FOR ALL YOU JUNIOR CHEESCAKE LOVERS- YOU'LL LOVE THIS ONE...

Junior's mousecake photo leaves bad taste for cheesecake lovers

BY Ben Chapman and Elizabeth Hays
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Wednesday, October 21st 2009, 4:00 AM

ALBANY - The state Court of Appeals today removed Joseph S. Alessandro of Westchester County as state Supreme Court justice, but reduced to an admonition a removal recommendation against his brother Francis M. Alessandro, a Bronx Civil Court judge.

In a pair of 6-0 rulings in one per curiam decision, the judges distinguished the severity of wrongdoing by Joseph from that of his brother Francis. The brothers ran afoul of ethics rules in connection with a loan Joseph took out while seeking a Westchester County judgeship in 2003 and subsequent omissions on loan applications and financial disclosure forms filed by both brothers.

Joseph failed to repay the $250,000 loan to his former campaign manager Barbara Battista within the promised time period, "strung ... along" the manager's lawyer about meeting the obligation and failed to accurately disclose the loan as required by law, the Court concluded today.

"His failure to disclose the Battista mortgage in these documents is consistent with an ongoing pattern of shirking his obligation to repay her," the Court held.

The judges said they agreed with the state Commission on Judicial Conduct that Joseph's actions were far worse than "mere carelessness" and should result in Joseph's removal as judge.

As to his brother, the Court held that Francis was not obligated to repay the $250,000, Joseph was. Omissions on Francis' subsequent financial disclosure forms and loan applications did not appear to be intentional or designed to conceal obligations to gain Francis any advantage, the Court held.

"We emphasize that judges should adhere to the highest standards of honesty and integrity in all matters; however, we are unwilling to remove a Judge from office for completing loan applications in a sloppy fashion where there is no evidence of intent to deceive," the Court held.

The Commission on Judicial Conduct had voted 9-0 to recommend Joseph's removal and 8-1 for Francis' ouster. In separate decisions containing nearly identical findings, the commission determined that the two men's actions had "irretrievably damaged" their ability to remain as judges (NYLJ, Feb. 24).

Francis co-signed for the 30-day loan brother Joseph accepted from his campaign manager. But Joseph told the commission he renegotiated a 15-year loan—which he alone signed—when he realized that not repaying the obligation within the 30-day period would represent receipt of a campaign contribution far in advance of acceptable limits.

The campaign manager ultimately sued and Joseph settled for $274,000.

Both brothers subsequently were charged by the Commission on Judicial Conduct with failing to report the loan and the suit on various loan applications and court financial disclosure forms they filled out from 2003 to 2005.

Joseph won the 2003 election and, in 2005, was elected to the state Supreme Court in the judicial district covering Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange and Rockland counties.

Francis, 70, has been a Civil Court judge in the Bronx since 1990.

At oral arguments before the Court of Appeals in September, Francis' attorney Robert P. Roche noted that Francis is facing mandatory retirement at the end of this year due to his age. Mr. Roche pleaded with the judges not to allow Francis' judicial legacy to be overshadowed by removal from the bench in the twilight of his career.

Counting today's rulings, the Court of Appeals had upheld 66 removal recommendations by the commission and in 10 other instances reduces removals to lesser sanctions.

Both brothers had been suspended with pay since appealing the commission's removal recommendations.

The 6th annual "VH1 Hip Hop Honors" show will commemorate the 25th anniversary of Def Jam Records and talents from across all artistic genres are scheduled to come together to celebrate this significant milestone in hip-hop. Mary J. Blige, Trey Songz and The Roots are expected to show up and show out to celebrate the label that served a catalyst for this American musical phenomenon.

Def Jam has launched the careers of some of the biggest names in music history . Special homage will be paid to the architects of the label, including Rick Rubin, Russell Simmons, Kevin Liles, Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and Antonio "L.A." Reid (Chairman Island Def Jam Music Group). Presenters and performers will honor the history and the legacy of Def Jam Records through never-seen-before interviews, archival footage and special musical performances of some of Def Jam's greatest hits.

"VH1 Hip Hop Honors 2009" will be taped from the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Howard Gilman Opera House in Brooklyn, New York. "30 Rock's" Tracy Morgan returns as host for the 3rd year. The "VH1 Hip Hop Honors 2009" broadcast will premiere on VH1 on Tuesday, October 13 at 9PM ET/PT.

"Specifically, the lawsuit will be based on violations of Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which relates to the denial of access and use and advantages of a public accommodation," attorney Carolyn Wright

said on CNN.

Wright said Creative Steps, which cares for many minority children, also will seek "punitive damages to punish the club for the harm that they've done to the children."

The dispute started after the Valley Swim Club in Huntingdon Valley, Pa., revoked swimming privileges of about 65 children from the center after a visit June 29. The center had contracted to use the pool during the summer, but the club canceled the agreement and returned the center's $1,950 check without explanation.

Some black and Hispanic children said white club members made racist comments during the June 29 visit.

"The humiliation, embarrassment and the scarring and suffering of the children -- that would be covered by our claim for compensatory damages," Wright told CNN.

The club also canceled contracts with two other day-care centers because of safety and crowding, Valley Swim Club Director John Duesler said. The other centers have not protested the club's decision.

The swim club has been subpoenaed by Pennsylvania's Human Relations Commission, which initiated a fact-finding investigation, said Bernice Duesler, wife of the club's director.

She told CNN Tuesday the club "could not handle a lawsuit" because it doesn't have the money and it is a small club staffed by volunteers.

The filing will not affect the operation of the company's 20 parks in the United States, Mexico and Canada, said spokeswoman Sandra Daniels.

"This restructuring will have no impact on families who come out to our parks. They will not see an inch of difference," Daniels said.

In an online letter to employees, President and CEO Mark Shapiro said Six Flags inherited a $2.4 billion debt load that that "cannot be refinanced in these financial markets."

"This process is strictly a financial restructuring of our debt and that's how you should view it and speak about it," Shapiro said in the message posted on the Six Flags Web site.

He said Six Flags was seeking expedited approval from the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware of a pre-negotiated plan of reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.

He said the company actually performed well in 2008, attracting 25 million visitors and making $275 million. But it could not keep up with its debt obligations.

"That's a balancing act you just can't risk year in and year out," he said. "Today, we are moving to rectify our balance sheet once and for all. Believe me when I say we will emerge from this process stronger and more competitive than ever."

The restructuring would reduce the company's debt to $600 million.

Shapiro told employees that the company was on "solid ground" and the bankruptcy decision was "difficult." He assured them their paychecks and jobs were safe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The spread of cholera in Zimbabwe as of 19 February 2009, using data from several sources.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

The 2008 Zimbabwean cholera outbreak is an ongoing cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe that began in August 2008, swept across the country^[6] and spread to Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia.^[7][8] By 10 March 2009 there had been 89,649 reported cases and 4,041 deaths.^[9] The Zimbabwean government declared the outbreak a national emergency and requested international aid.^[10]

 Causes

An open drain in Kuwadzana township, Harare in 2004. By 2008 drains such as this were carrying sewage from burst sewage pipes and faeces washed out of the neighbouring areas as the urban sanitation system collapsed. This contributed to the rapid spread of the cholera outbreak.

The principal cause of the outbreak is lack of access to safe water in urban areas. This is due to the collapse of the urban water supply,^[11] sanitation^[12] and garbage collection systems,^[13] along with the onset of the rainy season leading to faeces with cholera bacteria being washed into water sources, in particular public drains,^[14] as well as providing readily available but contaminated water.^[15] Due to a shortage of purification chemicals, such as chlorine, the capital city of Harare stopped receiving piped water on 1 December 2008.^[16] By that date, many suburbs had not had any water supply for much longer.^[17] On 4 December 2008, the Zimbabwe deputy minister for water and infrastructural development stated that there were only sufficient treatment chemicals in stock nationally for twelve weeks supply.^[18] The collapse of these systems has frequently been blamed on the current economic crisis.^[19][20] Attempts have also been made to attribute the blame to colonial rule, although Zimbabwe had become a fully independent nation 28 years earlier, in 1980.^[21] Many households cannot even afford sufficient fuel to boil all of their water.^[22] According to Medecins Sans Frontieres, the spread of cholera from urban to rural areas from December 2008 onwards was due to infected city-dwellers visiting their families' rural homes for Christmas and the burial of infected city-dwellers in rural areas.^[23]

The cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe has had an unusually high fatality rate. According to Oxfam, "this is due to the fact Zimbabweans are seriously weakened by hunger, HIV and AIDS".^[22]

A major contributing factor to the severity of the outbreak is the collapse of Zimbabwe's public health system, declared a national emergency on 4 December 2008.^[24] By the end of November 2008, three of Zimbabwe's four major hospitals had shut down, along with the Zimbabwe Medical School, and the fourth major hospital had two wards and no operating theatres working.^[25][26] Zimbabwean hospitals still open by December 2008 lacked medicines and staff. Due to hyperinflation, hospitals were not able to buy basic drugs and medicines, and the resources of even internationally-funded emergency clinics are stretched.^[15] The ongoing political and economic crisis also contributed to the emigration of the doctors and people with medical knowledge.^[27] Some victims were travelling to Botswana and other neighbouring countries for treatment.^[19]

 Impact

The spread of cholera in Zimbabwe: (top) The number of cases recorded in the most infected centres and districts, and in the remainder of each province of Zimbabwe as of 4 March 2009. (bottom) Total number of reported cases. Since totals for many districts are not updated daily, the first occurrence of a case may represent the date of the reporting of that case, not the date of infection. Data sources: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs,^[1] the World Health Organisation,^[5] the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.^[2][28] and news media,^{[12][16][29][30][31][32]}

The outbreak began in Chitungwiza on 27 August 2008, with the first case in Harare reported four days later. The next district to report cholera was Kariba on 21 September 2008, with Makonde following on 3 October 2008.^[1] Thereafter, the disease spread to reach all of Zimbabwe's ten provinces.^[1][13] The attack rate was highest in Beitbridge, Chegutu, Mudzi and Zvimba Districts (above 1,000 cases per 100,000 people or 1.0%).^[5]

The number of infected cases reported by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs escalated from 30 on 1 September 2008^[33] to 15,572 by 10 December.^[30] It was argued by some agencies that the reported number of cases probably under-estimated the extent of the outbreak, since many people were unlikely to have reached the clinics or treatment where the numbers were recorded. According to the Red Cross, around 46% of reported deaths occur en route to clinics and hospitals.^[34] The head of the British Department for International Development in Harare said that "there are probably twice as many people with cholera as turn up for treatment."^[35]

The case fatality rate for the outbreak was higher than expected for such outbreaks, although it began declining by January 2009.^[5] Official estimates of fatalities have run from 484 to 800, since the outbreak in August 2008,^[36] with an upper estimate of 3,000 from an anonymous senior official in the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare.^[17] Fatality rates varied from 2.5% in Harare to 18% in Chitungwiza. ^[37]In Harare, the crisis reached the extent that the city council offered free graves to cholera victims.^[14] On 4 December, Oxfam estimated that by the end of March 2009, some 60,000 would be infected.^[20] By 7 December, Oxfam had revised their estimate to 60,000 cases by the end of January 2009 and a 10% fatality rate,^[22] with UNICEF giving a similar estimate.^[38] On 4 December 2008, the Zimbabwe government declared the outbreak to be a national emergency.^[24]

 Politicisation

As the outbreak and health crisis grew worse, American and British leaders cited the crisis as further proof that it was, in their view, "well past time for (President) Robert Mugabe to leave"^[39] and that Zimbabwe had become a failed state.^[40] The Zimbabwe government and state media responded by blaming the outbreak on European and American sanctions^[41] and accused Britain of plotting an invasion under the cover of the outbreak.^[42] Information minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu blamed the cholera deaths on Western sanctions, saying "the cholera issue has been used to drive a wedge among us".^[43] On December 12, Ndlovu repeated his accusation, and claimed that the cholera outbreak was actually a "serious biological-chemical weapon" attack by the United Kingdom, which Ndlovu asserted was trying to commit genocide.^[44] Said Ndlovu:

"Cholera is a calculated, racist, terrorist attack on Zimbabwe by the unrepentant former colonial power, which has enlisted support from its American and Western allies so that they can invade the country."^[45][46]

In the meantime, a senior ZANU-PF official argued that the government and party leadership was more focussed on the forthcoming ZANU-PF conference than on the current crisis.^[47] On 11 December 2008, President Robert Mugabe made a speech screened on national television in which he said:

"I am happy to say our doctors have been assisted by others and WHO (the World Health Organization)... so now that there is no cholera... Because of cholera, Mr Brown wants a military intervention... Bush wants military intervention because of cholera... There is no cause for war any more. The cholera cause doesn’t exist any more."^[48][49]

Reports from the WHO contradicted Mugabe’s view and indicated a growing death toll. According to the WHO, as of 8th December nearly 800 people had died of cholera and more than 16,000 cases were being treated.^[48] Later that same day, Zimbabwean visas were denied to six French aid workers, including three crisis management specialists, two epidemiologists and a water treatment expert.^[50] Britain's Africa minister, Mark Malloch-Brown, dismissed Mugabe's claim that the Zimbabwe cholera crisis is over, commenting as follows:

"I don't know what world he [Mugabe] is living in. There is a raging humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe as well as an economic crisis and still there is no representative government able to lead the country out of this disaster.."^[51]

The French foreign ministry and USAID also contradicted Mugabe's statements and called on him to allow aid to reach the people in need.^[51][40]

 Response

Assistance has been made available by numerous international agencies,^[15] and funding for water, sanitation and hygiene programmes, epidemic response and the provision of essential drugs has come through from several governments and trans-governmental organisations:

Government or Agency	Amount	Date
Government of Australia	AUS$8,000,000 for food and emergency aid	2 December 2008 .[52]
Government of Botswana	US$300,000	3 December 2008 [53]
Government of France	€200,000 for water purification tablets and distribution points Water treatment equipment	4 December 2008 [54] 11 December 2008 [55]
Government of Germany	€1,000,000 to the Red Cross	8 December 2008 [56]
Government of Namibia	US$165,000 of medical supplies	7 December 2008.[57]
Government of the Netherlands	€5,000,000 for medication, drinking water and water purification tablets	December 2008.[58]
Government of South Africa	Emergency food and medicine	4 December 2008 [59][39]
Government of Switzerland	US$820,000 to an emergency aid programme and logistical support for UN agencies	9 December 2008 [60]
Government of United Kingdom	£3,000,000	November 2008 [11]
USAID	US$6,200,000 for health, water and sanitation programmes	11 December 2008 [40]
Government of Venezuela	Over 74 tons of medical supplies and drinking water	3 January 2009 [61]
African Union	US$100,000	11 December 2008 [62]
European Commission	€9,000,000	3 December 2008 [63]
World Health Organisation	US$340,000 of medication and supplies	4 December 2008 [64]
Giving Children Hope and World Vision	US$500,000 of medication	2 December 2008 [65]
Red Cross	over 13 tons of medical supplies	4 December 2008 [64]
World Vision and Health Partners International of Canada	US$4,000,000 of medication	13 January 2009 [66]

By 7 December, UNICEF had secured sufficient international donor funding to provide sufficient water treatment chemicals for three weeks water supply for Harare and had arranged a shipment of chemical sufficient for four months supply.^[22] UNICEF distributed 360,000 litres of water per day in Harare, as well as handing out soap and buckets.^[35] Notwithstanding the contributions received, UNICEF indicated on 9 December 2008 that US$17,500,000 was needed to respond properly to the outbreak.^[67] As of 15 December, following agreement with the Zimbabwe government, the World Health Organization was procuring medical supplies to roll out a response plan to run health centres.^[68]

 Spread beyond Zimbabwe

Spread of cholera within southern Africa, as of 10 February 2009. Not all cases are part of the 2008–2009 Zimbabwean cholera outbreak.
Key:
█ Deaths recorded
█ Infections recorded

The cholera outbreak spread during 2008 to districts in Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia bordering Zimbabwe.^[8][12]

 South Africa

The outbreak spread to the Zimbabwean migrant worker community in Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa^[69] and cholera bacteria were detected in the Limpopo River on 3 December 2008.^[67] By 12 December 2008 11 deaths and 859 infections had been recorded in South Africa.^[37] This rose to 2,100 cases and 15 deaths by 14 January 2009^[70] and to 12,000 cases and 59 deaths by March 10.^[71]

The South African government set up medical facilities and drinking water supplies at the Beitbridge border post^[72] and deployed the National Outbreak Response Team and additional medical personnel to Musina.^[73] Anthony Turton, a political scientist with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa, who had earlier warned of the risk of cholera in South Africa and wrote a report that recommended that the South African government increase its spending on water treatments lest a cholera outbreak occur in the country, was suspended for having made "inappropriate statements to the media".^[74] On 10 December 2008, the Limpopo Provincial Government declared Vhembe District Municipality, which borders Zimbabwe at Beitbridge, Matabeleland South province, a disaster area.^[49] On a 28 January 2009 visit to Musina with high-ranking government and ruling party officials, Health Minister Barbara Hogan said

Cholera is spreading... We are beginning to see a shift from Zimbabwe to South Africa. The situation is scary... I am concerned about the impact this is having on our provinces.

 Other countries

The spread of the outbreak to Zimbabwe's other neighbouring countries was initially slower than in South Africa, with one death recorded in Kafue District in Zambia and none in Botswana or Namibia by 9 December 2008.^[32] However as 2009 came, cases have increased, with 4,354 cases and 55 deaths reported by 10 February 2009 in Zambia and 1,596 cases and 14 deaths in Katanga, the southernmost province of the DR Congo.^[76] in Mozambique, cholera has spread to 10 out of 11 provinces^[76], with a total of 9,533 cases and 79 deaths between 1 January and 1 March 2009 – as well as the deaths of four health workers in a mob attack, blamed on "misinformation and misunderstanding in efforts to combat cholera".^[77] In Malawi 67 deaths were recorded in 17 districts.^[78]