What is happening in the States?

4 dead after violence in Kansas City (AP)

AP - The chaos began with police finding an elderly woman dead and her car missing.

***I think the States should look into the idea of doing a psychiatric evaluation of all its citizens, including and starting with, my namesake President Bush

Impeach Bush

US Democrats raise prospect of Bush's impeachment over Iraq (AFP)

AFP - A top US congressional Democrat has raised the possibility of George W. Bush's impeachment in a bid to force the president to accept a compromise that would place conditions on continued US military involvement in Iraq.

Russian space chief: US snubbed us

US snubs Russian request for joint moon exploration: space chief (AFP)

AFP - The head of Russia's space agency Sunday said the US has rebuffed an offer from Moscow to jointly explore the moon, while announcing a separate contract with NASA for nearly one billion dollars for the International Space Station.

Chinese fakes

Chinese Fake Brands - Hemmy.net, A source of varied interests

They are the same people proliferating the fakes around Metro Manila.  The Muslims selling here are just fronts.  The wholesale comes from the big pirates from the Mainland.  They are descendants of Limahong right?  Always a pirate.

What is wrong with the world?

For every 4 persons on earth, there is a yellow man from China. 

Let that ticking be ...

No more riding stables

Last Manhattan riding stable shuts after 115 years (Reuters)

Reuters - Yet another unique New York institution is set to disappear when the last riding stable in Manhattan closes its doors during the weekend.

After 142 years

Site of Colo. Indian massacre honored (AP)

AP - More than 142 years after a band of state militia volunteers massacred 150 sleeping Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians in a misdirected act of vengeance, a memorial to the tragic event was officially dedicated Saturday.

Afghan school attacks killed 85 in 2006

85 killed in 2006 Afghan school attacks

KABUL, Afghanistan - At least 85 students and teachers were killed last year in attacks blamed on insurgents who oppose education for girls and teaching boys anything other than religion,Afghanistan's education minister said Sunday.

Olmert under fire

Olmert under fire over leaked Lebanon war report (Reuters)

Reuters - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert responded stoically on Sunday to his reported censure in a Lebanon war inquiry report that could shape his political fate.

Bush will not support that

Rice: Bush opposes penalties in war bill (AP)

AP - President Bush will not support a war spending bill that punishes the Iraqi government for failing to meet benchmarks for progress, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday.

Sandmonkey says goodbye

Rantings of a Sandmonkey

Today is going to be the day that I've been dreading for quite sometime now. Today is the day I walk away from this blog. Done. Finished.

There are many reasons, each would take a post to list, and I just do not have the energy to list them. As anyone who has been reading this blog for the past month, I think it is apparent that things are not the same with me. (contd.)

***I don't even believe s/he is Arab. Alright maybe. Whatever. I don't care.

Filtering mobile messages?

Iran to filter "immoral" mobile messages (Reuters)

Reuters - Iran's Telecommunications Ministry will start filtering "immoral" video and audio messages sent via mobile phones, state television reported on Saturday.

Gonzales heckled at Harvard

Students heckle Gonzales at Harvard (AP)

AP - A small group of student protesters, including one wearing a black hood and an orange jumpsuit, heckled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as he posed with old classmates Saturday during their 25-year Harvard Law School reunion.

Bodies Count - San Francisco

sf_a28_photos.html

Trump donates to Arnold

Trump gives donation to Schwarzenegger (AP)

AP - Billionaire Donald Trump gave $10,000 to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to help pay off his campaign debts, a little more than a month after the governor guest-starred on Trump's TV show "The Apprentice: Los Angeles," according to a campaign filing.

New phase: War on war funds

Fight over Iraq war funds heads toward new phase (Reuters)

Reuters - A fierce political battle over a Democratic plan to pull U.S. troops from Iraq is moving toward a critical stage as President George W. Bush prepares to veto it, but talks on a new bill have quietly begun.

CrunchGear: Wiki will include the nofollow tag

Wikipedia: Special Treatment for Wikia and some other Wikis

There was a lot of controversy recently when Wikipedia announced that all outbound links from the online encyclopedia would include the nofollow tag. The nofollow tag on a link is said to prevent link spamming since some search engines (Google among them) do not count links containing the tag towards any weighing of the destination page. What this means is that a link from Wikipedia will no longer boost the position of a page in search results, the intention being that this will deter spammers from sneaking links onto Wikipedia.

In Febuary of 2005 the Wikipedia community voted in favor (by a vote of 61% to 39%) of removing the nofollow tags, but this outcome was overruled by Jimbo Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, earlier this year. It seems that while the nofollow tag is added to the standard outbound links, it isn’t applied to inter-wiki links, including links to Wikia, Wikipedia’s for-profit spin off.  (Follow the link below to read the entire article in CrunchGear)

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

Plastic is from Oil

70% Of Americans Don't Know Plastic Is Made With Oil

According to a recent nationwide online survey, 72 percent of the American public does not know that conventional plastic is made from petroleum products, primarily oil. Moreover, 40 percent of the respondents believe that plastic will biodegrade at some point.

***They don't play Capitalism II?  I didn't know either, till I played that wonderful game.  It's THE game for me. 

Highest award for the slain angel

House to bestow highest award on Julia Campbell

MANILA, Philippines -- The House of Representatives will award its highest decoration to slain United States Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell.

600,000 barrels of oil lost in Nigeria

Nigeria loses 600,000 barrels of oil daily due to militants

LAGOS -- Nigeria is currently losing 600,000 barrels of oil per day in the oil rich Niger Delta as a result of the activities of militants in the region, oil officials said here.

French elections focus on women, Segolene

French election sheds light on women (AP)

AP - France has championed the Rights of Man for centuries but didn't give women the right to vote until the end of World War II — decades after Turkish and Soviet women were casting ballots. Things aren't much better today: Afghanistan, Iraq and 83 other countries have a larger ratio of women in parliament than France. That's why Segolene Royal's fight for the French presidency is so pivotal — and, she says, so tough.

1000 cruise missiles in 10-days will do the trick

Missile raid would hit Iran nuclear plans: Olmert (Reuters)

Reuters - Iran's disputed nuclear programme could be severely hit by firing 1,000 cruise missiles in a 10-day attack, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was quoted as saying on Saturday.

New Execution Attacked

Neb.'s New Execution Method Attacked

The state's new method of electrocution — a single, sustained jolt instead of several shorter ones — could leave the condemned's heart beating well after the shock, backers and foes of the protocol say.

Talk to Iran

EU's Solana urges U.S. to talk to Iran (Reuters)

Reuters - European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana urged the United States on Friday to speak directly to Iran over its disputed nuclear program, saying he was sure Tehran was ready for such talks.

China to act on environmental issues

China to act on pollution, warming gases (AP)

AP - Premier Wen Jiabao pledged Friday to help clean China's air and water and combat global warming by phasing out tax breaks and discounts on land and electricity for highly polluting industries.

I won't stop

Bush vows to resist calls for withdrawal (AP)

AP - President Bush warned Congress Friday that he will continue vetoing war spending bills as long as they contain a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq.

***The question Mr. President, is not the money.  It is the war.  Bush is begging the issue, raising the excuse that he is just concerned about the soldiers who are at war without funds.  The question is, first, should there be a war?  Second, if there is a war, should America be in Iraq?

This the beginning of another cold war?

Russia will counter U.S. missile shield: Putin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin on Friday renewed criticism of U.S. plans to deploy a missile shield in Eastern Europe, saying Russia would take "appropriate measures" to counter the system.

The Tenets of War

White House dismisses Tenet's criticism (AP)

AP - A senior White House counselor on Friday dismissed former CIA Director's George Tenet portrait of a Bush administration that rushed to war in Iraq without serious debate. "The president did wrestle with those very serious questions," Dan Bartlett said.

***No matter what the White House say, it is perception that really counts.  Everything in America is business.  Everything in the world is business.  In business, it is image, not intentions.  We don't talk about theories and philosophies anymore.  We look to the facts and the horrid deaths lined in the streets of Baghdad, American blood, so far away from home, dying in a war that does not concern them.  In business, it is image.  Image is reality.  That's how Americans and the whole world view the Bush Administration's take on Iraq.  You cannot sway it by words or politics.  It is how people feel. 

Saudi gets tough on terror suspects

Saudi arrests 172 terror suspects

RIYADH -- More than 170 terror suspects have been rounded up by security forces in Saudi Arabia, an interior ministry spokesman said Friday.

Army officer criticizes generals on Iraq

Army officer criticizes generals on Iraq (AP)

AP - An active duty U.S. Army officer warns the United States faces the prospect of defeat in Iraq, blaming American generals for failing to prepare their forces for an insurgency and misleading Congress about the situation here.

TechCrunch compares "new" AOL with Yahoo

AOL One Step Behind Again: New Home Page Identical To Yahoo

AOL has started beta testing a new home page (the main AOL.com portal). AOL Senior Product Manager (and occasional TechCrunch contributor) Frank Gruber introduced it on his personal blog earlier today, although he is not the product manager for the product.

Nice portal…but it is nearly identical to Yahoo home page, which was redesigned last year. Click on the image above for a larger view. Internally, I’m hearing AOLers refer to the new portal as “the Yahoo Portal” although its official name is AOL 3.0.

Internet companies like to copy things from their competitors that work, but as we’ve seen even the largest companies sometimes get caught copying a little too much.

AOL says they are building best of breed products, not simply copying things from Google, Yahoo and others that are proven to work and porting them to its less cutting-edge audience. In the past year, though, we’ve seen them largely copy digg and then release a new mail product that would have been awesome two years ago but which stacks up poorly to the current versions of Gmail and Yahoo Mail.

David Liu, Senior Vice President of Portals & Personal Media at AOL, has told me that a number of new products in development are going to be impressive. I’ve seen early demos and wireframes of some of them, and I think he’s right. The company needs a category killer to get some street cred.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Dems are more united?

In Debate, Democrats Show More Unity Than Strife

Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama did not tangle, so it fell to their rivals to take cuts at them.

Hawking gets his bliss

Most Viewed Photos on Yahoo! News Photos

Got to post this

President loses control

Most Viewed Photos on Yahoo! News Photos

***America is suing those chieftains.  They hypnotized the President and made a fool of himself.  Say, what?  They don't need ...hypnotism? 

Cheney draws more protests

Cheney draws protests even at BYU (AP)

AP - Vice President Dick Cheney told Brigham Young University graduates on Thursday to savor second chances and be prepared for the unexpected throughout life in a commencement address that stirred up protests in one of the nation's most Republican states.

Dead before arrival as Iraq bill awaits bushy veto

Congress clears Iraq bill, veto awaits (AP)

AP - In a bold wartime challenge to President Bush, the Democratic-controlled Congress cleared legislation Thursday to begin withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by Oct. 1 with a goal of a complete pullout six months later. The White House dismissed the legislation as "dead before arrival."

At least, they agree on something

Dems fault Bush over Iraq in 1st debate (AP)

AP - Democratic presidential hopefuls flashed their anti-war credentials Thursday night, heaping criticism on President Bush's Iraq policy in the first debate of the 2008 campaign.

***Two things:  Either Bush is the evil one, and reason only unites the good; or, Bush is the genius, and all the dunces are in corporation against him.

Dems prepare for debate

Democrats prepare for tonight's debate (AP)

AP - Eight Democratic presidential candidates will take part in a 90-minute debate tonight at South Carolina State University.

Putin: Meddlers!

Putin says foreigners meddling in Russia (AP)

AP - President Vladimir Putin charged Thursday that foreigners seeking to thwart Russia's resurgence are increasingly interfering in its affairs.

***Get used to them.  They're all over the place.  They've been meddling with the Philippines since March 16, 1521.  Shit.

Hugh arrested

Hugh Grant arrested on assault charge (AP)

AP - Hugh Grant has been arrested for allegedly throwing a container of baked beans at a photographer, London police said.

China: Complete nonsense

China rebuts carbon emission forecast

Beijing's top climate change official says a claim China will become the world's larger emitter of greenhouse gases as early as this year is "complete nonsense".

McCain Humor at it again

McCain's Humor Draws Criticism Again

Republican presidential contender John McCain dismissed a demand by a prominent House Democrat that he apologize to U.S. troops in Iraq for making a joke about an explosive device, saying critics should "lighten up."

***These are the two three best things: Raul Gonzales' sarcasms, McCain's tactless jokes, and Resurreccion Borra's denials "What?  Ah.  I will not comment on that".

And yet they did not do anything?

China test boosted space risk up to 40 pct: U.S. govt (Reuters)

Reuters - A Chinese anti-satellite test in January increased the risk that a spacecraft could collide with debris by up to 40 percent in some orbits, the U.S. Air Force Space Command said on Wednesday.

***Hence, US is afraid of China.

Veto awaits withdrawal bill

Veto awaits Iraq troop withdrawal bill (AP)

AP - President Bush next week is expected to receive, and swiftly reject, legislation ordering U.S. troops to begin coming home from Iraq this fall. The veto could fall on the fourth anniversary of the president's Iraq "victory" speech.

Smarts are not rich

A Wealth of Smarts Does Not Guarantee Actual Wealth: Scientific American

April 24, 2007

A Wealth of Smarts Does Not Guarantee Actual Wealth

A new analysis of data from a long-term study shows that you don't have to be smart to be wealthy

By David Biello

Just because you are smart doesn't mean you can balance a checkbook, or tackle any of the other tasks that might make you wealthy. A detailed study of 7,000-plus Americans followed since their teen years in the late 1970s reveals that intelligence provides more earning power but not necessarily more accumulated wealth. "The smarter you are, the more income you have," explains economist Jay Zagorsky of Ohio State University, who analyzed the data. "For wealth, there is no relationship."

***Well, we have to exclude Bill Gates here, and I guess, Warren Buffett.  They are definitely smart.

Smart people feel a lot of pressure.  That's why they don't deliver as much.  They won't try small time jobs because they feel these are below them.  They don't know that real money flows from these small jobs - because you can meet real people there.

Smart people don't connect as much.  And wealth is about social skills.  One needs to connect.  And stop blogging. 

4-year old boy rammed by football player

4-Year-Old Boy Tackled by College Football Player Recovering Well

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — A 4-year-old boy who was inadvertently blitzed by a college football player during a game has 30 stitches in his head, but he's recovering well, his father said Tuesday.

***30 fucking stitches!  Okay.  What do we have here?

Moral:  Don't watch football with your asshole dad/mom.

Moral 2:  When you do grow up, sue the hell out of them for negligence and violation of the tort law.

What do you think was the last wish of his mom?

Guitarist Keith Richards' mother dies - Stuff.co.nz

LOS ANGELES: The 91-year-old mother of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has died in Britain, a spokeswoman for the band said.

Doris Richards died on Saturday. The cause of death and the location were not disclosed.

***She bought him his first guitar for his 15th birthday.  How sweet.  What was her last wish?  Not to be cremated. 

Child labor in Thailand

Child laborers toil in Thai seafood factories (Reuters)

Reuters - It is 7.30 in the evening and an excited chatter fills the room as 11-year-old Nampeung and her friends get their work checked before clearing their desks and heading home.

Gliese 581

In this undated handout image supplied by the European Southern ...

(AP) - In this undated handout image supplied by the European Southern Observatory, shown is the star Gliese 581. For the first time astronomers have discovered a planet outside our solar system that is potentially habitable, with Earth-like temperatures, a find researchers described Tuesday April 24, 2007, as a big step in the search for 'life in the universe.' What they revealed is a planet circling the red dwarf star, Gliese 581. The planet was discovered by the European Southern Observatory's telescope in La Silla, Chile, which has a special instrument that splits light to find wobbles in different wave lengths. (AP Photo/European Southern Observatory via PA)

Sexy Crime fighter

Miss America helps cops in sex sting (AP)

AP - Miss America can add crime fighter to her resume. Lauren Nelson recently went undercover with police in New York for a sting targeting sexual predators. Officers with Suffolk County's computer crimes unit created an online profile of a 14-year-old girl that included photographs of Nelson as a teenager.

Ethiopia says Eritrea behind Chinese oil field bloodbath

Ethiopia says Eritrea behind Chinese oil field bloodbath (AFP)

AFP - Ethiopia on Wednesday accused arch-foe Eritrea of supporting the rebels behind an attack on a remote Chinese-run oil field that killed 74 people, including nine Chinese workers.

Yeltsin funeral draws crowd

Mourners file through Russian cathedral to view Yeltsin lying in state

Tearful Russians filed past the open casket of former President Boris Yeltsin inside a vast Moscow cathedral Tuesday in a ceremony that reflected the changes that transformed the nation during his eight years in power. Yeltsin lay in state inside Christ the Savior Cathedral, with a Russian tricolor flag draped over the end of the coffin. A four-member honor guard stood solemnly at each corner. Yeltsin's widow, Naina, flanked by her two daughters, wiped away tears as she stood next to the casket. A Russian Orthodox priest blessed it with incense and a stream of mourners, some wiping away tears, placed flowers nearby. Yeltsin, who died Monday at age 76, sometimes appeared at church services but was not seen as overtly pious. Nevertheless, the Russian Orthodox Church credits him as a key figure in its changed fortunes after decades of the Communist-era's official athiesm. "By his strength, he helped the restoration of the proper role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the life of the country and its people"...

***Indeed, it was Yeltsin who drove the nail to the coffin of the former USSR. And the whole world recognizes him as he is...a man of peace, leadership, and dignity. Peace, brother Boris. The world has become a safer place because of you.

Ashley Judd: $10 can stop a killer

Ashley Judd: How a $10 net can stop a killer

In the time it takes you to read this article, four African children will die from malaria. Before the day is over, it will claim the lives of 3,000 children.

Rarity on film

Rare Sumatran rhino filmed for first time (AFP)

AFP - One of the world's most endangered animals, the Sumatran rhinoceros, has been filmed in the wild for the first time in a coup that could help save it from extinction, wildlife campaigners said Tuesday.

Another suicide bombing

Iraq suicide bomber kills nine US soldiers (AFP)

AFP - A suicide car bomber struck a US military outpost north of Baghdad Tuesday, killing nine soldiers and wounding 20 others, in the deadliest attack on American ground forces in Iraq in 16 months.

Islamic view of US goal

Muslims believe U.S. goal to weaken Islam: poll

NEW YORK (Reuters) - More than 70 percent of Egyptians, Pakistanis, Indonesians and Moroccans believe the United States is trying to weaken and divide the Islamic world, a poll released on Tuesday showed.

Iraqi students show VT support

Iraq students show Virginia Tech support (AP)

AP - Students in Baghdad, where universities have been hard-hit by violence, said they were saddened by last week's massacre at Virginia Tech and hung up a banner to express their solidarity with "our brothers in humanity and in pursuing knowledge."

Hamas fires rockets and mortal shells to Israel

Hamas: Truce with Israel at end (AP)

AP - Hamas militants fired a barrage of rockets and mortar shells toward Israel on its independence day Tuesday, and said they considered it the end of a five-month truce with Israel.

25k for living to a hundred

Man beats bookmakers by becoming 100 (Reuters)

Reuters - A man celebrated his 100th birthday with25,000 pounds in winnings on Tuesday after he beat the bookmakers with a wager that he would live for a century.

Chinese pirates did it again

Chinese pirates beat Spider-Man to the punch (Reuters)

Reuters - China's infamous movie pirates havedone it again -- "Spider-Man 3" is already being sold onBeijing's streets almost two weeks ahead of its U.S. premier.

China asserts itself vs US

China says U.S. piracy case will harm trade ties (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. complaints to the WTO over commercial piracy in China will "badly damage" cooperation, Vice Premier Wu Yi warned on Tuesday, insisting that China has made great strides in protecting patents and copyrights.

Russia to sell more oil to Asia

Russia laying infrastructure to sell more oil to Asia--envoy

MANILA, Philippines -- Russia is laying the infrastructure to become a major oil supplier to Asian countries, including an ambitious pipeline being built from Siberia to the Pacific coast, a Russian diplomat said Tuesday.

Two oldies meet

Two of world's oldest women meet in Ind. (AP)

AP - Two of the oldest people in the United States met Saturday. A relative drove 113-year-old Bertha Fry of Muncie to a Shelbyville nursing home to visit Edna Parker, who celebrated her 114th birthday Friday.

Most Beautiful Bulldog

Riggs named most 'Beautiful Bulldog' (AP)

AP - Riggs hardly looks or acts like a beauty king. A 3-year-old male bulldog, Riggs is a drooler with protruding teeth and a penchant for attacking noisy appliances, begging for crumbs and hopping on furniture.

Don't hire fat employees

Study: Fat workers cost employers more (AP)

AP - Overweight workers cost their bosses more in injury claims than their lean colleagues, suggests a study that found the heaviest employees had twice the rate of workers' compensation claims as their fit co-workers.

***Oops.  Goota lose those pounds

Google is Godder

Google tops new list of world's most valuable brands (Reuters)

Reuters - Google Inc. has knocked Microsoft Corp. from its perch as the world's top-ranked brand, according to findings released on Monday.

Beware Supes

Scientists unearth Superman's "kryptonite" (Reuters)

Reuters - Kryptonite, which robbed Superman of his powers, is no longer the stuff of comic books and films.

It seems that everybody wants to kill everybody...

Man kills Houston complex manager, self (AP)

AP - A man facing eviction from a luxury apartment complex shot and killed the manager and then himself after writing an e-mail to friends saying he had died, police said. At least two other people were injured.

The Wiki as News Medium

Wikipedia As A News Medium

Imagine a newspaper with over 2,000 writers, researchers and copy editors, yet no supervisors or managers. No deadlines; no meetings; no chain of command. That seemingly chaotic nonstructure isn't recognizable of the hierarchical editorial control of old media, yet that's exactly how Wikipeida, an essential source for the VA Tech shootings, works.

I agree. Honor your troops who are dying in a forsaken country

Soldier: Honor Troops Like Va. Tech Dead

An Army sergeant complained in a rare opinion article that the U.S. flag flew at half-staff last week at the largest U.S. base in Afghanistan for those killed at Virginia Tech but the same honor is not given to fallen U.S. troops here and in Iraq.

Bush in a state of denial

Reid: Bush in denial over war in Iraq (AP)

AP - With a veto fight looming, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Monday that President Bush is in a state of denial over Iraq, "and the new Congress will show him the way" to a change in war policy.

***Yeah.  Show him the blatant truth:  No one wants US in Iraq.  Not even the Iraqis.  Go, dems!

New Nigerian leader

Yar'Adua named new Nigeria leader

Ruling party candidate Umaru Yar'Adua is declared the winner of Nigeria's controversial presidential poll.

Iran will publish British stories

We can publish your stories, Iran tells British sailors (AFP)

AFP - Iran is ready to "support" the 15 British sailors it captured to publish their stories after London reversed a decision allowing them to receive payments for their accounts, a top presidential advisor said.

***Are they kidding? I don't really know Iranian humor.

eBay: He did not buy ammunition here

eBay says shooter did not buy ammunition on eBay (Reuters)

Reuters - The gunman who killed 32 people at Virginia Tech University did not purchase ammunition used in the rampage on eBay's online auction site, eBay said on Monday, refuting published reports.

Dutch or nothing

Speak Dutch or be fired (Reuters)

Reuters - A Belgian auto parts supplier has forbidden its workers to speak any language other than Dutch, even during their lunch break, and employees could be fired if they disobey.

Pakistan parliament to re-elect Musharraf

Pakistan parliament to re-elect Musharraf, PM says (Reuters)

Reuters - President Pervez Musharraf will be elected for a second term in office by the sitting parliament before it is dissolved ahead of general elections due later this year or early 2008, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said.

We forgive you

'We forgive you'

BLACKSBURG, Virginia -- The memorial stone is piled with flowers and an American flag like all 32 others, but the name on it provokes a wince: Cho Seung-Hui, the man who unleashed the country's worst-ever shooting rampage on the university campus here.

Hail U2!

U2 donates instruments to help Katrina victims (Reuters)

Reuters - The beloved Gibson Les Paul guitar of U2's The Edge fetched $240,000 and Bono's sunglasses pulled in $20,000 at an auction on Saturday to benefit musicians who lost everything in Hurricane Katrina.

US$9 Million in Beating Case

Jury Awards $9 Million in Beating Case

A jury awarded $9 million to a black man who suffered permanent brain damage after being beaten and dumped in a field by four men in 2003.

***How in the world is he going to enjoy this?  If they are able to pay him, it will just go to medical bills and stuff.  And all you have is just a wasted life.  A richer wasted life.

Finmin steps down for 3 months

Israeli finmin steps down for 3 months amid probe (Reuters)

Reuters - Israeli Finance Minister Abraham Hirchson, battling allegations of fraud and embezzlement at a previous job, is stepping down for three months, his lawyer said on Sunday.

5 babies die in orphanage fire

5 babies die in Bosnian orphanage fire (AP)

AP - A fast-moving fire tore through an orphanage in Bosnia's capital early Sunday, killing five babies and injuring 17 others and a nurse, police and hospital officials said.

TV coverage of terror attacks increase stress levels

9/11 Dreams Study Suggests TV Coverage Boosted Stress (HealthDay)

HealthDay - FRIDAY, April 20 (HealthDay News) -- A study of Americans' dreams inthe weeks before and after Sept. 11, 2001, suggests that TV coverage ofthe terror attacks actually increased viewers' stress levels.

US$900 Billion risk

US Government: Global Warming is a $900 billion risk

The U.S. government, insurer of last resort, faces a potential payout of at least $919 billion under a worst-case scenario of flood and crop losses due to global warming, congressional investigators say. So guess whose taxes are about to increase...?

Leader: More Suicide Raids!

Taliban's elusive leader urges more suicide raids

SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan (Reuters) - The fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar has urged his followers to step up suicide attacks on foreign and Afghan troops and remain united, according to a Taliban commander.

US nuclear worker took software to Iran

US nuclear worker took software to Iran: FBI

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A former engineer at the largest U.S. nuclear power plant was arrested on suspicion of taking software codes and using them to download details of plant control rooms and reactors while in Iran, officials said on Saturday.

Thailand braces for political paralysis

Political paralysis looms for Thailand

BANGKOK--Military-ruled Thailand is bracing for political paralysis as crises loom over a new constitution and the fate of its main parties ahead of elections later this year, analysts said.

Oil spill mystery

Vietnam oil spill mystery plot thickens

HANOI--For three months crude oil spills have sullied beaches, mangroves and aquaculture farms along Vietnam's long coastline, but the government says the source of the pollution remains a mystery.

Somalia clashes - 52 dead

52 killed in clashes in Somali capital (AP)

AP - Islamic insurgents and Ethiopian soldiers turned the streets of the Somali capital into a battleground for a fourth straight day, firing rockets and mortar rounds at each other on Saturday in what a human rights official said was the worst violence in years.

Mogadishu war escalates

Hundreds dead as Mogadishu war escalates (Reuters)

Reuters - Shells pounded Mogadishu on Saturday, killing at least 73 people to swell a death-toll already in the hundreds from this week's battles pitting militias and Islamists against Somali and Ethiopian troops.

Comedians who are Presidents

President Bush stands with comedian Rich Little

(AP) - President Bush stands with comedian Rich Little,left, and Steve Scully, at start the White House Correspondents Association dinner in Washington, D.C. Saturday, April 21, 2007. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)

***I was referring to them both

He was pissed off by poor evaluation

Police: Poor review set off NASA gunman (AP)

AP - The gunman in an apparent murder-suicide at the Johnson Space Center targeted a NASA worker he feared could get him fired, police said Saturday.

Too little, too late

Most Viewed Photos on Yahoo! News Photos

A message to student gunman Seung-Hui Cho is left at the makeshift memorial in front of Burruss Hall on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., Saturday, April 21, 2007. The memorial has grown daily since Cho shot and killed 32 students and faculty members on Monday. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

***This piece of literature would have saved a lot of lives if it were given even earlier.  Too late.

Blazers5505 a.k.a. Virginia Tech killer bought ammo through eBay

Most Viewed Photos on Yahoo! News Photos

A screen grab showing ammunition clips bought by eBay member 'blazers5505' is shown on a laptop computer in Blacksburg, Va., Saturday, April 21, 2007. The Virginia Tech killer went to eBay to buy ammunition clips for one of the types of guns used in the rampage, a spokesman for the auction site confirmed Saturday. Using the handle blazers5505, Seung-Hui Cho bought two 10-round magazines for the Walther P22 — one of two handguns used in the massacre of 32 people. (AP Photo)

More mass shootings now

Mass shootings more common since 1960s (AP)

AP - Mass public shootings have become such a part of American life in recent decades that the most dramatic of them can be evoked from the nation's collective memory in a word or two: Luby's. Jonesboro. Columbine.

Blue Angel jet crashes

Pilot killed in S.C. Blue Angel crash (AP)

AP - A Navy Blue Angel jet crashed during an air show Saturday, plunging into a neighborhood of small homes and trailers and killing the pilot, the county coroner said.

Wang Yue wins Open Intl Chess Championship

China’s Yue wins RP Open Int’l Chess championship

Asian super power China dominated the 2007 RP Open international chess championship as expected with top seed GM Wang Yue winning the title via higher tiebreak score over compatriots GM Zhang Zhong and Ni Hua even as Asia's first GM Eugene Torre emerged as the highest-placed Filipino player at the end of the ninth and final round at the El Centro of the Legenda Hotel.

Privacy groups concerned

Privacy groups challenge Google's DoubleClick deal (Reuters)

Reuters - Consumer privacy groups on Friday sought to derail Google Inc.'s $3.1 billion deal to buy online ad supplier DoubleClick Inc., filing a complaint with U.S. regulators to block the merger on privacy grounds.

Red Cross: Use those seatbelts

Seatbelts, safety measures could halve road deaths: Red Cross (AFP)

AFP - Basic prevention measures like seatbelts, helmets and speed limits can cut the number of deaths in road accidents by up to half, the Red Cross said Friday as it joined a global road safety campaign.