Hold Off on That Award

GREEN BAY, Wis. Whatever happened to that Coach of the Yearaward everybody was slobbering over themselves to hand to DaveWannstedt as recently as two weeks ago?

Oops, babe. Big-time oops, babe.

Because a coach of the year ought to provide more answers thanquestions, and that just isn't the case with this guy right now. Notafter 33-27, Minnesota, a week ago Thursday was followed by 40-3,Green Bay, on Sunday.

"The first thing I should say is, it was not preparation,"Wannstedt said. "Our guys prepared for this game mentally andphysically no different than any other week. But we didn't play at alevel we need to play at to beat a team like Green Bay."

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`NATO hails Azerbaijan`s contribution to ISAF`s activity`.

Baku, 09 December (AzerTAc) -- Azerbaijan`s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met James Appathurai, NATO special representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, within the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) ministerial meeting held in Belgium capital of Brussels. …

AngioDynamics says it settles patent suit; Multimillion-dollar payment to holder ends infringement claim.(Business)

Byline: ERIC ANDERSON - Deputy business editor

QUEENSBURY - Queensbury-based medical instruments maker AngioDynamics Inc., whose products are used to treat conditions from varicose veins to cancer, said Tuesday it has settled a patent infringement suit with a multimillion-dollar payment to the patent holder.

It's the second settlement in as many months for AngioDynamics.

AngioDynamics said it agreed to pay San Jose, Calif.-based VNUS Medical Technologies $6.8 million and a quarterly royalty. VNUS, which also named two other companies in the suit, said it had reached a $3.1 million settlement with one of them, Minneapolis-based Vascular Solutions. …

GROUPS SEEK END TO CRISIS IN CARE.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: JAY JOCHNOWITZ State editor

With concern growing about a shortage of nurses and other health care workers, a statewide hospital group and New York's largest public employee union Monday called for a $500 million investment in salaries and other incentives to help deal with the problem.

The Civil Service Employees Association and the Hospital Association of New York State also unveiled a television ad marking the start of a campaign for more funding to reverse what they describe as a crisis, with nursing homes denying admissions, ambulances diverted from one emergency room to another because of shortages and home care recipients losing service. …

POLICE, BRUTALITY AND RULES.(Main)

What happens when a suspect in a crime claims he or she was beaten by arresting police? In many cases, the suspect has only one place to turn to file a complaint - with a public defender. While that may seem to be a satisfactory recourse, it isn't - not for the suspect, not for the attorney, and not for justice.

Public defenders have a job to do. They are expected to give defendants the best defense possible in the courtroom. They can't reasonably be expected to switch roles and file charges of police brutality, even if a defendant appears to have been beaten. That's the proper role of the district attorney's office. Public defenders are employees of the court system. …

Swiss to transfer Russian tycoon's data to France

Switzerland will hand over bank documents to French prosecutors investigating Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky for alleged embezzlement, a Swiss court said Tuesday.

The Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona rejected an appeal by three companies, including Berezovsky's Swiss-based Forus Services, against the transfer of the data.

French prosecutors have alleged that the businessman diverted funds from Aeroflot Airlines to buy a luxury estate on France's Cote d'Azur that includes a castle and a bell tower.

The suspicion is sufficiently well-founded to hand over the banking and business documents to France, the court said.

The appellants …

Russia holds second GCS conference

NEWS AND NEGOTIATIONS

Continuing to build upon a concept it proposed in June 1999, on February 15 Moscow hosted the second conference on its Global Control System (GCS) initiative to combat missile proliferation. Governments from over 70 countries sent high-level representatives, including China, Iran, North Korea, and Pakistan-all states of missile proliferation concern. The United States was the only member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), an arrangement among 32 countries aiming to stem missile proliferation, that declined to send a representative.

At the first GCS conference in March 2000, Russia outlined the framework for a multilateral regime …