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The Port of Seattle has fired eight employees and four consultants for inappropriate computer use, including viewing sexually explicit photos, sexually-oriented jokes, and jokes about race, gender and national origin on Port furniture.

Seven other employees have received varying degrees of punishment, including leave-without-pay, according to the Port.

The Port’s five-paragraph announcement on Friday afternoon did not name the employees and consultants.

“This is especially disappointing, similar to we have been clear through staff about our expectations that employees read, understand and continue by the agency of the Port’s policies,” said Chief Executive Tay Yoshitani in a statement.

Last year, the Port urged all supervisors to make surely employees understood the Port’s anti-harassment and computer-use policies. That directive followed a scandal in which nine Port police officers were disciplined for sending e-mails the Port Commission called “sexually explicit, sexist and racist.”

BELGRADE (AFP) - Radovan Karadzic's bid to dodge trial for war crimes was reportedly in the mail Saturday after his lawyers sent off an appeal at the latest possible minute against his transfer to a UN bar.

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Will Seattle’s housing place of traffic eventually mirror California’s and drain amid a sea of foreclosures? That’s what some real-estate watchers have argued.

But in fact, new numbers show that while Seattle/Bellevue/Everett area foreclosure filings are rising, the Emerald City is behaving in addition like New York City than anywhere in the Golden State.

Seattle is 83rd in foreclosure activity among 100 metro markets, and New York City is 84th.

That puts both cities alienated behind the leaders in a national tide of enlarging foreclosures: California’s Stockton and Riverside/San Bernardino markets, according to foreclosure-information provider RealtyTrac, which released second-quarter statistics today.

One in every 411 Seattle-area homeowners experienced a foreclosure filing last quarter, because did one in 432 New York metro-area owners.

In Stockton, by exhibition of differences, one in each 25 homeowners faced foreclosure; in Riverside/San Bernardino, one in every 32, RealtyTrac reported.

Eleven California cities, including Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Diego, were harder-hit than the general average of one in 171. Washington’s hardest-hit city was Tacoma: unit in 179 households

On a statewide basis, California was second in foreclosures, as long as Washington was 24th.

Nevada recorded the highest ratio of foreclosure activity. In the Las Vegas circuit, there were 21,742 foreclosure filings last quarter, or one in each 35 homes.

The worst may not be transversely.

“Although a great quantity of the fallout from foreclosures is being driven by rampant activity in a few states, such as Nevada, California, Florida, Ohio, Arizona and Michigan, most areas of the country are seeing at least more increase in foreclosure nimbleness,” RealtyTrac Chief Executive James Saccacio said in a statement.

Seattle and Tacoma were among them.

Seattle-area second-quarter foreclosures were up 17 percent compared with the first quarter of 2008, or scornfully above the national average of 14 percent.

Compared by the second quarter of 2007, Seattle’s filings were up 69 percent, substantially less than the public average increase of 121 percent. Seattle’s increase was based attached 2,616 filings.

Tacoma filings were up 14 percent from the first quarter (based on 1,732 filings), and up 113 percent over the second quarter of 2007.

By comparison, hard-hit Riverside/San Bernardino’s filings were up 193 percent year over year, as 43,000 homes received filings.

Not totally of these foreclosures will exist completed, as some owners will sell their homes or make ready up missed payments.

“Bank repossessions accounted for 30 percent of total foreclosure activity in the second quarter, up from 24 percent of the gross amount in the first quarter,” Saccacio before-mentioned.

He theorized this enlarge signals a shift in how foreclosures are playing out, indicating “there is a progression near at hand purging the problem loans out of the a whole, at which point the housing market can regain more sense of normalcy.

“Of course whether or not another surge in defaults occurs, which could well happen later this year, it would refill the foreclosure pipeline and prolong the recovery,” Saccacio said.

The foreclosure situation is generally blamed on a coalition of factors including unsound mortgages, falling home prices and speculative home buying.

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Staying in the house against the first time from the time of the von Trapps fled the Nazi regime in the late 1930s has been a deeply moving experience with a view to the second-eldest daughter of Baron von Trapp, whose story was made famous by the "Sound of Music" film.

"Our whole lifetime is in here, in this house," the 94-year-old told Reuters in an meeting. "Especially here in the stairwell, where we always used to slide down the railings."

Von Trapp smiles as she recalls the memory of her and her six siblings clambering and playing in the country house in the leafy suburbs of Salzburg in Austria and expenditure nights in hammocks in the park surrounding the family hearth.

"My youngest sister built herself a tree house. Of beat, then we every one of had to have united as well, we loved to clamber. the trees," she said.

Following the death of Baron von Trapp's primeval wife, aspiring nun Maria Kutschera joined the family to teach the children, fell in be fond of with the baron and married him in 1927.

The family always sang and played instruments together, and having lost all their fortune in 1935 in the throes of the world economic crisis, their tuneful endowment proved a saviour.

An opera singer heard the children sing in the park and entered them for a competition. Soon the von Trapps started to tour Europe and the United States as a family choir.

"We sang a lot and we sang all the time. We didn't even lack to go for a walk alone, because we wanted to sing all the time together," recalls von Trapp.

"My father played the kit and the accordion, and I adored him - I wanted to learn all the instruments that he played," said von Trapp, who still plays the accordion.

SALZBURG SAUSAGES

For Baron von Trapp, a staunch Austrian lover of one’s country and opponent of Adolf Hitler, his singing family also provided the escape ticket from the Nazi regime. The lineage did not return from a concert tour in the United States in the late 1930s.

"Without the singing, we would have never made it to the United States," uttered von Trapp.

While The Sound of Music, one of the most successful films ever made, produced a series of well-loved musical hits like "Edelweiss" or "Sixteen going on 17," the family took exception to the way they were portrayed.

Julie Andrews starred as the aspiring nun Maria in the 1965 film, while Christopher Plummer played Baron von Trapp, who was depicted as a strict patriarch, obsessed with discipline.

"We were all pretty shocked at how they portrayed our become a father to, he was so completely different. He always looked from us a lot, especially hinder our mother died," von Trapp said.

"You have to separate yourself from every one of that, and you have to get used to it. It is something you simply cannot avoid."

Her stepmother Maria had a different three children by Baron von Trapp, and the family settled on a take on lease in Vermont in 1942.

The villa in Salzburg was taken over by the agency of Nazi bond chief Heinrich Himmler, who used it being of the class who a place of abode close to the Austrian Alps until 1945. After the war, a missionary order took over the home, agreeing to relinquish it for exercise since a tavern eventually.

For Maria von Trapp, who flew in from the United States to join the opening celebrations of the hotel onward Friday, Salzburg will besides mean satisfying a long-awaited culinary treat.

"Today I will eat sausages — this is what I did as a child. Sausages in Salzburg are simply fanciful."

Bordeaux is practically synonymous with the creation’s greatest red wines, but it besides produces some outstanding dry whites, as well

by Robert Parker

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It is no sly that the 2005 vintage produced extraordinarily long-lived, rich red wines that have be changed to the darlings of speculators, investors, and wine consumers. Prices are already through the roof, and they will go your way only higher, of the same kind with this year is considered by many to be a bulky, modern-day, classic vintage for Bordeaux. Lost in all the hyperbole about the red wines is what remarkable circuit Bordeaux has made with its dry whites, usually blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon and peradventure a tiny quantity of balmy, flamboyant Muscadelle. The finest wines can age surprisingly well, and 2005 was a grateful vintage for these dry, crisp whites that often smell of fresh figs, spotless currants, crushed rocks, and tropical fruits. Here is a selection of my favorites in different price ranges.

91 points

2005 La Grande Clotte Bordeaux

Michel and Dany Rolland’s fine generic Bordeaux admirably showcases their enviable talents. Lovely aromas of honeysuckle, wax, wheat thins, lemon oil, and pie crust-like scents escape from this medium-bodied, fruity, well-delineated white. It should drink nicely because another 4 to 5 years. $35

91 points

2005 Reignac Bordeaux

As one might expect from proprietor Yves Vatelot, the 2005 Reignac is a superb exertion exhibiting exuberant quantities of honeysuckle, citrus, lemon butter, and a touch of smoky oak. This serious, medium-bodied effort is meant to be consumed from beginning to end the next 4 to 5 years. $35-$42

92 points

2005 De Fieuzal Pessac-Léognan

The 2005 Fieuzal offers up aromas of hazelnuts, lemon zest, white peaches, currants, and honeysuckle. Gorgeous acidity, a small quantity of creamy oak, and a full-bodied mouthfeel result in a Burgundian-style white Graves. Enjoy it over the next 20 years. $55-$65

92 points

2005 Malartic Lagravière Pessac-Léognan

Made in a beautiful, elegant, zesty style, the 2005 Malartic Lagravière offers full quantities of honeyed grapefruit and other assorted citrus, crushed rock, spring flower, nectarine, and marmalade, to the degree that well as brilliant tartness and a bright, refreshing, mineral-dominated personality. It should unroll for 10 to 15 or more years. $50-$65

93 points

2005 Carbonnieux Pessac-Léognan

Beautiful aromas of white peaches, crushed rocks, candle wax, and lemon rind along with a touch of quince come up from this medium-bodied, crisp, flavorful effort. Excellent sourness as well as a a long time finish suggest it will drink sound for 10 to 15+ years. $50

93 points

2005 Pavillon Blanc de Château Margaux Bordeaux

This stunningly rich, 100% Sauvignon Blanc is drinking fabulously well at present, yet it has the potential to evolve as far as concerns 15 to 20 more years. Waxy lemon oil, honeysuckle, nectarine, and subtle new oak characteristics are total present in this light gold-colored, long wine. $55-$60

95+ points

2005 Smith Haut Lafitte Pessac-Léognan

A stunningly rich, concentrated effort, the 2005 may be unit of the finest whites Smith Haut-Lafitte has ever produced. It exhibits notes of honeyed oranges, honeysuckle, spring flowers, lemon grass, and melons. Gorgeous acidity, excellent concentration, and a beautiful weft decision in an impressive, full-bodied wine to consume over the next two decades. $55-$70

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The federal investigation into the sinking of the Alaska Ranger has prompted the Coast Guard to issue an unusual safety warning to ship owners in an opposite direction the risks of controllable-pitch propellers that can go into reverse when electric power is lost.

The Coast Guard clear to issue the notice to ship owners and operators because “sitting on this for six months is against the interest of marine safety,” said Capt. Mike Rand, chair of the Marine Board of Investigation. “That’s why we got it revealed right away.”

The Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating why the Ranger sank, triggering one of the largest open-water rescues in Coast Guard history. A final communication is expected within six months.

Five of the 47 crewmen perished in the frigid Bering Sea after the ship lost spirit steady Easter Sunday and then went into reverse, sternly hampering the company’s ability to safely abandon ship. The check course also may have played a role in the decisive stages of flooding that sank the vessel, Coast Guard investigators saw.

Nationwide, hundreds of seagoing ships regard controllable-pitch propulsion systems, which allow the opening of the propeller blades to be adjusted to improve efficiency and directional control.

“The Coast Guard strongly recommends that owners, operators and masters of vessels with controllable-pitch propellers understand the contrive and operation of the system,” the Coast Guard preservation communication states.

Rand said he struggled with in what plight to word the warning, which was issued earlier this month, because it is not clear that all controllable-pitch systems will launch a duct into reverse if electric power is lost. Also unclear is at what point that efficiency happen.

The Coast Guard alert also noted that on the cruise ship MS Explorer, the controllable-pitch propeller flipped into reverse after the ship lost electrical ability Nov. 23 during the time that off Antarctica. The 154 tourists, guides and crew were safely evacuated. But after they were in their the vital spark boats, the ship began traveling backward. The Explorer sank the next day.

Difficult decision

The Ranger’s troubles on March 23 began after it suffered a leak in its stern as long as cruising to a mackerel-fishing ground in the Bering Sea. The ship was party of a trawl fleet that catches and processes fish at surge, and was operated through the Seattle-based Fishing Company of Alaska.

As the water kept rising, the Ranger’s lights began to flicker and electric power was lost, according to a survivor’s proof. The vessel then went into reverse and soon listed sharply, according to deposition from survivors.

The ship’s officers in the wheelhouse, Capt. Eric Peter Jacobsen of Lynnwood and First Mate David Silveira of San Diego, faced a dismal choice. They could keep the main engine running, what one. would propel the boat backward. Or, they could use battery-operated controls to shut down the engine, which would leave the vessel adrift.

MANILA (AFP) - A Qantas Boeing 747 flying to Melbourne made an emergency landing in Manila on Friday after a dramatic mid-air contention that punched a "gaping hole" in its fuselage, officials and passengers said.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - New Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani can expect U.S. demands with respect to action against militants in tribal lands on the Afghan confine, along with prevailing statements of support, when he visits Washington next week.

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PASCO

Ramirez, 19, of Pasco, had opted out of the swimwear event, which automatically disqualified her from being chosen as royalty in the pageant.

But the daughter of Andres and Rachel Ramirez made a moral works enough printing to win the title of Miss Congeniality and have existence successful the astonishment of associate contestants for quietly refusing to wear which she considered too-revealing swimwear.

“I’m a unobtrusive person, so I knew this would subsist an issue for me,” Ramirez said Wednesday.

Ramirez, who is active in the Lighthouse Church in Pasco, says she wasn’t trying to make a public statement, only to stay true to her personal beliefs.

Pageant coordinators, including director Dot Stewart, were unable to reach an acceptable solution to her concerns, so Ramirez quietly accepted the consequences and signed a waiver that she would not be a finalist.

“I’m OK by that. I was excited just to be in the program,” she said.

Ramirez did not pathway away empty-handed. In addition to the Miss Congeniality title, she received $850 in gifts as a contestant and the admiration of many contestants in the Miss Tri-Cities and Miss Outstanding Teen of Tri-Cities competitions.

“Many of them, which time they cast thoroughly, told me: ‘You be reckoned, miss. You’re such a role model. Stand up for the kind of you rely upon. I’m proud of you,’ ” Ramirez said.

Her father, a pastor in Pasco for 11 years, and her mother, who works for the Benton-Franklin Health District, also encouraged Ramirez to continue and stick to her convictions, she said.

“I grew up in east Pasco, where not many people have gone to college or entered a scholarship pageant,” Ramirez said. “But my father taught me it doesn’t cost any more to dream big than to dream small.”

Her parents also taught their daughter to do just and think of herself as being an case in point by reason of others, Andres Ramirez said.