Dates: March 4, 1188 - November 12, 1252Occupation: Queen of France, 1223-1226; Queen Mother 1226-1252 regent of France 1226-1234 and 1248-1252 queen consort of King Louis VIII of France mother of King Louis IX of France (St. Louis) Also known as: Blanche De Castille, Blanca De CastillaReligion: Roman CatholicAncestors: Father: Alfonso VIII of Castile Mother: Eleanor of England Eleanor was the daughter of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine Marriage, Children: husband: Louis VIII of France (married 1200) children who survived to adulthood (of 12): 1214: Louis IX, fifth child, first to survive 1216: Robert, Count of Artois Alphonse of Poitiers Saint Isabel of France Charles of Anjou (Charles I of Sicily) About Blanche of Castile:

In 1200, the French and English kings, Philip Augustus and John, signed a treaty which gave a daughter of John’s sister, Eleanor of England, as bride to Philip’s heir, Louis.

John’s mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, traveled to Spain to look over her two granddaughters, daughters of Eleanor of England and King Alfonso VIII. She decided that the younger, Blanche, was more suited for the marriage than the year-older Urraca. Eleanor of Aquitaine returned with the 12-year-old Blanche, who was married to the 13-year-old Louis.

Accounts of the time indicate that Blanche loved her husband. She delivered twelve children, five of whom lived to adulthood.More About Blanche of Castile:

In 1223, Philip died, and Louis and Blanche were crowned. Louis went to southern France as part of the first Albigensian crusade, to suppress the Cathari, a heretical sect that had become popular in that area. Louis died of dysentery which he contracted on the trip back. His last order was to appoint Blanche of Castile as the guardian of Louis IX, their remaining children, and "the kingdom."

Blanche had her oldest surviving son crowned as Louis IX on November 29, 1226. She put down a revolt, reconciling (in a story with chivalric tones) with Count Thibault, one of the rebels. Henry III supported the rebelling barons, and Blanche’s leadership, with the help of Count Thibault, put down that revolt as well. She also took action against ecclesiastical authorities and a group of rioting university students.

Blanche of Castile continued in a strong role even after Louis’ 1234 marriage, taking an active role in selecting his bride, Marguerite of Provence. Granted dower lands in Artois as part of the original treaty that brought her to her marriage, Blanche was able to trade those lands for ones closer to Louis’ court in Paris. Blanche used some of her dower income to pay dowries for poor girls, and to fund religious houses.

When Louis and his three brothers all went on crusade to the Holy Land, Louis selected his mother, at age 60, to be regent. The crusade went badly: Robert of Artois was killed, King Louis captured, and his very pregnant Queen Marguerite and, then, her child, had to seek safety in Damietta and Acre. Louis raised his own ransom, and decided to send his surviving two brothers home while remaining in the Holy Land.

Blanche, during her regency, backed an ill-fated shepherd’s crusade, and had to order the destruction of the resulting movement.

Blanche of Castile died in November, 1252, with Louis and Marguerite still in the Holy Land, not to return until 1254. Louis never accepted Marguerite as the strong advisor his mother had been, despite Marguerite’s efforts in that direction.

Blanche’s daughter, Isabel (1225-1270) was later recognized as Saint Isabel of France. She founded the Abbey of Longchamp, connected with the Franciscans and Poor Clares.

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From: womenshistory.about.com

Saunier Duval have pulled out of cycling, blaming the drug scandal that engulfed the team at the Tour de France.

The company acted after star Italian rider Riccardo Ricco failed a dope test on stage four — prompting the entire team to pull out of the race last week.

Both Ricco and his compatriot Leonardo Piepoli, who had won the prestigious Bastille Day stage but had not failed a dope test, were sacked last Friday after breaking the team’s ‘Code of Ethics’.

A statement issued by Saunier Duval read: "This decision by the company was taken following the recent case of doping involving one of the team’s cyclists, Riccardo Ricco, and the suspicions against another cyclist."

However, bike manufacturers Scott, the second sponsor of the team, revealed later on Wednesday that they would step in and rescue the Spanish outfit.

American firm Scott, who has supplied the team’s bikes and had a contract with Saunier Duval until 2010, said they would provide financial support to the team for the rest of the season only.

"The team will be called Scott, unless a new title sponsor comes in," said Pascal Ducrot, a Europe-based Scott company official. "After that we’re sure the team will find a new title sponsor."

In a statement released by Saunier Duval, Scott said it was "convinced that the recent events which damaged the team’s reputation at the Tour de France were caused by individuals".

"We see this as an opportunity to multiply our efforts to fight against doping. In the future our own anti-doping program will be far stricter."

Saunier Duval, part of a German company specialising in domestic heaters and air conditioning units, are the second sponsor to turn their back on cycling at this year’s Tour de France.

The first was Barloworld — who acted after their rider Moises Duenas tested positive like Ricco for the banned blood booster EPO, also on stage four.
From: rss.cnn.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR tried to even out the competition in the Nationwide Series on Wednesday by ordering all teams using Toyota motors to squeeze down their horsepower before this weekend’s race in Indianapolis.

Toyota has won 14 of 21 races this season in the Nationwide Series, and all but one came in a Camry fielded by Joe Gibbs Racing. The exception was JGR driver Kyle Busch’s victory at Charlotte in May in a car fielded by Braun Racing.

NASCAR ordered all the Toyota motors to use a smaller spacer that will knock down 15 horsepower in the motors.

Lee White, president of Toyota Racing Development, said he was "extremely disappointed" and found no justification for NASCAR’s decision, arguing the Nationwide teams have been successful this season because of hard work and not technical advantage.

"Despite this setback, we will continue to work diligently to keep our Nationwide teams competitive," White said. "Our hope remains that a Toyota team or driver will be rewarded with a championship at the conclusion of this year."

Technically, the new guidelines aren’t directed solely at Toyota: the bulletin distributed to teams did not even mention the manufacturer.

But because the automaker is working with a brand new engine and has access to the latest technology, Toyota teams have gained an advantage over the manufacturers using older engine models.

If the other manufacturers should reach the stage Toyota is currently at, they would be subject to the horsepower guidelines NASCAR mandated Wednesday.

Chevrolet has been pushing to use its new engine in the Nationwide Series, and many believe that model is on par with the Toyota motors.

Robin Pemberton, vice president of competition, said the Toyota motors are legal and in line with previous guidelines. But NASCAR is responsible for maintaining a level playing field, and because Toyota is new to the sport and working with new designs, the manufacturer has gained an advantage over Chevrolet, Dodge and Ford.

"We are not punishing Toyota, but the end result is we have to try to maintain a competitive balance," Pemberton said. "Toyota has the newest, latest greatest parts and pieces — no other company has had new engines in the Nationwide or Truck Series in I don’t know how long.

"It can be debated whether this is a small or medium change, but we felt it was just enough to put (Toyota) back to where everybody was almost on par with the competition."

NASCAR recently sent 10 motors for testing, and found that David Reutimann’s Toyota was the best with an estimated 3 percent horsepower advantage over the competition. JGR’s No. 18 car — which Busch drove to victory at Chicago right before the motors were tested — was second.

Roush Fenway Racing’s Nos. 16 and 17 Fords were next, followed by JGR’s No. 20 car, which has won nine races with four drivers this season.

JGR builds its own motors for its two Nationwide Series cars. The rest of the Toyota engines in that series and the Craftsman Truck Series come from Triad Racing Development, a Bill Davis-owned company that leases engines.

White worried that NASCAR’s tweak to the Toyota motors would stretch beyond immediate on-track performance.

"Unfortunately, the decision by NASCAR could be more far-reaching than simply mandating Toyota to adjust its Nationwide engine," he said. "The real impact will be felt by the Toyota teams as they adjust to the change, work to remain competitive for the remainder of this season and attempt to line up their sponsorships for next year."

From: rss.cnn.com

Death metal pioneers Obituary have been back together for a few years and their latest CD is which finds the band reinvigorated and hitting on all cylinders. There has been a lineup change. Longtime guitarist Allen West has been replaced by Ralph Santolla (Deicide). The band isn’t sure yet if it is a temporary or permanent change. I spoke with Obituary guitarist Trevor Peres about the new album, West’s status, and how things have been since their reunion.

Chad Bowar: You played some European festivals this summer. How were they?
Trevor Peres: They were cool. We did a festival and some one-off shows on our own. We did the Waldrock in Holland. It was awesome. We got to play with Celtic Frost, Destruction, Testament, Vader. The festival the last couple of years has been weak as far as attendance so they downscaled the outdoor venue. The place was completely packed. There were about 25,000 people there and they were expecting more like 15,000.

How did Ralph Santolla come to join the band as your new guitarist?
We’ve known Ralph for probably 20 years. He’s from Tampa, and he’s been a musician playing with bands in the area forever. He had been with Deicide. We did some shows in Mexico with those guys. We were without Allen at the time and were a four piece playing live. Ralph left Deicide for reasons I’m not really sure of, and then we called him and asked him to put down some solos on the album. He did that, and one thing led to another.

How did the two of you mesh musically as guitarists?
He’s a totally cool guy. He’s a practical joker and loves to have a good time, which is good because that’s how we are. We are pretty lighthearted people. We don’t like to be serious all the time. We’ve done a few shows with him so far and it was great. We had a good time playing with him on stage. As far as him recording with us, the album was already written and recorded. He came in and put some solos down. I put a few down, too. It was actually the first time I’ve played solos for Obituary, so that was fun. There are a couple parts where he and I go back and forth, like Henneman and King from Slayer or something (laughs).

Is Ralph a permanent member of the band, or is he just filling in for Allen?
Right now he is a member of the band. Allen obviously has his problems and he’s in prison right now for the next eight months or so. I think he’s supposed to get out in February 2008. We’re not even sure about that. We never wanted Allen to leave in the first place, but he had some problems going on.

How has the band’s sound evolved from your last album to ?
We haven’t changed our sound much, ever. I think it’s more produced sounding now than our first couple albums. But as far as guitar tones, I haven’t changed anything since day one. I think the songwriting is a little more upbeat on this album compared to the last one. It’s a little more energetic. On the other hand, there’s a song that’s probably the doomiest, heavy song we’ve ever written.

For those not familiar with your history, explain the album title.
The initial idea came from the cover. Andreas Marshall did some pencil sketches for us. We had him change a couple little things and he painted it. It looked like a futuristic creature with a big sword that would cut your head off. Somebody suggested “The Executioner Returns” or something to that effect. I simplified it to It feeds off our old name, since we were originally called Xecutioner. We changed the name when we signed with Roadrunner, because there was a band from Massacusetts with the same name. They didn’t want us to be confused with that band, so we changed it to Obituary. We decided to bring back the old name, because it’s a fresh start for us. We’re off Roadrunner now. Our contract ended last album. I think the vibe of the music is more old than it’s ever been. It sounds more like our older stuff.

This is your second album since reuniting a few years ago. What’s different this time around?
We’ve always been pretty close. Donald (Tardy, the band’s drummer) and I have known each other since 1980. We’ve been friends forever and grew up in the same neighborhood. We used to hang out all the time. When we split up we were all getting older. We had been playing music and that’s all we knew. Since I was 19 I was on the road touring and putting out albums. I didn’t know reality from fantasy. Our whole life after high school was playing music and we didn’t really work normal jobs. A couple of us were getting married and having kids, and it was just a good time for us to take a break. We didn’t say we were done, we just didn’t do anything. It was mutual without saying anything. We were all passing 30, so it was a needed break. As humans we were trying to find ourselves in life.

Now it’s great, because all took our break, got married and had kids. We lived normal lives and worked and realized how much it sucked. You work no matter what you do, but playing music is a little more fun and you get to call the shots more when you work for yourself. Donald called me a few years in a row and I wasn’t ready yet. One day in 2004 I thought it was finally time, so we got back together. We’re a little more mature now and we all want the same thing. We’re on the same page.

Were you surprised by all the interest and excitement your reunion generated?
That was part of the thing that got us back together. There were people all the time calling us about festivals and asking us to get back together. When we finally decided to, there were a couple of pretty good offers on the table for shows, and it seemed like the timing was right. Then everything started flowing from there. I played in a band called Catastrophic I created during our time off. I played a little here and there. I did a couple tours in Europe with bands that Obituary had influenced. I didn’t realize how much of an influence the band was on musicians. I started realizing that during the break when I was touring with Catastrophic. It was cool to come back and we heard it even more.

From: heavymetal.about.com

NEW YORK (AP) — General Electric Co. and an Abu Dhabi-based sovereign fund have agreed to a global partnership that includes a commercial finance business, research center for clean energy and water and plans to expand GE’s aircraft engine service and repair in the Middle East.

In a joint statement, GE (GE, Fortune 500) and the Mubadala Development Co. said they would build on an already strong relationship, aiming for high growth opportunities in the Middle East and around the globe.

The agreement provides for shared capital commitments to new joint ventures and investment funds.

Mubadala also plans to become a long-term GE shareholder, the partners said. The expectation is that Mubadala will become one of GE’s top ten institutional investors.

For the commercial finance venture, GE and Mubadala plan to each allocate $4 billion in equity over three years. GE also plans to commit up to $50 million for global investments in clean technology and companies that reduce dependency on traditional energy sources.

In addition, Mubadala intends to invest up to $200 million to GE Industrial Investment Partners, a new partnership of global investors that will provide capital to companies in the health care, energy, and transportation industries.

Mubadala is a sovereign fund based in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Peter Sorrentino, senior portfolio manager at Huntington Asset Advisors in Cincinnati, said the deal is a good move for GE but said the politics may not be the best.

However, the business opportunities are tremendous for GE in a large developing market, Sorrentino said.

"It will open a lot of doors to them," he said. "It’s smart. It was certainly unexpected. Hats off to them," he said. First Published: July 22, 2008: 10:06 AM EDT

WASHINGTON President Bush on Tuesday seasoned his call to Congress to pass a free trade pact with Colombia with a little Latino music.

The White House event was billed as a celebration of July 20, 1810, the day Colombia declared its independence from Spain. Bush also noted the Colombian government’s recent hostage rescue and kept time with the lively music of Colombian singer Jorge Celedon, accordionist Jimmy Zambrano and their band members.

But his main message was trade.

Bush said trade between Colombia and the United States is one-sided. While nearly all of Colombia’s exports enter the United States duty-free, U.S. products exported to Colombia face tariffs of up to 35 percent, with rates even higher for some agricultural products, he said.

“Opening markets is especially important during this time of economic uncertainty,” he said. “Last year, exports accounted for more than 40 percent of America’s total economic growth. Doesn’t it make sense to continue that kind of growth during these economic uncertain times? I think it does.”

In withholding approval of the free trade pact, Democrats have cited the continued violence against organized labor in Colombia and differences with the administration over how to extend a program that helps U.S. workers displaced by foreign competition.

The president said the U.S. must show its support for Colombian President Alvaro Uribe’s work to transform his country from a near-failed state to a stable democracy with a growing economy. He said Uribe has been a partner with the United States in fighting drugs and terrorism.

He lauded the Colombian government’s rescue of hostages held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, a rebel army that has held dozens of people in Colombian jungle jails. Ingrid Betancourt, who was kidnapped by the FARC in 2002 while she was running for Colombia’s presidency, was rescued July 2 along with 14 other hostages - including three Americans.

“The success of this rescue mission underscores the progress the Colombian government has made,” Bush said.

In draft rules issued Tuesday, the Interior Department recommended a range of royalty rates for the extraction of oil from shale on 2 million acres of public property in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. All would be less — at least for a time — than the 12.5 percent to 18.8 percent the government currently collects from companies producing oil on and offshore.

Interior officials said the discounted rate, which would be fixed at 5 percent in one proposal, would offer an incentive for companies to develop oil shale, which can cost up to three times more to produce than traditional oil. Shale oil also contains less energy than oil, coal and wood, the Interior Department said.

“For years, the cost of extracting oil from shale exceeded the benefit, but today that calculus is changing,” Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne told reporters Tuesday. “This makes oil shale a highly promising resource.”

The Bush administration’s action comes as Congress debates expanding domestic oil production to respond to high gasoline prices. Among the proposals being pushed are opening up more federal lands to energy production, including offshore areas currently off-limits, and forcing companies with active leases to produce on them now.

Last year, however, Congress decided in a spending bill to prohibit the Interior Department from issuing final regulations for commercial development of oil shale.

Kempthorne said the administration could not wait for that prohibition to be lifted to issue proposed rules. “Any delay would discourage investment in research and development,” he said.

Oil shale is one of the largest untapped sources of energy in the U.S. An estimated 800 billion barrels is locked up in rock in the West beneath land that is more than 70 percent publicly owned.

Environmentalists, along with Colorado’s Democratic governor, Bill Ritter, accused the Bush administration of rushing to develop oil shale at “bargain basement” rates, without accounting for its various impacts. High oil and natural gas prices have already caused a black gold rush in the West, with more than 100,000 traditional oil and gas wells approved in recent years.

Ritter said Tuesday that oil shale, which would not be produce oil until 2015 or 2016, would do nothing to help with high gasoline prices.

“This is a last-ditch, irresponsible attempt by the White House to issue commercial oil-shale leases, at Colorado’s expense,” Ritter said. “These regulations would send bargain basement royalty rates that could cost Coloradans billions of dollars.”

Kate Zimmerman, a senior policy specialist with the National Wildlife Federation, said Interior’s proposal did not represent a fair market value to the public.

“It’s a lowball number in terms of the potential profits these guys are going to reap from oil shale,” she said.

The current estimated production cost for shale oil ranges from about $37.75 to $65.21 a barrel, according to the Interior Department, whereas conventional onshore crude costs approximately $19.50 per barrel to harvest. The difference is that oil shale requires energy to bake the rock and pump the molten oil to the surface.

The Interior Department offered other alternatives to a fixed 5 percent royalty, which is charged as a percentage of the cost of a barrel of oil. Other suggestions included a sliding scale based on the market price of conventional oil and gas, as well as a royalty rate that would start at 5 percent and increase to 12.5 percent, depending on the level of production.

Industry representatives, who pushed for initial royalties to be lower than 12.5 percent, said that while commercial-scale production of oil shale is a decade off or more, companies need to know what to expect before investing.

“It is basically recognition that in the beginning there has to be a lower royalty to recognize the pioneering nature of this business,” said Glenn Vawter, executive director of the National Oil Shale Association.

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Interior Department: