Monthly Archives: March 2012

Sgt. Luis Alfonso Beltran has endured 14 years of jungle prisons as a captive of leftist rebels while three of his aunts and uncles died and eight new nieces and nephews have been born.

Now, finally, he is expected to be freed.

Beltran, 43, and fellow Sgt. Luis Arturo Arcia are the longest-held captives of the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, taken in a March 3, 1998, rebel ambush that killed more than 60 soldiers.

The FARC announced last weekend that it will shortly release all remaining "prisoners of war" and halt all ransom kidnappings, which along with the cocaine trade have funded its nearly five-decade-old insurgency.

No one could be happier than Beltran's 70-year-old mother, Virginia Franco, who keeps vigils in a small, concrete home with light green walls in a poor barrio in Bogota's south that she shares with another son and his family of four.

"There hasn't been a single party in my house in 14 years, because all the happiness died," said Franco. "All that keeps me alive is the hope that my son returns, and my grandchildren."

This past week there was more heartache. Beltran's favorite aunt died.

In contrast to such celebrated FARC hostages as former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, who was freed along with three U.S. military contractors in 2008 and went on to write a highly praised memoir, few Colombians know the faces of the plebeian Beltran and Arcia.

The last proof of life for both men, who were bachelors at the time of their capture, came in September 2009 in video obtained from a captured FARC courier.

Cristina Arcia says her brother, who is now 41, barely speaks in the video and looks "mistreated, aged, ruined because they didn't let him enjoy his youth and have a dignified life."

More here:
In Colombia, Freedom Nears After 14-Year Captivity

GREENSBORO --

The Freedom boys basketball team had been known for its decisive scoring runs this year.

But Friday's 3A boys West Regional semifinal was decided mostly during a 24-5 outburst by Hickory that lifted the Red Tornadoes out of an early deficit and into a 27-12 lead by the beginning of the second quarter in a 81-63 victory.

The Tornadoes' ability to stay in front by double digits (they led 38-28 at halftime) despite center Gavin Huffman picking up his third foul at the 5:56 mark of the second quarter was paramount.

"That spurt right there at the end of the second quarter, we felt like if we could continually put pressure on them, we could do that," Hickory eighth-year coach Shawn Johnson said.

Freedom (26-3) cut the lead to 35-28 and had a 3-point shot just before half that could have trimmed the lead to four points, but got no closer.

"There were a couple of sequences like that," Freedom coach Casey Rogers said. "We had a chance to do something to get back in it, did not, and they did on the other end."

Hickory (27-3) scored the most points of any Freedom opponent this year, and things went no better on the offensive end, where Freedom was held below 70 points for just the second time in 14 games. The point total was the Patriots' lowest since December.

Freedom had lost its only two games by nine combined points.

Hickory shot 46 percent for the contest while limiting Freedom to a 21-for-65 performance (32 percent). Freedom was also just 17 for 40 from the free throw line.

Link:
Freedom goes cold as Hickory runs away

SOPERTON, Ga., March 2, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cool Planet Biofuels, a developer of negative and neutral carbon fuels, announced its use of REPREVE(R) Renewables' FREEDOM(TM) giant miscanthus to manufacture tank-ready gasoline. REPREVE Renewables provided feedstock to Cool Planet Biofuels for testing in its process. By using FREEDOM, Cool Planet reported that they were able to achieve a 4,000 gallons/acre conversion rate, which outperforms other feedstocks such as corn, switchgrass and wood on yield. The resulting fuel, claims Cool Planet, is chemically identical to gasoline from fossil fuel and is currently being road-tested in cars in California.

REPREVE(R) Renewables, LLC, is a leader in biomass energy solutions and the exclusive supplier of FREEDOM giant miscanthus. FREEDOM was developed at Mississippi State University as the best bioenergy crop for growing in the Southeast. REPREVE Renewables is focused on commercializing FREEDOM giant miscanthus by providing planting material and growing protocols to growers in the Southeast United States.

Phillip Jennings, a REPREVE Renewables founder, said the development from Cool Planet is a big step in bringing drop-in gasoline from grass to the marketplace.

"When gasoline can be made from plants, it's important to grow the most plant material per acre," said Jennings. "The yield per acre of FREEDOM giant miscanthus is unmatchable among purpose-grown energy crops. We look forward to the day when producing 3,000-4,000 gallons of gasoline per acre of land is done on a commercial scale. REPREVE Renewables is ready to do our part to make it happen."

The announcement demonstrates what is achievable under optimum growing conditions in the Southeast United States. Cool Planet estimates under more routine growing conditions, an average yield of 3,000 gallons per acre. In two years, Cool Planet has accumulated a list of investors that includes oil giant BP's venture capital arm, BP Technology Ventures; General Electric Co.; ConocoPhillips; Constellation Energy Group; NRG Energy Inc.; Google Ventures; Shea Ventures; and North Bridge Venture Partners. REPREVE Renewables continues to work with companies like Cool Planet Biofuels to bring renewable energy to commercial scale.

About REPREVE Renewables:

REPREVE Renewables, LLC, with R&D headquarters in Soperton, Georgia, is an innovator in the quest to bring workable solutions for renewable energy to market. The Company participates in the research and commercialization of viable non-food biomass solutions for renewable energy, thus decreasing U.S. dependency on foreign oil. REPREVE Renewables has the exclusive license from Mississippi State University to commercialize FREEDOM giant miscanthus, a bioenergy crop from which electricity and fuel can be produced effectively and efficiently. For more information about REPREVE Renewables, visit http://www.repreverenewables.com or http://www.freedomgiantmiscanthus.com.

FREEDOM is a trademark of Mississippi State University, used under license.

REPREVE is a registered trademark of Unifi, Inc., used under license.

For more information, contact:

View post:
REPREVE(R) Renewables' Freedom(TM) Giant Miscanthus Used by Cool Planet to Produce Gasoline

Editors note: Every Friday throughout the run of From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen, we will feature unique and original posts by staff writers, musicians, visual artists, and more, with a focus on a range of issues including protest, dissent, and the role of art in politics and political campaigns. Todays post is from Courtney Swafford of Wilmington, DE who was recognized with a Scholastic Art & Writing Award for the following story.

Wolf, featured in the ART.WRITE.NOW. exhibit, was created by Komrorng Bo, a graduate of Central High School in Philadelphia.

To write is to share. I write in order to communicate to others, in the hopes that they can somehow appreciate what I mean to tell them. When I won my medal from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, that hope was realized; I knew that Id succeeded, and I was beside myself. Knowing that someone else had read my work and understood me, that they could connect to it themselvesthis knowledge gave me affirmation that Id never had before.

The world often judges by class rank or sports trophies, and as a homeschooler I simply didnt have opportunities like these to prove myself. The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards changed that. They gave me a sense of validation, not as a homeschooler compared to those from more standard forms school, but as a writer compared to other writers. Recognition like this is invaluable, and I cannot thank the people at the Awards enough for all that theyve done for me and for other young artists and writers.

Jesus face fell off a long time ago. Ive watched the spidery cracks spread through the paint of the icon from the day I first noticed them in sixth grade, as I pretended to watch the priest. Now the picture hangs in the small recess where the priest stands, at the front of the chapel. The niche is so small that the priest, old, fat and insipid, has to squeeze around the corner to get behind the pulpit. The poor lighting back there hits his crinkled face at odd angles so that it looks like a dress shirt thats been slept in. His sagging, crumpled skin scrunches and creases in an endless maze of flesh as he deadpans the Book of Judith to his audience of lethargic schoolchildren. No one really listens. They just stare, glassy-eyed, while the monotone slogs through the heavy air in the vestry. Who was Judith? Nobody knows, and nobody really cares. The air is too muggy for that. The priest reads on for a few lines more, then stops and intones, This is the word of the lord. Then he steps out from behind the pedestal, and his flowing sleeve brushes some flakes of paint off from Jesus hair. Theres a small heap of these paint chips on the floor under the painting. The priest steps on them every time he goes back there, grinding them into the burgundy carpet. Down in the pews, all of the students laboriously stand themselves up and pull out their Psalters. The books are old, the tune is old, 264 ShOrT ShOrT STOrY the words are old, and we cant read music. Our indistinct mumble flounders its way through the meaningless characters on the pages. No one knows the song, and no one really cares. After all, who wants to praise a faceless god?

Swaffords piece won a Gold Key, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers highest level of achievement on the national level.

ART.WRITE.NOW., a traveling exhibition featuring works by winners of the prestigious Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, will be on display at the National Constitution Center through Wednesday, March 14, 2012.

Read more:
Freedom Friday: Cracking God