowa-Whitman National Forests and she was the Area Ranger for Hell's Canyon National Recreation Area. Ms. Clark stated, "I am so happy to be here and I am looking forward to getting in the field to learn more about the Forest and the communities within and surrounding it." Clark went on to say, "I look forward to meeting many of our Forest users, partners, and local governments in the weeks ahead and learning about their concerns and ideas for the future management of the Forest."Contact: Lee Ann Loupe, 970/263-5829.

Lee Ann Loupe, 970/263-5829.