Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, the 89-year-old former chairman of American International Group,wantsnothing morehis constitutional rights.Yes, he is suing the government, claiming that it had no authorityto bail outhis old company inthe financial crisis, insistingthat AIGdidn't need to be rescued anyway, and demanding thattaxpayers pay him and other shareholdersabout $40 billion. It's not about the money, though,he told Charlie Rose last year.

"We have a Constitution that says government cant take property without compensation," Greenberg said.

Presumably, the federal officials who orchestrated the rescue--including former Federal Reserve ChairmanBen Bernanke, former Treasury Secretaries Hank Paulson, and former New York Fed president Tim Geithner,all of whom will be called to testify at this week's trial -- would respondthat Greenberg received more than just compensation for shares of AIG that had become essentially worthless.

That was the argument Paulson made on the standon Monday. He also said, as he has previously, that AIG's shareholders had to bepenalized to discourage other firms from making risky bets in the future.

"When companies fail, shareholders bear the losses," Paulson said. "It's just the way our system is supposed to work."

He was dismissed after just two hours of testimony, although he'd been scheduled for six. Geithner is set to testify Tuesday and Bernanke later this week.

Manylawyers are skeptical of Greenberg's case. But whatever the ruling, he has arguably already won an important victory by bringingthe architectsof the bailout to a courtroom to answer questions about their actions.Greenberg filed suitin 2011;his lawyers only deposed Bernanke earlier this year, after government lawyers couldn't gethim off the hook.

Six years after the crisis, Bernanke, Paulson and Geithnerwill be forcedto defend theirstrategy of bailing outmajor financial institutions -- a strategy that has caused deep resentmenteven thoughthey saidtheir goal wasto savethe economy. The men havemade their casealready, in memoirs and in Congressional testimony, but now, theymust submit toadetailedcross examination under oath.

The casecouldmarktheculmination of a long national debate about how federal authoritiesreactedduringthe crash.

Giventhe nation's uneven economic recovery, thethree officials'decisions at the time remain controversial -- and not just among wealthy insurance magnates.

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Wonkblog: The architects of the 2008 financial bailouts have their day in court

But first, I went to Mavericks thinking that both the show and the aforementioned birthday girl with her boyfriend Kyle in tow would be there. A quick text message to her confirmed that they were not although I was told that night afterwards once I'd left that Norwegian progressive metallers LEPROUS rocked the fuck outta that stage. If only they had been the co-headliners that night at the Ritual instead of noisy upstate New York alternative hardcore (seriously?) upstarts STRAY FROM THE PATH who, despite their ominous name moniker, sounded a bit too comfortable in keeping to their tried and true ways. It's likely I've officially become old and out of touch with the hardcore scene as far as the new breed are concerned. Or maybe STRAY FROM THE PATH just came off as very run-of-the-mill and pandering to pretty much every trick in the gospel of Harley Flanagan during their performance. I'm guessing both as even Julie and Kyle (both of whom are younger than me by about a decade) watched their set with the baited anticipation of undergoing a root canal without anesthesia. We tried to get into it but it was futile. Randy Blythe and Jamey Jasta conducted and commanded far better circle pits mostly because their respected bands actually had more than two songs that sounded different. Wayne Coyne at least makes his stage dives interesting by performing in a life-size transparent beach ball as he literally rolls atop the audience. Even JOURNEY's Arnel Pineda can handle a very close interaction with the crowd with style and last I checked, his band's music doesn't exactly conjure up images of mosh pits. In comparison, STRAY FROM THE PATH only made me want to stray towards the nearest bar for seconds and thirds.

https://www.facebook.com/Strayfromthepath https://myspace.com/strayfromthepath

"That set was fuckin' sick!" - Kyle, sarcastically

"I know I felt violently ill having watched it." - Myself

"I promise you...the next band doesn't suck!" - Julie

I was ready to doubt Julie's word upon having seen the aforementioned co-headliners put in about 30 minutes of average-sounding *ahem* alternative hardcore, which is perhaps the most dumbest musical genre classification label ever conceived next to djent which thankfully nobody even uses anymore in casual conversation. Luckily headliners ARCHITECTS were able to back up Julie's claim once they took to the stage and belted out their opening number "Gravedigger". At times, their mixed musical buffet of progressive metal, metalcore, mathcore and even traces of djent seemed to be all over the place no matter how hard the band tried to reel it all together, but by the third number, "Alpha Omega", they were sounding more cohesive and tight. Musically, ARCHITECTS have a lot more going on for them as their own blend of progressive as well as aggressive heavy leanings thanks to the pummeling low-end guitar work of Tom Searle and the equally heavy-sounding yet melodic vocals of frontman Sam Carter drew lots of comparisons (at least to me anyways) to many of the purveyors of the Gothenberg metal scene; being a British band and all, the influences are more geographically accessible. Sam Carter practically channels Peter Dolving's early years in THE HAUNTED on tracks like "Colony Collapse" and "Devil's Island" and the rhythm section comprised of drummer Dan "Twin Brother Of Tom" Searle and bassist Alex Dean harkens towards lots of AT THE GATES influences on tracks such as "The Devil Is Near" and "Early Grave". They do lay on the mathcore influences pretty thick but when your band name is ARCHITECTS you're clearly indicating that you're proverbially building up a solid and sturdy base in your sound before rounding off the finished result with an indelible signature which allows your work to stand out. At least that was what the band was striving for initially. I liked their set because they really did remind me of THE HAUNTED in parts. And maybe PERIPHERY, too. Anything, really, as long as the final design in ARCHITECTS' blueprint didn't involve sounding like alternative hardcore. They still could've benefited somewhat from having LEPROUS as their opening band in my opinion though. But ARCHITECTS' latest disc Lost Forever//Lost Together sounds like they gave their competition a run for their money some time ago anyway.

And speaking of running, I continued my fitness routine by hanging out with the band members at their after-show party at the Ritual's dance lounge where a few of the members had already commandeered the DJ booth and were greeting its legions of local fans. It was their second time in Ottawa having played Mavericks just a few months prior but it looked like the second time around ARCHITECTS were building even more momentum. The constant touring is working as the band had wrapped up a tour of Japan, Australia and New Zealand before lining up their North American tour dates of which already half have been honored so far.

And on the day of the Canada Army Run, I covered a total of 2 hours and 13 minutes in my age category doing the 21 K. Not bad for a first try.

https://www.facebook.com/architectsuk http://www.architectsofficial.com/

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ARCHITECTS/STRAY FROM THE PATH Live In Ottawa

BAY ST. LOUIS The new owners of the brick facade building at 111 Main St. will enhance the retail space on one side, open a coastal bistro on the other and rebrand the new development as The Shops at Magnolia Alley. Also in the plans is construction of exclusive apartments behind the building.

The Parrish family, who took over ownership last week, chose the name in honor of the Magnolia State Lumber Supply business that occupied the building from 1937 to the 1980s. The Phillips family created four retail spaces as part of the buildings post-Katrina makeover in 2008.

The current tenants Uptown Interiors, Bay Breeze, Biz-Zee Bee and Gourmet Galley all will remain under the new ownership.

Pass Christian architect Leah Watters is creating the Alley of Magnolia Alley on the side of the building where Uptown Interiors is. A new open air entrance off Main Street will lead to two side-by-side retail spaces running the length of the building, with a secure gated entry leading to the lobby of the planned three-story luxury apartments.

The two retail spots in the middle of the building where Gourmet Galley and Biz-Zee Bee are will be unchanged.

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New owners adding bistro to historic Bay St. Louis Main St. building

Carol Stream, IL (PRWEB) October 06, 2014

Construction companies that have identified the right technology solution will find success. And this past Friday, companies that have done just that were named 2014 Vision Award winners by Constructech magazine. This year, these winners and their solution providers gathered at the Sofitel San Francisco Bay in California, following Technology Day.

The Constructech Vision Awards acknowledge companies that have stayed up-to-date on the latest trends and products in order to make decisions that have helped their businesses succeed and thrive.

Companies eligible to submit for this competition include residential construction, commercial, and heavy construction businesses, professionals in all trades, architectural and engineering firms, corporate owners, facility management companies, government agencies, and land developers.

From commercial to residential, owner to contractor, there is one point they can all agree on: It is all about the data. How do you harness it? What insights can it provide on a job? How can it make a company more profitable? said Peggy Smedley, editorial director, Constructech. The 2014 Vision Award winners have found ways to answer these questions, and it can be seen in their success.

The winners of the 2014 Constructech Vision Awards are:

Builder/GC Commercial $26 million to $100 million Gold: OHL-FCC Limited Partnership Aconex Ltd.

Silver: SeamlessCare Inc. HTS Inc.

Bronze: Duffey Southeast Inc. Citrix Systems, Inc.

Builder/GC Commercial $101 million to $250 million Gold: M. J. Harris Construction Services, LLC Bluebeam Software, Inc. Trimble Navigation Limited

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Vision Award Winners for 2014 Honored by Constructech Magazine

HONOLULU (AP) American tobacco heiress Doris Duke fell in love with Islamic art and culture during her honeymoon through the Middle East and Asia in 1935.

So much so that she commissioned a bedroom and bathroom inspired by the Taj Mahal, the mausoleum in India built by a 17th century emperor for his favorite wife.

The marble- and mirror-lined private living quarters will be opened to the public for the first time this weekend in Hawaii after years of extensive repairs and restoration.

Duke, who died in 1993, never explained what prompted her to build a house with architectural elements of Syria and India in the oceanfront home she built in Honolulu or to collect items such as 13th century Persian tiles.

Deborah Pope, executive director of the home that's been functioning as a museum of Islamic art since 2002, said Duke was drawn to cultures different from the elite East Coast society of her youth. She also loved things of beauty.

"I think she's an aesthete," Pope said, sitting on a red settee in Duke's bedroom.

The bedroom is located at the end of an open-air passageway extending from the main courtyard of the home that Duke called Shangri La. A perforated marble door, or jali, made by artisans in India opens to a tiled room. Light pours from more jali doors facing the ocean and garden.

The highlight, however, might be the bathroom lined with marble that's been inlaid with precious stones in the shape of tulips, anemone and other flowers.

Most of the rest of the 14,000-square-foot house, including the grand foyer and living room, have been open to the public and scholars for more than a decade. But the bedroom and bathroom called the Mughal Suite after the period when Islamic emperors ruled what is today India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh was closed while the roof was repaired.

Sugata Ray, a University of California, Berkeley professor, said the bath is important for scholars studying an early 20th century revival in Mughal arts and craft techniques.

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Shangri La living suite of tobacco heiress to open

Prime Minister John Key anointed fast-rising ministers Paula Bennett, Jonathan Coleman, Amy Adams and Simon Bridges as his potential successors in a Cabinet reshuffle yesterday that adds fresh blood to his front bench.

The four are among Mr Key's top nine on the front bench. Former Social Development Minister Ms Bennett was an existing front-bencher but she moves along four places to take the No 5 spot with the State Services, Social Housing and Associate Finance portfolios and retains Local Government.

Dr Coleman takes Tony Ryall's Health portfolio and the No 6 place, Amy Adams is the new Justice Minister and is at No 7 and Mr Bridges takes Transport and the final spot on the front bench at No 9.

Finance Minister Bill English, Canterbury Earthquake Minister Gerry Brownlee and Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce keep their second, third and fourth spots on the front bench.

Mr Key said his decisions were influenced by the failure of the Helen Clark-led Labour Government to rejuvenate fast enough, "and actually to promote the next wave of senior ministers".

Earlier yesterday, the Prime Minister referred to those ministers he promoted as the "next generation, I think, of leadership".

Mr Key has indicated he intends staying on as PM and National Party leader for this term at least.

Attorney-General Chris Finlayson holds his portfolio and his No 8 spot and picks up the Security Intelligence Service and Government Communications Security Bureau portfolios.

Although Ms Bennett said she was happy being in Cabinet for the time being, she did not rule out future leadership hopes.

"I think this kind of proves you never know what's just around the corner. If you'd asked me 20 years ago if I'd thought I'd be sitting on the front bench in a National-led Government, I'd have said no. So I don't know what the future holds. I just want to do the best I can now so that I've got options."

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Key's Cabinet gets a revamp

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KFVS) - ??

Here is a list of road projects around the Heartland scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 7.

Butler County, MO

Route 72 in Bollinger County will be reduced to one lane as Missouri Department of Transportation crews perform shoulders repairs. This section of roadway is located from Old Route 72 to Route B.

Existing lanes of Route 67 from CR 323 to Route 160/158 will be signed as Route C. The north end of Route C (existing Route 67) will remain closed for about two months as work is completed at the intersection of Route 67, Route C, and CR 323.

Cape Girardeau County, MO

Northbound Interstate 55 will be reduced to one lane as contractor crews perform pavement repairs. This section of road is located at the 96 mile marker underneath the Route K overpass. Weather permitting, crews will be working from Friday, Oct. 17 through Sunday, Oct. 19 from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily.

Starting at 8 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 29, contracted concrete slab repair and replacement will begin on Silver Springs Road between Independence Street and Bloomfield Road in Cape Girardeau. The work will cause lane closures. The expected project completion time is about four weeks.

MoDOT plans to replace the bridge on Route 61 over Hughes Creek - two miles from Route CC. Construction is set to begin in 2015.

Property owners adjacent to the bridge will have access to their properties. A marked detour is proposed here:

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Heartland road projects for 10/7

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL -- Three South Florida designers have teamed up to create a design workshop at the Fort Lauderdale Home Design and Remodeling Show that will visually walk homeowners through the design process from concept to completion. This first-time design studio will be showcased at the Fort Lauderdale Home Design and Remodeling Show, October 17-19 at the Broward County Convention Center.

"A home should be a celebration of the client and the way they want to live in their home," said Viviana Malave of VGM Decorators. Each of the three featured designers have designed an unconventional living space at the Home Show to demonstrate how traditional spaces can be stylishly transformed to reflect the homeowner and celebrate the lifestyle they enjoy. "Homeowners often follow the traditional use of living spaces because they do not know how to adapt those spaces to be more livable. Our original room designs will illustrate how wide-ranging the possibilities are," said Amelia Rozas of Amelia Rozas Designs.

These dynamic design professionals are determined to educate South Florida homeowners on how to work with a designer to accomplish their dream home. They will offer complimentary seminars throughout the weekend to educate homeowners on when it is best to involve a designer and the role the designer plays in their home renovation project. In addition, the designers have taken it a step farther by creating a design workshop space at the show. "Clients often see only the before and after stages of a project," said Eilyn Cueto of Sire Design. "The goal of our design workshop is to visually showcase the design process and all its stages, from initial meeting to floor plan and layouts to furniture selections, textiles and fabrics...all the way through installation and completion." Homeowners will have the opportunity to talk with the featured designers one-on-one.

The three featured designers are:

Eilyn Cueto - Sire Design Amelia Rozas - Amelia Rozas Design Inc. Viviana Malave - VGM Decorators Inc.

About the Home Show: The Home Show showcases products and services for residential decorating, remodeling and home improvement. Attendees can shop, compare products, get advice and buy at special show pricing, just in time for the holiday season. This year's featured celebrity speaker is Taniya Nayak, veteran host on HGTV and featured designer on Food Network's Restaurant Impossible. In addition, local Aging in Place expert Wanda Gozdz will be speaking on the topic: Universal Design: Creating Your Forever Home.

Show Hours: Friday, 10/17- 3:00 pm - 9:30 pm; Saturday, 10/18- 12:00 pm -9:30 pm; Sunday, 10/19- 12:00 pm -7:30 pm.

For more information, visit http://www.homeshows.net. Discount advance tickets are available online through October 16th. Regular price tickets go on sale October 17.

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Ft. Lauderdale Home Design and Remodeling Show October 17-19, 2014

9/30 Wildcats Weekly presented by Armored Roofing
On this edition of Wildcats Weekly presented by Armored Roofing, we recap a four-point weekend against the Topeka Roadrunners and look ahead to a battle with...

By: Wichita Falls Wildcats

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9/30 Wildcats Weekly presented by Armored Roofing - Video

Best Amarillo TX Roofing Company | Roof Repairs and Replacement
Best Amarillo TX roofing company to repair your roof and your investment...your home. It is a good idea to make the repair to your roof before it becomes a bigger one and a bigger cost. Roofing...

By: Local Roofing Contractors

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Best Amarillo TX Roofing Company | Roof Repairs and Replacement - Video