Blog 001

AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 11th - 17th August 2007

DATE: 08/18/2007 04:52:48
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Politics this
week <div>Aug 16th 2007 From The Economist print
edition</div> <table align="right" border="0"
cellpadding="0" cellspacing="4"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><table align="right"
border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td align="right"
valign="top">AP</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td
valign="bottom"><img alt="AP"
src="http://www.economist.com/images/20070818/3307WW1.jpg" border="0" height="160"
width="160" /></td></tr><tr><td valign="top"> </td></tr></tbody></table>
In Iraq at least 250 people were
killed and hundreds more injured in a co-ordinated four-bomb attack on the Yazidi
community in the north-west of the country. It was the single deadliest insurgent
strike in more than four years of war. The American army blamed al-Qaeda for the bombings. Meanwhile
the prime minister, Nuri al-
Maliki, held a series of meetings with the main Sunni, Shia and Kurdish
party blocks in an effort to break the political deadlock in the country. <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9659809&fsrc=nwl">S
ee article</a> Binyamin Netanyahu,
Israel's former prime minister, comfortably retained the
leadership of his centre-right Likud party in a primary election. Moshe Feiglin, a
once-marginal figure from the extreme right, garnered 23%, stoking fears in the
Likud mainstream about the party's future. America confirmed that it was
considering designating Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a
terrorist organisation. The force is a political and commercial as well as
military power in Iran. The move
might make it vulnerable to international sanctions. Sierra Leone went to the
polls to elect a new president. Observers declared the election, the second since
the end of the country's civil war in 2002, to be free and fair. <div><a rel="nofollow"
name="trouble_on_the_line">Trouble on the line</div> A home-made bomb exploded on a
railway line in Russia, derailing the Moscow-St Petersburg express and injuring
scores of passengers. Russia has
had a recent lull in terrorist attacks. The police are looking for two suspects.
 Turkey's ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party nominated Abdullah Gul, the foreign minister, to the presidency. It was the
fiercely secular army's objections to the previous nomination of Mr Gul that led
to the recent election, which AK won handsomely. <a
size="-1">Poland
is likely to have an early election after its government fell apart. The
prime minister, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, sacked all four ministers from his two junior
coalition partners. Mr Kaczynski's party, Law and Justice, is trailing its right-
wing rival, Civic Platform, in the opinion polls. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Six Italians thought to be linked to a feud within the
Calabrian 'Ndrangheta organised-crime group were shot dead in the centre of Duisburg, Germany. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
ee article</a> <div><a rel="nofollow">Good times, and bad
times</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="4"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><table align="right" border="0"
cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td align="right" valign="top">EPA</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td
valign="bottom"><img alt="EPA"
India celebrated 60 years of
independence from Britain with
Manmohan Singh, the prime
minister, promising that ��the best is yet to come��. Meanwhile, Pakistan marked the 60th
anniversary since its bloody partition from India, unsure how its president, General Pervez Musharraf, would overcome his
declining fortunes. America has dissuaded him, for now, from declaring a state of
emergency. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Severe flooding is thought to have left 300,000 North
Koreans without homes and ruined a tenth of all farmland in what is
already an economic basket case. International agencies are eager to help, but
find it hard to operate in the world's most repressive state. A decade ago, famine
killed up to 2m people, and many in North Korea are malnourished today. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">A court in Taiwan cleared Ma Ying-jeou, the opposition Kuomintang's
candidate for presidential elections next March, of charges of corruption while he
was mayor of Taipei, boosting
his chances of succeeding Chen Shui-
bian. The ruling party's contender, Frank Hsieh, faces similar allegations of
corruption. Myanmar's military junta doubled the price of petrol
and diesel, sending cars and buses off the road. The Burmese are already suffering
from economic mismanagement and from Western embargoes imposed in protest against
the detention of the democratic opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. <div><a rel="nofollow"
name="presidential_prerogative">Presidential prerogative</div>
Venezuela's president, Hugo Ch��vez, announced proposals to change his country's
constitution, which dates from the early years of his rule. They include the
abolition of term limits to allow indefinite re-election of the president. Mr
Ch��vez said the changes were necessary to make Venezuela a socialist country. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
ee article</a> Hundreds of people were reported to have died in Peru when a powerful
earthquake hit Ica, a prosperous farming area 265km (165 miles) south of Lima. Cuba's
government released two political prisoners, including Francisco
Chaviano, who was arrested in 1994 for allegedly revealing state secrets while
researching rafters who disappeared or died while trying to flee the island.
size="-1">Canada's prime minister, Stephen Harper, reshuffled his cabinet. He removed Gordon
O'Connor, the defence minister, who had clashed with the army commander, replacing
him with Peter
MacKay, who had been foreign minister. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="into_the_sunset">Into
the sunset</div> Karl Rove
announced his departure from the White House. George Bush's closest political
adviser, credited with being ��The Architect�� of a string of Republican
election victories, has received some of the blame for the party's current
political woes. The Democrats rejoiced, but said they still wanted Mr Rove to
testify in Congress about the sacking of nine federal prosecutors. <a
size="-1">Mitt Romney
won the Republicans' Iowa straw poll, viewed as a measure of
organisational strength in the state ahead of their caucus, the first hurdle in
the presidential election cycle. Mr Romney took almost 32% of the vote, but the
three other leading candidates did not take part and dismissed the result as
meaningless. Tommy Thompson
dropped out of the race. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9645810&fsrc=nwl">See article</a>
 Meanwhile,
Iowa's governor indicated that the preferred date for the state's caucus would
remain sometime in early January, and not December as mooted by some. He was
responding to the decision by Republicans in South Carolina to change the date of their primary
to January 19th. <table align="right" border="0"
size="-2">Reuters</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td
valign="bottom"><img alt="Reuters"
Mr Bush held an informal
lunch for Nicolas Sarkozy at the
Bush summer home in Kennebunkport,
Maine. The meeting of the American and French
presidents, over a menu of hot dogs and blueberry pie, was intended to
mark a break with the strained relationship that developed between Mr Bush and Mr
Sarkozy's predecessor, Jacques Chirac. Asked by a journalist if
he thought Mr Sarkozy would bring cheese to the meal, Mr Bush replied, ��I think
he's bringing goodwill.�� </a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 11th - 17th August 2007
DATE: 08/18/2007 04:52:12
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Highlights from this week's edition of The
Economist <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9646451&fsrc=nwlb
twfree" style="color:black; "> Risk and the new financial order</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.economist.com/world/na/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9652977&fsrc=nwl
btwfree" style="color:black; "> Karl Rove quits</a> | <a
href="http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9645770&fsrc=nwl
btwfree" style="color:black; "> China's toxic toymaker</a> | <a
href="http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9645142&fsrc=nwlbtwfree"
style="color:black; "> Latin America's new middle class</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.economist.com/world/international/displayStory.cfm?story_id=96600
12&fsrc=nwlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> The scramble for the
Arctic</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
style="color:black; "> Asia's skills shortage</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
btwfree" style="color:black; "> Italy's sunglass firms conquer all</a> | <a
href="http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9645336&fsrc=nwlb
scroll 0% 50%; "> Yet more difficulties modelling the climate</a> | <a
href="http://www.economist.com/books/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9644588&fsrc=nwlbtw
free" style="color:black; "> A second-rate espionage agency</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.economist.com/obituary/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9644717&fsrc=nwl
btwfree" style="color:black; "> Jean-Marie Lustiger, Cardinal-Archbishop of
Paris</a> <div align="right"><a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.economist.com/printedition/" style="color:black;
">More highlights</a> »</div> Business this
serif" size="-2"><div>Aug 16th 2007 From The Economist print
edition</div> Financial markets around the world endured another
tumultuous week as nervousness spread about the full extent of the credit squeeze.
Several central banks, led by the European Central Bank,
intervened to shore up liquidity by providing short-term cash infusions. In an
effort to calm investors, Jean-Claude Trichet, the ECB's
president, put out a statement declaring that the money markets were returning
“progressively back to normal”. But in his first public comments on the situation,
Hank Paulson, America's treasury secretary, said he believed the turmoil would
slow growth in America, without causing a recession. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Stockmarkets in America, Europe and Asia continued to plunge. Investors took
fright at an analyst's report that suggested Countrywide Financial, America's biggest mortgage
lender, might seek bankruptcy protection. Several banks, including UBS, Europe's
biggest, said their profits would suffer if the present conditions persisted. <a
size="-1">Goldman
Sachs said it and other investors would inject $3 billion into one
of Goldman's quantitative funds that had “suffered significantly” in the market.
The firm said it was not rescuing the fund and described the move as an
investment. Nevertheless, the news underscored the recent problems encountered by
various “quant funds”, which trade on the basis of mathematical models. <a
size="-1">Iceland's Kaupthing Bank agreed to buy NIBC, a Dutch
merchant bank, for euro3 billion ($4 billion). NIBC is one of a number of banks that has reported losses
stemming from mortgage defaults in America's housing market. As part of the
takeover deal, Kaupthing will avoid that portfolio of debt, leaving it in the
hands of NIBC's present owners, a consortium led by J.C.
Flowers, a private-equity firm. <div>Every cloud has a silver
lining</div> Blackstone
Group reported that its second-quarter net profit was almost $775m
when it released its first earnings statement since making its stockmarket debut
in June. The private-equity firm also predicted that the rate of multi-billion
dollar buy-out deals would slow in light of the credit markets' difficulties, a
situation which, it said, also offered an opportunity to buy debt securities at a
discount. America's two biggest retailers, Wal-Mart and Home Depot, lowered their profit forecasts for the
year, citing the sluggish housing market. Quarterly net income at
Macy's, a
department store chain that includes the Bloomingdale's brand, slumped by 77%, compared with a year earlier, to
$74m. The company (which recently changed its name from Federated Department Stores) acquired
May Department Stores in 2005 for $11 billion, but sales have been
tepid. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="toy-story_two">Toy-story
two</div> Mattel's share price fell after it issued a second global recall
for some of its toys in as many weeks. This time the company recalled 436,000 toy
cars because of “impermissible levels of lead” and up to 18.2m toys containing
small magnet pieces that were “potential safety risks”. The products were made in
China. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Nokia
said that 100 reported incidents of overheating mobile-phone
batteries had prompted it to offer replacements to customers.
Nokia identified a dodgy batch
of 46m batteries supplied by a Japanese firm (but made in China). Last year Sony had to replace 9.6m laptop
batteries because of fears they could overheat. China's inflation
rate jumped to 5.6% in July, year-on-year, up from 4.4% in June and its
highest level for more than ten years. Rising food prices were to blame; the
central bank expressed concern. Two months after a deal was first
proposed, Britain's Imperial Chemical Industries agreed to an £8
billion ($16.2 billion) takeover from Akzo Nobel, its Dutch rival. To help secure the
transaction, Akzo teamed up with Henkel, a German consumer-goods group, to which it will sell ICI's adhesives business (glue products, which include Loctite
and Pritt, account for 44% of Henkel's sales). However, the deal must still be approved by Akzo's
investors, some of which think Akzo is paying too much for ICI. One bright spot amid another
dismal week for the markets was the stockmarket flotation of
VMware. The software and data-systems company saw its share price
rise by 76% on its first day of trading, drawing comparisons with the successful
IPO of another technology company, Google. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
sans serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="warning_sign">Warning
sign</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td align="right" valign="top"> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td valign="bottom"><img alt=""
src="http://www.economist.com/images/20070818/CWW822.gif" border="0" height="177"
The rate of economic
growth in the euro area slowed to 0.3% in the second quarter
compared with the previous quarter, raising some doubts about whether the European
Central Bank would soon raise interest rates. </a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 21st - 27th July 2007
DATE: 07/26/2007 15:05:36
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Business this
serif" size="-2"><div>Jul 26th 2007 From The Economist print edition</div> 
Britain's
Barclays raised its offer for ABN AMRO, a Dutch bank, to around
euro68 billion ($93 billion) and added a cash component, of 37%, to its
previous all-share proposal. The tender from Barclays remains lower than a rival
bid for ABN AMRO from a consortium of European banks led by
Royal Bank of Scotland, of which 93% is cash. In order to raise the money,
Barclays sold small stakes in its business to a Chinese state-owned bank and a
Singaporean government-controlled holding company, the largest overseas
investments yet made by both China and Singapore. <a
size="-1">Resolution struck an £8.6 billion ($17.7 billion) deal
to merge with Friends Provident, so creating one of Britain's
biggest life insurers. General Electric's consumer-finance division unveiled
the first credit card in the United
States that offers “rewards dedicated to reducing cardholders' carbon
emissions”. The initiative is part of the company's scheme to chalk up $20 billion
in green sales by 2010. Siemens ended months of market speculation about
the future of its auto-parts unit when it announced a deal to
sell it to Continental, a tyre manufacturer, for
euro11.4 billion ($15.7 billion). It had been thought the unit, which is
the biggest supplier of air-bag systems in the world, might be spun off as a
separate company. As well as a sale, the German engineering group, which is in the
midst of a restructuring process, made a purchase: Dade Behring,
an American medical diagnostics company, for $7 billion. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
style="background:transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; ">See
article</a> <div><a rel="nofollow" name="killer_drillers">Killer
drillers</div> Two oil and gas drilling companies, Transocean and
GlobalSantaFe, agreed to merge in an $18 billion deal. Based in
Texas, the combined company will run the world's biggest
fleet of oil rigs. The rents for oil rigs have been rising fast thanks to the
scramble for deepwater oil reserves; some are leased out for as much as $500,000 a
day. Apple's quarterly profit increased by 73% compared with
a year ago, boosted partly by the sale of 9.8m iPods in the period. The company's
earnings relieved pressure on its share price, which fell earlier after AT&T reported that only 146,000 iPhones had been activated in its
first weekend of sales, much lower than analysts had forecast. Apple said it sold
270,000 iPhones in the 30 hours to the end of June 30th, covered in its
earnings. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="the_sat_nav_fad">The Sat Nav
fad</div> TomTom, the market leader in portable mapping devices,
said it would buy Tele Atlas, another Dutch company, for
euro1.8 billion ($2.5 billion). TomTom has around half of Europe's market
for satellite-navigation products and a quarter of North America's. But it could
be hampered in the future by the fashion for adding built-in mapping systems to
cars and phones. Vodafone's shareholders easily defeated a proposal from
an activist investor (albeit with just 0.0004% of the company's shares) that would
have forced the mobile-phone giant to sell its 45% stake in America's Verizon
Wireless. Amazon said quarterly net profit had more than tripled
compared with a year earlier, to $78m. The online retailer's North American sales
are booming and the rate of growth of its operating profit, which slowed as Amazon
invested heavily in new technology, was up. Amazon's share price rose by
24%. Merck also delighted investors when it reported a 12%
rise in quarterly net income, compared with a year ago, and improved its profit
forecast for 2007. The drugmaker is rebounding from a bad stint that saw it lose
patent protection on its bestselling treatment for reducing cholesterol and fight
lawsuits over the safety of Vioxx, a pain reliever. Merck is still contending some 27,000 of those
suits, but sales of other drugs, including the first vaccine for cervical cancer,
are soaring. Credit markets had a wobbly week. Bankers postponed a
sale of $12 billion in debt funding the buy-out of Chrysler, a sign of the
difficulties Wall Street is starting to experience in
raising money for leveraged buy-outs. The sale of some senior debt in Europe's
biggest LBO, of Alliance Boots, was also delayed.
 <div><a
rel="nofollow" name="staying_put">Staying put</div> <table
align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="4"><tbody><tr><td
valign="top"><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td align="right" valign="top"> There was more bad news
from America's housing market. Poor earnings from the country's
biggest independent mortgage-lender and nervousness about credit woes helped cause
markets to plunge on July 24th (the Dow Jones Industrial Average
had its worst one-day fall in more than four months). And figures for June showed
that sales of existing homes were at their lowest level since
November 2002. There was one glimmer of hope: the median price of a home rose,
year on year, for the first time in 11 months, by $800, to $230,100.
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 21st - 27th July 2007
DATE: 07/26/2007 15:04:14
STATUS: publish
BODY:
size="-1">Highlights from this week's edition of The Economist <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9545933&fsrc=nwlp
scroll 0% 50%; "> Demography</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.economist.com/finance/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9549590&fsrc=nwlp
twfree" style="color:black; "> Sovereign-wealth funds</a> | <a
href="http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9545905&fsrc=nwlptwfree"
style="color:black; "> Five years of Sarbanes-Oxley</a> | <a
href="http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9558347&fsrc
=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> After Turkey's election</a> | <a
href="http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9557763&fsrc=n
wlptwfree" style="color:black; "> Urbanisation in China</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
42&fsrc=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> Gadgetry and aid workers</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> America's prisons</a> | <a
href="http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9549686&fsr
c=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> Britain inundated, again</a> |
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.economist.com/world/africa/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9557824&fsrc
=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> Congo threatens a return to
chaos</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> Outsourcing grows up</a> | <a
href="http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9539765&fsrc=nwlp
twfree" style="color:black; "> How to make wind power hum</a> | <a
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> Mohammed Zahir Shah, last king of
Afghanistan</a> <div align="right">More
highlights</a> »</div> Politics this week <div>Jul 26th 2007 From The Economist print edition</div> <table
cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td align="right" valign="top">Getty
Images</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td valign="bottom"><img
alt="Getty Images" src="http://www.economist.com/images/20070728/3007WW1.jpg"
border="0" height="160" width="160" /></td></tr><tr><td valign="top"> </td></tr></tbody></table> The Justice and Development (AK) Party won
Turkey's general election, handing prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan a second term in
power and a mandate to continue with his reforms. The election had highlighted the
tensions between Turkey's secular establishment and the Islamic AK
Party, but America and the European Union hailed the
result as proof that Turkey's democracy was maturing. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Unions in Italy accepted a pension-reform package drawn up by the
government. Italy has Europe's
oldest population and the minimum retirement age will now rise to 60 in 2011. <a
size="-1">A new round of negotiations on the future of Kosovo got
under way after Russia stymied a
United Nations Security Council vote on a plan drafted by its mediator, Martti
Ahtisaari. Serbia's parliament passed a resolution that threatened to cut ties
with any country that recognised Kosovo's independence. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Vladimir
Putin, Russia's president, said that the behaviour of Britain over
its request to extradite the suspect in the murder of a former Russian agent in
London last year was “clearly a
remnant of a colonial mindset”. Russia expelled four British diplomats last week in a tit-for-tat
response to the expulsion of four Russian diplomats from Britain over the
Litvinenko affair. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Britain endured its worst flooding in decades, with
towns and villages along the Severn and Thames rivers and their tributaries being
particularly hard hit. It is the second bout of severe flooding in Britain this
summer, caused by seemingly endless rain. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">The Tour de France was beset by doping and other
scandals. Michael Rasmussen, the Danish race leader, was dismissed by his Rabobank
cycling team for allegedly lying about his whereabouts during training, which the
sport's rules require him to reveal. <div>Disaster scenario</div> Brazil's
president, Luiz Inácio Lula da
Silva, sacked the defence minister after a plane crash last week killed 199
people at São Paulo's Congonhas
airport. The crash followed months of chaos in Brazil's air traffic system,
which is run by the air force. The government announced restrictions on flights at
the airport, the country's busiest, and hundreds of flights were cancelled or
delayed because of safety fears over its use in bad weather. Venezuela's leftist president,
Hugo Chávez,
said that foreigners who publicly criticised him while visiting the country would
be expelled. He also said that a new draft constitution would allow indefinite re-
election of the president, but not of state governors. <div><a
rel="nofollow">America's got talent</div> <table align="right"
border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="4"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><table
align="right" valign="top">EPA</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td
The Democrats
held another debate. In an unusual format, the candidates took questions
from video clips sent to YouTube, which co-hosted the event. Hillary Clinton was
thought to have won. The only heated moment came when she disagreed with Barack Obama's position on talking to
the leaders of hostile countries. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">George Bush issued an executive
order, required by legislation passed last October, setting out the legal
boundaries of CIA interrogations. The order complies in broad
terms with the Geneva
Conventions' ban against “degrading treatment”. Human-rights groups criticised it
for its lack of detail about actual interrogation techniques. The House Judiciary Committee found Joshua
Bolten, Mr Bush's chief of staff, and Harriet Miers, the former
White House counsel, to be in
contempt for not testifying to Congress about last year's sacking
of nine federal prosecutors. The committee's findings will be sent to the House as
a whole to vote on and could lead to a showdown with the president. 
The minimum wage
in America increased by 70 cents to $5.85 an hour, the first rise since
1997. The legislation was promised by the Democrats in last year's mid-term
election campaign. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="money_talks">Money
talks</div> Libya
freed five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor who had been
sentenced to death (their sentences were recently commuted to life in prison) for,
it was claimed, deliberately infecting 400-plus children with HIV/AIDS. The European
Union said ties with Libya should be strengthened and encouraged its members to pay into a
fund already worth $460m to help the children's families and Libya's health
service. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Iran
and the United
States, in their second direct meeting on Iraq, agreed to set up a
three-country security committee to find ways of ending the mayhem. But the
Americans were cool about a suggestion from Iran's foreign minister to involve
more senior people in the talks. Just after the start of
celebrations to mark Iraq's victory in a football match against South Korea, enabling it to reach the
Asian Cup final for the first
time, suicide bombs in Baghdad killed at least 50 people in two separate crowds of
jubilant fans. <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
Britain's former prime
minister, Tony
Blair, made his first foray to Israel and the Palestinian
territories as envoy for the international quartet (America, Russia, the European Union and United Nations) trying to make peace
there. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Ethiopia's prime minister, Meles Zenawi, pardoned 38 opposition politicians and
campaigners who had been sentenced to life imprisonment on charges such as “armed
rebellion” arising from protests against flawed elections in 2005. 
Cameroon's
ruling party won a landslide victory in elections. Opposition parties
alleged “massive fraud”; the president, Paul Biya, is likely to stay in office. <div><a rel="nofollow"
name="leader_of_the_opposition">Leader of the opposition</div>
In a blow to General
Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president, the Supreme Court
reinstated the chief justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry, whom the general had tried to
remove. Opposition parties in parliament demanded Mr Musharraf's resignation. <a
size="-1">India
swore in its first female president, Pratibha Patil, an ally of the ruling
Congress party and a controversial choice for a post traditionally above the
political fray. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
">Taiwan formally applied for United Nations membership under its own name. The UN threw out the request on the ground that it infringed the
organisation's long-standing one-China policy. </a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 14th - 20th July 2007
DATE: 07/19/2007 16:59:16
STATUS: publish
BODY:
serif" size="-2"><div>Jul 19th 2007 From The Economist
print edition</div> EADS announced that it was streamlining its
management structure. The European aerospace and defence company has been hampered
by meddling politicians in France and Germany, its
primary backers, and the dual-management structure was criticised by many for
being unwieldy. Louis Gallois will become EADS's sole chief
executive. Tom Enders, currently EADS's other co-chief
executive, becomes head of Airbus. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">The board of Altadis, a Franco-Spanish cigarette
company, accepted a third takeover offer from Britain's Imperial
Tobacco. The euro16.2 billion ($22.4 billion) deal gives
Imperial Altadis's continental and Moroccan operations and its profitable cigars
business (it has a 50% stake in Cuba's Habanos). Imperial's bid trumped a rival
offer from CVC Capital Partners, thus raising further
questions about whether the private-equity boom was tapering off. <a
sans serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="plastic_fantastic">Plastic
fantastic</div> There was another big deal in the plastics industry.
Basell, a private firm which is owned by Len Blavatnik's Access
Industries, agreed to meld with Lyondell Chemical, based in Houston, in a transaction valued at $19 billion. The
acquisition is welcome news for Mr Blavatnik, an industrialist who sits on the
boards of RUSAL, Russia's biggest aluminium company, and
TNK-BP, BP's joint venture in Russia. Last week Apollo Management, a
private-equity firm, managed to tempt Huntsman, a chemicals
company, away from an agreed takeover by Mr Blavatnik with a $10.6 billion offer.
 J.
Sainsbury received a preliminary approach from a property investment-fund
that is owned by the government of Qatar and
which already holds a 25% stake in the British supermarket chain. The retailer
rejected a putative private-equity buy-out in April. The chief executive of
Whole Foods Market, America's biggest natural- and organic-food
retailer, apologised for posting derisive comments about Wild Oats
Markets, a rival with which it wants to merge, on an online financial
message-board. John Mackey said
the remarks, which were posted under a pseudonym and are now being investigated by
regulators, were an “error of judgment”. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
sans serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="the_end_of_the_affair">The end of the
affair?</div> EMI recommended that shareholders accept a buy-out offer from Terra
Firma Capital Partners after Warner Music decided not to make a
rival bid. The British and American music companies have danced around a merger
several times over the past few years. A consortium of banks led by
Royal Bank of Scotland sweetened its euro71 billion ($95
billion) bid for ABN AMRO by raising the cash proportion of its offer. All eyes
are on the response of Britain's Barclays, which first unveiled a
takeover plan in an all-share offer that was accepted by the Dutch bank in April.
size="-1">Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan Chase
reported a rise in second-quarter net profit of, respectively, 31% and 20%
compared with a year earlier. The investment-banking and asset-management
businesses of both firms remain robust, but worries persist about their future
exposure to defaults in America's housing market. Rupert Murdoch came a step closer
to taking over Dow Jones when the company's board recommended to
shareholders a $5 billion offer from News Corp, Mr Murdoch's
media conglomerate. The remaining obstacle to a deal is the Bancroft family, which
controls 64% of the voting shares in Dow Jones. It will meet next week.
 Japan's
best-known shareholder activist, Yoshiaki Murakami, a former
trade-ministry official, was found guilty of insider trading and sentenced to two
years in prison. His Murakami Fund was charged with receiving inside information
from livedoor, whose boss, Takafumi Horie, is appealing against a separate
sentence. Prison convictions in white-collar cases are rare but, unusually for
Japan, both men pleaded
innocent. China's GDP in the second
quarter grew at its fastest rate in 11 years, and inflation rose to 4.4% in the
year to June. Analysts debated what, if anything, the government could do to cool
the economy. <div><a rel="nofollow">Good for (some) tourists</div>
<table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="4"><tbody><tr><td
The
euro reached another record high against the
dollar as investors shied away from American assets amid concerns
about the fallout from losses in America's subprime-mortgage market. Meanwhile,
Nicolas Sarkozy continued to
press the European Central Bank over its policy on the euro. The French president
thinks the currency's strength is hurting exports and growth and hinted that Germany was moving towards his
position on the matter. But Angela
Merkel, Germany's chancellor, reiterated her view that the ECB should remain focused on holding inflation down. 
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 14th - 20th July 2007
DATE: 07/19/2007 16:58:27
STATUS: publish
BODY:
size="-1">Highlights from this week's edition of Bombs away</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> John Edwards and the other Democrats
</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
style="color:black; "> The importance of Turkey's election</a> | <a
50%; "> Talent management</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
twfree" style="color:black; "> A good year at the Fed</a> | <a
61&fsrc=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> The Pope's diplomatic
service</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
c=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> The Litvinenko fall-out</a> | <a
scroll 0% 50%; "> A legitimate bug auction</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.economist.com/books/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9507188&fsrc=nwlptw
free" style="color:black; "> The partition of India</a> | <a
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> Lady Bird Johnson, first lady and environmentalist</a>
 <div align="right"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.economist.com/printedition/" style="color:black; ">More
highlights</a> »</div> Politics this week <div>Jul 19th 2007 From The Economist print edition</div> <table
face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
General Pervez Musharraf
revealed that he intends to seek re-election as Pakistan's
president later this year without stepping down as army chief. He told newspaper
editors that a purely civilian government would not be strong enough to control
extremists. His comments came as a series of attacks, mainly on security forces in
North-West Frontier Province, claimed more than 130 lives. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Police in Bangladesh arrested Sheikh Hasina Wajed, a former prime minister
and leader of the Awami League, the main opposition to the civilian government
whose term ended last year. She faces corruption charges and is accused of
complicity in the killings of four political opponents. The army-backed interim
government that took power in January has promised to clean up Bangladeshi
politics. Sheikh Hasina's rival, Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, also faces charges. <a
size="-1">International inspectors confirmed that North Korea's
plutonium-producing nuclear reactor at Yongbyon, north of the capital,
Pyongyang, and four other
facilities there have been shut off. A first instalment of fuel oil promised to
North Korea in return for ending
its nuclear programme arrived, and six-country talks resumed in Beijing. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">A constitutional convention reopened in Myanmar. It has been meeting
on and off since 1993, but is now likely to finish in two months and put a new
charter to a referendum. The ruling junta was trounced in an election in 1990 but
refused to honour the result. The main opposition National League for Democracy is
boycotting the convention, which will entrench the army's role.
An
earthquake rocked Kashiwazaki in Japan, killing ten people. A nuclear plant was damaged and
leaked water containing radioactive compounds, raising safety concerns about
Japanese facilities. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="right_noises">Right
noises</div> George Bush called for
a conference to relaunch a peace process to settle the Israel-Palestine
conflict. He also took steps to boost the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and his secular Fatah group in the West Bank, in the hope of weakening
its Islamist rivals in Hamas,
which took over the Gaza Strip
last month. Mr Abbas said he would call for new elections. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
ee article</a> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
At least 85 people were
killed by bomb attacks in the disputed city of Kirkuk, which is controlled by Iraq's Kurds.
The biggest blast, detonated by a suicide-bomber in a lorry, hit an office of the
party led by Iraq's president, Jalal
Talabani, a Kurd. A Libyan court commuted the death sentences
passed on five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor to life imprisonment. In
a trial widely condemned abroad as unfair, the six have been convicted of
deliberately infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV. A national reconciliation
conference opened in Somalia's embattled capital, Mogadishu, but proceedings were
promptly postponed until the end of the month, with no sign of any progress. <a
sans serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="disastrous_aviation">Disastrous
aviation</div> In Brazil, a TAM Airbus jet on an internal
flight overshot the recently resurfaced runway at São Paulo's commuter airport and
exploded on contact with a fuel and cargo warehouse, killing all 186 people on
board and several on the ground. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Argentina's economy minister, Felisa Miceli, resigned
after prosecutors ordered her to testify about $64,000 in cash found in a bag in
her office bathroom. Her replacement, Gustavo Peirano, is expected to retain the
policy of an undervalued exchange rate and artificially low energy
tariffs. In
Venezuela, RCTV, an opposition-supporting television station which closed
down in May after its broadcasting licence was not renewed by Hugo Chávez's
leftist government, took to the air again as a cable and satellite channel. <a
size="-1">Bolivia's president, Evo Morales, said he planned to nationalise the country's
railways, which have been run for the past decade by investors from Chile and the United States. On a visit to Latin America,
Canada's Conservative prime minister, Stephen Harper, offered to start free-
trade talks with Colombia. That
was in pointed contrast to the Democrat-controlled United States Congress, whose
leadership has refused to ratify a trade agreement with Colombia. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
sans serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="the_jaw-jaw_about_the_war-war">The
jaw-jaw about the war-war</div> After an all-night session in the
American Senate, the Republicans easily denied the Democrats the
60 votes they needed to proceed with a plan to pull troops out of Iraq. The debate on the defence-
spending bill to which the plan is attached was deferred until September.
 A court in
Los Angeles accepted a $660m
settlement between the local Catholic archdiocese, America's
biggest, and victims who allege sexual abuse by clergy. It is the largest such
payout in a string of national sex-abuse scandals over the past few years
involving the church. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Jim
Gilmore, a former governor of Virginia, pulled out of the race for
the Republican presidential nomination. Very few people knew he had ever been in
it. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="nyet">Nyet</div> Britain expelled four
Russian diplomats. The British complained that the Russian
authorities had not co-operated in an investigation into the murder of Alexander
Litvinenko, a former KGB agent, by polonium poisoning in
London last year. <a
size="-1">An independent candidate running in Turkey's general
election was shot dead in Istanbul. The campaign for the election, on July 22nd, has been unusually
tense. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Poland's president, Lech Kaczynski, met his American
counterpart, George Bush, in
Washington, DC. Mr Kaczynski strongly defended the American plan to
site a new missile-defence system in Poland over fierce objections from the Russians. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
">Athens was engulfed in thick smoke after strong winds and a
heatwave set off dozens of forest fires. Ecologists said it would take 100 years
to repair the environmental damage. <table align="right" border="0"
size="-2">Rex Features</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td
valign="bottom"><img alt="Rex Features"
size="-1">Britain's pagan groups expressed outrage at the
depiction of a doughnut-wielding Homer Simpson next to the Cerne Abbas Giant hill-
figure in Dorset, a pagan symbol of fertility. The painted Simpson is publicising
a film, but the promoters promised that the persistent summer rains would wash him
away. </a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 07/16/2007 11:59:58
STATUS: publish
BODY:
serif" size="-2"><div>Jul 12th 2007 From <table align="right" border="0"
As more Republican
senators withdrew their support from his policy on Iraq, George Bush pleaded for more time and urged people to wait for a
progress report in September on the troop “surge”. Congress ignored him and began
two weeks of debate on an interim progress report. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
 Meanwhile,
Mr Bush's approval rating dropped to 29%, according to Gallup.
Its poll was taken after the president commuted the jail term of Lewis “Scooter”
Libby, a former White House aide
who was sentenced for perjury. Two-thirds of Americans thought the president
should not have intervened in the case, said Gallup (6% wanted him to grant a full
pardon). It
was also a bad week for John McCain. The Arizona senator's presidential
campaign received a serious blow when both of his top aides resigned. Mr McCain,
who is trailing his Republican rivals for the party's nomination in opinion polls
and fund-raising, vowed to fight on. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Florida became the
latest state to adopt tough rules on global warming, unveiling a regulation that
would reduce greenhouse-gas emissions to 80% below their 1990
levels by 2050. New Jersey also
adopted a similar law. The stalemate between Pennsylvania's Democratic
governor and Republican-controlled Senate over the state budget was resolved
following a brief shutdown of some government services. A row over a surcharge on
electricity bills to pay for greener energy measures was deferred until the
autumn. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="trying_to_repeat_an_atrocity">Trying to
repeat an atrocity</div> Four Islamist terrorists were given life
sentences for plotting to explode bombs on London's transport system on July 21st
2005 (two weeks after suicide-bombers killed 56 people). All four men were
originally from the Horn of Africa. The French
president, Nicolas
Sarkozy, attended a meeting of finance ministers from the euro area in
Brussels to explain why France might not meet its commitment
to eliminate the budget deficit by 2010. Several of those attending the meeting
grumbled, but there is little they can do. European finance ministers
endorsed a French candidate, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, to take over from Rodrigo de
Rato as head of the International Monetary Fund. Cyprus and Malta won approval to join
the euro on January 1st 2008. They will become the single currency's 14th and 15th
members. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
sans serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="musharraf_takes_a_gamble">Musharraf
takes a gamble</div> <table align="right" border="0"
size="-2">AFP</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td
valign="bottom"><img alt="AFP"
After a week-long siege
of the Lal Masjid or Red Mosque in Islamabad, some 200 Pakistani commandos stormed the
compound and met fierce resistance from militants sheltering inside. Nearly 100
people died in the ensuing battle, including the militants' leader, Abdul Rashid.
size="-1">Prosecutors in Indonesia announced a civil suit seeking the recovery of $440m
from Suharto, the president who stood down in 1998. They also sought $1.1 billion
in damages. In 2000 the government dropped criminal charges after doctors said Mr
Suharto was too ill to face them. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Zheng Xiaoyu, the former head of China's State Food and Drug Administration, was
executed for corruption. He had been convicted of accepting bribes to approve
medicines. There has been a rash of cases involving tainted Chinese exports,
ranging from toothpaste to pet food. Australia's prime minister, John
Howard, termed “provocative and insensitive” the appointment of Julian Moti as the
Solomon Islands'
attorney-general. Mr Moti faces charges of child abuse in Australia,
which has a peacekeeping mission in the Solomons. <div>On the frontlines</div> One of the most lethal terrorist
bombs since the American invasion of Iraq four years ago killed
at least 160 civilians, including women and children, in a village inhabited by
Shia Turkomans north of Baghdad.
size="-1">Representatives of Hamas, the Islamist movement that now controls the Gaza Strip, boycotted an emergency
session of the Palestinian parliament called by President Mahmoud
Abbas, who heads Fatah, the main
secular party. Without Hamas's presence, there was no quorum, thus preventing the
ratification of the emergency government appointed by Mr Abbas three weeks
ago. A
suicide bomber in Algeria killed at least ten people in an attack on a barracks,
just before the opening of the All Africa Games, one of the continent's big
sporting events. Libya's Supreme Court upheld death sentences imposed in
2004 on five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor for allegedly infecting
children with HIV. But a mediating body may be near to agreeing on a financial
settlement with the children's families, which would mean that they drop their
right to demand the death penalty. In Ethiopia a state prosecutor
called for the death penalty in the trial of 38 opposition leaders who were found
guilty of inciting violent protests that left nearly 200 dead in the wake of
flawed elections in 2005. The trial judge will pass sentence in the next few
weeks. The United States,
Ethiopia's ally in the war against Islamist terrorism in the Horn of Africa,
called for leniency. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="an_understatement">An
understatement</div> In Colombia, the FARC guerrillas admitted that they had failed “to care
for” 11 hostages killed last month, and said they would turn their bodies over to
the International Red Cross. Earlier, hundreds of thousands of Colombians took to
the streets in protests against the killings. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">A small guerrilla group claimed responsibility for bomb attacks that
shut down four gas and oil pipelines in Mexico, and demanded that
the government release three activists arrested in the southern state of Oaxaca in May. In a surprise decision, a judge
in Chile rejected a request by
Peru for the extradition of the
country's former president, Alberto
Fujimori, to face corruption and human-rights charges. The case
will now go to the Supreme Court. Last month Mr Fujimori had announced plans to
stand in a Japanese election in an apparent ruse to escape extradition.
size="-1">Canada's prime minister, Stephen Harper, said his government would order up to eight
ice-breaking corvettes to assert the country's claim to sovereignty over Arctic
seaways. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
Snow fell in
Buenos Aires,
for the first time in 89 years. </a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 07/16/2007 11:56:46
STATUS: publish
BODY:
size="-1">Highlights from this week's edition of The
twfree" style="color:black; "> The surprising revival of Europe</a> | <a
style="color:black; "> Jihad on the internet</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.economist.com/finance/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9482868&fsrc=nwlb
twfree" style="color:black; "> Subprime mortgage problems shake global markets</a>
| <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
wlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> Pakistan's mosque showdown</a> | <a
btwfree" style="color:black; "> George Melly, jazzman and writer</a> | <a
=nwlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> Iraq's wobbly coalition government</a> | <a
href="http://www.economist.com/world/la/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9476012&fsrc=nwl
btwfree" style="color:black; "> The paradox of Colombia's Uribe</a> | <a
=nwlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> Continuing arguments over Kosovo's status</a>
c=nwlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> Scotland's high-tech oil-support
businesses</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
style="color:black; "> Germany's economy</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
twfree" style="color:black; "> What computing can teach biology, and vice
versa</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
free" style="color:black; "> The tale of Elizabeth Marsh</a> 
<div align="right"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.economist.com/printedition/" style="color:black; ">More
highlights</a> »</div> Business this week 
<div>Jul
12th 2007 From The Economist print edition</div> 
Investors reacted
nervously to more bad news stemming from the slowdown in America's housing
market. Standard & Poor's and Moody's disclosed that they were
downgrading or considering downgrading credit ratings on more
than $17 billion-worth of bonds backed by subprime mortgages
(aimed at low-income and poor-credit households) because they had underestimated
the level of defaults. Stockmarkets in America and Europe fell sharply and the
dollar continued its slide, reaching a record low against the
euro. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9482868&fsrc=nwl">See
article</a> Shareholders in both the Chicago Board of Trade and
Chicago Mercantile Exchange voted to support their merger, ending
a nine-month effort to create the world's largest derivatives platform.
 After
weeks of speculation Rio Tinto, a global mining giant, formalised
a $38.1 billion offer for Alcan, an aluminium producer based in
Canada. Alcan was open to a deal after Alcoa, its American rival, made a hostile
$27 billion bid in May. Alcan's board unanimously recommended Rio's offer, one of
the biggest in the booming commodities sector in recent years. Company digest</div> Danone, a French
food-group which last week sold its biscuits division to Kraft, agreed to buy
Numico, a Dutch company specialising in baby food and “clinical
nutrition” for the elderly and sick, for euro12.3 billion ($16.8
billion). Danone maintains that the acquisition will enhance its yogurt and
bottled-water divisions (which include the Volvic and Evian brands) as it
repositions itself as a leader in the fast-growing health-and-wellness market.
Some analysts, however, thought it was paying too much for a business in which it
had little experience and viewed Danone's move as a defence against any potential
takeover bids. Google said it would pay $625m for
Postini, a private firm best known to office workers for its web-
based e-mail security and spam-sieving technology. The deal will expand the
services available in the Google Apps package tailored to the corporate world,
further encroaching on Microsoft's territory. Nielsen//NetRatings made changes
to its gauge of activity on the internet by adding the number of
minutes spent by browsers at websites to its criteria. The media research company
wants to provide a more accurate measure of audience engagement to advertisers,
which allocate spending by pages viewed. <div>Future flight</div> Boeing unveiled
the 787 Dreamliner in an elaborate ceremony
broadcast on TV and the internet. The Dreamliner is
Boeing's first new jet in 12 years. It is partly made from light composite
material, and so uses 20% less fuel per passenger than similarly sized aeroplanes.
The company's order book for the aircraft is full. The $8.1 billion deal between
General Electric and Abbott Laboratories
unravelled. GE said in January it was buying Abbott's
lucrative medical-diagnostics division, but the pair couldn't agree on terms.
 Sony cut the
price of its PlayStation 3 games console by $100 in America in an
effort to boost sales. Sony's device is lagging in popularity behind Microsoft's
cheaper Xbox 360. Its rival seemed unfazed by the price cut,
though it has its own problems. Microsoft said last week that it would take a
profit charge of more than $1 billion to cover complaints about a flaw in its
console. There were signs that Russia is softening its stance towards Western
participation in its energy projects. Gazprom, the state-
controlled gas monopoly, reversed course on allowing foreign firms a stake in the
Shtokman field (Gazprom rejected five potential partners last
autumn). And Royal Dutch Shell signed a co-operation pact with
Rosneft, Russia's state oil company. Shell was pressured into
ceding control of an energy project to Gazprom last year, but analysts say Russia
is now facing up to the costs of developing its oil and gas assets alone.
 The
International Energy Agency issued a pessimistic outlook on the
supply of oil and natural gas, predicting a “crunch” after 2010 because of slow
production among non-OPEC countries. The demand for oil was
forecast to rise by 2.2% a year. As a consequence the IEA
does not expect much easing of oil prices, which hit an 11-month
high this week. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="the_right_direction">The right
direction</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
There was some good news
for George Bush. The White House's mid-year budget review
forecast that because tax revenues were higher than expected during the spring,
the government's spending deficit would be $205 billion this fiscal year, $39
billion less than had been thought. Others, including Congress's number-crunchers,
predict the actual deficit will be even less when it is made official
in October. </a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 2nd - 8th June 2007
DATE: 06/13/2007 06:50:28
STATUS: publish
BODY:
serif" size="-2"><div>Jun 7th 2007 From <table align="right" border="0"
Amid the usual noisy
demonstrations from anti-globalisation protesters, the annual G8
summit met in Heiligendamm, northern Germany. Thanks to American
opposition (and a new proposal for negotiations that George Bush unveiled last week), the summit looked unlikely
to reach agreement on climate change, which its host Angela Merkel had put top of the agenda. The pre-summit atmosphere was
soured by Russia's president, Vladimir Putin. He
threatened to retaliate against the deployment of limited American missile
defences in Poland and the Czech Republic by targeting Russia's
nuclear missiles on Europe
again. Rumours that Turkey had invaded northern Iraq in force were
denied. But Turkish troops and armour continued to mass on the border. Senior
figures in both the army and the government favour a cross-border operation in
pursuit of Kurdish PKK fighters. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">The Basque separatist group ETA
formally ended the ceasefire that it had declared in March 2006. The announcement
was a blow to the Spanish prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who had stuck his neck out to negotiate
with ETA. He faces a general election next March. <a
size="-1">The European Union
decided to recommence talks with Serbia on a stabilisation agreement, the usual prelude to
membership talks, which had been suspended last year because of Serbia's failure
to hand over the Bosnian Serb wartime general, Ratko Mladic, to the war-crimes tribunal at The Hague. Some diplomats expect Serbia to catch Mr Mladic soon. <a
serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="war_weary">War weary</div>
style="cursor:pointer; height:1em; ">Israel held training
exercises for a possible clash with Syria as Ehud Olmert, the prime minister, tried to dampen fears at home of a war
this summer. But, in a change from previous statements, he said Israel would like to hold direct talks
with Syria. France argued for an aid corridor from Chad into Sudan's war-
torn Darfur
region to help the relief operation there. France is the only Western country with troops already in
Chad that could protect such a channel. <table align="right" border="0"
A joint report by two
UN agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the
World Food Programme, said that 2.1m Zimbabweans may be
dangerously short of food by the third quarter of this year. That figure may rise
to more than 4m (a third of all Zimbabweans) in the first three months of next
year. The
trial of Liberia's former president, Charles Taylor, began in
The Hague. He has been indicted
on 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his alleged role in a
civil war in Sierra Leone; the trial could last for up to 18 months.
 <div><a
rel="nofollow" name="jail_time">Jail time</div> Lewis “Scooter”
Libby, the former chief of staff to Dick Cheney, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison
for perjury and for obstructing an investigation into the naming of a CIA officer, whose husband had criticised the administration over
Iraq. Mr Libby was convicted in
March, but some conservative pundits and politicians are asking George Bush to use his powers to
pardon him because, they say, he is just a scapegoat. William Jefferson, a
Democratic congressman from New
Orleans, was indicted by federal authorities on 16 charges for allegedly
accepting bribes. He resigned from his seat on the House of Representatives'
small-business committee, but Republicans said the Democrats were moving too
slowly to eject him from Congress. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">War-crimes charges against two detainees held at Guantánamo Bay
were dismissed by military judges on the ground that the accused had not
been designated as “unlawful” enemy combatants, as required for their trial before
the new military commissions. It is the latest setback for the administration's
much-criticised system for dealing with suspected terrorists. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">The Republican presidential candidates held their third
debate. As well as Iraq (where Mr Bush was criticised on all sides), the deal on immigration
legislation reached between the White
House and key senators was to the fore. Several candidates also endorsed
the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons against Iran if it refused to end its nuclear
programme. The Democratic candidates' second debate was, by contrast, a tame
affair. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
sans serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="spoiling_the_plot">Spoiling the
plot</div> Ten people in America were arrested in connection with an alleged plot
to topple the government of Laos. Vang Pao, an ethnic Hmong and a
former military commander, and others were accused of trying to buy guns, missiles
and explosives to prepare for an attempted
coup. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">In the midst of a domestic crisis, General Pervez Musharraf,
Pakistan's president, issued a decree giving regulators new
powers to curb broadcasters. After widespread protests, the government promised
not to implement the decree until it had been reviewed by a committee. <a
article</a> China produced its
first national plan for tackling climate change, pledging to curb
its greenhouse-gas emissions, but not at the expense of economic growth. In Australia, John Howard, the prime
minister, announced a change of policy, committing the country to capping
emissions regardless of China's actions. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
Zakia Zaki, the owner of
a radio station in Afghanistan, was shot dead at her home. Ms Zaki's murder
followed that of a female newsreader. The journalists' association said the
killings showed how difficult the working climate had become for journalists,
especially women. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="gesture_politics">Gesture
politics</div> Álvaro Uribe, Colombia's president, freed almost 200
imprisoned FARC guerrillas including Rodrigo Granda, one of its leaders, in
an attempt to secure the release of some 60 guerrilla hostages, including Ingrid
Betancourt, a Franco-Colombian politician. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">In a closely watched decision that boosts competition policy in the
country, Mexico's Supreme Court struck down a provision in a law
passed last year that would have allowed Mexico's two television companies free
use of the radio spectrum to offer telephone and internet services.
In his first television
interview since stomach surgery last year, Cuba's president, Fidel Castro, shed no light
as to whether he would resume any official duties. </a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 2nd - 8th June 2007
DATE: 06/13/2007 06:49:10
STATUS: publish
BODY:
size="-1">articles from this week's edition of Innovation lessons from Apple</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
twfree" style="color:black; "> India's economy continues to
overheat</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
twfree" style="color:black; "> After the end of ETA's ceasefire </a>
btwfree" style="color:black; "> Saying goodbye to Tony Soprano </a> |
twfree" style="color:black; "> Tax breaks for private equity</a> | <a
href="http://www.economist.com/world/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9299003&fsrc=nwlbtw
0% 50%; "> The worsening war in Sri Lanka</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
style="color:black; "> Getting wind farms off the ground</a> | <a
btwfree" style="color:black; "> Muslims in the Caribbean</a> | <a
wlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> Slum clearance in China</a> | <a
=nwlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> Turkey mulls an invasion of Iraq</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
btwfree" style="color:black; "> Two internet firms team up</a> | <a
twfree" style="color:black; "> The promise of modern cancer
therapy</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
0% 50%; "> Books about Hillary Clinton</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
btwfree" style="color:black; "> Indar Jit Rikhye, an Indian
peacekeeper</a> <div align="right">More free
articles</a> »</div> Business this week <div>Jun 7th 2007 From The Economist print edition</div> Private-equity firms
came under the spotlight after Gordon Brown, Britain's chancellor of the exchequer, promised to bring
“justice and equity” to the industry's tax regime. Mr Brown, who will become prime
minister later this month when Tony
Blair leaves office, was speaking at a union conference where there was
much discussion about the recent criticism, from the chairman of a prominent fund,
of how managers at such firms pay a lower rate of tax than their office cleaners
do. Private-equity managers have faced similar criticisms in America, where
Congress held hearings in May. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Two private-equity firms agreed to buy Avaya, which provides telecoms equipment and
networks to businesses, for $8.2 billion, the latest in a series of big buy-outs
of technology-oriented companies. It emerged that Ron Burkle, a
supermarket magnate from California, has been approached by the employees' union
at Dow Jones, the publisher of the
Wall Street Journal,
about the possibility of a rival bid to Rupert Murdoch's offer for the company. Mr
Murdoch is in negotiations with the Bancroft family, which controls Dow Jones. Mr Burkle failed recently
in a bid, with another investor, to buy the Tribune media group. Another Russian fall-out</div>
Vladimir Putin criticised
BP's Russian joint venture, TNK-BP, over
its failure to meet production targets at the Kovykta gas field
in eastern Siberia, in which the firm owns a majority stake. Speaking three days
after regulators delayed a decision on whether to revoke the licence to exploit
the field, the Russian president dismissed TNK-BP's
argument that the authorities and Gazprom, the state-owned gas giant, were to blame for Kovykta's slow
development. Analysts expect TNK-BP to lose the licence
unless a last-minute deal can be reached to sell a stake in the $20 billion
project to one of Russia's state energy firms. Colony Capital,
a private investment firm based in Los
Angeles, won the bidding for control of Tamoil, a Libyan
state-owned company that operates oil refineries and petrol stations in Europe. Colony will pay euro4
billion ($5.4 billion) for 65% of Oilinvest, Tamoil's parent company, and Libya, which initiated a privatisation
programme in 2003, will retain the remaining 35%. Elevation
Partners, a private-equity firm that lists Bono, a rock singer, as a
partner, agreed to take a 25% stake worth $325m in Palm. The
maker of hand-held mobile devices has been struggling of late to compete with
wildly popular products, like the BlackBerry. The agreement with Elevation will
bring in a new management team, including Jon Rubinstein, who headed Apple's iPod
unit, as executive chairman. Ryanair reported that net profit had risen by
33%, to euro401m ($515m), for the year ending March 31st. But Europe's
biggest low-cost airline said it expected profit to slow in this fiscal year
because intense competition with other carriers would lead to heavy discounting of
passenger fares. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="unable_to_harvest_their_oats">Unable to
harvest their Oats</div> The $565m takeover of Wild Oats Markets,
America's second-biggest natural- and organic-food retailer, by Whole Foods Market, its biggest, was thrown into
doubt when the Federal Trade Commission said it would try to block the deal. The
FTC is concerned about the effect on competition among
specialist retailers in natural and organic groceries, but Whole Foods argues that the regulator has excluded the big
supermarket chains, which are expanding their natural and organic lines, from its
analysis. Segro, a British property company, said it would sell
its portfolio of science-research parks and properties in California to Health Care
Property Investors for $2.9 billion. The portfolio includes the Genentech
complex near San Francisco.
Segro wants to concentrate on Europe's market for office space. 
Stockmarkets endured a
rocky week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had its biggest two-
day drop since February as comments made by Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal
Reserve, made markets think an interest-rate cut was much less likely. In China, the government tried to calm
investors following last week's losses, caused by an increase in a tax on share
trading that was intended to cool the markets. In response to the official
reassurances the Shanghai composite share index fell by 8.3% on June 4th.
rel="nofollow" name="more_to_come">More to come?</div> <table
The European Central
Bank raised its benchmark interest rate for the euro area by a
quarter of a percentage point to 4%, its highest level since September 2001. Jean-
Claude Trichet, the bank's president, cautioned that inflation risks remained “on
the upside”. Markets do not think the ECB had finished
raising rates yet. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
 </a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Rojo: StreetView Celebs; iPhone Fever; Bubble Denial
DATE: 06/13/2007 06:48:31
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Top Stories for the Week of June 4 - June 8, 2007
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://blog.outer-
court.com/archive/2007-06-03-n48.html"><img alt=" "
src="http://blog.rojo.com/rojoblog/060607_2039_RojoStreetV1.png" align="right"
border="0" height="216" width="337" /></a>Smile, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://battellemedia.com/archives/003680.php">you're on
StreetView</a>! Google unleashed its highly addictive Street View feature,
allowing everyone access to panoramic street-level photos of who's lunching in
height:1em; ">Union Square or who's <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_6045358?nclick_check=1">passed out in Times
Square</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.mercurynews.com/">MercuryCenter.com</a>). <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://blog.outer-court.com/">Google
Blogoscoped</a> wonders when Mountain View will start <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://blog.outer-court.com/archive/2007-06-01.html">inserting ads into the
photos' billboards</a>, and proposes a note you could leave in your window
to <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://blog.outer-
court.com/archive/2007-06-03-n48.html">ward off Google
shutterbugs</a>. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.boingboing.net/">Boing Boing</a> asks, would it be more
evil if it was the CIA or NSA?
Never mind that, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.boingboing.net/2007/06/03/google_street_view_w.html">more
easter eggs</a>! Street View is making celebrities out of
people who don't want it, like that cat's owner, and <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://mashable.com/">Mashable!</a> raises
other privacy issues - hey, Street View is <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://mashable.com/2007/06/03/street-view-maps-these-panties-have-been-
removed-due-to-a-privacy-violation/">perfect for casing the joint before you
burglarize it</a>! In any case, here comes <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://internet.seekingalpha.com/article/37326?source=feed">David
Brin's transparent society</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://internet.seekingalpha.com/">Seeking
Alpha</a>. Inevitably, Drudge used the technology to <a
href="http://blogs.business2.com/apple/2007/05/steve_jobs_hous.html">loo
k at Steve Jobs's house</a>, proving ... what exactly, Matt? 
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/03/iphone-release-date-june-29th/"><img
src="http://blog.rojo.com/rojoblog/060607_2039_RojoStreetV2.jpg" align="left"
border="0" /></a>No one cares about Jobs's house; it's his phone that's got geeks
in a lather as the iPhone's Friday, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/03/iphone-release-date-june-
29th/">June 29 release date approaches</a> (via <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.engadget.com/">Engadget</a>) Sure,
there's the $600 cost and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/03/iphone-release-date-confirmed-yours-on-
june-29th/">the ugly, two-year service agreement</a>, but even the <a
href="http://www.apple.com/iphone/ads/">teaser ads are gorgeous</a>.
6/29 will be a light posting day says <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.techcrunch.com/">TechCrunch</a>
while Arrington & Co. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/06/04/yes-but-what-does-that-have-to-do-with-
the-iphone/">get themselves some</a>. Meanwhile, <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/06/05/apple-a-day-in-
history/">Apple's stock is hitting all-time highs</a> (via <a
href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/">Blogging
Stocks</a>) and AT&T is restructuring its Edge service to accommodate expected jumps in
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.tuaw.com/2007/06/05/atandt-
tuning-edge-network-for-iphone/">bandwidth demand</a>, writes <a
href="http://www.tuaw.com/">The
Unofficial Apple Weblog</a>. Only <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://blogs.business2.com/">Business
2.0</a> is the tiny voice asking whether the <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://blogs.business2.com/apple/2007/06/apple_iphone_op.html">iPhone
will ever accept third-party apps</a>. <div style="margin-
left:10px; background-color:rgb(238, 238, 238); "> <div style="font-
size:11px; color:rgb(119, 119, 119); text-align:center; ">ADVERTISEMENT</div>
href="http://asp.usatoday.com/marketing/rss/index.aspx?hdnPartner=7"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/usat_rojo_250x250%5B3%5D.gif"
align="left" border="0" height="250" width="250" /></a></div> <a
href="http://www.buzzmachine.com/">BuzzMachine</a>ke
eps the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.buzzmachine.com/2007/04/26/the-obsolete-interview/">live-interviews vs.
phone-interviews meme alive</a>, calling for transparency to the point
where interviews would be performed in public. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.bradlinder.net/">Brad Linder</a>
adds some caveats about <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.bradlinder.net/2007/04/debate-over-email-interviews-
continues.html">why reporters prefer live to e-mail</a>, while <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.businessweek.com/">BusinessWeek
Online</a>'s Stephen Baker snipes that if he's limited to
communicating with machines, he might as well just <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/blogspotting/archives/2007/06/intervi
ew_talki.html?campaign_id=rss_blog_blogspotting">bag formal reporting and
blog</a>. Following the money, <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://markevanstech.com/">Mark
Evans</a> weighs in on the Web 2.0 "bubble," figuring Michael
Arrington's late-night blog entry kicked the current round of <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://markevanstech.com/2007/06/04/bubble-mania/">doomsaying into high
gear</a>. But many tech bloggers are denying there's any bubble to burst:
href="http://paul.kedrosky.com/">Paul Kedrosky</a>,
both <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2007/06/03/more_on_the_tec.html">on
his own</a> and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/weekinreview/03rivlin.html?_r=1&oref=slogi
n">in the NY
Times</a>, and one of the Web's oldest names, <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://blog.pmarca.com/">Marc
Andreessen</a>, who puts the pessimism down to our ancestors' need
to assume <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://blog.pmarca.com/2007/06/bubbles_on_the_.html">something was
about to eat them</a>. The real bubbles are elsewhere: <a
href="http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2007/06/the_long_life_s.html">h
ousing</a>, which <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://bigpicture.typepad.com/">Big
Picture</a> sees the air leaking out of, while <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://paul.kedrosky.com/">Paul
Kedrosky</a> scans the aging Wall <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/06/01/ask-the-
readers-is-it-better-to-invest-or-to-prepay-a-mortgage/"><img
src="http://blog.rojo.com/rojoblog/060607_2039_RojoStreetV3.jpg" align="left"
border="0" /></a> Street bull and wonders about an <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2007/06/03/the_aging_bull.html">immi
nent downturn</a>. So should you pull out of the market and pay down your
mortgage? <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.getrichslowly.org/">Get Rich
Slowly</a> collects some <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/06/01/ask-the-readers-is-it-better-
to-invest-or-to-prepay-a-mortgage/">expert
advice</a>. In politics, the Lewis Libby Pardon Clock began
running Tuesday, when the former vice-presidential chief of staff was sentenced to
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/06/washington/06libby.html">30 months
in prison for lying to the FBI</a>. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=OTAzZWQ4Y2U1MTY0YzIyMjQ3NTUxYmZlY2IyMWY
4ODc=">Calls for that pardon</a> came <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://powerlineblog.com/archives/017854.php">fast</a> and <a
href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/734azcei.a
sp">furious</a> from <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.gorillasushi.com/?q=node/411"><img
src="http://blog.rojo.com/rojoblog/060607_2039_RojoStreetV4.jpg" align="right"
border="0" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://nationalreview.com/">National
Review</a>, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://powerlineblog.com/">Power Line</a> and
href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/">Weekly
Standard</a>, even while the latter admitted that prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald was a Bush
appointee. GOP candidates vying for the presidency debated again on
Tuesday, and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/">Captain's
Quarters</a> thinks the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/010156.php">audience asked better
questions than Wolf Blitzer</a>. Candidates' answers on a Libby pardon were
href="http://susiemadrak.com/2007/06/06/06/56/the-quality-of-mercy-is-not-
strained/">all over the map</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://susiemadrak.com/">Suburban
Guerilla</a>, but the silence was deafening when Blitzer asked who
thought <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://thinkprogress.org/2007/06/05/debate-dadt/">gays should be allowed
in the military</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://thinkprogress.org/">Think
Progress</a>). Finally, if you've cringed at the idea
of sending an e-card instead of a Hallmark card, check out <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.gorillasushi.com/">Gorilla
Sushi</a>'s take on "greetings," such as "<a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.gorillasushi.com/?q=node/411">Sorry my Web browser
history scared you</a>." If that doesn't make you laugh, <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.metafilter.com/61750/LOLcatcam">try getting your cat to
photoblog</a> (courtesy <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.metafilter.com/">MetaFilter</a>).

-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 12th - 18th May 2007
DATE: 05/18/2007 11:17:52
STATUS: publish
BODY:
serif" size="-2"><div>May 17th 2007 From DaimlerChrysler found a buyer for its
troubled North American division. The German carmaker agreed to sell an 80.1%
stake in Chrysler for $7.4 billion to Cerberus Capital
Management, which said it would continue with Chrysler's restructuring
blueprint and also assume multi-billion-dollar liabilities for workers' health-
care and pension plans. Chrysler's biggest labour union welcomed the deal, but
negotiations are expected over the management and burden of benefits. <a
size="-1">Meanwhile, DaimlerChrysler reported that quarterly net profit had more than
doubled, to euro2 billion ($2.6 billion), compared with a year ago
because Mercedes, its luxury-car unit, had revved up its performance, offsetting
losses from Chrysler. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="raid_to_rest">Raid to
rest</div> Hanson, once one of the world's best-known
conglomerates and now a supplier of building materials, agreed to an £8 billion
($15.8 billion) takeover from HeidelbergCement. Co-founded by the
late Lord Hanson in 1964, the Hanson group made a series of “corporate raids” that
gave it diverse interests, including tobacco, gold mining and chemicals. The
conglomerate was split in four in 1996. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Tyco
settled class-action lawsuits brought by shareholders for $3 billion. The
conglomerate's share price collapsed in 2002 amid an accounting scandal for which
its former boss, Dennis Kozlowski (of the infamous $15,000 umbrella stand) and
former finance chief were convicted. It is soon to split into three companies.
size="-1">Warburg Pincus, a private-equity firm, said it would
take over Bausch &
Lomb in a $4.5 billion deal. The eye-care company was dealt a
serious blow last year when it had to recall contact-lens solution that had been
found to produce fungal eye infections. Reuters and
Thomson made their merger official in an £8.7 billion ($17.2
billion) transaction to create the world's largest provider of financial data. The
trustees that uphold Reuters' independence gave their approval, but the deal will
be scrutinised over the coming months by competition regulators in America and
Europe. A new housemate</div> Spain's Telefónica sold its 75% stake
in Endemol, a Dutch media-production company that is responsible
for starting the fashion for reality-TV with programmes
such as “Big Brother”. The stake was bought for euro2.6 billion ($3.5
billion) by a consortium that includes Mediaset, the Italian media group
controlled by Silvio Berlusconi,
Italy's former prime minister. The low cost of Endemol's programming is a hit with
broadcasters worldwide. Telefónica is divesting its interest to focus on its core telecoms
business. Germany's Merck said it would sell its generic-drugs business to
Mylan, based in Pennsylvania, for euro4.9 billion ($6.6 billion). The deal
provides Mylan with a foothold in 90 countries where Merck retails the drugs, but some analysts fear that the
price Mylan is paying, which is greater than its own market value, is too high.
">Citigroup had its best day on the stockmarket in four years
after it emerged that Edward Lampert, a hedge-fund manager with a reputation for
investing in undervalued shares, had bought a stake in the bank worth
$800m. Amazon said it would open a digital-music store later
this year, underscoring the desire among online retailers to offer music free from
digital-rights protection and enable downloads on to all types of
music players. Following a similar deal with Apple, EMI
will make its catalogue of songs available on Amazon's site. Harrah's Entertainment
declared it would build a casino and resort at Biloxi, Mississippi, that will cost around $1 billion. Named
Margaritaville, the venture is being planned together with Jimmy Buffett, a singer-songwriter,
and is described by the company as the single largest investment in the Gulf state
since Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. The Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development invited Chile, Estonia, Israel, Russia and Slovenia to begin membership talks.
The Paris-based club of industrialised countries, which has admitted only one
member in the past decade, is also strengthening its ties with Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="falling_down">Falling
down</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
A raft of statistics
indicated that the housing market in America is still anaemic and might remain so
for some time. The number of building permits, a signal of future
construction, fell in April to its lowest level for ten years. The housing-market
slump continued to have knock-on effects. Quarterly net profit at Home Depot, America's biggest
home-improvement retailer, dropped by 30%, compared with last year, to $1 billion.
 </a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 12th - 18th May 2007
DATE: 05/18/2007 11:13:37
STATUS: publish
BODY:
size="-1">articles from this week's edition of China and US trade</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
scroll 0% 50%; "> The candidates: Hillary Clinton</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.economist.com/surveys/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9141486&fsrc=nwlp
scroll 0% 50%; "> The alchemists of finance</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
scroll 0% 50%; "> Species inflation</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.economist.com/world/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9189311&fsrc=nwlptw
0% 50%; "> Pakistan</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
scroll 0% 50%; "> Divorce for DaimlerChrysler</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> A growing rift between the West and
Russia </a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
c=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> Gordon Brown starts shadow-boxing</a> | <a
00&fsrc=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> Paul Wolfowitz on the
brink</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> Human rights in Colombia</a> | <a
=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> Zimbabwe's deepening crisis</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
scroll 0% 50%; "> International accounting standards</a> | <a
wlptwfree" style="color:black; "> Elections in South-East Asia</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
0% 50%; "> The poison between Nixon and Kissinger</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
scroll 0% 50%; "> Alfred Chandler, business historian</a> 
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hBALM0FDHx80Mo0BQiE0EA"
50%; ">More free articles</a> ��</div> Politics this
serif" size="-2"><div>May 17th 2007 From The Economist print edition</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="4"><tbody><tr><td
style="cursor:pointer; height:1em; ">Pakistan was shaken by its
worst violence in years amid the crisis surrounding the sacking of the country's
top judge. Around 40 people were killed during rioting in Karachi, damaging the attempt of the
president, General Pervez Musharraf, to run a military government under a veneer
of constitutionality. Separately, a suicide-bomber killed at least 25 people in an
attack on a hotel frequented by Afghans in Pakistan's north-western city of Peshawar. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Officials in Afghanistan displayed the body of Mullah Dadullah, the Taliban's most notorious commander,
killed in a battle with American special forces. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Jos�� Ramos-Horta, a Nobel peace laureate, won a decisive victory in a
presidential election in Timor-Leste over Francisco Guterres, a
former guerrilla running under his nom-de-guerre, ��Lu-Olo��. <a
size="-1">A pair of passenger trains crossed the border between
North and South Korea for the first time since 1951, furthering the
countries' engagement effort. <div><a rel="nofollow"
name="diplomatic_offensive">Diplomatic offensive</div> Iranian and
American diplomats looked likely to meet openly for the first
time in 28 years, perhaps by the end of the month, mainly to discuss ways of
making Iraq more stable. It was
understood that Iran's nuclear question would be kept off the agenda. <a
size="-1">Fighting in the Gaza
Strip between supporters of the two main parts of the Palestinian
unity administration left at least 40 dead and threatened to destroy the
government. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Ban Ki-moon, the
United Nations secretary-general, said he would ask the Security Council to
��take the necessary steps�� to set up a proposed tribunal of ��international
character�� to try the suspected assassins of Rafik Hariri, five-times prime
minister of Lebanon, who was killed two years ago. Lebanon's
parliament had reached a stalemate in trying to ratify the tribunal. 
Demonstrating its
growing ties with Africa, China launched a Nigerian communications satellite into
orbit, the first time a foreign country had bought both a Chinese satellite and
its launching service. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">African Union (AU) peacekeepers in Somalia suffered their
biggest loss since they arrived in March when four Ugandans were killed by a
roadside bomb in the capital, Mogadishu. America and the AU have warned Ethiopia against withdrawing its troops, who were largely responsible
for ending Islamist rule there, until the AU can send
thousands more. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="under_pressure">Under
pressure</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
More troubles for
Colombia's president, ��lvaro Uribe. He fired the police chief
after revelations of illegal phone-tapping of opposition leaders; several of his
allies were among 19 politicians and business leaders whose arrests were ordered
over ties to right-wing paramilitaries; and a jailed paramilitary leader levelled
unsubstantiated allegations that the vice-president and defence minister incited
paramilitary action in the 1990s. Both men are known to have met paramilitary
leaders, but as part of peace efforts. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
">Mexico, a senior intelligence official in charge of monitoring
drug gangs was shot dead as he drove to his office. The country's drug gangs are
resisting a crackdown by the government. In an apparent swipe at
Venezuela's president, Hugo
Ch��vez, Pope Benedict
XVI expressed concern about ��authoritarian forms of
government�� in a speech opening a conference of Latin American bishops in Brazil. He also criticised Marxism and
capitalism. In Brazil, a rancher
was convicted of ordering the killing of Dorothy Stang, an American nun and
Amazon rainforest activist who was murdered on a jungle road in
2005. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="another_horse_in_the_race">Another horse in
the race?</div> The Republican presidential candidates held their
second debate, with each jostling to prove his conservative credentials. Outside
the official field, Fred Thompson, a television actor and former senator, did his
undeclared campaign no harm by addressing the Council for National Policy, an
umbrella group of conservatives. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Jerry Falwell died at the age of 73. Mr Falwell, a
pastor and televangelist, was a co-founder of the Moral Majority, a powerful
conservative political force during the 1980s. He once said: ��The idea that
religion and politics don't mix was invented by the devil to keep Christians from
running their own country.�� <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Antonio Villaraigosa
became the latest mayor to present an ��action plan�� on climate change,
submitting some 50 ideas to help Los Angeles cut its emissions by 35% before 2030. Unlike a
similar initiative from New
York, Mr Villaraigosa steered clear of proposing a congestion charge.
 After five
years of opposition to a UN convention on the law
of the sea, George Bush
urged the Senate to ratify the treaty. It would enhance the mobility of American
armed forces, the president said. <div>A match made in heaven</div> <table
size="-1">Nicolas Sarkozy was
inaugurated as France's new president. He flew to Berlin to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel and declare that the
European Union must be lifted
out of its current paralysis. His centre-right government is expected to include a
socialist, Bernard Kouchner, as foreign minister. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">The American secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, visited Moscow. She and
Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, agreed to tone down their hostile language, but did not
resolve underlying differences. Nor did the German foreign minister, Frank-Walter
Steinmeier, who flew to Moscow
ahead of a summit. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
">Serbia formed a new coalition government four months after an
election. The EU enlargement commissioner promised to talk
about accession negotiations, but only if the new government hands over Ratko Mladic, a former Bosnian Serb commander, to the war-
crimes tribunal in The Hague. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Armenia's parliamentary election was won by pro-
government parties. The election was judged by international observers to be much
fairer than the previous one in 2003. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Gordon
Brown secured his position as Britain's next Labour Party leader
and prime minister, once Tony
Blair goes in June, after vacuuming up the support of the party's MPs. A desultory challenge to Mr Brown from left-wingers failed
to get off the ground. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
ee article</a></a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 28th April - 4th May 2007
DATE: 05/04/2007 12:51:27
STATUS: publish
BODY:
urkey's
prime minister, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan, called for an early general election after the constitutional
court rejected a parliamentary vote on his nomination of the foreign minister,
Abdullah Gul, for president.
Turkey's powerful generals say that Mr Gul has a hidden Islamist agenda. A million
secularists rallied in Istanbul. Turkey's stockmarket fell
sharply. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
ee article</a> Russia reacted furiously to Estonia's removal
of a Soviet war memorial from the centre of Tallinn to a military cemetery. Protesters blockaded the
Estonian embassy in Moscow,
prompting a rebuke from the European
Union. Russia cut oil and
coal exports. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Nicolas Sarkozy kept a
small lead in France's presidential election. In a televised
debate, he kept his cool under a blustering attack from his Socialist rival, Ségolène Royal. The voters will decide
on May 6th. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
sans serif"><a rel="nofollow"
name="stranglehold">Stranglehold</div> Venezuela's
government took control of oilfields in the Orinoco heavy-oil belt
previously operated by multinationals. It had earlier obliged the multinationals
to sign new contracts under which they have become minority partners in joint
ventures with the state. Meanwhile, President Hugo Chávez said that Venezuela would withdraw from the
IMF and the World Bank. 
style="cursor:pointer; height:1em; ">Raúl Castro, Cuba's
acting president, led government officials at the country's traditional May Day
mass celebration. His elder brother, Fidel Castro, Cuba's convalescing leader, did not appear despite earlier
speculation that he might. Politicians in the English-speaking Caribbean expressed disappointment at the lack of
foreign spectators at the seven-week cricket World Cup. In the final, played in
Barbados, Australia beat Sri Lanka amid much confusion about
the rules. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
sans serif"><a rel="nofollow">Olmert's battle</div>
After being lambasted by
a report into Israel's conduct of last summer's war in Lebanon,
Israel's prime minister, Ehud
Olmert, seemed to have fended off growing calls for him to resign,
including one from his foreign minister. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Iraq's interior minister said that the leader of al-Qaeda
in Iraq had been killed by other insurgents, suggesting a split over how
to respond to government feelers to negotiate. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-2">PA</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td
valign="bottom"><img alt="PA"
Iraq's
neighbours, along with representatives of the G8 group of
rich countries, the European
Union, the United States
and the Arab League, met in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss ways
of ending the mayhem in Iraq.
 The
International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Ahmed Haroun, Sudan's
minister for humanitarian affairs, and Ali Kosheib, a leader of the
janjaweed militia. They are charged with mass murder, rape and other
crimes in Darfur. The Sudanese government has a legal duty to hand over
the two men, but repeated its refusal to do so. For the first time since last
month's resumption of civil war in Somalia, African Union
peacekeeping troops gingerly patrolled the capital, Mogadishu, following the exodus of more than 300,000
civilians. But the UN Security Council called for a plan to
deploy UN peacekeepers to take over from the floundering
AU force, to which only Uganda has so far contributed troops. Despite continuing calls by
disgruntled opposition candidates and an array of foreign observers for last
month's Nigerian presidential election to be run again, Umaru
Yar'Adua was certified by the electoral commission to have won. He said he would
review the “conduct” of elections for the future. <div>No comfort for some</div> Although rejecting their
compensation claims on technical grounds, Japan's Supreme Court
ruled that two Chinese women had indeed been abducted by Japanese soldiers and
forced into sexual slavery during the second world war. The ruling came as Japan's
prime minister, Shinzo Abe, visited Washington and repeated his half-apology for
publicly doubting the Japanese army's role in coercing so-called “comfort women”.
size="-1">China
expressed its indignation as Taiwan
persuaded St Lucia to switch
diplomatic allegiance to it from the mainland. Meanwhile, China proposed a route for the Olympic
torch in 2008 that would take it from Taiwan to Hong Kong,
which Taiwan rejected on the
ground that this implied Taiwan
belonged to China.
The final obstacle to
holding the long-delayed trials of former leaders of Cambodia's
murderous Khmer Rouge regime was cleared: the local bar association dropped a
demand to charge heavy fees to foreign lawyers participating in the
trials. A
suicide-bomber killed at least 28 people and injured around 50, including
Pakistan's interior minister, in the country's lawless North-West
Frontier province. The fledgling air force of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers
bombed targets
in and around Colombo, the
capital, prompting some commercial airlines to suspend flights. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
sans serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="troop_trouble">Troop
trouble</div> As promised, George
Bush wielded a veto, only the second of his presidency, against a military-
spending bill sent to him by Congress because it set a Democratic timetable for
pulling troops out of Iraq. Mr Bush held talks at the White House with both parties to seek a compromise. The Democrats said
that a new bill must, at the very least, include “benchmarks” for Iraq. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Human Rights Watch, a worldwide organisation that has its headquarters
in New York, issued a report on
Wal-Mart that
accused the retailer of denying basic rights to its workers by thwarting their
attempts to organise in a union. Wal-
Mart, America's biggest private employer, said the report was based on
“unsubstantiated allegations”. Supporters of immigrant
rights took to the streets in several American cities. Fewer people took
part than a year ago when similar events were held; Chicago saw the biggest protest, of 150,000 people. In Los Angeles, the police said they were
investigating their handling of a rally that erupted into violence. 
Celebrations got under
way in Jamestown, Virginia, to mark the
400th anniversary of the founding of the first permanent English settlement in the
New World. Queen Elizabeth II
was due to visit the site this week. President George Bush is going to attend the
festivities on May 13th. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
article</a> </a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 28th April - 4th May 2007
DATE: 05/04/2007 12:50:46
STATUS: publish
BODY:
scroll 0% 50%; "> Democracy v secularism in Turkey</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
scroll 0% 50%; "> Why Rupert Murdoch wants the WSJ</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
0% 50%; "> The London bombers, convicted</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
86&fsrc=nwlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> The case for education vouchers</a> | <a
scroll 0% 50%; "> Can Israel's Ehud Olmert hang on?</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
scroll 0% 50%; "> Russia squeezes Estonia</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
btwfree" style="color:black; "> The candidates: Rudy Giuliani</a> |
btwfree" style="color:black; "> Spanish business</a> | <a
href="http://www.economist.com/surveys/displayStory.cfm?story_id=9070726&fsrc=nwlb
twfree" style="color:black; "> The world goes to town</a> | <a
scroll 0% 50%; "> Religion in Latin America</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
twfree" style="color:black; "> PayPal v Google's Checkout</a> | <a
wlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> Japan's newly assertive world role</a> | <a
twfree" style="color:black; "> Rape in ducks</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
0% 50%; "> Vaclav Havel</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
btwfree" style="color:black; "> David Halberstam, chronicler of post-war
America</a> <div align="right">More free
size="-2"><div>May 3rd 2007 From News Corporation, which
counts the Fox television channels among its holdings, confirmed it had made a $5
billion friendly bid for Dow
Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal. Rupert Murdoch, News Corp's boss, described his offer
as generous, but the Bancroft family, the controlling shareholders in Dow Jones, rejected a deal. The
company's share price soared by 55% as investors speculated about rival bids. <a
 The board of
Cablevision Systems accepted a $10.6
billion buy-out from Charles and James Dolan, respectively its chairman and chief
executive. The Dolan family founded Cablevision, which serves New York with cable-TV and owns some of the city's best-known concerns, such as the
New York Knicks basketball team
and Madison Square Garden. They
persuaded the board to go private after a lengthy campaign, but some shareholders
are resisting the offer. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="bye-bye_bp">Bye-bye
BP</div> Lord Browne resigned as chief executive of BP after a court lifted an injunction against a tabloid newspaper
from publishing details about his relationship with a male escort. The judge in
the case declared that Lord Browne had lied about the circumstances of the affair.
Lord Browne is credited with turning around BP's fortunes
through a series of transforming deals, but as he is resigning before he was due
to retire in July, he will forgo a multi-million pound bonus. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Eni,
Italy's biggest oil company, said it would buy assets in the Gulf of Mexico held
by Dominion Resources, based in
Virginia, for $4.8 billion. Eni
has been operating in the United
States since 1966 and said the deal would more than triple its production
in the Gulf. Delta Air
Lines exited bankruptcy protection after a 19-month restructuring
programme that saw it shed some 6,000 jobs. After several difficult years for the
industry, Northwest Airlines is now the only big
American carrier operating under bankruptcy protection, from which it expects to
emerge this summer. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
sans serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="a_philanthropic_executive">A
philanthropic executive</div> David Sidwell said he would
retire as Morgan
Stanley's chief financial officer at the end of the year. Mr
Sidwell, 54, wants to spend more time working with a care charity in New York. Deutsche Börse
agreed to acquire International Securities Exchange, which is
based in New York and is
America's largest equity-options market. The $2.8 billion deal is a boon for the
German exchange, which has been thwarted in its previous efforts to combine with
other institutions. However, analysts expect a counterbid for ISE given its fast-growing options business. Spain's Telefónica said it and a
group of Italian financial institutions would buy the euro4.1 billion
($5.6 billion) controlling stake in Telecom Italia held by Pirelli, a conglomerate. The
decision is a disappointment for América Móvil, a Mexican mobile-
phone
operator, which had tried to secure the stake. Its endeavour (initially in
partnership with AT&T)had met stiff resistance from Italian
politicians who argued that TI was a strategic asset that
should not fall into foreign hands. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Carl Icahn intensified his efforts to win a seat on Motorola's board by sending a
letter to shareholders in which he criticised “oversight and leadership” at the
mobile-phone maker. The investor castigated Ed Zander, Motorola's boss, for sounding “like
something straight out of Alice in
Wonderland” when he reportedly said he loved his job but hated his
customers. Edward Whitacre announced that he would retire as chairman and chief
executive of AT&T in June. Mr Whitacre, who took up the posts in 1990 and is
the longest-serving boss of a large telecoms company, made several huge
acquisitions during his tenure and is credited with instigating the industry's
consolidation. India's Foreign Investment Promotion Board decided that Vodafone's acquisition of a controlling stake in
Hutchison Essar, the country's fourth-biggest mobile-phone
operator, did not breach Indian regulations on foreign investment. The government
had appeared to be in some doubt about approving the deal. Ahold, one of
the world's biggest food retailers, agreed to sell US
Foodservice, its American distribution business, to a private-equity consortium
for $7.1 billion. The sale severs Ahold's ties with the unit, which caused the
Dutch company to restate earnings by $1 billion after an accounting scandal in
2003. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="the_knock-on_effect">The knock-on
effect</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
A sluggish housing
market was given as the main explanation as to why America's
economy grew at an annualised rate of 1.3% in the first quarter, the
slowest growth in four years. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
ee article</a> </a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Rojo: MyJournal; Digg Riot; Conspiracy Theories
DATE: 05/04/2007 12:42:21
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Top Stories For the Week of April 30 - May 4 <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/yLY9pVa495bIaO7q"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/online_communities3.png" align="right"
border="0" height="342" width="350" /></a>Will they call it MyJournal? After years
of unrequited lust, News Corp.
and MySpace owner Rupert <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/SkS0WKcp1iF_Lzlm">Murdoch finally made his
bid for Dow Jones</a>, publishers of the Wall Street Journal, blogs <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/b4NRFbzXTN1gW2Kn">BuzzMachine</a>. Murdoch's move spiked DJ shares by a remarkable $20 to $57.28 before
trading was halted, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/YtN_xt2jHmgtTDW_">approaching Murdoch's
$60/share offer</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Fn0vO66aSFXPOWzp">PaidContent</a>). The <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/VamCg_YBUkD4JbP0">controlling Bancroft
family hasn't said no</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/rdfu0Ar8lRjat5Uf">Valleywag</s
trong></a>, and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/heuZ0zC5GEQ5kOqv">Paul
Kedrosky</a> figures that after a century of control the <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/M0pKonivWJFxzzcl">family may finally be
ready to cash out</a>. Speaking of cash, employees at
Murdoch's other New York paper,
the Post, would like to see some - as in for modern computers, LEXIS
accounts, and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/viGcqSnY2zpQGZNZ">running water in the
bathrooms</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/65l55m424tvTq7Rs">Gawker</stro
ng></a>. Murdoch's bid was <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/fLIB9D1zjxaA-9R_">pure marketing
genius</a>, says <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/heuZ0zC5GEQ5kOqv">Paul Kedrosky's
Infectious Greed</a> but Bloomberg thinks it could also spur an
auction that brings in <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/4fCir7QmwdxlwifV">big bidders like
Google</a>. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/JXFHTCDN5rnQ_DnD"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/murdochbytimes.jpg" align="left"
border="0" height="164" width="230" /></a>Bloggers were also buzzing about other
media news: On a Virginia Tech campus still recovering from
the shootings, the first book deal arrives as journalism professor <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/WS1IBUbC-
MRmvIUY">Roland
Lazenby and his students sell their school's resilience and recovery to
Plume</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/65l55m424tvTq7Rs">Gawker</stro
ng></a>. Even the New York
Times bought shooting-related search-engine keywords - <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/2oTmOa7UMwvmFWoU">for up to five bucks
each</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
/strong></a>. To millions of MySpace accounts already choked with content, Sony adds five-minute "minisodes" of
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/y2kMso6nvmbKE2rw">undead Aaron Spelling
series like Charlie's Angels and T.J. Hooker</a>, blogs
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/8DejLUfT7A0wDWoe">Mashable!</s
trong></a> And Joost launched to the world this week with 150 ad-supported
personal TV channels that can carry everything from <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/ziqrdczx3UG16IAG">steamy
swimsuit videos to frosty NHL games</a>, writes <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/ls3cceY_PyBLR8a_">GigaOm</stro
ng></a>. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/_PjKtrOb48TsyafU"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fruit/riot_2.jpg" align="right"
border="0" /></a>Meanwhile over at Digg this week, the power of Web 2.0 was in
full effect, reports <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/TLRSDndbPcWBtCQB">Gizmodo</str
ong></a> where geeks revolted over the site's decision to <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/xXXlAUzHbpmth4tN">nix a story that netted
15,000+ diggs</a> and contained the HD-DVD AACS Processing Key number for
cracking the copy protection on an HD-DVD. Digg's founder <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/VZhlpezBTGwrxkNG">Kevin Rose
finally caved</a> and the story went back up. <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/D2c2OTN8tbbhLK4"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fruit/yahoo-right.jpg"
align="left" border="0" /></a> Yahoo parried Google's DoubleClick deal <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/TitOnnYvu-
j_2CfX">by buying
the rest of Right Media</a>, an ad-market maker with 19,000 participants
that could greatly expand its advertiser base, blogs <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/cqFY_kGzE9K3dk2x">Profy.com</s
trong></a>. Nice counter play, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/8DejLUfT7A0wDWoe">Mashable!</s
trong></a>, but <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Ur8OX2JaMW8QZpQv">$680 million is an awesome
amount</a> and GOOG is still pulling ahead of the pack. No matter, Yahoo
needed a <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Uzbqex4rtESOdjW5">bold move to counter
Google's march and this was it</a> - but <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
/strong></a> notes that the Google and Yahoo deals <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/stJJEEi_WbBqnJm_">pour $4 billion into an
advertising form that currently lags behind search advertising</a>. Next:
will MSFT pay a <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Hn4Sgyp4X7Q6JXB1">big premium for 24/7 Real
Media</a>? <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/lMyN-GnYK9XDG06I"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fruit/igoogle-logo-applied.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="141" width="352" /></a>Google took <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/lUrPqOgldymA1wuD">further steps into
Yahoo turf with iGoogle</a>, its Ajax-based personal homepages that compete
with My Yahoo (via <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/7fx8J0fWwAGgftUa">TechCrunch</a>). <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/3UfQmxuU_7EpVJay">VentureBeat</a> lists some of the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/dqS6XyCZMPfvzJ4y">new iGoogle
gadgets</a> and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/gt_sj_68m1_-8kk4">Micro
Persuasion</a> cites the millions who already have personalized
Google pages - then adds Forrester stats showing <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/fUHByfgc-D0kDOyy">few use those pages or
find their ads useful</a>. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/zb5uC-d2rC2c1G6t"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fruit/story.jpg" align="left"
border="0" /></a> Elsewhere, the Food
and Drug Administration gave inspectors the authority to <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/BsYbThpD17i-YY4O">";detain"
all food imports from China</a> - for humans or animals - suspected of
melamine contamination, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/rUTd4cq0AJVQUEpE">MetaFilter</a>.
Why is the FDA so startled?
Adding melamine, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/BPtAliwp_0UuHu3A">a coal-based compound used
in plastics and fertilizer</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/itLQLDlDteVS7_ZY">small dead
animals</a>), to animal feed is common practice in China to <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Kt1iVA7QIeQVTvAj">boost
protein readings without boosting protein content</a> says <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/DIiQL-
pNAqiTus0r">Daou Report</a>. First dogs and cats
dropped dead from renal failure, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/svyIuDyqZonI62CV">HorsesAss</s
trong></a>; <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/W7d4LJX4olaXAl4I-">now humans
wonder</a> whether they've been eating Chinese melamine as well. Bon
app��tit: Melamine-contaminated feed<img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fruit/tenet.jp" border="0" />
was provided to 38 Indiana
poultry farms whose chickens are <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/PWqq_enPHQX5ByQ9">already in the human food
chain</a>. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/V4HcC7LDex5-G8XW"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fruit/tenet.jpg" align="right"
border="0" height="193" width="269" /></a>In politics, John Edwards launches the
first TV ads of his campaign, urging Congress to <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/lgRuIPUVyBgI_GYa-">stand up to President
Bush's veto </a> of the war-funding bill (via <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/68rMI7BDnkmmO3jS">Taegan
Goddard</a>), while Fred Thompson is shocked that potential GOP
primary opponents are <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/BU_5Mpl4vpJa1dRH-">digging up dirt on him
rather than Dems</a>. Mitt Romney can expect never-
ending questions about the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/ImKoD1gDj3aSDa0Z-">";secretive" Mormon
Church</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/BsUv-_6eRK2kayFF">ABC
News</a>), and Joe
Biden finally did something right, saying the one thing he would want with
him on a desert island is his wife, Jill. (<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/nhS1_voDbcjhn0rT-">Hillary wanted a good
book.</a>) William
F. Buckley Jr. emerged from retirement to slam George Tenet's 60 Minutes appearance in the
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Q4P-
JNbXxzLCH62R">National Review</a>, wondering how someone so <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/OPiuAMdOssl1J1fg-">vain, emotional and
unreasoning could have led the agency</a>. Besides, Tenet only confirms
what <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/dYVOotrYwbEFjLnJ-">many already
knew</a>. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Qk5AN1QKBqUlz_po"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fruit/429truth.jpg" align="left"
border="0" /></a>Finally, if you thought a mere petroleum fire could melt
structural steel on that freeway overpass in California, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/oc3HrxLXR5IJZOiw">Boing
Boing</a> wants you to know <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Qk5AN1QKBqUlz_po-">the truth is far, far,
far, far, far more sinister</a>.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 10th - 16th March 2007
DATE: 04/27/2007 12:06:39
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<div>Mar
15th 2007 From The Economist print edition</div>
 The Pentagon released an edited transcript of a closed-doors
military hearing in which Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confirmed that
he had masterminded the September 11th 2001 attacks. He also claimed involvement
in a string of other terrorist acts and plots, such as the 1993 car bombing at New
York's World Trade Centre, a failed plot to bomb Big Ben in London and attempts to kill Pope John Paul II and President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan. The hearing took place at
Guantánamo Bay to consider whether Mr Mohammed can be detained as an “enemy
combatant”. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8866995">See article</a> The Democrats called for the resignation of America's attorney-
general, Alberto Gonzales, when
he admitted that mistakes had been made in last year's sacking of eight
United States attorneys, who prosecute federal cases. White House officials were involved in
the sackings, which the Democrats claim were politically motivated and not based
on judicial performance. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">George Bush asked for an additional 4,700 troops to join the “surge” in
Iraq, on top of
the 21,500 ordered to go in January. Meanwhile, agreement was finally reached in
the Senate about the terms of the Democrats' resolution on Iraq, allowing debate to proceed.
rel="nofollow" name="meeting_and_greeting">Meeting and
greeting</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
style="cursor:pointer; height:1em; ">George Bush completed his
tour of five Latin American countries in which he talked of “social justice” and
aid for health and education, as well as ethanol and immigration reform. He was
greeted with small demonstrations by local left-wingers. Hugo Chávez, Venezuela's
president, after a visit to Argentina where he called Mr Bush “a political corpse” at a rally, went
on a seemingly improvised counter-tour of four countries. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Ecuador's conflict of powers continued. Police barred
57 opposition legislators from entering Congress after the electoral tribunal
declared them expelled. At issue is a plan by Rafael Correa, the leftist president, to hold a referendum
for a constituent assembly that would replace Congress. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
">Colombia, a departmental governor from the opposition Liberal
party surrendered to federal prosecutors investigating links between politicians
and right-wing paramilitary groups. Eight other politicians, all supporters of
President Álvaro Uribe, already face similar charges. <div><a
rel="nofollow">Whew!</div> Tony Blair faced the biggest Labour revolt in Parliament since the vote on the Iraq
war in 2003. Some 95 backbenchers voted against renewing Britain's
Trident nuclear-deterrent system. The
prime minister, who is due to leave office this summer, won approval for his bill
only with the support of the Conservative opposition. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Two British soldiers were acquitted of charges relating
to the abuse of nine Iraqi detainees (one of whom died from his injuries) in Basra in 2003. Four other soldiers
were acquitted last month. A seventh is due to be sentenced next month after
pleading guilty. Jacques Chirac
announced that he would not stand again for the French
presidency. The battle to succeed him is wide open, with the centrist
François Bayrou now nipping at
the heels of the two front-runners, Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène
Royal. These three are some way ahead of the National Front's Jean-Marie Le Pen, who confirmed that
he too is in the contest. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
A huge demonstration
against ETA, the Basque terrorist group, was staged in
Madrid. The city also marked the
third anniversary of the train bombings on March 11th 2004. Both events spelt
trouble for Spain's prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, whose popularity has fallen
sharply as voters see him as accommodating to terrorists. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">United Russia, the
main pro-Putin party, won 13 out of 14 regional elections in Russia. The 14th went to a
new party, Just Russia, which is
also loyal to President Vladimir Putin. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Mr Putin met the pope in Rome for the first time. Relations between the Roman Catholic
and Russian Orthodox churches are strained. While he was in Italy, Mr Putin also finalised a
bilateral gas deal with the Italian prime minister, Romano Prodi. <div>Security comfort blanket</div>
style="cursor:pointer; height:1em; ">Japan signed a security pact
with Australia (its first such deal with
a country other than the United
States) to bolster co-operation on issues such as intelligence and border
protection. The pact was interpreted
by some as a response to China's growing power in the east Pacific. <a
size="-1">Mohamed ElBaradei, who
heads the IAEA, the UN's nuclear
watchdog, described as “quite useful” talks held in North Korea on its recent promise to shut down its
main nuclear reactor and close other facilities in return for fuel aid.
size="-1">Nepal's prime minister, an erstwhile supporter of the
country's monarchy, changed tack and suggested it would be better if the king were
to abdicate. Last November's peace deal between the government and Maoist rebels
agreed that the future of the monarchy should be decided after assembly elections
this year. In
India, Naxalite
rebels killed some 50 police officers when they stormed a security post in
Chhattisgarh state, the most daring incident in a spate of recent attacks.
 Muslim
separatists were blamed for a gun attack on a minibus in southern
Thailand that left nine people, all Buddhists, dead. The region
has seen an increase in violence; some 2,000 people have been killed in the past
two years. <div><a rel="nofollow">Can't keep a good man down</div>
Riot police in
Zimbabwe broke
up an opposition rally, shooting dead one activist and arresting 50 others. One of
those was Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the main
opposition party, who was badly beaten in prison before being allowed to go to
hospital. The episode was part of a pattern of increasing repression by President Robert Mugabe's embattled
government in a week in which Zimbabwe's inflation rate reached 1,730%. <a
size="-1">The first fully democratic presidential election since independence in
1960 took place in Mauritania. The run-off is
due on March 25th. The leaders of the Palestinians' rival Hamas and Fatah parties finalised the make-up of a new unity
government. The key posts of finance, interior and foreign minister will go to men
who are not members of either party. </a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 10th - 16th March 2007
DATE: 04/27/2007 12:05:55
STATUS: publish
BODY:
size="-1">articles from this week's edition of The European Union at 50</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
twfree" style="color:black; "> Microfinance</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
free" style="color:black; "> Tobacco and its impact</a> | <a
scroll 0% 50%; "> Curbing the American-Jewish lobby</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
btwfree" style="color:black; "> Family capitalism</a> | <a
free" style="color:black; "> Chirac retires on a sour note</a> | <a
btwfree" style="color:black; "> Viacom and YouTube</a> | <a
c=nwlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> Global warming and the political agenda</a> | <a
twfree" style="color:black; "> Connecting brains to games</a> | <a
scroll 0% 50%; "> After Russia's regional elections</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
=nwlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> Zimbabwe's political
crackdown</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
wlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> Japan's military flirtation with
Australia</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
29&fsrc=nwlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> Teaching history</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
btwfree" style="color:black; "> Jean Baudrillard, philosopher of
consumerism</a> <div align="right">More free
size="-2"><div>Mar 15th 2007 From Viacom sued
Google and its YouTube website, claiming they
had a “brazen disregard” for the copyright of video and song clips that are
uploaded by YouTube's users. The two sides failed to reach a distribution
agreement earlier this year and Viacom is now claiming $1 billion in damages. It is the biggest challenge
yet to the ability of “new” online media to use content produced by “traditional”
media companies. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">General Motors'restructuring plan seemed to bear fruit
after it reported a net loss of $2 billion for 2006, improving on the $10.4
billion it lost in 2005. The carmaker even made a $950m profit in the fourth
quarter as the performance of its North American operations picked up following
cuts in production. Rick Wagoner, GM's boss, said that
nobody was yet declaring victory. <div>The James Bond market</div> Ford found a
buyer for Aston
Martin, ending its 20-year control of the famous luxury-car brand.
A consortium led by David Richards, an entrepreneur, and which includes two
Kuwaiti investment firms, will pay £439m ($848m) for the British-based carmaker.
With Ford trying to claw its way back from massive losses, analysts pondered
whether it would need to sell other luxury brands, including Jaguar. 
style="cursor:pointer; height:1em; ">EADS, Airbus's parent
company, confirmed that 2006 had been a dismal year when it reported net income
had plunged by 94%, to euro99m ($124m). The turmoil in aircraft
production at Airbus and a weak dollar were blamed for Airbus's
first-ever operating loss. Louis Gallois, chief executive, gave warning of more
poor results this year. All charges were dropped against Patricia Dunn over the
boardroom-spying scandal at Hewlett-Packard. Ms Dunn stepped down as the company's chairman
last autumn after it was revealed that external investigators employed by HP had used
false pretences to gain access to the private records of board members in order to
flush out a leak. A spanner was thrown in the works of the merger between the
Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board of
Trade (CBOT) when the Intercontinental
Exchange, an electronic futures and energy market, launched an
unsolicited bid for CBOT. <div>Shopping spree</div> Kohlberg Kravis
Roberts supported a £9.7 billion ($18.8 billion) buy-out bid for
Alliance Boots, a British drugs retailer and distributor. Boots
rejected the approach, led by its deputy executive chairman, but a higher offer is
expected. KKR had more immediate success with Dollar General, a retailer
that caters to low-income consumers. It agreed to be bought out by the private-
equity firm for $7.3 billion. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Akzo
Nobel, a Dutch conglomerate, surprised investors by agreeing to
sell its pharmaceuticals business to Schering-Plough for $14.4 billion. Plans had been
made for Organon BioSciences to float on the stockmarket.
size="-1">Swisscom made a euro3.7 billion ($4.9 billion)
offer for Fastweb, an Italian broadband provider. The Swiss
telephone company's previous attempts at expansion have been frustrated by
politicians at home. This time, it said, it has the backing of the state.
size="-1">Cadbury Schweppes said it was separating its British-
based confectionery and American-based beverages businesses and would provide more
details in June. The announcement came after it was revealed that Nelson Peltz, a
shareholder activist, had taken a 3% stake in the company, which led to
speculation about a buy-out. Halliburton announced it was opening new corporate headquarters
in Dubai. The move is meant to
put the oil-services group closer to fast-growing oil-exploration
and production areas, but some in Congress promised hearings. 
style="cursor:pointer; height:1em; ">Citigroup sweetened its bid
for Nikko Cordial, a Japanese brokerage firm, increasing the
value of its offer by a quarter, to $13.4 billion. Its decision came after the
Tokyo Stock Exchange bucked expectations by deciding not to delist Nikko for
inflating its earnings. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="feeling_jittery">Feeling
jittery</div> More bad news about America's subprime-mortgage market
dented investor confidence again. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported a rise
in mortgage defaults and activity in home foreclosures in the subprime market,
which lends to borrowers with weak credit. Meanwhile, trading was suspended in
New Century
Financial after it indicated it faced bankruptcy; other subprime
lenders showed increasing signs of being in financial trouble. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
article</a> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
Anxiety about the banks'
exposure to the subprime market and the knock-on effects on the economy fed
volatility in stockmarkets around the world, which had only
slightly recovered from a clobbering two weeks ago. </a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 17th - 23rd March 2007
DATE: 04/27/2007 12:05:06
STATUS: publish
BODY:
The mayhem continued in
Iraq. Among the
atrocities were three car-bombs (two near Fallujah, the third near Ramadi) that used chlorine gas. These attacks
killed eight people and injured more than 350. Meanwhile, anti-war protests in
America and elsewhere marked the fourth anniversary of the invasion. 
A new Hamas-Fatah unity
government took control of the Palestinian Authority. But Hamas's refusal to renounce violence
against Israel means an
international boycott remains in place. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Russia was reported to
have withdrawn assistance from the nuclear reactor it is building in Iran at Bushehr. It was not clear whether this
was because of a commercial spat or part of the international campaign to stop
Iran from enriching
uranium. There was heavy fighting in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, after government and Ethiopian troops tried to
enter an Islamist insurgent stronghold. The corpses of two soldiers were dragged
through the streets. There has been a rise in attacks by the remnants of the
Islamist militias, which were defeated by Ethiopian-backed forces in December. <a
size="-1">As a government crackdown on opposition leaders continued in
Zimbabwe, some
of its neighbours were, for the first time, openly critical of President Robert Mugabe. With thousands fleeing the country
Levy Mwanawasa, Zambia's
president, compared Zimbabwe to
the “sinking Titanic”. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="so_much_for_bipartisanship">So much for
bipartisanship</div> The row over last year's sacking of eight federal
prosecutors gathered steam. A committee in Congress authorised subpoenas
in order to get White House
aides to testify on Capitol
Hill. George Bush said he
would not allow them to do so on the ground that it would be a “witch hunt”.
 Kathleen Blanco decided not to seek
re-election as Louisiana's governor later this year. Ms Blanco, a
Democrat, had seen her political stock tumble in the state with the failure of her
“Road Home” rebuilding programme in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
 Presidential
candidates started to rethink their campaign strategies after California moved forward the date of
its primary to February 5th 2008. Legislators in New York also approved a measure to
move its primary to that date. New
Hampshire, which holds the first primary, has not ruled out bringing its
election forward to as early as December. <div><a rel="nofollow">Show the cash
and we'll talk</div> <table align="right" border="0"
Six-party talks in Beijing aimed at persuading
North Korea to
abandon its nuclear programme ended in disarray. The North Korean delegation went
home early angry that $25m, frozen in a bank in Macau, had not yet reached its account. On the eve of the
talks, America had agreed to the transfer of the money. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">The confrontation between Pakistan's president, General
Pervez Musharraf, and the country's judiciary worsened. Eight judges have resigned
in protest at General Musharraf's attempt to dismiss Iftikhar Chaudhry, the chief
justice, on charges of misconduct and misuse of authority. Opposition parties have
rallied to Mr Chaudhry's defence. More than 100 people were
reported killed in Pakistan's tribal area of South Waziristan in
days of fighting between local ethnic-Pushtun tribesmen and foreign militants. The
Afghan government says the area provides sanctuary for Taliban fighters waging an
insurgency against it and its NATO allies.
An Italian journalist
was freed from captivity in Afghanistan in exchange for five Taliban fighters. America made
a formal diplomatic complaint to Italy about the deal. Heavy fighting erupted in eastern
Sri Lanka between government troops and rebels from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The
Tigers attacked four army bases from land and sea. Neither side has repudiated the
2002 ceasefire agreement, but the country is sliding ever closer to all-out civil
war. In
Thailand, the
police recommended that Thaksin Shinawatra, the exiled former
prime minister ousted in a coup last September, be charged on three counts of
insulting the country's much-revered king. <div>Eyes on the prize</div> Twelve candidates got on the
ballot for the first round of France's presidential election on
April 22nd. The centre-right front-runner, Nicolas Sarkozy,
widened his opinion-poll lead a little and won an endorsement from President Jacques Chirac. The centrist François Bayrou is still snapping at
the heels of the Socialist candidate, Ségolène Royal. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Finland's election confirmed a shift to the right in
the Nordic region. The ruling Centre Party of Matti Vanhanen won the most seats, but he may have to link
with the conservative National Coalition Party instead of his current partner, the
Social Democrats, who slumped to their worst result since 1962.
style="cursor:pointer; height:1em; ">Gordon Brown, who is likely to take
over from Tony Blair as prime minister, unveiled his
final budget as Britain's chancellor. It included a
flamboyant 2p cut in the main rates of income and corporation tax. <a
size="-1">Two submariners from HMS
Tireless, a British navy nuclear-powered
submarine, died when an air filter exploded on board. The boat, which was
patrolling off Alaska, has run
into trouble before. In 2000 she had to make a lengthy stop in Gibraltar, causing a diplomatic row
with Spain. Caught in the middle</div> Colombia's
government said it would consider seeking the extradition of senior
managers of Chiquita Brands, a banana company, after it pleaded guilty in an
American court to charges that its former subsidiary in the country paid $1.7m to
right-wing paramilitaries in order to protect its workers. The company said it
also paid left-wing guerrillas. <table align="right" border="0"
In a bad week for the
illegal drug industry, Panamanian police, working with agents from the United
States Drug Enforcement Administration, seized almost 20 tonnes of cocaine from a
ship off the Pacific coast,
while Mexican police found $206m in cash in a Mexico City house used by a methamphetamine
syndicate. Rafael Correa,
Ecuador's new left-wing president, appeared to win his battle
with the formerly opposition-dominated Congress. The electoral tribunal, having
expelled 57 legislators, swore in 21 of their alternates who support Mr Correa.
Provided with a pro-government quorum, Congress met under police guard.
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 17th - 23rd March 2007
DATE: 04/27/2007 12:04:31
STATUS: publish
BODY:
scroll 0% 50%; "> Human rights, dangerously blurred</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
btwfree" style="color:black; "> America's housing market</a> | <a
free" style="color:black; "> America's debacle in Iraq</a> | <a
scroll 0% 50%; "> The politics of pay</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
twfree" style="color:black; "> Using mosquitoes to fight malaria</a>
free" style="color:black; "> The future of books</a> | <a
c=nwlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> Britain's 2007 budget</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
scroll 0% 50%; "> The paradoxical effect of Palestinian sanctions</a> | <a
scroll 0% 50%; "> Evaluating Angela Merkel</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
scroll 0% 50%; "> Colombia's embattled president </a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
scroll 0% 50%; "> North Korea's sulk impedes nuclear diplomacy</a> | <a
scroll 0% 50%; "> Barclays bids for ABN AMRO</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
scroll 0% 50%; "> Preah Maha Ghosananda, “The Gandhi of Cambodia”</a> <div align="right"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h6NA0FDHx80Mo0BQiE0Eh"
50%; ">More free articles</a> »</div> <div>Mar 22nd 2007 From Barclays confirmed it was talking to ABN
Amro about a merger. A combination of the British and
Dutch banks would create one of the world's biggest financial institutions with
interests in retail and investment banking. As negotiations continued, other
European banks were rumoured to be interested in buying all (or part) of ABN AMRO, which is resisting a call for its break-up from an
activist hedge fund. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Wal-
Mart withdrew its application to enter the banking business,
saying it had been surrounded by “manufactured controversy”. The retailer had been
opposed by consumer groups and community banks, though Wal-Mart had insisted its intention
had been to cut its own transaction costs, not to start a retail bank. 
style="cursor:pointer; height:1em; ">Morgan Stanley won its appeal
against the $1.6 billion in damages awarded to Ronald Perelman in 2005. The
billionaire investor alleged he had received fraudulent advice from the bank about
the finances of Sunbeam, a maker of household appliances that eventually went
bankrupt. A state appeals court in Florida ruled he did not prove the level of damage at the original trial.
rel="nofollow">In harm's way</div> BP was berated
for having a weak safety culture in the final report from America's Chemical
Safety Board into the blast at a Texas refinery in March 2005 that killed 15
workers and injured scores of others. The inquiry concluded that the oil company
paid more attention to cutting costs at the facility than to the threat of an
explosion. BP is being investigated by the Justice
Department and faces the possibility of criminal charges. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Rosneft, Russia's state oil company, disclosed it had
secured $22 billion in loans from a consortium of Western banks so that it could
bid at auction for refineries once owned by Yukos, a private oil
firm that was forced to sell its main assets by the Russian government and was
thereby bankrupted. It is one of the largest loans given to a Russian company.
 In a deal
worth $4 billion—one of the biggest in Brazil—Petrobras, the state-run oil
company, and two partners announced a plan to buy Ipiranga, a
fuel distributor and refiner. The decision follows the government's recent stated
intention to expand its strategic role in the energy sector. Returns policy</div> John Antioco quit
Blockbuster as chief executive after months of criticism from
shareholders (led by Carl Icahn) about the size of his pay given the company's
languid performance. Mr Antioco has now agreed to take much smaller sums in both
bonus and severance pay when he leaves at the end of this year. 
Investors were excited
at reports that Blackstone, which has funded some of the biggest
buy-outs over the past two years, might offer some shares to the public. As well
as pondering what such a decision might mean for future buy-outs, analysts were
eager to learn what the private-equity firm's prospectus could reveal about its
operations. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">The founder of Affiliated Computer Services unveiled an
$8.2 billion buy-out offer for the computer-outsourcing company backed by
Cerberus Capital Management, a private-equity firm. The chief
executive and chief financial officer of ACS resigned last year amid an
internal inquiry into its stock-option practices. Community Health Systems
agreed to buy Triad
Hospitals, a rival, pipping a buy-out offer that had been made by
two private-equity firms. The $6.8 billion deal creates the biggest publicly
traded hospital operator in America (HCA went private in a management-led buy-out last
year) with 144 medical facilities,
primarily in the south. Airbus's A380 made inaugural flights to the
United States in order to test
the runway upgrades of airports that are trying to accommodate the world's biggest
passenger jet, which has faced a series of embarrassing production delays and
losses. The aircraft touched down in New York and Los
Angeles ahead of schedule. The Federal Reserve held its main interest rate
steady at 5.25%, but the tone of its accompanying statement was
interpreted by the markets to mean the central bank was becoming flexible towards
the idea of future rate-cuts. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="cause_for_concern">Cause for
concern?</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
size="-2">Infographics</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td
valign="bottom"><img alt="Infographics"
The Fed meeting came
after the release of new inflation figures. America's headline
consumer prices increased by 0.4% in February compared with January as fuel and
medical-care costs rose sharply (the core inflation rate, which excludes energy
and food, slowed). There was also a rise in Britain's consumer-
price index, but more attention was paid to its retail-price index, which includes
mortgage payments. Thus measured, annual inflation jumped to 4.6%. 
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 04/27/2007 12:03:15
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Another chapter was
added to the 18-month saga of the takeover of Endesa, Spain's biggest power company.
E.ON, a German utility, won the backing of both Endesa's board and its third-biggest shareholder after
(again) raising its offer, to euro42 billion ($56 billion). However, with
threats of legal action flying between E.ON and an Italian-
Spanish alliance willing to pay more for Endesa, its success is not assured. Meanwhile, the European Commission referred the
Spanish government to the European
Union's highest court for trying to thwart the German bid. 
In yet another sign of
Russia's tightening grip on its energy resources, Rosneft, the
state oil company, bought back the 9% stake that was held in it by
Yukos, a private oil firm that was forced into bankruptcy by a
“revised” government tax demand. Rosneft won the stake in the first auction of
Yukos's former holdings and paid far less than the market value. The only other
bidder, TNK-BP, a Russian joint venture involving BP, quit the bidding after less than five minutes. <a
size="-1">EDP, Portugal's biggest utility, said it would buy
Horizon Wind Energy from Goldman Sachs. Based in Houston, Horizon operates wind farms throughout America, where wind
power's generating capacity rose by 27% last year and is estimated to increase by
a similar amount this year. Xstrata, an Anglo-Swiss miner, boosted its
nickel business when it agreed to buy LionOre Mining, which is
listed in Toronto, for C$4.6
billion ($4 billion). <div><a rel="nofollow" name="relative_clause">Relative
clause</div> Porsche increased its stake in
Volkswagen to 31%, instigating a mandatory takeover bid under
German regulations. Porsche signalled that a takeover wasn't its immediate goal
when it offered shareholders the minimum price allowed by law, but the manoeuvre
solidified its strategic control of VW under the assertive
hand of Ferdinand Piëch, VW's chairman and a member of the
Porsche family. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">In another blow to the reputation of Siemens, Johannes
Feldmayer, a member of its management board, was arrested in connection with
alleged payments to a pro-management labour group and potential counterweight to
IG Metall, Germany's largest trade union. Europe's biggest
engineering company is the subject of a separate investigation of alleged
bribery. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="flying_into_a_new_dawn">Flying into a new
dawn</div> Delta Air
Lines applied for permission to list shares again, starting in
May. The carrier entered bankruptcy protection in September 2005 and expects to
leave it at the end of April. Alitalia made a pre-tax loss of
euro405m ($508m) in 2006, almost three times as much as the previous
year. Several potential buyers are negotiating with the Italian government for the
controlling stake it is selling in the beleaguered national airline. The last time
Alitalia reported an annual profit was 1998. Intel unveiled plans to open
a $2.5 billion factory in the Chinese city of Dalian by 2010. The decision is a boon to China's ambitions
to be a centre for high-tech industry as well as a maker of low-cost electronics.
However, with an eye on potential opposition from American politicians to the
export of sensitive technology, Intel said the new plant will make chips other than microprocessors. <a
size="-1">Lennar's quarterly net profit plunged by 73% compared
with a year ago. America's third-biggest homebuilder said a soft market had been
worsened by problems in subprime mortgages. Beazer Homes denied
reports that it was being investigated for fraud stemming from mortgage loans. It
confirmed it was co-operating with federal prosecutors, but that there were “no
allegations of any wrongdoing”. Its share price slumped. Ben Bernanke
assured Congress that he would continue to watch the subprime-mortgage market
carefully. However, the Federal Reserve's chairman told the
Joint Economic Committee that inflation remained the Fed's “predominant policy
concern”. Taylor Woodrow and George Wimpey
announced a merger, so creating Britain's biggest housebuilder. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">The Tokyo Stock Exchange named a new boss. Atsushi
Saito, who until recently headed a state corporation charged with reviving some of
Japan's more anaemic companies, will lead the exchange through a period of
alliance-building among bourses worldwide. <div>Anxiety attack</div> <table align="right"
align="right" valign="top"> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td
valign="bottom"><img alt=""
The price of oil
rose sharply to reach its highest level this year, partly in response to
increased tensions in the Gulf region. Rumours that Iran had fired at an American warship caused the price to
push briefly past $68 a barrel in intra-day trading. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
ee article</a> </a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 04/27/2007 12:02:37
STATUS: publish
BODY:
scroll 0% 50%; "> A game of chicken over Iraq</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
twfree" style="color:black; "> Why China's neighbours fear its
rise</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
0% 50%; "> A closer look at Robert Mugabe</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
c=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> A hopeful meeting for Northern Ireland</a> | <a
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> India's acquisitive companies</a> |
scroll 0% 50%; "> The world from the bottom up</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
twfree" style="color:black; "> Profiting from distress</a> | <a
=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> Three weeks before France's
election</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
scroll 0% 50%; "> Quebec's election and Canadian politics</a> | <a
wlptwfree" style="color:black; "> Vietnam's Communists: successful but
worried</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
scroll 0% 50%; "> Rowing with Iran over captured Britons</a> | <a
38&fsrc=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> NATO, Europe and missile
defence</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
twfree" style="color:black; "> The evolution of mammals</a> | <a
free" style="color:black; "> Ian McEwan</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
scroll 0% 50%; "> Robert Taylor, possibly abducted by aliens</a> <div align="right"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h6hv0FDHx80Mo0BQiE0E1"
style="color:black; ">More free articles</a> »</div>
 Politics
this week <div>Mar 29th 2007 From
The Economist print
style="cursor:pointer; height:1em; ">Iran captured 15 British
sailors and marines at the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab waterway. Britain released
navigational evidence indicating that they were taken in Iraqi territorial waters;
Iran showed its captives on
state television and said it would release the one woman it held. <a
size="-1">Gunmen killed at least 70 Sunnis in Tal Afar in Iraq. Elsewhere, Iraq's
deputy prime minister, Salam al-Zubaie, was hurt in a suicide-bomb attack. Nine
people were killed in the assassination attempt, which occurred while Mr Zubaie, a
Sunni, attended prayers. Condoleezza
Rice, America's secretary of state, persuaded Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president,
and Ehud Olmert,
Israel's prime minister, to promise to hold regular fortnightly
meetings. Meanwhile, members of the Arab League, meeting in Riyadh, offered Israel peace if it withdrew to its
pre-1967 boundaries and accepted the right of all Palestinian refugees to return.
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah opened the conference and called
America's occupation of Iraq
“illegal”. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">The government of Egypt won a referendum endorsing changes to the constitution
which, it claimed, would strengthen democracy. Critics said the changes would in
fact make the country less free. Amid accusations of ballot-rigging, turnout was
just 27%. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Morgan Tsvangirai, the
main leader of the opposition in Zimbabwe, was briefly arrested in a raid on his party's
headquarters, two weeks after being beaten up by the police. President Robert Mugabe, who is under
increasing pressure to step down, attended a meeting of regional leaders in Tanzania. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
ee article</a><img src="http://www.economist.com/images/dingbats/e5.gif"
alt="E+" height="10" hspace="2" width="17" /> <div><a rel="nofollow" name="war-
powers_resolution">War-powers resolution</div> After weeks of manoeuvring,
America's Democrats scored a legislative coup by passing a war-spending
bill in the House of Representatives and looked set to do the same in the
Senate. These link funding for the war in Iraq to a timetable for withdrawing
American troops. George Bush
said the plan would hamstring operations and promised a veto. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">In the first trial under a new system of military courts to be held at
Guantánamo Bay, David Hicks, an Australian, pleaded guilty to a
charge of helping al-Qaeda fight
American troops in Afghanistan. Mr Hicks's case has become a hot political issue
in Australia, where the
government has been criticised for not intervening on his behalf. A fork in the road</div> <table
cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td
serif" size="-2">AFP</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td
In a big defeat for
Quebec separatism, the Parti Québécois was beaten into third
place in a provincial election by Action Démocratique du Québec, which favours an
“autonomous” Quebec within Canada, and the Liberals, who clung on
for a second term but with a legislative minority. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Colombia's government rejected a leaked report from the
CIA which
claimed that General Mario Montoya, now the army commander, had collaborated with
right-wing paramilitaries during an operation against left-wing guerrillas in
Medellín in 2002. Chile's president, Michelle Bachelet, reshuffled her cabinet, sacking four
ministers. She has faced criticism over a botched public-transport scheme in the
capital, Santiago, and a lack of decisive leadership. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Police in Jamaica said
that Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan cricket coach found dead in his hotel room, was
murdered by “manual strangulation”. Pakistan, along with India, was surprisingly eliminated from the cricket World Cup
being staged in the Caribbean. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
sans serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="getting_bolder">Getting
bolder</div> The war in Sri Lanka intensified. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
launched their first-ever air strike, on an air-force base next to Colombo's
international airport. In the east of the country, government forces took an
important Tiger base. Some 155,000 people have been displaced by the fighting in
the east in the past six weeks. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">The United Nations'
food programme reported that North Korea
had admitted it needed assistance to cope with food shortages.
size="-1">Thailand's prime minister rejected military calls for
an emergency decree to quell public protests. An election is planned for December.
 Shinzo Abe,
Japan's prime minister, repeated in parliament Japan's 1993
apology for the military brothels set up in the second world war. He did not,
however, retract controversial statements casting doubt on whether the prostitutes
had been coerced. To no one's surprise, Donald Tsang was re-elected as Hong
Kong's chief executive by a committee designed to ensure China's man
always wins. China's president, Hu
Jintao, visited Moscow for a state visit, marking the beginning of the
“China in Russia” year. The two
countries announced a joint effort to explore Mars and one of its moons in 2009.
rel="nofollow" name="and_many_more">And many more?</div> <table
The European Union marked 50
years since its founding Treaty of Rome with a string of birthday bashes. European
heads of government issued a “Berlin declaration” that avoided any specific mention of reviving the
stalled EU constitution but instead used coded words about
putting the club on a “renewed common basis” before mid-2009. Nicolas Sarkozy stepped down as France's interior minister to
concentrate on running for the French presidency. The latest
polls have narrowed his lead over the Socialist candidate, Ségolène Royal, with the centrist
François Bayrou dropping back.
size="-1">The United Nations
envoy for Kosovo sent his plan for conditional independence for
the Serb province to the UN Security Council. The Russians
are threatening to veto any resolution not acceptable to Serbia. Latvia and Russia signed a treaty
demarcating their border, after a 16-year dispute since the break-up of the Soviet Union. The Northern Ireland
peace process culminated in a power-sharing deal between Ian Paisley's
Democratic Unionists and Gerry Adams's Sinn Fein. In May Mr
Paisley will become first minister, with Mr Adams's second-in-command, Martin
McGuinness, as his deputy. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">A plan was unveiled to split Britain's Home Office. It
will boost its focus on domestic security issues, such as terrorist threats, while
prisons and probation will go to a new justice ministry. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
ee article</a> </a></a></a></a>
-----
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AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 31st March - 6th April 2007
DATE: 04/27/2007 12:01:40
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Tortuous diplomacy
continued in an effort to free 15 British sailors and marines captured recently by
Iran, which
said they had trespassed into Iranian waters at the top of the Persian Gulf.
Britain, which denied the charge, said it has proposed direct talks with Iran. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
alt="E+" height="10" hspace="2" width="17" /> Following a threat from
Kurdish members of Iraq's parliament to leave the unity
government, a plan was agreed upon to offer compensation and land in Iraq's Arab
south for Arabs willing to leave the disputed city of Kirkuk, which Kurds want to include in their region. <a
size="-1">Iraq's most influential cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-
Sistani, who has been notably quieter in the past year or so, seemed to
reject the unity government's plan to allow members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party back into public service. Sunni Arabs say this
may hamper Shia-Sunni reconciliation. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of America's House of
Representatives, defied President George Bush by making a controversial visit to
Syria, a
country the Bush administration has sought to ostracise. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, suggested holding talks with Saudi Arabia on the Arab League's
plan, relaunched last week, for normalising relations with Israel. The Arab League's secretary-
general, Amr Moussa, dismissed the comments as a call for a “free-of-charge
normalisation”, while a Saudi official said that Israel would have to accept the plan's principles before
talks could be held. Southern African leaders, meeting in Tanzania to discuss conditions in Zimbabwe, asked South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki to mediate between Zimbabwe's
opposition and its president, Robert Mugabe, whom
they refused to criticise. In Zimbabwe itself, the ruling party said Mr Mugabe would be its candidate
again in next year's presidential election. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">The United Nations
said that about 47,000 people had fled Mogadishu in the past two weeks after fighting flared in the
Somali capital, killing about 400 people, most of them civilians.
sans serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="built_to_last">Built to
last?</div> Former Maoist insurgents in Nepal joined an interim government in coalition with
seven mainstream parties, an important landmark in the peace process. The Maoists
took five out of 21 cabinet posts, including the departments of information and
local development. The South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation
held a summit in Delhi,
marked by the usual professions of seriousness about co-operation and the usual
lack of concrete measures to realise it. Six Islamist militants were
executed in Bangladesh. The militants were convicted of a series of bombings
in 2005 that gave rise to fears the country might become a hub for international
terrorism. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Local-commune elections in Cambodia resulted in another landslide win for the
ruling Cambodian People's Party of Hun
Sen, the prime minister. The opposition made accusations of fraud. <a
At least 28 people died
when a tsunami hit the Solomon
Islands. Hundreds of homes and much infrastructure were destroyed.
Many survivors moved to camp on inland hills, in fear of aftershocks, and were
reported to be in desperate need of water, food and tents. Taking time to heal</div> Argentina's government marked the
25th anniversary of the start of the Falklands War with an
announcement that it was pulling out of an agreement with Britain regarding oil
exploration in the South Atlantic. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">More chaos afflicted Brazil's airports. After a five-
hour strike by air-traffic controllers, the government agreed to their demands for
higher pay and for some to be transferred from the air force to a civilian agency.
height:1em; ">Brazil has been dogged by air-traffic control problems since
September. In his first political intervention since undergoing surgery last year,
Cuba's Communist president, Fidel Castro, published a newspaper article claiming that
American plans to boost ethanol use would lead to food shortages. <a
alt="E+" height="10" hspace="2" width="17" /> <div>Coming up with the goods</div>
America and South Korea agreed on a plan to form a
free-trade area. It must be ratified by Congress and South
Korea's parliament and faces obstacles in both places. Environmentalists claimed a
victory when America's Supreme Court, in its first “global warming” case, ruled
that the Environmental Protection Agency did have the
power to regulate carbon
dioxide emissions, and criticised it for not having done so. The
decision puts more pressure on the Bush administration to take action on reducing
greenhouse gases. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Presidential contenders released details of the money
they raised during the first three months of this year. Hillary Clinton claimed to have the
most, $26m. Republican candidate Mitt
Romney claimed $21m. Barack Obama did not disclose a sum,
but it was rumoured to be in excess of $20m. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">A report forecast that this year American farmers would plant their
largest amount of corn since 1944, driven by the demand for
ethanol as an alternative fuel. David Hicks was sentenced to
seven years in prison by a military tribunal at Guantánamo Bay.
But Mr Hicks, who made a plea bargain and admitted helping al-Qaeda, will serve only nine months
and in his native Australia. <div><a rel="nofollow"
name="vying_to_be_the_ultimate_viktor">Vying to be the ultimate
Viktor</div> In an escalating political confrontation, Ukraine's
president, Viktor Yushchenko, dissolved parliament and
called a new election on May 27th. But his rival (and prime minister), Viktor
Yanukovich, refused to accept the dissolution. As is now customary, flag-waving
protesters from both sides took to the streets. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">As expected, Romania's government fell apart and the
prime minister, Calin Popescu
Tariceanu, formed a new minority administration. He also dropped the well-
known justice minister, Monica Macovei, who is a protégée of the president, Traian Basescu. <table
style="cursor:pointer; height:1em; ">France broke the world rail-
speed record when a high-speed train travelling on the new line from Paris to Strasbourg touched a top speed of nearly 575kph (357mph).
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 31st March - 6th April 2007
DATE: 04/27/2007 12:01:08
STATUS: publish
BODY:
scroll 0% 50%; "> Multinationals</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
0% 50%; "> Iran and the West</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
=nwlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> Russia's Muslims</a> | <a
btwfree" style="color:black; "> American trade policy</a> | <a
scroll 0% 50%; "> IBM and globalisation</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
scroll 0% 50%; "> A new explanation for depression</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
btwfree" style="color:black; "> “Open skies” shake up Europe's
airlines</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
scroll 0% 50%; "> Mexico's new president</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
c=nwlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> BAA's troubled future</a> | <a
=nwlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> The fighting gets worse in
Somalia</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
scroll 0% 50%; "> Japan and China: a burgeoning friendship</a> | <a
45&fsrc=nwlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> How to make aid work</a> |
twfree" style="color:black; "> Insuring against political risk</a> |
0% 50%; "> France's presidential candidates</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
btwfree" style="color:black; "> Paul Lauterbur, father of MRI</a> <div>Apr 4th 2007 From Texas Pacific
Group, a private-equity firm, approached Spain's Iberia
airline with a euro3.4 billion ($4.5 billion) bid, the first attempt at a
cross-border takeover in the airline industry since the agreement by European
ministers to an “open skies” treaty with America. There was speculation that
several other carriers were circling with rival bids. Aeroflot,
Russia's state-owned airline, emerged as a surprise bidder for
Alitalia. Italy's government is selling its controlling stake in
the national carrier and has whittled the list of buyers down to three consortia.
All include some involvement from Italian firms, but Aeroflot's has the least. Its
partner, UniCredit bank, has a 5% stake in the bid. <div>Bottomless pockets</div> Kohlberg Kravis
Roberts said it would take over First Data, which processes credit-card and other
payments, in a $29 billion buy-out. The deal is unusual in that, given its size,
it was made by a single private-equity firm (and not a “club” of firms) with the
backing of several banks that are committing equity as well as debt.
In what would be
Australia's biggest takeover, Wesfarmers, a conglomerate based in
Perth, revealed it owned more
than 11% of Coles, a retailer, and was “pursuing discussions”.
Wesfarmers is making its A$19.7 billion ($16 billion) offer in conjunction with
several private-equity investors, including Macquarie Bank. A rival private-equity
consortium, led by KKR, is also negotiating with Coles,
having had its initial bid rejected. Sam Zell, a
property mogul based in Chicago,
won the auction to buy Tribune, a media conglomerate which
includes the Los Angeles
Times and Chicago
Tribune in its stable. Mr Zell fended off a rival bid from two
Californian billionaires with his deal, valued at $8.2 billion. In order to pay
down its debt, Tribune will sell some assets, including the Chicago Cubs baseball
team. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="the_end_for_endesa">The end for
Endesa</div> The 18-month saga to take control of Endesa, Spain's biggest power
company, seemed to reach a conclusion. E.ON, a German utility,
agreed to drop its euro42 billion ($56 billion) bid in return for some of
Endesa's assets. It had faced
both competition from an Italian-Spanish alliance that holds a 46% stake in the
company and strong opposition from the Spanish government (which is being sued by
the European Commission for
hindering E.ON). Endesa will now be split among E.ON, Enel, an Italian rival, and
Acciona, a Spanish construction firm. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">As the battle for Endesa drew to a close, another politically contentious takeover attempt
for a European company looked set to begin. Italy's telecommunications minister
said he was “very concerned” at an offer from AT&T and América Móvil, a Mexican
mobile operator, for most of the controlling stake in Telecom Italia held by
Pirelli, a conglomerate and compatriot. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Auctions continued of the former assets of Yukos, a
private Russian oil firm that was forced into bankruptcy by government tax claims.
Eni and
Enel, two
Italian energy firms, became the first foreign firms recently to win control of
Russian oil and gas fields. However, the pair have given Gazprom, the state gas
company, the option to buy a controlling stake in the venture. 
style="cursor:pointer; height:1em; ">Dubai Aerospace agreed to
buy two aircraft-maintenance companies in North America, one in Canada, the other in Arizona, from Carlyle Group for $1.8
billion. Charles Schumer, an
American senator who opposed the takeover of operations in American ports by a
company from Dubai last year,
said this acquisition did not raise the same level of security concerns.
size="-1">Apple announced that EMI had become
the first big record label to unlock the digital-rights technology on its music
sold through Apple's iTunes online music store in an effort to boost sales. The
news came shortly before the European Commission said it
was initiating an antitrust investigation into whether agreements made between
record companies and Apple restricted online music-sales through
iTunes. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Google made its biggest foray into television
advertising by announcing a partnership with EchoStar. The deal
will allow the internet company, which has been experimenting with “offline”
advertising over the past few months, to replicate its online system for buying,
selling and measuring the impact of ads on EchoStar's 125 satellite channels in
the United States. 
rel="nofollow" name="planning_a_short_break">Planning a short
break?</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
Mercer, a consultancy,
released its annual quality of life index of cities around the
world. The survey evaluated 215 cities on 39 factors, such as transport, education
and political stability, and ranked them accordingly. European cities accounted
for half of the top 50 places in the list and North American cities for 13.
 </a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 7th - 13th April 2007
DATE: 04/27/2007 12:00:02
STATUS: publish
BODY:
serif" size="-2"><div>Apr 12th 2007 From Sectarian bombings continued to ravage Iraq. A woman suicide-bomber
killed at least 17 police recruits north-east of Baghdad. One of the capital's biggest bridges over the Tigris
river was blown up. And a bomb in a restaurant in Iraq's parliament building
killed at least two MPs and wounded dozens of people.
 Though
Iraq's firebrand Shia cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, has not been seen
for months, he orchestrated a huge demonstration in the holy city of Najaf to call for American troops to
leave. His supporters vilified the prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, for not
spelling out a timetable for them to go. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h7K60FDHx80Mo0DuYg0EQ">See
Two suicide-bombings,
one against the prime minister's office in Algiers, killed at least 30 people in Algeria's
capital. A group calling itself al-Qaeda's arm in the Maghreb claimed responsibility. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/h7K60FDHx80Mo0DuYh0ER">See article</a> Raising fears that the same group
may hit targets across the region, Morocco was involved in a separate spate of
incidents: two suicide-bombers blew themselves up when police raided a house in
Casablanca, the country's biggest city. The police say they have been searching
for a dozen would-be suicide-bombers for a month. Iran's
president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
said Iran had stepped up uranium
enrichment in defiance of a second UN Security Council
resolution ordering it to stop. Chad admitted
that its troops had crossed the border with Sudan into the Darfur region and fought with Sudanese soldiers. It is the first time
that troops from the two countries have clashed directly; Chad has accused Sudan of supporting rebels who want to
topple its government and operate out of Darfur. China urged
Sudan in
unusually strong terms to accept UN peacekeepers in Darfur. Sudan's government, hitherto
with China's support, had been resisting the replacement of a weak African Union
force by a 20,000-strong UN one. An Ethiopian
judge quashed charges of genocide and treason against 111 people arrested
for protesting against the results of an election in 2005. But more than 80 remain
in prison on charges of trying to overthrow the government. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/h7K60FDHx80Mo0DuYi0ES">See article</a> Foul play</div> Police in Bangladesh filed murder
charges against Sheikh Hasina Wajed, leader of the Awami League, one of the two
main political parties. There has been speculation that the interim administration
running the country under an army-backed state of emergency since January would
like both Sheikh Hasina and her rival, Khaleda Zia of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, to quit politics. <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/h7K60FDHx80Mo0DuYj0ET">See article</a> <table
In a visit trailed by
both sides as a landmark in Sino-Japanese relations, China's
prime minister, Wen Jiabao,
arrived in Tokyo and made a
speech in Japan's parliament, urging the country to face up to its actions in the
second world war. Nepal, the United
Nations began overseeing the storage of weapons used by the army. Under a
peace agreement with Maoist rebels reached last year the army is supposed to lock
up the same number of weapons as the rebels. The first presidential elections
in Timor-Leste since independence in 2002 passed peacefully but
inconclusively. Three candidates each won more than 20% of the vote, including
Jos�� Ramos-Horta, the prime minister. Mr Ramos-Horta will now compete in a run-
off next month with the candidate of Fretilin, the ruling political party. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h7K60FDHx80Mo0DuYk0EU">See
size="-1">An estimated 10,000 protesters occupied the main square of Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, and threatened to
stay until the president, Kurmanbek Bakiev, resigns. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/h7K60FDHx80Mo0DuYl0EV">See article</a> Shared interests</div> Leaders of seven Central
American countries met Mexico's Felipe Calder��n and Colombia's ��lvaro
Uribe and agreed to co-operate on improving infrastructure and fighting drugs. <a
bin1/DM/y/h7K60FDHx80Mo0DuYm0EW">See article</a> Teachers in Argentina staged a one-day
strike in protest at the death of a colleague in a demonstration and at the
failure of many provincial governments to implement a recent 24% wage rise decreed
by the government of N��stor
Kirchner. The provinces say they lack the money. Media blitz</div> France's
presidential election campaign was officially launched. There are 12 candidates,
each of whom must have equal airtime until the first round on April 22nd. The
centre-right candidate, Nicolas
Sarkozy, remains in the lead in most opinion polls. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/h7K60FDHx80Mo0DuYn0EX">See article</a> A Serbian war-
crimes court jailed four Serb
paramilitaries who were filmed shooting six Bosnian Muslims in July 1995. It was
the first trial inside Serbia
that had any bearing on the Srebrenica massacres, in which almost 8,000 male
Muslims were killed. The political stand-off continued in Ukraine, where the prime
minister, Viktor Yanukovich, has rejected the call by the president, Viktor Yushchenko, for a new
parliamentary election in May. Both sides were said to be seeking a compromise. <a
bin1/DM/y/h7K60FDHx80Mo0DuYo0EY">See article</a> A huge row broke out over the
decision by Britain's Royal Navy to allow two of the 15 sailors
and marines held captive in Iran
to sell their stories to the media. The defence ministry reversed the decision;
the prime minister, Tony Blair,
said he was not involved but declared that in hindsight it had been a bad idea to
let the servicemen sell their tales. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h7K60FDHx80Mo0DuYp0EZ">See
serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="a_misspoken_man">A misspoken
man</div> John McCain
tried to get his presidential campaign back on track by making a big
speech on Iraq and reiterating
his belief that America would prevail. Shortly before, the senator from Arizona had been criticised for
claiming the security situation in Iraq had improved after he toured a market in
Baghdad on April 1st. Mr McCain
was protected on his stroll by 100 troops, five military helicopters and American
rooftop snipers. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h7K60FDHx80Mo0DuYq0Ea">See
style="cursor:pointer; height:1em; ">Robert Gates, the defence secretary,
acknowledged that American forces are stretched when he extended
the deployments of army units serving in Iraq and Afghanistan by
three months, to 15 months. The Senate passed a contentious stem-cell
research bill (by 63-34) that George Bush vetoed last year and says he will veto again. 
style="cursor:pointer; height:1em; ">New York added its name to
the growing list of states that have brought forward their presidential primaries
to February 5th 2008; others are contemplating the
same.</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 7th - 13th April 2007
DATE: 04/27/2007 11:59:20
STATUS: publish
BODY:
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h7K80FDHx80Mo0DuZr0Ee"
50%; "> The battle for the French presidency</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/h7K80FDHx80Mo0DuZs0Ef" style="color:black; "> Land of
promise</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h7K80FDHx80Mo0DuZt0Eg"
style="color:black; "> Pakistan's lurch towards extremism</a> | <a
bin1/DM/y/h7K80FDHx80Mo0DuZu0Eh" style="color:black; "> Europe's risky
dependence on Russian gas</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h7K80FDHx80Mo0DuZv0Ei"
style="color:black; "> The resurgence of Scottish nationalism</a> |
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/h7K80FDHx80Mo0DuZw0Ej" style="color:black; "> Indian tribes and
casinos</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h7K80FDHx80Mo0DuZx0Ek"
50%; "> Italian luxury goods</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h7K80FDHx80Mo0DuZy0El"
style="color:black; "> Trees may warm the Earth</a> | <a
bin1/DM/y/h7K80FDHx80Mo0DuZz0Em" style="color:black; "> Human rights in
Argentina and Chile</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h7K80FDHx80Mo0DuZ10EZ"
50%; "> Dealing with the nuclear proliferators</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/h7K80FDHx80Mo0DuZ20Ea" style="color:black; "> Retirement and
banks</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h7K80FDHx80Mo0DuZ30Eb"
style="color:black; "> Iraq's fiery priest, Muqtada al-Sadr</a> | <a
bin1/DM/y/h7K80FDHx80Mo0DuZ40Ec" style="color:black; "> Softbank's
reinvention</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h7K80FDHx80Mo0DuZ50Ed"
style="color:black; "> Lazard</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h7K80FDHx80Mo0DuZ60Ee"
style="color:black; "> Mariá Julia Hernández, fighter for human
rights</a> <div align="right">More free
size="-2"><div>Apr 12th 2007 From Citigroup unveiled a much-
trailed restructuring plan saying it would shed 17,000 jobs (5% of its workforce)
in an effort to cut costs. The world's biggest financial institution is responding
to pressure from shareholders to rein in its operating expenses, which last year
grew at twice the rate of its revenues. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h7K80FDHx80Mo0DuZ70Ef">See
size="-1">America filed two separate complaints against
China at the
World Trade Organisation, one on enforcing copyright laws, the
other on opening markets to American media. The decision to ratchet up the
pressure on trade came eleven days after America imposed tariffs on certain types
of Chinese paper and when American politicians are agitating for action against
what they see as Chinese protectionism. China said the most recent action would “seriously undermine...co-
operative relations” on trade. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="once_more_unto_the_breach">Once
more unto the breach</div> DaimlerChrysler's search for a buyer for its North American
car division took a twist when Kirk Kerkorian offered $4.5
billion. The billionaire investor fought a protracted battle to win control of
Chrysler in the 1990s but was bested by Daimler-Benz. He then
attempted to sue the newly merged DaimlerChrysler. PPR, a luxury-goods group that includes Gucci in its portfolio,
agreed to buy Puma, a German sports-equipment and fashion
company, for euro5.3 billion ($7.1 billion). Puma's share price rose amid
speculation that Nike might step
in with an offer. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h7K80FDHx80Mo0DuZ80Eg">See
size="-1">Guido Rossi resigned as chairman of Telecom Italia following a dispute with
Pirelli, a conglomerate that holds a controlling stake in
Europe's fifth-biggest telecoms firm. Meanwhile, AT&T and América
Móvil, a Mexican mobile operator, tried to shore up support for their
joint bid for most of Pirelli's stake, which is opposed by some Italian
politicians. Analysts pondered whether a counterbid would emerge from Italian
investors. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="stuck_at_the_checkout">Stuck at the
checkout</div> A consortium of three private-equity firms ended its putative bid for
J. Sainsbury
after failing to win the support of the British supermarket chain's board
for an offer worth some £10 billion ($20 billion). Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, a
fourth member of the consortium, had pulled out earlier to focus on its effort to
buy Alliance Boots, a British drugs retailer. Britain's Imperial
Tobacco raised its offer for Altadis
to euro12 billion ($16 billion), which the Franco-Spanish cigarette-maker
promptly rejected. Imperial wants to buy Altadis to save costs and expand in markets where smoking is increasing.
Altadis has a strong presence in
eastern Europe and Morocco.
">Nestlé offered $5.5 billion to Novartis, a Swiss drugs company, for Gerber,
its baby-food business. The world's biggest food company has been steadily
expanding its range of nutritional brands and the deal provides it with most of
the baby-food market in the United
States. The board of Rinker, an Australian building-materials
company, accepted a sweetened $14 billion takeover offer from Cemex, a Mexican cement-
maker. Cemex first approached
Rinker last October. Royal Dutch
Shell proposed a settlement with non-American investors on the
collapse of its share price in early 2004 after the company's admission that it
had overstated its energy reserves by more than 20%. Shell offered to pay $352.6m
to settle claims “without admitting any wrongdoing” and said it wanted to make a
similar deal with investors in the United States in proportion to their
holdings. ConocoPhillips became the first big American oil company to call
on the government to set targets to reduce greenhouse gases when
it joined the United States
Climate Action Partnership, a business forum pressing for such legislation (BP's American arm is also a member). The Democrats have vowed to
pass a bill this year that reduces America's emissions. It emerged that Ray Irani
received a compensation package worth $416m in 2006 as chairman and chief
executive of Occidental Petroleum, one of
the biggest annual payouts ever netted by an executive. Around two-thirds of the
figure is accounted for by Mr Irani cashing in stock options. Apple said it had chalked up 100m
sales of the iPod music player since its launch in November 2001.
Apple's online music store, iTunes, has sold more than 2.5 billion songs.
rel="nofollow" name="just_wait_until_next_year">Just wait until next
year</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
The IMF released its twice-yearly World Economic
Outlook and slashed its forecast of America's GDP
growth rate in 2007 to 2.2% from the 2.9% it predicted last September. However,
the fund said it expected the “cooling” of the American economy would have a
“limited impact” on the rest of the world. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h7K80FDHx80Mo0DuaA0Ew">See
article</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Rojo: Bye-Bye DRM; April Fools; Political Wingnuts
DATE: 04/27/2007 11:58:03
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Top Stories For the Week of April 2 - April 6 <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/GM4Mtjeyje2RzKOt"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fruit/beatles.gif" align="right"
border="0" height="352" width="280" /></a>It was the day DRM died. On Tuesday EMI
Music announced it will make its entire catalog available without rights
management, but <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/F6inIEUYquw7hE8I">Read/Write
Web</a> cautions that these new, higher-quality downloads will
have a <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Z24wuI5sBYlPpDDs">bigger price
tag</a>. EMI's move may pay off: CEO Eric Nicoli said the <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/gTCCR4Jyrp2aSKLa">new high-quality
downloads were favored 10:1</a> over their low-fi brethren, blogs <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Fn0vO66aSFXPOWzp">Paid
Content</a>, while <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/WPSAcosRQbyB0IEY">Blog
Herald</a> observes that 84 percent of EMI users surveyed said
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/7v9D98vnBkdQMeN2">portability from device
to device was important</a>. EMI approached Apple about the deal, not vice
versa, and with<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/8D9Cy4xz0O1CGD6c"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fruit/itunes.png" align="left"
border="0" /></a> CD sales expected to be flat, EMI predicts that <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/AMz9BZb2RLB0Xigd">online sales will make up
25 percent of sales by 2010</a>. Apple might be a victim of
its own success in breaking down DRM walls, though; <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Mk8vllvUgIiq2odl">Crave</stron
g></a> says if other content companies follow EMI's lead, <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Vk0VWOX1WE8A6XRo">the whole
iTunes-iPods-Apple TV ecosystem could be null and void</a>. Relax, blogs <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/07_TOmX5RIviKdXM">Business
2.0</a>, there's no way Hollywood will go DRM-free for Jobs
because <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/u3m8AG3yU-jrb7t2">Apple doesn't have
market share in movies like it does in music</a>. The EMI deal is a bit
much for <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/yH6OaBDRlAeH63qA">Don
Dodge</a>, who remembers Napster proposing the same scheme - <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/sfZu96FI9a89cUOm">seven years
ago</a>. Don't count Napster out yet, Don: Although it's
still losing money, it has <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/24axZNs0RjhRbF7b">785,000 subscribers and
just beat analysts' revenue expectations</a> (via <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/tJF46M-ojbu6Pcne">Ars
Technica</a>). <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/tYxfxeEbXoRMWUyf"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fruit/tisp_logo_sm.gif"
align="left" border="0" /></a> Meanwhile, April Fools gets better every year as
companies you know do exactly what you'd expect - only more. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/QQ7tLcufyJbdaz-C">";Google
Paper" will print and deliver your Gmail by the truckload</a> with big red
targeted ads on the back, notes <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/khkREisQ3S5PVZd3">Bloggers
Blog</a>, while <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/yrbbapQdXB8JLgJs">Inside
Google</a> spotted Slashdot's "new" Digg-style voting system that
generates <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/tYxfxeEbXoRMWUyf">";hyper-accurate numbers"
indicating relevance and "general awesomeness."</a> What wasn't a gag was
Mountain View's odd attempt to <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/9eCxR0KwrMztQIsB">replace post-Katrina New
Orleans imagery with pre-hurricane photos</a> (via <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/yrbbapQdXB8JLgJs">Inside
Google</a>). Even more strangely, it was a North Carolina congressman who cried
foul, leading Mountain View to
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/AeEhBYdKPjLDFJCR">expedite processing of
new post-Katrina photos</a>. Google Maps director John Hanke wrote on the
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/AaYHVXsKHmP_G7Aj">Official Google
Blog</a> that it was all <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/BqYpRBYQhlwQahng">an innocent try at
making the best possible imagery available</a>. <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/5kL9hBMH1ZgLY3pf"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fruit/sierra-locke-cnn.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="200" width="250" /></a>Maybe GOOG will have more
luck as it extends into <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/o_ZitCotGkL1vbxE">TV advertising courtesy
a Dish Network deal</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/3UfQmxuU_7EpVJay">VentureBeat</a>), but <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
2.0</a> doubts it: Google's Web success is driven by <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/TqNXr7-YyG-
2DEqj"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fruit/doubleclick.png"
align="right" border="0" height="53" width="209" /></a> knowing which ads are most
popular, and technological limits and privacy laws make it <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/CTO7Kk1MAKb57_NC">impossible to similarly
gauge TV ads</a>. Mountain
View still has cash, though, and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/kfA3gQ3o_6jIsBZ9">alarm:clock</a> blogs that <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/TqNXr7-YyG-2DEqj">up to $2 billion of it
may go into a bidding war against Microsoft for DoubleClick</a>. If Microsoft lets itself be outbid by
Google, this j<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/HBlNIp_YsM6bev9C">ust shows how far Gates &
Co. have to go</a> to make any material advances in their ad business,
writes <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/heuZ0zC5GEQ5kOqv">Paul
Kedrosky</a>. In the strange-bedfellows department, Kathy
Sierra and Chris Locke <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/5i5MciEPKNtNyjSw">jointly issued
statements</a> on the recent unpleasantness surrounding death threats
Sierra received (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/qthPuQvt3AcCFQk_">all noise
...</a>). After fouling up any police investigation and creating a
media firestorm, Sierra blamed the media for inadequately telling her story, said
the stalking situation had actually gotten worse, and stopped blogging at <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/-
dsGhMbedbrSA1R0">Creating Passionate Users</a> <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/75z04LmuBLvd7vXg">until
further notice</a>. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/kWzXmiaOqZuXf6Q5"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fruit/paris_hilton_at_the_beach.
jpg" align="left" border="0" height="366" width="195" /></a> <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/3X0Lg2z2YEW1Ni2m"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fruit/bush-pelosi-rtca2.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="167" width="210" /></a>Poltical bloggers had a
field day as Sen.
John McCain made a walking tour of a Baghdad market. He was accompanied by about <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/ltn9q-bJvuALyzIN">200 soldiers and air
support</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/6fpkkU7D5ACAtSle">Think
Progress</a>, and cited an NBC reporter saying even Paris Hilton could ride a bicycle in a
bikini through Anbar province with that kind of protection. Despite the
surrounding violence, McCain declared Iraq improved, leading <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/JdtnadCl9kQFkzWW">Wonkette</st
rong></a> to speculate that <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/356Fl192hfhUVHxH">the senator was
describing the virtual Iraq in Second Life</a>. In any case, the
"peaceful" market McCain visited <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/lk0CiNjyVh_D8v1i">got lit up by snipers
as soon as he and the other gringos left</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/krglLNLa2GVjFvo8">Alobar
Greywalker</a>. And right-wing bloggers are giving
height:1em; ">Nancy<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/FWuKxQF7JCpD03Wo"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fruit/laura4.jpg" align="right"
border="0" height="186" width="144" /></a> Pelosi flack for visiting Syria. She's <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/8WmQjpUZgW4Yhjde-">handing Assad a
diplomatic victory while flip-flopping on Syrian accountability</a>, blogs
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/ekMwu_WScc3rTSKU">RedState</a>. The modern <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/zOSlot0LnCdIHB8S-">Democratic leadership
wears a hijab</a>, snorts <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/9NXffbDcXqr_aybY">Hot
Air</a>. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/GlR1Jh33IQ3JET19-">Feminist in America,
subservient in Syria</a>, rails <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/vDy_gLbDc9Vh6VCP">Instapundit</a>. It was left to <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/44k3YZcCY6McNIT-">Eschaton</st
rong></a> to defend the House speaker, saying Pelosi wore a head scarf out of
respect. Otherwise it looks like <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/FWuKxQF7JCpD03Wo">Laura Bush and Condi
are traitors too</a>, writes <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/_R20ySoxm78P_R-i">Daily
Kos</a>.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 21st - 27th April 2007
DATE: 04/27/2007 11:53:27
STATUS: publish
BODY:
scroll 0% 50%; "> A world of connections</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
twfree" style="color:black; "> Yeltsin's moment</a> | <a
free" style="color:black; "> Nigeria's awful elections</a> | <a
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> Australia's water shortage</a> | <a
scroll 0% 50%; "> France's presidential election</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
free" style="color:black; "> Britain's next prime minister</a> | <a
twfree" style="color:black; "> European bank mergers</a> | <a
scroll 0% 50%; "> Schools, race and the Supreme Court</a> | <a
wlptwfree" style="color:black; "> China's stockmarket bubble</a> | <a
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> Agrarian reform in Brazil</a> | <a
scroll 0% 50%; "> The changing blockbuster business</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
twfree" style="color:black; "> Why are honeybees dying?</a> | <a
free" style="color:black; "> Joseph Schumpeter</a> 
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h78e0FDHx80Mo0BQiE0Ew"
face="verdana, geneva, arial, sans serif" size="+1">Politics this
height:1em; ">The Economist print edition</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="4"><tbody><tr><td
style="cursor:pointer; height:1em; ">Boris Yeltsin, Russia's
former president, died. His funeral in Moscow was attended by a bevy of world leaders past and present. Vladimir Putin paid tribute to his
predecessor, though critics say he has curbed the freedoms Mr Yeltsin proclaimed.
size="-1">Meanwhile, Mr Putin called for a moratorium on Russia's
compliance with a treaty that regulates military deployments in Europe, complaining that other countries were flouting it.
Robert Gates, America's defence
secretary, visited Moscow in an attempt to persuade Russia to drop its opposition to the siting of American
missile-defence systems in central Europe. In the first round of
France's presidential election, the two front-runners, Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal, came top. They will
face each other in a run-off on May 6th, in which Mr Sarkozy is favoured to win.
size="-1">Ukraine's president, Viktor Yushchenko, delayed until June 24th the early
parliamentary election he had called for May. The government is still opposed to
the early poll. Turkey's ruling AK Party said
that the foreign minister, Abdullah
Gul, would be its presidential candidate next month. Secularists have
opposed the prime minister, Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, taking the job. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
ee article</a> <div><a rel="nofollow" name="last-minute_hitches">Last-minute
hitches</div> America expressed frustration at India's reluctance to
sign a controversial nuclear-power deal, which would let India buy American nuclear fuel and
reactors. India objects, among
other things, to a clause halting co-operation if it decides to carry out another
nuclear test. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">South
Korea resumed large-scale rice aid to North Korea. Both Koreas also
agreed to let trains cross their border for the first time in 50 years.
Benazir Bhutto, a
Pakistani opposition leader, said she would return from exile,
strengthening suspicions that she has cut a deal with the president, General
Pervez Musharraf, to shore up his ailing regime. Big protests continued against Mr
Musharraf's attempt to sack the country's top judge. The International Energy Agency
said China might overtake the
United States as the world's
biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, possibly as soon as this
year. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
ee article</a> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
style="cursor:pointer; height:1em; ">Bhutan staged a colourful
mock election with dummy parties, as part of the former king's plan to introduce
democracy to the tiny Himalayan realm. The Thunder Dragon Yellow party, bearing
royal colours, won a landslide. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
ee
serif"><a rel="nofollow">Baghdad's wall</div> Iraq a row erupted over an
American military plan to build a protective wall around the Sunni Arab enclave of
Adhamiya, a district of Baghdad.
Iraq's prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, said it would divide the capital along
sectarian lines. But some of his top soldiers seemed to endorse it. <a
size="-1">Israel's finance minister, Avraham Hirchson, took
voluntary leave pending a police inquiry into allegations that he embezzled union
funds. Three days later the state comptroller said that Ehud Olmert, the prime minister,
should suspend himself and be investigated too, for allegations of corruption
while he was industry minister. The Nigerian
ruling party's candidate, Umaru Yar'Adua, was declared to have won the
presidency in the first round, with 70% of votes cast. However, foreign observers
reported rampant vote-rigging and the opposition called for the poll to be re-run.
size="-1">Fighting intensified in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, from which some 321,000
people have fled in the past few weeks, according to the UN. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Fighters of the Ogaden National Liberation Front, an ethnic-Somali group
fighting for the autonomy of a region in eastern Ethiopia,
attacked a Chinese oil-exploration facility in the desert there, killing some 65
Ethiopians and nine Chinese. Ethiopia's government blamed Eritrea for helping the attackers.
rel="nofollow" name="headed_for_a_showdown">Headed for a
showdown</div> The House approved a bill that would bring American
troops home from Iraq by next spring; the Senate was set to follow. A presidential veto
next week looks certain. Students at Virginia Tech returned to their classes one week after Cho
Seung-hui shot and killed 32 of their classmates before killing himself. Tim Kaine, Virginia's governor, raised
the possibility of adding mental-health records to the database that gun shops in
the state consult before selling a firearm to someone. Michael Bloomberg unveiled a set of proposals to improve the
environment of New
York, including a congestion charge for parts of Manhattan. The mayor said that traffic
jams were causing a lot of New York's health and economic problems. He also wants
to reduce the city's greenhouse-gas emissions by 30% before 2030. <a
size="-1">John McCain
formally launched his already struggling presidential campaign in New Hampshire. The senator from Arizona is trailing his Republican
rival, Rudy Giuliani, in opinion
polls. Alberto
Gonzales said he would stay in the post of attorney-general “as
long as I can continue to serve effectively”. Congress grilled Mr Gonzales last
week on the motivations behind the sacking of eight federal prosecutors. Mr Bush
has expressed his support, but no other Republicans echoed it. Save your obituaries</div> Cuba's state media published
photos of a fit-looking Fidel Castro meeting
a visiting Chinese official, fuelling rumours that he might soon make his first
public appearance since intestinal surgery that had appeared to leave him close to
death. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
ee article</a> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
Mexico City's
legislative assembly broke a Latin American taboo by approving a law allowing
abortion on demand during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. <a
size="-1">Ecuador's conflict of powers continued. The
Constitutional Tribunal reinstated 51 opposition legislators ousted by a lower
court. But a rival version of the country's Congress, loyal to the leftist
president, Rafael Correa, voted
to dismiss the tribunal. Earlier this month, Mr Correa's plan to set up a
constituent assembly won the backing of 82% of voters Canada, an opposition
proposal to withdraw Canadian troops from Afghanistan in February 2009 was defeated in the House of
Commons.</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 21st - 27th April 2007
DATE: 04/27/2007 11:52:41
STATUS: publish
BODY:
A consortium of banks
led by Royal Bank of Scotland said it would
bid for control of ABN AMRO, two days after the Dutch bank had
agreed to a euro66 billion ($90 billion) takeover from Britain's
Barclays. The
RBS group said the deal it was interested in making was
worth euro72 billion, but its offer is contingent on ABN
keeping hold of LaSalle. ABN's
agreement with Barclays involves
selling LaSalle, based in Chicago, to Bank of
America for $21 billion. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
alt="E+" height="10" hspace="2" width="17" /> Rumours about another big banking
combination were downplayed when Italy's UniCredit denied it was
in merger talks with France's Société Générale. Observers noted that if there was such a
politically sensitive deal to be made it was unlikely to be announced until after
the French presidential elections. In a long-running bank battle in
Portugal, Millennium
BCP raised its offer for Banco BPI by around a quarter,
to euro5.3 billion ($7.2 billion). BCP first
approached its smaller rival more than a year ago, but has met stiff opposition
from BPI's largest shareholders, including Spain's La Caixa
bank. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="a_new_broom">A new
broom</div> Klaus Kleinfeld told the supervisory board of Siemens
that he would step down from the post of chief executive in October. The German
engineering group is reeling from allegations that it paid bribes to secure
contracts. An investigation is also under way into whether the management at
Siemens financed a rival to its main trade union. Heinrich von Pierer, the board's
chairman, resigned last week. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
">AstraZeneca, an Anglo-Swedish drugs company, agreed to buy
MedImmune,
which specialises in biomedicines, and vaccines, for $15.6 billion. With
increasing competition from generic drugs, companies are attracted to hard-to-copy
biological medicines. The battle for Alliance Boots seemed won when a
consortium led by its deputy executive chairman and backed by Kohlberg
Kravis Roberts upped its stake in the British drugs retailer, causing a
rival consortium that included the Wellcome Trust, a medical charity, to drop its
bid. Worth some £11.1 billion ($22.2 billion), KKR's offer
for Boots is Europe's biggest-ever leveraged buy-out. <div>Life in the fast lane</div> Toyota sold more
vehicles worldwide than General
Motors in the first quarter, overtaking its Detroit rival for the first time.
Toyota, which sold 2.35m cars and trucks compared with GM's
2.26m, is this year expected to become the world's biggest carmaker by annual
sales. GM has retained the top spot since it passed Ford in
1931. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">British
Airways revealed that it was talking to “a number” of private-
equity firms about how to use its 10% stake in Iberia, but ruled
out making an independent bid for Spain's national carrier. Iberia, which operates
several routes to Latin America
in alliance with BA and others, was recently approached
with a euro3.4 billion ($4.6 billion) offer by Texas Pacific Group, one
of the firms rumoured to be talking to the British airline. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">France's Carrefour said it was buying
Atacadão, a Brazilian chain of discount stores, for $1.1 billion,
to become Brazil's largest grocer. Vonage's anaemic
share price soared by 29% (it is still some 80% down from last year's public
offering) after a court overturned a previous ruling that barred the company from
signing up new customers to its internet phone service while it contests a patent
dispute with Verizon.
size="-1">Apple rallied around its boss, Steve Jobs, and said it wouldn't
“enter into a public debate” with the company's former finance director, who
alleged that Mr Jobs had misled him about past stock option practices at the firm.
With its quarterly profit rising by 88%, investors expressed confidence in Apple
by pushing its share price past $100. Carl Icahn's American Real Estate
Partners agreed to sell the landmark Stratosphere casino in Las Vegas and three other casinos for $1.3 billion to
property funds affiliated with Goldman
Sachs. A survey by Alpha, a magazine, showed the founders of the three
top hedge funds had each earned well over $1 billion for the
first time last year. Their combined total of $4.4 billion is worth more than
Haiti's 2005 GDP. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 13,000
for the first time on April 25th. <div>Through the floor</div> <table
Spanish property
groups had a terrible week, led by a fall of around 65% in the share
price of Astroc, which is based in Valencia. Spain's property boom has lasted for ten years and construction
is a mainstay of the economy, but concerns have been raised recently about the
excess supply of housing and overvalued prices. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
article</a> </a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Rojo: Rotten Apple; Google-Bombing Lives; Online Debates
DATE: 04/27/2007 11:51:34
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Top Stories For the Week of April 23 - April 27 
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/7wb0byxzsE0-
gi7I"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fruit/apple_dollar.png"
align="right" border="0" /></a>Is Apple <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Y-VkkYLtFF208WIR">rotten at the
core</a>? Just when it seemed Steve Jobs had ducked the worst fallout from <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/03EuiPjGYd4HPrtS">Apple's option-granting
scandal</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Y6U5PFxn7UhPgDxu">Blogging
Stocks</a>), former Apple chief financial officer Fred Anderson
says <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/5M9zDyaQDE1dh2j2">Jobs was more involved
with backdating</a> - and possibly deceiving Anderson about it - than
previously thought (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/0IukziYZ7GH2LBCR">Engadget</a>). Meanwhile Anderson, who the SEC forced to cough
up $3.5 million in ill-gotten gains plus a $150,000 fine, has somehow been <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/EAdabLO9U4hF4Xqi">hired into another
position of trust</a> - at buyout firm Elevation Partners. The scandal also
passed entirely over <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/rZ_KjcV1429EUnOs"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fruit/steve-jobs.jpg"
align="left" border="0" /></a> Gen Y's head; 21-27 year olds call stripped-down,
plain-talkin' companies like Apple, Trader Joe's, JetBlue and Vitamin Water <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/p2JiNFd9UFO9PxPz">their most trusted
brands</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/FFrlKNGbi13ZfOZm">Consumerist</a>. Meanwhile, if you still think there's no bubble
2.0, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/5VVRn2YBScbIIPIs">Search Engine
Land</a> flags a survey declaring <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/GTuiS_gkYSsiac36">Google the world's most
valuable brand</a> at $66.4 billion, handily beating GE, Coke and Toyota,
which actually make stuff. It's unquestionably the most efficient
brand, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/rdfu0Ar8lRjat5Uf">Valleywag</s
trong></a>, measuring<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/sQPH2_qpo_wHC77T"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fruit/fonstarbucks_logo_final.jp
g" align="right" border="0" /></a> GOOG's <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/kzcnEqhmT6KOqYLN">high brand ranking against
its microscopic marketing spend</a>. Privacy groups like EPIC and U.S. PIRG
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/CkW1kQACI99BsP39">don't like Google's
purchase of DoubleClick</a> and asked the FTC to investigate (via <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/8DejLUfT7A0wDWoe">Mashable!</a>), fretting that <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/jIPvw4XBLKht_ro6">GoogleClick will track
both searches and Web-site visits</a> (via <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/p0YkMO0vQ1ZbRbUm">NewsFactor
Network</a>). <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/gxBFrmty-ZyahJD4"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fruit/1010362_f453de75ec_o.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="272" width="234" /></a> Meanwhile, Stephen Colbert demonstrated that no matter how hard Mountain View tries, Google-bombing is alive and well. <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/gxBFrmty-
ZyahJD4">Giant brass balls, anyone?</a> Back on less
speculative ground, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
2.0</a> reports that Spanish hotspot company FON and <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/sQPH2_qpo_wHC77T">Time Warner Cable will
let customers set up and use FON hotspots in the U.S.</a> <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/ls3cceY_PyBLR8a_">Om
Malik</a> sees this as a <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/zcjWbwx5b6iXPOSb">straight play against
T-Mobile</a>, while <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/ikNs9sbci_pXDFHd">Fractals of
Change</a> observes that Time Warner has no mobile-phone profits to lose, plus <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/ooWVQ5ZLDZH87KgZ">consumers win from
cable-telco competition</a>. Major newspapers <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/pGazCIp2eVShZmQY-">continued struggling
with sagging first-quarter ad revenue</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/igIT2IiLD-
mublwH">Forbes.com</a>, including at Tribune Co., <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/C0tqUsC5jciAd9hW-">which badly needs cash to
help pay down debt from its ongoing sale</a> (via <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/WS59Mx9vBLxg5iyM">washingtonpost.com</a>). Even the past bright spot, <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/hJjWnXMru8O0toIx">online ad revenues,
showed slowing growth</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
/strong></a>, although a newspaper consortium's <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/bJ69bfDETMqYx9Y7-">deal with Yahoo! may
provide a boost</a>. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/J0Wol1pOLshKsJww"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fruit/election08.jpg"
align="right" border="0" /></a>Speaking of which�� Yahoo!, the Huffington Post
and Slate are combining to produce <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/J0Wol1pOLshKsJww">two online-only
presidential debates</a>, one for Republican candidates and another for
Democrats, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/9-ukpYm9qL5mURam">Download
Squad</a>. PBS's Charlie Rose will moderate and field questions from online viewers, and
while <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/2CX6x8Duqukhidfl">MyDD</a> wonders whether the debates will be <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/3PD9G8ZdLt1Bta-Q">participatory
enough</a>, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/D3Xlckwn4emGSTBz">Blogcritics</a> figures <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Obx2zwM6FxbqQhoN">online questioners have to
be an improvement </a><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/nhd2-rXAHBQzmFxv"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fruit/rovecrow.jpg" align="left"
border="0" height="221" width="326" /></a> over hand-picked journalists. 
 But GOP and Dem candidates
aren't waiting for the general election to mix it up. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/yl_XIVxU--6jWmSK">Drudge</a> caught <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/bHTuvsdd7gd9_Rao-">Rudolph Giuliani warning
of a "new 9/11"</a> if Democrats win in 2008, leading Barack Obama to accuse Giuliani of <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/2okONPbJPaTJO-9P-">making 9/11 the punchline of another political
attack</a>. Also this week, John McCain officially jumped
in the presidential race but disappointed <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/UHDYhH3Id1Zz5_rT">NewTeeVee</a> when it didn't <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/_h26KQOjKg3aeQfy">share the
video</a>. Of course there's always McCain's <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/oRtz1aU5Ya0TdG74">Bomb Iran
clips</a> if you need something in the meantime. In
entertainment, even bigger news than <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/HcQk_x1QhF8PiKml">Liberty and
Justice</a>'s flash that <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/qQj3gsYFh7I92qE7-">Jennifer and Vince are
back together</a> is the Sheryl Crow/Karl Rove dust-up over <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/nhd2-
rXAHBQzmFxv">who Rove works for: Crow or "the American people"</a>
(via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/OcrF4dUhBv1tYzhG">Idolator</st
rong></a>). Too bad both Crow and Rove are confused about the <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/YAXoRn8sjlTQFcGs">structure of the
executive branch</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/vTgHT5NyqjuE89rY">DCist</stron
g></a>.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 3rd - 9th March 2007
DATE: 03/08/2007 16:38:50
STATUS: publish
BODY:
serif" size="-2"><div>Mar 8th 2007 From The Economist print
Lewis “Scooter”
Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice-President Dick Cheney, was
convicted on four out of five counts of lying to FBI agents
and obstruction of justice. The charges had arisen from the leaking of the name of
a CIA agent to the press, in an attempt to discredit an
opponent of the invasion of Iraq. Mr Libby's conviction added to the
administration's growing embarrassment about the war—and about Mr Cheney, one of
its chief promoters. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Reports of dilapidated facilities and patient neglect at America's
foremost military hospital, the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre,
where many casualties of the Iraq war are being treated, caused uproar in
Congress. On March 1st the man in charge of the hospital, Major-General George
Weightman, was fired, and the next day the army secretary, Francis Harvey, was
forced to resign. President George Bush announced that he was setting up a
bipartisan panel to look into the treatment of wounded soldiers. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
article</a> <div><a rel="nofollow" name="old_wounds">Old
wounds</div> Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister, caused offence in
neighbouring countries and elsewhere by suggesting there was no clear evidence
that some 200,000 women who worked as prostitutes for the Japanese army in the
1930s and 1940s had been coerced. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">China's parliament, the National People's Congress,
opened its annual 12-day session. The budget was announced, including an unusual
18% increase in spending on defence. In his “work report”, Wen Jiabao, the prime
minister, promised to reduce inequality. The NPC is
expected to pass a controversial law enshrining private property rights. <a
article</a> A
powerful earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra, near
the city of Padang, killing more than 50 people. The next day, more than 20 died
in a plane crash at Yogyakarta, on the neighbouring island of
Java. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">After last month's agreement on steps towards ending its nuclear
programme, North Korea started bilateral talks on normalising
relations with both America and Japan. The talks with Japan ended abruptly on
their second day, after a North Korean walkout, apparently in anger at Japan's
stance on North Korea's abduction of Japanese citizens in the 1970s and
1980s. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="plans_for_peace">Plans for
peace</div> Jordan's King Abdullah gave an address to both houses of the American
Congress, urging new diplomacy to solve the Palestinian conflict.
Reports suggested that a quartet of Arab states—Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and
the United Arab Emirates—could join Israel, the Palestinian president and the
United States in talks. <table align="right" border="0"
After a slight drop in
Iraq's sectarian killings, two suicide-bombers, presumed to be
Sunni insurgents, killed at least 117 Shia pilgrims on their way to a festival in
the holy city of Karbala, where more than 1m had gathered; at least 40 others were
also killed in attacks en route. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
former deputy defence minister of Iran, Ali Reza Asghari, a
retired general, was reported to have disappeared last month in Turkey; a Saudi
newspaper claimed he was being questioned “in a northern European country” before
being flown to the United States. It was not clear whether he had defected or been
kidnapped. The first African Union peacekeeping troops, from Uganda, arrived in
Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, to replace Ethiopian troops who
helped the country's transitional government defeat the Islamist militias earlier
this year. They were greeted at the airport by mortar fire from
insurgents. Three Britons, a British-Italian woman and a French woman disappeared in
eastern Ethiopia; their vehicles were found, shot up. Rebels of
the Afar tribe were suspected of kidnapping them. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Côte d'Ivoire's president, Laurent Gbagbo, and the main
rebel leader, Guillaume Soro, signed an agreement to end the divided country's
civil war. The accord sets out a timetable for disarmament, voter registration and
fresh elections. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">The Nigerian ruling party's presidential candidate,
Umaru Yar'Adua, who has a kidney illness, flew to Germany for a medical
examination, casting more doubt on his suitability as the front-runner in next
month's election. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="avuncular_sam">Avuncular
Sam</div> Before departing for a week-long trip to five Latin American countries,
George Bush emphasised his commitment to helping the region with
social justice, including health, education and housing. Oscar Berger, the president of
Guatemala, ordered a purge of the police. Four police officers,
including the head of the organised-crime unit, were accused of the murder last
month of three politicians from El Salvador; the police concerned were themselves
murdered days later in jail. An outbreak of dengue fever in central South
America worsened. Ten people have died in Paraguay; Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina
have also suffered outbreaks, prompted by heavy rains and flooding. Once there were peers</div> <table
size="-1">Britain's House of Commons voted to create a fully elected House
of Lords. Tony Blair, the prime minister, and Jack Straw, the Commons'
leader, had favoured a half-elected, half-appointed upper house. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">European Union leaders held a summit in Brussels to
discuss climate change, energy policy and the progress of economic reform.
size="-1">Estonia's centre-right prime minister, Andrus Ansip, is
likely to remain in office after his party and its coalition partner took the most
votes in the country's parliamentary election. This is a rare case of a government
being re-elected in eastern Europe. Planned job cuts at Airbus became
an issue in the French presidential election. As some 15,000
workers went on strike in Toulouse, both of the main candidates, Nicolas Sarkozy
and Ségolène Royal, promised to pump more public money into Airbus's parent
company if need be to protect jobs in France. Ramush Haradinaj, a former prime
minister of Kosovo who was a leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army
in the 1998-99 war, went on trial before the war-crimes tribunal in The Hague. The
chief prosecutor, Carla del Ponte, gave warning that some witnesses against Mr
Haradinaj were being intimidated. </a></a></a></a>
-----
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AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 3rd - 9th March 2007
DATE: 03/08/2007 16:38:17
STATUS: publish
BODY:
size="-1">Free articles from this week's edition of The
twfree" style="color:black; "> China's property law</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
style="color:black; "> Producing ethanol from trees</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
btwfree" style="color:black; "> Scary markets</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
btwfree" style="color:black; "> Fall-out from Scooter Libby's conviction</a> | <a
wlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> Japan's floundering prime minister</a> | <a
c=nwlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> Democracy for Britain's upper house</a> | <a
=nwlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> Turkish nationalism on the march</a> | <a
btwfree" style="color:black; "> Hugo Chávez's Venezuela</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
=nwlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> Diplomacy over Israel and Palestine</a> | <a
08&fsrc=nwlbtwfree" style="color:black; "> Energy and nationalism</a> | <a
btwfree" style="color:black; "> Aviation in India</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
twfree" style="color:black; "> Regulators clamp down on insider trading</a> | <a
twfree" style="color:black; "> That might be the Higgs boson</a> | <a
free" style="color:black; "> Oxford and the Cowley Road</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
btwfree" style="color:black; "> Arthur Schlesinger junior, historian and
liberal</a> <div align="right"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h5Xh0FDHx80Mo0BQiE0EV"
style="color:black; ">More free articles</a> »</div> Business this
serif" size="-2"><div>Mar 8th 2007 From The Economist print
size="-1">America's economy betrayed signs of slower growth.
Labour costs rose and factory orders hit a six-year low, with orders for big-
ticket items falling. Meanwhile, the government reported that productivity gains
slowed, with an increase in the final quarter of 2006 of about half of what
economists had previously expected. Alan Greenspan,
former chairman of the Federal Reserve, said there is a “one-third probability” of
an American recession this year. He also predicted (before the latest economic
data were released) that the current economic expansion will not last as long as
the previous one. But Mr Greenspan, who has been particularly outspoken lately,
stands in contrast with his successor, Ben Bernanke, who recently
told Congress the Fed believes that the American economy will strengthen this
year. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Meanwhile Mr Bernanke continued the Fed's campaign to
rein in the mortgage portfolios held by two government-sponsored enterprises,
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Mr Bernanke suggested that the companies' sizes and
structures posed a risk to financial markets. He called for stronger regulation
and supervision of the institutions. Oil prices
jumped after the American government reported an unexpected drop in
crude-oil stocks amid the lowest import levels since 2005. Analysts had been
expecting an increase. Investigations into trading in the shares of New Century
Financial, a big lender in the subprime-mortgage market, highlighted
ongoing problems in the industry. Several big lenders have suffered from a growing
number of defaults and late payments. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">New limits on tax relief offered on shareholder loans
in highly leveraged deals will reportedly be reviewed by Britain. The proposed
change could have an effect on booming—and controversial—private
equity. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="claims_discounted">Claims
discounted</div> Eliot Spitzer, the former attorney-general of New York
state, was criticised by a panel of retired judges. After a review, the group
discounted his charges that Maurice Greenberg, the boss of American International
Group, a big insurance company, had a conflict of interest that hurt his
charitable foundation while benefiting AIG. Mr Spitzer is
now New York's governor. Thousands of Airbus employees went on strike in
France to protest against a radical company restructuring that has drawn criticism
from candidates in France's fiercely contested presidential race. The European
aircraft-maker plans a total of 10,000 job cuts across the region in the next four
years, including 4,300 in France. Politicians have made competing offers to save
jobs. Luc
Vandevelde, the chairman of Carrefour, resigned in a feud with
its controlling family. He was replaced by a member of that family. Meanwhile, a
pair of activist investors, including Bernard Arnault, France's richest man,
bought a big stake in the French-based retail chain. Britain faced heavy lobbying from
the European Commission to accept an “open skies” agreement that
it struck with America. About 40% of US-European air
traffic goes through London's airports. But Britain objects to the provisional
air-travel accord, contending that America has failed to give European airlines
sufficient access to its own market. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
article</a><img src="http://www.economist.com/images/dingbats/e5.gif" alt="E+"
height="10" hspace="2" width="17" /> Citigroup
announced a bid of ¥1,350 ($12) per share for Nikko Cordial, a Japanese brokerage
firm. The deal values Nikko at up to ¥1.3 trillion. Citigroup was also reported to
be in talks with the Bank of Overseas Chinese about buying a stake in the
Taiwanese financial institution. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="slower_motion">Slower
motion</div> Research in Motion said Jim Balsillie was resigning as
chairman of the technology company. The news came after the firm, which makes the
BlackBerry, reported accounting errors on stock options of more than $250m. Mr
Balsillie will stay on as a director and co-chief executive of the
company. Federal regulators charged that investors pocketed more than $5.3m in
illegal profits from insider trading before TXU, an American utility, said it had agreed to
be sold for $45 billion by a group led by big private-equity firms. The Securities
and Exchange Commission, the market regulator, said the insider trading was
undertaken through foreign brokers to conceal the investors' identities. <a
serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="bouncing_back">Bouncing
back</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
The yen
continued its volatile swings against the dollar. The Japanese currency
had climbed rapidly against the dollar after falling slowly in January, but later
gave up some of its gains. </a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 24th February - 2nd March 2007
DATE: 03/01/2007 15:24:07
STATUS: publish
BODY:
serif" size="-2"><div>Mar 1st 2007 From The Economist print
size="-1">Stockmarkets around the world fell precipitously on
February 27th, sparked by a drop of 8.8% in the Shanghai Composite Index, which
was triggered by a threat of tighter regulation on trading—later withdrawn. As
investors in Asia and Europe took fright, American markets also digested comments
from Alan Greenspan, the former head of the Federal Reserve, concerning a possible
recession, as well as some poor economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
had its worst day in almost four years. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Yet another record was set for the biggest leveraged buy-out when a
private-equity consortium led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and
Texas Pacific Group agreed to buy TXU, a Texan
power company, for around $45 billion. The private-equity firms stressed the
deal's green credentials (bolstering support ahead of any potential regulatory
scrutiny) by announcing that TXU would reduce the number of
coal-fired power plants it was planning to build from 11 to 3. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="rejigging_the_engines">Rejigging the
engines</div> Airbus unveiled a long-awaited restructuring plan,
which had been held up by last-minute negotiations between France and Germany.
Some 10,000 jobs are to go over four years, split between Airbus and its
contractors. New “industrial partners” and buyers are being sought for six
factories. In order to win backing for the plan in France (where outraged unions
called for industrial action), final assembly of the A350
XWB jet will be exclusively based in Toulouse, but Germany is to win
increased production of the bestselling A320 narrow-bodied
aircraft. After last year's woes, Airbus forecast that the plan would provide it
with eventual annual savings of euro2.1 billion ($2.8 billion). <a
size="-1">Italy's government increased the size of the stake it is selling in
Alitalia to 39.9% (from the 30.1% announced last December). New
conditions were also attached to any potential sale, such as retaining the loss-
making airline's base in Italy. Deutsche Telekom
reported a surprise net loss of euro898m ($1.2 billion) for the fourth
quarter. The company booked charges related to its effort to shed 32,000 jobs, but
it is also suffering from the continued drain of customers away from its fixed-
line business. In a sign of the further strengthening of Ferdinand Piëch's hand at
Volkswagen, the carmaker raised its stake in
MAN, a German lorry-maker, to nearly 30%. Mr Piëch, VW's chairman, has proposed a merger of its heavy-truck division
with MAN and Scania, a Swedish lorry-maker in which VW also retains a large stake. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="co-
operation_on_corruption">Co-operation on corruption</div> The European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development barred a German engineering company from
its contracts because of corruption in a project backed by the World Bank in
Lesotho. It is the first time one development bank has barred a firm for mischief
on another bank's project (the World Bank has already blacklisted the company).
size="-1">Citigroup named Gary Crittenden as its chief financial
officer. Mr Crittenden, who has spent the past seven years at American Express,
joins the world's biggest bank amid criticism from shareholders that it has
dampened profits by running up expenses. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Station Casinos agreed to an $8.8 billion buy-out from
a group of investors led by Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, respectively the company's
chief executive and president. Operating casinos away from the Strip that cater to
locals, Station also owns large tracts of lucrative undeveloped land around Las
Vegas. Blockbuster reported a 28% drop in fourth-quarter net
profit compared with a year ago, as the promotion costs for its online service
soared. The film-rental company also said it was trying to “resolve a
disagreement” with its chief executive over his bonus. Wal-Mart made an
expansive move in China by acquiring 35% of the operator of Trust-Mart
hypermarkets. The deal throws down a challenge to Carrefour, China's
biggest foreign retailer. Trust-Mart's stores are located in city areas where
space is at a premium. Following last year's debacle over a Dubai company buying American port
operations, the House of Representatives voted 423-0 to pass a bill, supported by
the White House, that strengthens the government's scrutiny of foreign
deals in the United States. <div>A range of properties</div> <table
There was good news and
bad news for America's housing market. Sales of existing homes
rose to an annual rate of 6.46m in January, the highest level for seven
months. But after increasing in December, the median price of an existing home
fell by nearly 5%, to $210,600. Separate data for the smaller market in
new homes showed that sales plunged in January by 16.6%, to an
annual rate of 937,000—the biggest drop in 13 years. </a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 24th February - 2nd March 2007
DATE: 03/01/2007 15:21:55
STATUS: publish
BODY:
size="-1">articles from this week's edition of The
twfree" style="color:black; "> Markets and the world economy</a> | <a
twfree" style="color:black; "> Goodbye to the blues</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
free" style="color:black; "> A progress report on South Africa</a> | <a
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> Corporate R&D</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
wlptwfree" style="color:black; "> Beijing's Olympic-building boom</a> | <a
=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> The Iraqi-American crackdown in Baghdad</a> |
=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> Italy's government wins its confidence
vote</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> Hillary Clinton's campaign falters</a> | <a
19&fsrc=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> Incentivising invention</a> | <a
c=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> Controlling hospital spending in Britain</a>
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> Private equity</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
twfree" style="color:black; "> DNA tracking</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
free" style="color:black; "> The French election</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> Mario Chanes de Armas, prisoner of Castro</a> More free articles</a> »</div> Politics this
serif" size="-2"><div>Mar 1st 2007 From The Economist print
size="-1">In a shift of policy the Bush administration said it would take part in
a regional meeting this month organised by Iraq's government,
even though Iran and Syria would take part too. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">The Iraqi government said its main factions had at last
agreed to a draft law on how to regulate the oil industry and share out its
revenue, though some final touches had still to be made. The five permanent members of the
UN Security Council plus Germany discussed ways of
tightening UN sanctions against Iran, in
the wake of its refusal to comply with previous UN
resolutions ordering it to suspend its enrichment of uranium.
The African Union asked
for extra cash to pay for its proposed peacekeeping mission to
Somalia, where Ethiopian troops recently overthrew an Islamist
government. Only Uganda has said it is ready to send troops, offering 1,500;
Nigeria, Ghana, Burundi and Malawi may also chip in, bringing the number up to
around 4,000, but the AU says 8,000 are needed.
The International
Criminal Court at The Hague named its first two suspects to be summoned for
alleged atrocities in the Sudanese region of Darfur: a former
junior interior minister in Sudan's government and now its minister for
humanitarian affairs; and a leader of the janjaweed militias that have
killed thousands of civilians. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Sierra Leone's former defence minister, Sam Hinga
Norman, who was being tried for war crimes at a UN-backed
tribunal in Senegal, died before a verdict was due, apparently of a heart
attack. Senegal's president, Abdoulaye Wade, was re-elected in
a landslide, with opponents crying foul. <div>A reprieve for Prodi</div> Italy's centre-
left government is back, after narrowly winning a vote of confidence in the
Senate, where it lost a big foreign-policy vote last week. But few Italians expect
the government to last for anything like its full term. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
article</a> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
The International Court
of Justice in The Hague ruled that Serbia was not directly
responsible for genocide in Bosnia during the 1992-95 war. But it
said that the massacre of some 8,000 Bosnian Muslims by Bosnian Serb troops at
Srebrenica in 1995 did constitute genocide, and it denounced Serbia for failing to
prevent it. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
surge of support for the centrist candidate for the French
presidency, François Bayrou, unsettled the two front-runners. One opinion
poll gave Mr Bayrou 19%, compared with 25.5% for the Socialist candidate, Ségolène
Royal, and 29% for the centre-right's Nicolas Sarkozy. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Two Picasso oil paintings with a combined value put at
euro50m ($66m) were stolen from his grand-daughter's home in
Paris. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="tipping_the_balance">Tipping the
balance</div> Canada's Supreme Court revoked a law allowing foreign
terrorist suspects to be detained indefinitely without trial while waiting for
deportation. Later, Parliament voted against renewing two other anti-terrorist
measures allowing suspects to be held for three days without charge and compelling
witnesses to testify in terrorist trials. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Fidel Castro, Cuba's ailing president, spoke live on a
radio programme for the first time since falling ill last July. The 80-year-old
leader, who is said to be suffering from diverticulitis, a bowel disease, said he
was “gaining ground”, but did not say when, or if, he would return to work.
rel="nofollow" name="the_war_effort">The war effort</div> America's vice-president, Dick
Cheney, visited Pakistan's president, General Pervez Musharraf,
and asked him to do more to tackle the Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters taking refuge
in Pakistan's tribal borderlands, before an expected spring offensive by Taliban
fighters against NATO forces in Afghanistan.
size="-1">Mr Cheney went on to Afghanistan, where a Taliban
suicide-bomber attacked the military base at Bagram where he was staying. Mr
Cheney survived. The bomber and 11 others did not. Meanwhile, Britain followed
America in announcing an increase—of 1,400 soldiers—in its commitment of troops to
Afghanistan. Pridiyathorn Devakula, Thailand's finance minister
resigned, opening further cracks in the troubled military government that seized
power in a coup last September. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
India's
ruling Congress party suffered electoral setbacks in two northern states, Punjab
and Uttarakhand. Its loss of power in both states was blamed in part on popular
anger at rising prices. Curbing inflation was a central theme of the annual
budget, unveiled in Parliament by the finance minister. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Sixteen Indian soldiers were killed in a grenade attack on a convoy of
army trucks in the north-eastern state of Manipur. The attack was
blamed on one of many insurgent groups fighting Indian rule there. <a
size="-1">Timor-Leste's prime minister, José Ramos Horta, said he
would run for president in April's election. As instability in the country
persists, he asked Indonesia to close its border with Timor-Leste, to prevent the
flight of a group of army mutineers. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="straight_talking_on_letterman">Straight
talking on Letterman</div> <table align="right" border="0"
John McCain
confirmed on a talk show that he would run for president, but said he was
saving a formal announcement until April. Earlier, Mr McCain received a fillip to
his nascent campaign when he was endorsed by Senator John Warner, who is a strong
critic of George Bush's policy of extra troops for Iraq, a policy which Mr McCain
supports. Virginia's legislature voted to express “profound regret” at the state's
historical role in slavery. Separately, it emerged that the
ancestors of the Rev Al Sharpton, a prominent black activist, were slaves owned by
ancestors of the late Senator Strom Thurmond, a prominent segregationist.
size="-1">Arthur Schlesinger died at the age of 89. The prolific
historian wrote about the New Deal, the cold war and the Kennedy administration,
to which he was an adviser, but he is best known for his 1973 book, “The Imperial
Presidency”, which has experienced a revival of late. Richard Daley shrugged off his
opponents' accusations of corruption at City Hall and cruised to a sixth term as
mayor of Chicago, winning more than 70% of the vote.
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 17th - 23rd February 2007
DATE: 02/22/2007 13:53:25
STATUS: publish
BODY:
serif" size="-2"><div>Feb 22nd 2007 From The Economist print
size="-1">In a closely watched decision America's Supreme Court overturned
punitive damages of $79.5m against Philip Morris that were handed
down by a jury in 1999. The case centred on an Oregon man who had smoked for 42
years and died of lung cancer. The Supreme Court ruled that the jury's award to
his widow had overstepped the mark by punishing the cigarette-maker for harm done
to others, but it failed to set any limits on future punitive-damage awards and
sent the case back to Oregon's state Supreme Court for a new hearing. <a
size="-1">The European Commission slapped its biggest-ever antitrust fine, €992m
($1.3 billion), on five lift manufacturers it accused of
operating a cartel. Germany's ThyssenKrupp and America's Otis were among the
companies the commission said had “artificially bloated” the construction and
maintenance costs of buildings in European countries. <div>Transmission problems</div> After years of intense rivalry,
Sirius and XM announced
their intention to merge. Once considered the new kids on the block, the
satellite-radio networks have been struggling to respond to competition from
recent advances in broadcasting, such as through the internet. Their merger is far
from certain; America's communications and antitrust regulators promised that the
$4.6 billion deal will be heavily scrutinised. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Google encroached further into Microsoft's territory by
offering businesses a new set of web-based word-processing and spreadsheet
services. The internet company released a similar package to consumers last year.
 Another
effort is under way to combine Warner Music and EMI. Warner confirmed it had approached EMI after obtaining support from IMPALA,
the trade group for independent music-labels in Europe. Last year IMPALA complained to the EU that
consolidation among big music companies would hurt competition. 
The board of
Portugal Telecom rejected an improved €11.8 billion ($15.5
billion) bid from Sonae, a Portuguese conglomerate, and bolstered
its defences by announcing a €6.2 billion shareholder-remuneration package. The
saga of what would be Portugal's biggest takeover has been rumbling on for a year.
rel="nofollow" name="conquistadors">Conquistadors</div> Banco Bilbao Vizcaya
Argentaria made its biggest acquisition outside Spain when it agreed to
buy Compass Bancshares in a $9.6 billion transaction. BBVA has been steadily increasing its business in the southern
and south-western United States, on account of the region's growing Hispanic
population. Compass, based in Birmingham, Alabama, operates more than 415 banks
from Arizona to Florida, including 164 in Texas. Sberbank,
Russia's largest savings bank, looks likely to have raised $8.8 billion from its
share offering, the country's second-biggest following last year's issue by
Rosneft, an oil firm. Sberbank's sale raised a bit less than had been forecast by
analysts. Some investors had grumbled that the prospectus was only available in
Russian and that the bank (unlike Rosneft) won't be selling shares on foreign
exchanges. HSBC replaced the head of its North American unit,
which has been reeling from losses in the subprime mortgage
market. Meanwhile, the share price of NovaStar Financial plunged by 40% as it
revealed losses in the subprime market. EADS, the
parent company of Airbus, delayed launching a long-awaited
restructuring plan because of “cross-national” difficulties about job costs and
workloads related to the A350XWB. Last year Airbus was
beset by production delays surrounding its A380 super-
jumbo; both projects are crucial to Airbus's future competition with Boeing.
 A plan to
merge India's two biggest state-owned airlines, Air India and
Indian Airlines, came closer to fruition after it was approved by
the country's aviation minister. The proposal will create a national carrier that
could compete as one of the world's top 30 airlines. The minister also said that a
promised merger announced last month between two private domestic carriers,
Jet Airways and Air Sahara, would be
permitted. Sweden's Volvo agreed to buy the 81% of Japan's
Nissan Diesel it does not own in a SKr7.5 billion ($1.1 billion)
deal. The combined company will overtake DaimlerChrysler to become the world's
biggest maker of heavy lorries. <div>Feeling less deflated</div> <table
Japan's Topix
stockmarket index (a broader measure than the Nikkei) reached its highest level
since November 1991, helped by share prices of big banks which rose in response to
the Bank of Japan's decision to raise interest rates by one-
quarter of a percentage point, to 0.5%. </a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 17th - 23rd February 2007
DATE: 02/22/2007 13:52:45
STATUS: publish
BODY:
serif" size="-2"><div>Feb 22nd 2007 From The Economist print
edition</div> articles from this week's edition of The
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> George Bush and Congress</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
free" style="color:black; "> A double spring offensive in Afghanistan</a> | <a
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> Canadian federalism</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> Italy's government crisis</a> | <a
=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> A repressive Ethiopia</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
wlptwfree" style="color:black; "> A terrorist bombing in India</a> | <a
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> Germany's car industry</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> The diamond industry</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
twfree" style="color:black; "> The Bank of Japan raises rates</a> | <a
twfree" style="color:black; "> Places in the sun</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
twfree" style="color:black; "> Dangerous asteroids</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
free" style="color:black; "> Africa and the CIA</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> Maurice Papon, collaborator</a>
 <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
Italy's
prime minister, Romano Prodi, tendered his resignation after only nine months in
office. He did so after a mutiny in his sprawling coalition led to the defeat in
the Senate of government proposals to keep troops in Afghanistan. <a
size="-1">Tony Blair said the number of British troops in Iraq
would fall from around 7,100 at present to around 5,500 in the next few
months, but that a British military presence would remain there at least into
2008, “for as long as we are wanted”. Denmark said it would withdraw all its 470-
odd troops by August. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">The commander of Russia's strategic forces warned
Poland and the Czech Republic that they could be targeted with nuclear weapons if
they agree to host American anti-missile defence bases. America says the radar and
rockets are designed to counteract Iranian missiles, not Russian ones. <a
size="-1">Poland's governing Law and Justice party is suing the
country's former president, Lech Walesa, for defamation. Mr Walesa called the
current incumbent, Lech Kaczynski, a “blockhead” in a row over a report on alleged
criminal activity and Russian influence in the country's now disbanded military-
intelligence service. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Ségolène Royal, the Socialist candidate for the French
presidency, rejigged her campaign, promising more help for the low-paid
and shuffling her advisers. Polling had shown her lagging Nicolas Sarkozy, her
centre-right opponent, by ten points. European Union environment
ministers agreed in principle to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by
20% from 1990 levels by 2020. The plan, and the list of countries which will take
most of the burden, must be agreed to by heads of state. Judicial review</div> An appeals court in America ruled
that suspected terrorists held at Guantánamo Bay do not have the
right to challenge their detention in a federal court. The decision upholds
legislation passed by Congress last autumn that was written to clarify the law,
but the issue may end up yet again in the Supreme Court. The Democrats failed to break a
Republican filibuster in the Senate that would have allowed a
vote on a resolution criticising George Bush's policy in Iraq. Seven Republicans,
including John Warner, the former chairman of the Armed Services Committee, joined
the Democrats. The House of Representatives passed a similar resolution last week.
 John
McCain went to Iowa and Florida, where he courted social conservatives by
proclaiming his strong support for anti-abortion legislation. The Arizona senator
is expected to announce his bid for the White House next month. An attack on peace</div> <table
Two bombs exploded on
the Friendship Express, a train travelling from Delhi in India to
Lahore in Pakistan. In the ensuing inferno, at least 68 people,
mostly Pakistanis, died. Indian experts suspected Islamic militants with bases in
Pakistan, but the two countries said the atrocity would not affect their peace
process. Their foreign ministers went ahead with planned talks in Delhi, where the
two countries signed an agreement on reducing the risk of accidental nuclear
conflict. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
United Nations special rapporteur, Philip Alston, accused the army in the
Philippines of being in a state of denial about a spate of extra-
judicial killings “convincingly attributed” to the security forces. 
Muhammad Yunus, founder
of Grameen, a big microfinance institution, entered into Bangladeshi
politics with the formation of a new party. Separately, the military-
backed government said it would take eight to ten months to prepare the voter-
identity cards needed for an election. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="too_close_for_comfort">Too close for
comfort</div> Colombia's foreign minister, María Consuelo Araújo,
resigned after her brother, a senator, was arrested over allegations that he
received cash from right-wing paramilitaries. The escalating scandal over links
between the paramilitaries
and pro-government politicians has brought criticism of the government of Álvaro
Uribe from the United States Congress, which provides Colombia with around $600m a
year in aid. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Jean Charest, the Liberal premier of Quebec, called a
provincial election for March 26th. Opinion polls give the Liberals a five-point
lead over the separatist Parti Québécois. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">The crackdown on drug-traffickers by Mexico's
president, Felipe Calderón, continued as 3,000 troops were sent to two states
bordering the United States and an assistant state prosecutor was arrested over
alleged links with a drug gang. Meanwhile, gunmen in the border city of Nuevo
Laredo shot and wounded a federal congressman. According to his niece,
Fidel Castro is in “stupendous” condition and will be “very
active” again as he recovers from stomach surgery that led him to hand over his
powers as Cuba's president to his brother, Raúl. <div>Blowing another raspberry</div>
Iran
ignored a UN deadline to suspend its uranium-
enrichment programme by February 21st or face wider sanctions. After the
International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear
watchdog, meets early next month, the UN Security Council
will have to decide on further steps to try to squeeze Iran into compliance. <a
The American secretary
of state, Condoleezza Rice, met the Israeli prime minister, Ehud
Olmert, and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, together in Jerusalem, but
appeared to have made scant progress towards restarting a peace process in
earnest. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Rival Palestinian parties, meanwhile, continued to
argue over the interpretation of their agreement signed earlier this month in
Mecca, where they were supposed to have settled the terms of a national unity
government. The UN Security Council authorised the African
Union to send peacekeepers for six months to Somalia, where
Islamists were routed last month by troops from Ethiopia. It was unclear how soon
the troops would arrive. Meanwhile, mortars, presumably launched by Islamist
remnants, killed 16 people in the capital, Mogadishu. Speaking on his 83rd birthday,
Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe, seemed to confirm rumours of
mounting intrigue within his ruling circle by accusing unnamed senior colleagues
of plotting to oust him from office. </a></a></a></a>
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AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 10th - 16th February 2007
DATE: 02/16/2007 16:10:46
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr><td align="left"
bgcolor="#d6e9ff" valign="top">Articles from this week's edition of The
twfree" style="color:black; "> Dealing with North Korea</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> The future of money</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> America's primaries</a> | <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party</a> |
wlptwfree" style="color:black; "> The insurgency in southern Thailand</a> | <a
=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> What next after the intra-Palestinian peace
deal?</a> | <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> Ségolène Royal unveils her programme</a> | <a
c=nwlptwfree" style="color:black; "> Britain's philanthropists</a> | <a
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> Without Daimler, whither Detroit?</a> | <a
twfree" style="color:black; "> Bad mortgages threaten America's banks</a> | <a
twfree" style="color:black; "> A practical quantum computer </a> | <a
ptwfree" style="color:black; "> Anna Nicole Smith, beleaguered bombshell</a> More free articles</a> »</div> 
</td></tr></tbody> </table> Politics this week <div>Feb 15th
2007 From The Economist print edition</div> <table
After tense talks in
Beijing, North Korea,which in October tested a nuclear weapon,
promised to shut down its main nuclear reactor in return for fuel aid. The talks,
involving America, China, Japan, Russia and South Korea, also led to an agreement
to resume ministerial talks between the two Koreas, and to take steps towards
normalising America's relations with North Korea. But the agreement makes no
explicit mention of nuclear weapons, dismantling nuclear facilities or disposing
of nuclear materials. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">The foreign ministers of India, China
and Russia met in Delhi to discuss the state of the
world. It was the first such high-level meeting between China and India since
China alarmed potential adversaries by testing an anti-satellite missile last
month. In a
surprising presidential election in Turkmenistan, Kurbanguly
Berdymukhamedov won only 89% of the vote. Mr Berdymukhamedov had been acting-
president since the death in December of Saparmurat Niyazov, who had ruled the
country for more than two decades. The opposition was not allowed to field any
candidates. Malaysia's prime minister, Abdullah Badawi, held talks
with the Thai junta and offered to mediate to help end the Muslim separatist
insurgency in southern Thailand. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Ma Ying-jeou, chairman of the Kuomintang,
Taiwan's main opposition party, resigned after
being formally charged with corruption offences. But he also announced his
intention to stand in next year's presidential election. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="a_house_divided">A house
divided</div> The two main Palestinian factions, the Islamists of
Hamas and the secular Fatah, agreed in Mecca to form a unity government in the
hope of stopping bloodshed between the groups' militias and of ending a year-long
international boycott of the Hamas-run Palestinian government. Hamas refused to
recognise Israel but said it would “respect” (not precisely accept) past
Palestinian agreements with it. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Just as Iraq's prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, was
making a speech to mark the anniversary of the bombing of one of the Iraqi Shias'
holiest shrines, in Samarra, a huge bomb went off in Baghdad, killing at least 80
people. Other bombs continued to make sectarian mayhem, as America's promised
“surge” of thousands of extra troops into Baghdad was set to begin. <a
Seven simultaneous
bombings killed six people near Algeria's capital, Algiers. A
group calling itself the al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb, perhaps a
new version of the previously better-known Salafist Group for Call and Combat,
said it was responsible, raising fears that al-Qaeda has activated a north African
front. Guinea's president, Lansana Conté, who has been facing
growing demonstrations against his 25-year-old dictatorship, declared martial law
amid increasing violence. Most businesses have shut down; some embassies have told
their citizens to leave. Ugandan MPs approved the contribution of
1,500 troops as part of an African Union peacekeeping force in
Somalia. They are due to replace the Ethiopian troops that helped
to overthrow Somali Islamist militias last year. Burundi, Ghana and Nigeria have
also promised troops. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="the_default_option">The default
option</div> Ecuador's Congress voted to approve a proposal by the
country's new leftist president, Rafael Correa, for a Constituent Assembly to
write a new constitution. Meanwhile the government, which has talked of defaulting
on its debt, said it would make a payment that falls due this week. <a
size="-1">Bolivia's socialist president, Evo Morales, led troops
into a tin smelter and declared its nationalisation. The smelter's owners,
Glencore, a Swiss mining firm,
said they would claim compensation. The government claims the smelter's
privatisation in 1999 was fraudulent. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="in_need_of_sum_ideas">In need of sum
ideas</div> The Socialist candidate for the French presidential
election, Ségolène Royal, revealed a decidedly left-wing presidential
platform. It included many promises of more public spending, but little on how to
pay for it all. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">French police arrested 11 suspected terrorists. Nine of
them were allegedly al-Qaeda members thought to have been recruiting fighters to
join the insurgency in Iraq. In Spain, the trial began of 29
people suspected of involvement in the 2004 Madrid train-bombings.
George Bush said
Russia and America could still co-operate over
many things despite an angry speech by Vladimir Putin, who denounced American
militarism at a conference in Munich. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
face="verdana,geneva,arial,sans serif" size="-1">The European Parliament endorsed
a report criticising several European governments for complicity in secret CIA flights used for extraordinary renditions.
These included the kidnap and transport of suspected Islamist terrorists to third
countries, in some of which they were tortured. <table align="right"
Portugal
is to legalise abortion during the first ten weeks of pregnancy, after
59% of voters backed the change in a referendum. The turnout was below 50%, so the
result was not legally binding, but the government pledged to act on the result in
any case. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="no_more_rubber_stamps">No more rubber
stamps</div> The House of Representatives held a debate on Iraq. If,
as was expected, a non-binding resolution opposing the deployment of extra troops
is passed (the Democratic majority was expecting the support of some Republicans
as well), it would represent the first time Congress has repudiated George Bush's
policy on the war. Mitt Romney announced he was entering the race for
president. The former one-term Republican governor of Massachusetts, who is a
Mormon, has been steadily polishing his credentials with social conservatives,
especially over the issue of gay marriage. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Meanwhile, Barack Obama officially launched his
campaign from the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois, the
place where Abraham Lincoln forged his political career. A year after Larry Summers said
he was quitting the job amid a furore over his comments on differences between the
sexes, Harvard University picked a new president. Drew Gilpin
Faust is the first woman to hold the post. </a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 10th - 16th February 2007
DATE: 02/16/2007 16:09:24
STATUS: publish
BODY:
serif" size="-2"><div>Feb 15th 2007 From The Economist print
size="-1">A cost-cutting programme at Chrysler was unveiled. The
troubled carmaker made an operating loss of $1.4 billion last year and now more
than 13,000 jobs are to go. Chrysler's parent company, DaimlerChrysler, said it
could find partners for its North American division, but a sale was not ruled out
either. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">The European Court of Justice's advocate-general rejected the German law
protecting Volkswagen from takeovers. This was seen as boosting
the potential of a bid for VW from its biggest shareholder,
Porsche. It also solidifies the role of Ferdinand Piëch, who is a member of the
Porsche family, as VW's chairman. The premier of Lower
Saxony, which is VW's second-biggest shareholder,
acknowledged this by changing tack and ending his opposition to Porsche having a
third representative on VW's board. FirstGroup, a
British bus and train operator, expanded its American business by agreeing to pay
$3.6 billion for Laidlaw, which specialises in school and inter-
city bus services. If successful, the deal will give FirstGroup a sizeable chunk
of America's school-bus market, but there was speculation it may sell Laidlaw's
other concern, the iconic Greyhound bus line. It makes the world go
round</div> A plan to boost the use of mobile money was unveiled at
a telecoms conference. The project, set up between a group of mobile-phone
operators and MasterCard, is targeted at migrant workers and enables funds to be
securely transferred from one phone to another back home, where the credit can be
spent. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Vodafone won the bidding to take control of
Hutchison Essar, a mobile-phone operator in India, agreeing to
pay $11.1 billion for the 67% stake held by a subsidiary of Hong Kong's Hutchison
Whampoa. Arun Sarin, Vodafone's chief executive, said the deal would be
“transformational” for his company, which thinks it can increase profits by
acquiring phone operators in high-growth developing markets. But some of Mr
Sarin's critics said he had paid too much. A court in Brussels ruled that
Google had infringed the copyright of Belgian newspapers
by publishing links to their stories on Google News. The case, in which
the newspapers argued that the internet company was giving away articles they were
charging for, was closely watched by other press proprietors. Google is to appeal.
size="-1">Delta Air Lines made a fourth-quarter net loss of $2
billion as it booked charges related to its bankruptcy- restructuring plans.
rel="nofollow" name="better_to_have_loved_and_lost">Better to have loved and
lost</div> NASDAQ's $5.3 billion hostile bid for the
London Stock Exchange was spurned by shareholders (fewer than
0.5% accepted the offer). It was the second time in less than a year that NASDAQ's advances had been rebuffed and it joins a long line of
suitors seen off by the LSE because, it says, they have not
valued it properly. Speculation turned to the possibility of future partners for
both bourses. Deutsche Börse agreed to take a 5% strategic stake in
the Bombay Stock Exchange, underlining the fashion for
consolidation among global exchanges. EMI's share
price hit a low note after it issued its second profits warning of the year. The
music company has been particularly hit by poor sales in North America, where, it
said, the market for CDs had declined by 20% this year.
 With the
share prices of big aluminium companies rising amid rumours of takeovers, India's
Hindalco Industries said it would pay nearly $6 billion for
Novelis, a Canadian maker of rolled aluminium used to make
beverage cans. The deal is the second-biggest foreign acquisition by an Indian
company and comes two weeks after Tata Steel won the battle for Corus. 
SXR
Uranium One and UrAsia Energy agreed to
merge, creating the world's second-biggest uranium miner. The price of the raw
material for reactor fuel has more than tripled over the past three years, in line
with the increased enthusiasm for nuclear power. Gazprom said its
third-quarter net profit rose by more than half, to $4.6 billion. The Russian gas
monopoly is benefiting from rising exports and the higher prices it charges to
former Soviet republics. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="time_for_another_row">Time for
another row</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
America's trade
deficit in goods reached $836 in 2006. Congressional Democrats seized on
the figure to lambast the Bush administration and called for “actions to stand up
for America” by ending the “unfair trade practices” of the countries and regions
that account for most of the deficit: China ($233 billion), the European Union
($117 billion) and Japan ($88 billion). </a></a></a>
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AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 27th January - 2nd February 2007
DATE: 02/08/2007 13:04:58
STATUS: publish
BODY:
serif" size="-2"><div>Feb 1st 2007 From The Economist print
size="-1">Scores of Iraqi Shias were killed by Sunni insurgent
bombs and mortars during the Shias' main religious festival, Ashura, while tit-
for-tat killings in Baghdad and elsewhere continued. Earlier, near the Shias' holy
city of Najaf, American and Iraqi troops fought an advancing force of a breakaway
Shia sect, killing at least 260 of them. The newly appointed overall American
commander of troops in Iraq said that “time was short” for turning things round.
In the first successful
suicide-bombing for nine months inside Israel, a Palestinian from
Gaza killed three people in a bakery located in a residential area in the Red Sea
resort town of Eilat. At the African Union's annual summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis
Ababa, the president of Chad, Idriss Déby, denounced the
president of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, who failed in his attempt to
win the organisation's chair for the coming year; it went instead to
Ghana's president, John Kufuor. Mr Déby also assailed the AU itself for being “deaf and blind to ethnic cleansing” in
Sudan's western region, Darfur, where the killing has spilled over into Chad.
 Also at the
AU summit, Somalia's interim president,
Abdullahi Yusuf, agreed to hold a conference to try to reconcile his country's
many rival clans. But no agreement was reached on sending an AU peacekeeping force to take the place of the Ethiopian troops
who recently invaded the country to sweep Islamist militias from power.
As a token of
China's growing interest in Africa, its
president, Hu Jintao, began an eight-country, 12-day tour of the continent.
Attention will be focused on his trip to Sudan where he will discuss international
efforts to make peace in Darfur. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
height="10" hspace="2" width="17" /> <div><a rel="nofollow">When's the Royal
visit?</div> Nicolas Sarkozy, the centre-right candidate for the
French presidency, made an election-campaign visit to London,
where there are thought to be some 300,000 French residents. A poll showed Mr
Sarkozy pulling ahead of the Socialists' candidate, Ségolène Royal. <a
size="-1">Police in Britain arrested nine men suspected of
planning to kidnap and murder a Muslim British soldier on leave from Afghanistan.
size="-1">Germany ordered the arrest of 13 suspected CIA agents over the kidnapping, for five months, of a German
national of Lebanese descent. Meanwhile, the foreign minister, Frank-Walter
Steinmeier, was embarrassed by revelations that he had opposed the release of a
German-born Turkish citizen held in Guantánamo Bay for four years. Investigators
found no evidence of terrorist activity by the Turk, Murat Kurnaz. <a
size="-1">Carla del Ponte, the United Nations war-crimes prosecutor at The Hague,
urged the European Union not to resume talks with Serbia until it
took steps to hand over Ratko Mladic, a Bosnian Serb general wanted for war
crimes. The EU suspended talks last year in protest at
Serbia's failure to arrest Mr Mladic. <div><a rel="nofollow">Forcing one's
hand</div> With threats of subpoenas hanging in the air, America's attorney-
general, Alberto Gonzales, agreed to hand over classified documents about the
government's (recently abandoned) domestic spying programme to a
committee in Congress. Only selected legislators will be allowed to review the
top-secret files. <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
Washington, DC, witnessed its biggest anti-war rally in a
while. By some estimates around 100,000 people protested in the capital against
George Bush's plan to send extra troops to Iraq. Meanwhile, a Senate committee
held a hearing to confirm Admiral William Fallon as Mr Bush's top commander in the
Middle East. The main topic of conversation was Iran. The former White House press
secretary, Ari Fleischer, testified for the prosecution (under an immunity deal)
at the trial of Lewis “Scooter” Libby. Mr Libby, a former chief
of staff to Dick Cheney, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he obstructed an
investigation into the leaking of a CIA officer's name to
the press. More bad news on AIDS. Trials of a vaginal microbicide
called cellulose sulphate, which was intended to stop women becoming infected,
were halted when it was found that those receiving the treatment were more
susceptible to infection, rather than less so. <div>A shaming report</div> An official inquiry into hundreds
of murders of opposition activists, priests and journalists in the
Philippines concluded that the army killed most of them. But it
rejected claims by human-rights groups that top military chiefs had sanctioned the
murders. Bangladesh's High Court ordered that elections in the
country could not be held for three months, when it expects an overhaul of the
election process to be completed. The country's election commissioners resigned as
part of the reform process. An election scheduled for last month was postponed
amid protests that the ballot would be rigged. Six policemen and a civilian were
killed by a roadside bomb in eastern Sri Lanka, the scene of
recent fighting involving rebel Tamil groups. Nepal's prime
minister, Girija Prasad Koirala, pledged that the country would be a federal state
in the future. Eight people have died in protests by southern Nepalese demanding
the change over the past couple of weeks. <div>King Hugo</div> Venezuela's
National Assembly granted powers to President Hugo Chávez to legislate by decree
for the next 18 months. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
src="http://www.economist.com/images/20070203/0507WW2.jpg" border="0"
height="135" width="160" /></td></tr><tr><td valign="top"> The first video images of Fidel Castro, Cuba's ailing
president, released since October showed him looking stronger though still frail,
and chatting with Venezuela's Mr Chávez. Mr Castro's health is a “state secret”,
but he is said to have suffered complications after intestinal surgery.
size="-1">Canada's government said it would pay C$11.5m ($9.8m)
to Maher Arar, a Canadian software engineer who was detained by American officials
and flown to Syria where he was tortured. An inquiry found that Canadian officials
had falsely told their American counterparts that Mr Arar was a terrorist.
size="-1">Ecuador slipped towards mob rule. Thousands of
protesters, organised by the new president, Rafael Correa, stormed the Congress,
where a majority of newly elected legislators are opposed to plans for a
constituent assembly. </a></a></a></a>
-----
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AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 27th January - 2nd February 2007
DATE: 02/08/2007 13:04:23
STATUS: publish
BODY:
serif" size="-2"><div>Feb 1st 2007 From The Economist print
size="-1">The New York Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Stock
Exchange announced an alliance. The partnership covers trading-systems
technology, investor services and regulation and is the latest expansive move into
foreign markets by the NYSE, which is acquiring Euronext
and recently took a stake in India's National Stock Exchange. For Japan's biggest
stockmarket, the pact should help boost market confidence, which has been dented
by a series of technical mishaps in its trading operations. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Citigroup agreed to buy Egg, an online
bank, from Prudential, a British insurer, for £575m ($1.1 billion). Egg's sale
price is much less than the £950m Prudential had said it was worth a year ago when
Egg's minority shareholders were bought out. The bank made a loss of £145m last
year, but Citigroup hopes that combining it with its own British consumer
operations will prove a boon. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Deutsche Bank had a record year; its annual net profit
rose by 70% to euro6 billion ($7.8 billion) in 2006, partly on the back
of a resurgence in its investment banking business. <div>Climb every mountain</div> With $6 billion in development
costs and a delay of some two years behind it, Windows Vista
finally went on sale to consumers. Microsoft's latest operating system, its first
since XP in 2001, has better security and new navigational
designs. Bill Gates, the company's chairman, promised PC
users that “the wow starts now”; analysts said they would sooner wait for Vista's
sales figures. Dell's chairman, Michael Dell, returned to his old job
of chief executive after Kevin Rollins was dismissed. The computer-maker is trying
to reboot its business in response to sliding market share and slowing growth.
Investors were heartened by the news. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Google's fourth-quarter net income nearly tripled
compared with a year earlier, to $1 billion (its annual profit for 2006 doubled to
$3.1 billion). The company is prospering from website advertising revenue; the
number of paid clicks rose by 61% in the quarter. However, Google's share price
came under pressure after analysts cautioned its future profits might be hurt if
it over-extended its new business. US
Airways withdrew its hostile $9.8 billion offer for
Delta Air Lines after Delta's creditors threw their support
behind the bankrupt carrier's reorganisation plan. Delta and its pilots' union
insist the company has a future as an independent airline, but the bid has raised
speculation about more attempts at consolidation in the industry. The empire strikes back</div>
India's Tata
Steel beat Brazil's CSN in the
bidding for Corus, an Anglo-Dutch steelmaker, so creating the world's fifth-
largest steel company. Formed in 1999 from the remnants of British Steel, Corus is
India's biggest foreign takeover. But Tata's share price fell sharply amid concern
that the price it is paying, £6.2 billion ($12.2 billion), is too high.
US
Steel said its annual net profit last year rose by more
than 50%, to $1.4 billion. The company's European operations helped compensate for
a rise in cheaper steel imports and falling demand from carmakers in America.
size="-1">Altria made a long-awaited decision to spin off
Kraft Foods. The idea was first mooted more than two years ago,
but was delayed while Altria fought litigation about its Philip Morris tobacco
business. Kraft's sales have been languishing of late, partly because of the trend
towards healthier foods; the decision to divest the company will put an additional
1.5 billion of its shares in the market. Ford reported an
annual loss of $12.7 billion, its biggest ever, on January 25th. The carmaker is
suffering from a persistent decline in sales and is busily restructuring itself.
Meanwhile, General Motors said it would delay announcing its
results because of accounting errors. Manchester won the competition to
host Britain's first Las Vegas-style “super-casino”. The city was
chosen by the independent Casino Advisory Panel over more high-profile bids,
including one led by Philip Anschutz, an investor, for a casino at London's
Millennium Dome. Hank Paulson, America's treasury secretary, told the Senate Banking
Committee that he would like eventually to see a “fully market-determined,
floating Chinese currency”. The new Congress has made no secret
of its irritation at China's stance on trade and exchange rates. Shopaholics</div> <table align="right"
America's
GDP grew at an annualised rate of 3.5% in the fourth
quarter, which was stronger than expected (the economy grew by 3.4% for the whole
of 2006). A surge in consumer spending, helped by falling energy prices, boosted
the figure. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
article</a> </a></a></a>
-----
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AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 3rd - 9th February 2007
DATE: 02/08/2007 13:03:32
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, whose job it is to try
to assess what is happening to the atmosphere, published its fourth scientific
report on February 2nd. It concluded, in terms somewhat stronger than the third
report, that things are indeed getting hotter, and that mankind is, indeed, to
blame. What to do about it will be addressed in other reports to be published
later this year. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">The European Commission said carmakers should be forced
to increase the fuel efficiency of new cars by 20% within five years. Car
companies said the target was an arbitrary figure and would lead to job losses in
the EU as production moved elsewhere. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Russian prosecutors charged Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the
former boss of the Yukos oil company and a critic of President Vladimir Putin,
with laundering over $20 billion. Mr Khodorkovsky, who is already serving an
eight-year prison term for fraud, said the new charges were designed to prevent
his early release. Italy's foreign minister, Massimo D'Alema, denounced as
“unfortunate outside interference” a letter to an Italian newspaper from the
ambassadors of America, Australia, Britain, Canada, the Netherlands and Romania.
The envoys had called on Italy to give greater support to the NATO mission in Afghanistan. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Two French Muslim groups sued a satirical magazine for
defaming the Prophet Muhammad by reprinting cartoons first published last year in
Denmark. Nicolas Sarkozy, France's centre-right presidential candidate, gave his
support to the magazine. Some 160,000 turkeys were gassed at a farm in Suffolk to stop
Britain's worst outbreak of bird flu from spreading. <a
serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="put_it_in_perspective">Put it in
perspective</div> Flooding in Jakarta killed dozens of people and forced 340,000 to flee
their homes. Indonesia is already struggling with an outbreak of
dengue fever and is still grappling with bird flu, which has killed five people
since the beginning of the year. Thailand's
military-backed government sacked the national police chief, ostensibly for
failing to catch those who planted bombs in Bangkok on New Year's Eve. Separately,
the government decided to reopen Bangkok's old airport, Don
Muang, while it fixes the many faults found at the $4 billion Suvarnabhumi
airport, opened only five months ago. Vietnam's
government unveiled plans for a $33 billion rail link between the capital, Hanoi,
and Ho Chi Minh City in the south. The design for a 40km (25-mile)
atom smasher that will cost $8.2 billion was unveiled at a
meeting in Beijing. Physicists want to discern one overarching set of laws that
govern the universe and say the machine will help them make the discovery. The
International Linear Collider, as it is known, will not start up until 2019 at the
earliest and could be built in America, Japan or Switzerland. Adding it all up</div> George Bush sent his
budget to Congress. The $2.9 trillion request asks for more
funding for the military and reduces spending on health care and other domestic
programmes over five years. It also forecasts reduced federal deficits that
eventually reach a surplus in 2012. Sceptics wondered how this could be twinned
with Mr Bush's request to extend his tax cuts. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Rudy Giuliani confirmed he was entering the
presidential race. Although he did not make a formal declaration, the former mayor
of New York filed the usual campaign papers and told a TV
interviewer that “I'm in this to win”. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">The Senate was embroiled in debate on Mr Bush's policy
on Iraq. Several resolutions ranging from support to outright condemnation of Mr
Bush's plans have been produced and the parties are negotiating over which can
proceed. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="dangerous_digs">Dangerous
digs</div> An explosion killed 32 miners at a rudimentary coal mine in north-
eastern Colombia. Days later, a second blast at another mine in
the centre of the country killed eight. <table align="right" border="0"
In
Bolivia, more than 20,000 miners marched through the capital, La
Paz, in protest at plans by Evo Morales, the country's socialist president, for a
sharp rise in taxes on mining. The government backtracked, saying the tax rise
would apply to large privately owned mines and not to small mining co-
operatives. Opponents accused Argentina's government of fiddling
the country's inflation figure after a senior statistician was sacked and her
replacement changed the methodology of the consumer-price index. The government
said inflation in January was 1.1%; economists said it was 1.5-2%. <a
size="-1">More than a dozen gunmen attacked two state law-enforcement offices in
the Mexican resort of Acapulco, killing seven people while
videotaping the assaults. President Felipe Calderón sent some 8,000 troops to the
area last month to crack down on drug-trafficking and organised crime. 
rel="nofollow" name="a_new_mission_to_accomplish">A new mission to
accomplish</div> The killing in Iraq continued unabated, with at least
130 people, mostly Shias, dying in a single suicide-bombing in a Baghdad market. A
“surge” of extra American troops into Baghdad was set to begin in an effort to
quell the sectarian violence. The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, head
of the Fatah party, and his Islamist rivals from Hamas, represented by their
leader-in-exile Khaled Meshal, started talks in Mecca to end weeks of factional
fighting in the Palestinian territories. Egypt's
president, Hosni Mubarak, ordered a band of Muslim Brothers, including
the group's number
three, to be tried in a military court. Lawyers said that 165 members of the
Brotherhood, the country's most popular opposition group, have been detained since
December. In
Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, sporadic night-time mortars
and rockets were launched at the presidential palace, hotels and the port,
presumably by remnants of the Islamist fighters, most of whom were routed a month
ago by Ethiopian troops. An African Union peacekeeping force has yet to be
assembled. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
At the end of an eight-
country tour of Africa, China's president, Hu Jintao, said he
would try to cut his country's $3 billion trade surplus with the
continent. </a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 3rd - 9th February 2007
DATE: 02/08/2007 13:02:46
STATUS: publish
BODY:
size="-1">Vornado Realty Trust withdrew its bid for
Equity Office Properties, leaving the way clear for shareholders
in America's largest real-estate investment trust to accept Blackstone
Group's offer of $38.9 billion. The transaction sets a new record for a
leveraged buy-out, underscoring the relentless takeover of public companies by
private-equity firms. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Blackstone Group was one of four private-equity firms making up a
consortium that expressed a keen interest in acquiring J.
Sainsbury. The British supermarket chain has a market value of around £9
billion ($18 billion); if successful, the leveraged buy-out would be Europe's
biggest. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">London's latest landmark, the Gherkin, was sold for
£600m ($1.2 billion), a record for the capital's booming commercial-property
market. The seller, Swiss Re, will remain in the building as its main tenant until
at least 2031. Steve Jobs called for an end to digital-rights
management technology that protects music sold over the internet. DRM was insisted upon by big record labels, but Mr Jobs thinks it
is inhibiting the growth of the online-music market. Some observers reckoned that
Apple's chief executive was trying to deflect criticism aimed at iTunes' own
FairPlay system from regulators in Europe. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
name="the_long_and_winding_road">The long and winding road</div>
Meanwhile, a settlement
was reached in a trademark dispute between Apple and
Apple Corps, the Beatles' music company. The agreement gives
Apple ownership of all the “Apple” logo trademarks, but the computer-maker will
license some trademarks back to Apple Corps. The two sides have been arguing since
the early 1980s; fans now hope they can come together and make the Beatles' songs
available on iTunes. There was more bother for YouTube over copyright
infringement. Viacom, the owner of MTV,
asked that all of its content be removed from YouTube's website after the two
sides failed to reach a distribution deal. Meanwhile, Jeff Zucker chose his first
day as boss of NBC Universal to chastise YouTube
for failing to address media copyright on video clips. Eastman Kodak
unveiled its line of desktop printers and low-cost ink cartridges. Troubled Kodak
is hoping its new products will encroach on Hewlett-Packard and others by
addressing consumers' gripes about the cost of replacement cartridges for their
printers (by weight, the ink within them costs more than caviar). A case to answer?</div> A three-man panel of a federal
appeals court in San Francisco ruled that the biggest sex-discrimination
case in American history could proceed against Wal-Mart
as a class-action lawsuit. The suit was brought on behalf of past and present
female employees, who claim the retailer is biased towards men in pay and
promotion. An estimated 2m women could join it. Wal-Mart fulminated against the
legal basis of the case and said it would fight all the way to the Supreme Court
if it had to. The long-running takeover battle for Endesa moved
closer towards completion when the board of the Spanish energy company recommended
E.ON's latest €41 billion ($53 billion) offer to shareholders.
size="-1">HSBC said that high rates of bankruptcy in America's
subprime mortgage market meant it would take a much higher charge than expected
(estimated to be around $10.5 billion) on bad debts for 2006. With the threat of huge lawsuits
against cigarette-makers seemingly receding in the United States, Britain's
Imperial Tobacco decided to enter the market, agreeing to buy
America's Commonwealth Brands for $1.9 billion. 
Chung Mong-koo, the
chairman of Hyundai Motor, received a three-year prison sentence
for embezzling company funds. The jail term surprised those used to the
comparatively light sentences handed down in South Korean corporate cases.
However, the court decided not to send the head of the country's biggest carmaker
to his cell straightaway, citing the need to protect the national economy during
his appeal. Investors have been pushing for more transparency in the country's
chaebol. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="still_full_of_eastern_promise">Still full
of eastern promise</div> <table align="right" border="0"
valign="top"> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td
The Shanghai
stockmarket recovered somewhat after losing 11% of the value of its
domestically traded shares in five days. The index surged last year, as improved
earnings at Chinese companies spurred investor confidence. With one senior Chinese
politician now warning that the market was overheated (and that most of the
index's companies should be delisted), some pondered if this was the inevitable
end to a Chinese bubble. Cooler heads said it was just a market correction. <a
article</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 20th - 26th January 2007
DATE: 01/29/2007 08:30:28
STATUS: publish
BODY:
serif" size="-2"><div>Jan 25th 2007 From The Economist print
size="-1">Pfizer, the world's biggest drugs firm, said it would
cut almost 8,000 jobs (on top of 2,000 announced last month) and close several
manufacturing and research facilities as part of a restructuring effort. The
closures include the production site in Brooklyn where Pfizer was founded in 1849.
The patent on Pfizer's biggest-earning drug is due to expire in 2010; a potential
blockbuster was cancelled last year; and Pfizer, like its rivals, faces a struggle
to come up with new money-spinners and growing competition from makers of generic
drugs. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">MAN, a German truckmaker, dropped its euro10.5
billion ($13.7 billion) hostile bid for Scania, a Swedish rival.
The offer had been opposed by Scania's two largest shareholders, Volkswagen and
the investment arm of Sweden's Wallenberg family, since it was launched last
autumn. Ferdinand Piëch, the chairman of VW (which is also
MAN's biggest investor), pressed for friendly merger talks
instead. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
serif"><a rel="nofollow">It's up to you, New York</div>
A report commissioned by
New York's leading politicians, including its mayor, Michael Bloomberg, gave
warning that the city's status as the world's foremost financial centre was under
threat. It said that up to 7% of the American market in global financial
services could be lost to foreign competitors over the next five years.
The report proffered various recommendations to help the city avoid this fate,
chief of which was clearer guidance on the regulatory structure that has been in
place since the Sarbanes-Oxley act. Citigroup
reported that net income had fallen by 12% in 2006, to $21.5 billion. The
financial giant also parted company with Todd Thomson, its head of global wealth
management, and is replacing him with Sallie Krawcheck, currently chief financial
officer. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Other big American banks also reported yearly results. Bank of
America's net profit rose by 28% in 2006, to $21.1 billion, boosted in
part by its acquisition of MBNA, a credit-card issuer, at
the beginning of the year. And net income at Wachovia increased
by 17%, to $7.8 billion, as it booked the benefits of integrating two banks,
Golden West and Westcorp, it bought recently. <div>A change of style?</div> Paul Pressler resigned as chief
executive of Gap. The clothing retailer has seen its sales droop
over the past two years and is reviewing a number of options for its brands.
Speculation has centred on a buy-out of the company. Robert Fisher, whose parents
founded Gap in 1969, replaces Mr Pressler in the interim. Sun Microsystems
made a surprise quarterly profit (its first for a year and a half) as sales of its
Solaris 10 operating system took off. Sun also laid its differences with
Intel to rest by proclaiming a strategic alliance, which includes
the use of Intel's Xeon chips in some of Sun's servers. The news came at a bad
time for Intel's arch-rival Advanced Micro Devices. The chipmaker
confirmed that a price war was damaging its business when it reported a quarterly
net loss of $574m. The share price of Alcatel- Lucent plunged by more than
8% after the Franco-American company forecast that fourth-quarter profit would be
flat. Alcatel's merger with Lucent, completed two months ago, created the second-
biggest provider of networking equipment, but there has been a delay in combining
product lines, causing some customers to turn elsewhere. EBay reported
solid revenue growth in the fourth quarter in its core auction and sales
businesses, partly due to people trading game consoles in the run up to Christmas.
Its share price, which has been languishing of late, soared. Revenue at Skype
jumped by 164%, but eBay admitted that the benefits of acquiring the internet-
calling business in 2005 had yet to be seen. The price of oil
jumped by some 5% after George Bush outlined a plan in his speech to
Congress to double the size of America's strategic reserves by 2027. A few days
earlier the price had fallen, briefly, to below $50 a barrel for the first time
since May 2005. Amid all the glad-handing and schnapps at the World Economic Forum in
Davos, the prospect was raised of an effort to revive the stalled Doha
round of trade talks. A meeting was called between trade officials from
rich and poor countries to boost confidence in the process, which led to hopes of
a new timetable. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
geneva, arial, sans serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="lagging_behind">Lagging
behind</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
America's labour
productivity growth rate in 2006 was the lowest for more than a decade,
according to a study by the Conference Board. Although productivity growth rates
were higher in most of Europe and Japan, the report suggested there would be
future diminishing returns worldwide from investments in information and
communication technology. </a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 20th - 26th January 2007
DATE: 01/29/2007 08:29:42
STATUS: publish
BODY:
George Bush delivered
his annual state-of-the-union message to Congress. The president
laid out policies on health insurance, immigration, education and energy, where he
presented a plan to reduce petrol consumption in America by 20% over the next ten
years. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Mr Bush also sought support for his plan to send more troops to
Iraq, arguing that, should America retreat, the result would be a
“nightmare scenario” in Iraq and surrounding countries. The Senate Foreign
Relations Committee promptly responded by voting against the plan, arguing it was
“not in the national interest” of the United States. The House of Representatives
finished passing all the bills that comprised the Democrats' “100
hour” agenda, with plenty of time to spare. However, the proposal to
increase the federal minimum wage was stalled in the Senate when
Republicans insisted on adding tax breaks for small businesses to help cover the
cost of the wage increase. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Hillary Clinton made it official by declaring “I'm in,
and I'm in to win” the race for president in 2008. Also throwing his hat into the
ring was Bill Richardson, the Democratic governor of New Mexico.
John Kerry, the loser in the 2004 election, said no thanks and
confirmed he would not run this time. On the Republican side, Sam
Brownback, a senator from Kansas and a champion of social conservatives,
announced his candidacy. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="lost_in_space">Lost in
space</div> Twelve days after testing an anti-satellite weapon by blowing up one of
its own satellites in space, China admitted it had done so. It
denied it had any intention of joining the arms race in space that its critics
feared it had started. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">The Philippines armed forces said they had proof that
human remains found on the southern island of Jolo last month were those of
Khaddafy Janjalani, leader of the Abu Sayyaf, a brutal group of Islamic
separatists. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">At least 16 people died in a shoot-out on the
Indonesian island of Sulawesi, where police were detaining
alleged members of the Jemaah Islamiah, an Islamic militant group.
A suicide-bomber killed
at least ten people outside a military base housing NATO
soldiers near Khost, in eastern Afghanistan. Most of the
dead were Afghans employed at the base. Vladimir Putin, Russia's
president, arrived in India for talks expected to yield
agreements on arms sales and on co-operation in nuclear and other forms of energy.
rel="nofollow" name="a_coming_together">A coming together</div>
face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2">Getty Images
Europe</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td valign="bottom"><img
alt="Getty Images Europe"
Thousands of Turks, some
with banners declaring “We are all Armenians”, marched to the funeral in Istanbul
of Hrant Dink, a Turkish-Armenian journalist murdered last week, apparently for
“insulting Turkishness”. Attending the funeral were ministers from both
Turkey and Armenia. Turkey denies committing
genocide against the Armenians in 1915. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
face="verdana,geneva,arial,sans serif" size="-1">The ultra-nationalist Serbian
Radical Party, whose leader is on trial at The Hague accused of war crimes, won
most votes in Serbia's general election. But its vote was
outweighed by the tally of the two main moderate parties, who are likely to form a
pro-Europe coalition government. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
European Parliament committee concluded that EU countries,
including Britain and Germany, were aware of the abduction of terror
suspects by the CIA. The committee criticised
EU officials, among them foreign-policy chief Javier
Solana, for not co-operating in its investigation. The European
Union, in bilateral talks with China, said it would
continue its arms embargo, imposed after the Tiananmen Square killings of 1989,
until China ratified a UN convention on human rights, freed
those jailed in connection with Tiananmen Square and ended the “re-education
through labour” system of imprisonment without trial. <div><a rel="nofollow">More stick,
less carrot</div> The Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, has
apparently decided, at last, to try to rein in the Shia militias responsible in
large part for the continuing rash of sectarian murders in Baghdad. At least 600
members of the Mahdi Army, the biggest militia, have been arrested in the past few
weeks. Meanwhile, Sunni insurgents continued to kill hundreds of Shias with bomb
attacks in crowded places in Baghdad and towns nearby. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
size="-1">Israel's attorney-general said he intends to charge the
president, Moshe Katsav, with rape. Mr Katsav accused the media of hounding him;
his lawyers will try to stop the charges being brought. Meanwhile, a parliamentary
panel approved a request by the president for a three-month leave of absence.
 The prospect
of civil strife in Lebanon loomed as demonstrations in Beirut,
led by the Shias' Hizbullah movement against the pro-Western coalition government
of Fouad Siniora, turned nasty, leaving at least three dead. But the government
refused to step down or accept the opposition's demands for a veto-wielding
minority of ministers in the government. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Ethiopia's government said its troops had started to
leave Somalia a month after helping to defeat Islamist militias
that had taken over the south of the country. Meanwhile, America made another air
strike in southern Somalia, reportedly targeting al-Qaeda operatives. 
Security forces in
Guinea killed some 30 people in clashes with protesters calling
for the ailing president, Lansana Conté, to resign. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
serif"><a rel="nofollow" name="how_to_break_a_cartel">How to break a
cartel</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
size="-1">Mexico's new government extradited 15 alleged drug
traffickers to face charges in the United States. They included Osiel Cárdenas,
the leader of the “Gulf Cartel”. The extraditions are part of a wider crackdown
against organised crime. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Brazil's government announced a long-awaited package of
tax breaks and public- spending measures aimed at boosting the country's
lacklustre rate of economic growth. Private business said the measures were in the
right direction, but too timid. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
size="-1">Bolivia's socialist president, Evo Morales, marked his
first year in office by promising to raise taxes on foreign mining-firms and to
speed up land reform. He also reshuffled his cabinet, replacing several indigenous
leaders with left-wing activists. </a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 01/18/2007 14:12:32
STATUS: publish
BODY:
The American secretary
of state, Condoleezza Rice, toured the Middle
East to promote George Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq; she also sounded out the Palestinians and Israelis over the
possibility of reviving a peace process, and proposed a three-way meeting soon. As
well as Israel and the Palestinian territories, she visited Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h2PJ0FDHx80Mo0DfFT0Er">See
article</a> Israel's top general, Dan Halutz, resigned over the
handling of last summer's war in Lebanon. Meanwhile, the
justice ministry announced a criminal investigation into corruption allegations
against the prime minister, Ehud Olmert, whose government looks increasingly
fragile. <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
Sectarian carnage in
Iraq persisted. A bomb attack on a
university in Baghdad killed at least 70 people, many of
them female students, while attacks elsewhere in Baghdad and
in the disputed city of Kirkuk killed at least another 100.
The government, meanwhile, said it had agreed to a new law to distribute oil
revenue fairly among Iraq's people. Tunisia's interior minister said that an armed group that
was broken up by security forces in a recent shoot-out were radical Islamists who
had infiltrated from Algeria. This raised
fears that groups linked to al-Qaeda were trying to build a north African front.
 On a tour of
Latin American countries with anti-American governments, Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said he would put
$1 billion into an Iranian-Venezuelan fund to help poor countries throw off the
“yoke of American imperialism”. But back home, powerful figures criticised him for
his bellicose foreign policy and extravagant economics. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/h2PJ0FDHx80Mo0DfFU0Es">See article</a> The African Union continued its
effort to raise an 8,000-strong peacekeeping force for Somalia to replace the Ethiopian army which, with
American backing, has swept the Islamists from power in the past few weeks. <a
bin1/DM/y/h2PJ0FDHx80Mo0DfFV0Et">See article</a> <div>On second thoughts</div> José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero,
Spain's socialist prime minister, said he had made a “mistake” in
predicting improved relations with ETA, the Basque
terrorist group. His prediction had been made one day before ETA broke a ceasefire on December 30th with a bomb at Madrid's
airport that killed two people. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h2PJ0FDHx80Mo0DfFW0Eu">See
size="-1">Breaking a seven-month political stalemate, a centre-right coalition
under Mirek Topolanek formed a government in the Czech
Republic. It relies on two defectors from the opposition for its
majority in the deadlocked parliament. A vote in Ukraine's parliament diminished the power of the
presidency. The measure was another blow to President Viktor Yushchenko, and a
victory for Viktor Yanukovich, the prime minister. Yulia Tymoshenko, the
president's former ally, sided with Mr Yanukovich for the vote. <table
Security was increased
in the Moscow metro and at transport and
infrastructure facilities across Russia following warnings
of an impending terrorist attack. The security services said they were acting on a
tip-off from foreign colleagues. <div>Nearing the end?</div> Fidel Castro has
had three operations for diverticulitis— an inflamed colon—and is now suffering
from peritonitis, and other complications, according to a detailed account in
El País, a Spanish newspaper. Cuban officials have refused to discuss
their president's condition, except to deny American claims that he has cancer.
 In the first
confession by a senior paramilitary leader in Colombia under a controversial peace process, Salvatore
Mancuso gave details of the killing of more than 300 people in 87 different
militia operations. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h2PJ0FDHx80Mo0DfFX0Ev">See
size="-1">Evo Morales, Bolivia's president,
sent the army to patrol the country's third city, Cochabamba, after two people
were killed and dozens wounded in clashes between his supporters and those of the
local governor, who supports regional autonomy. <div>Talking shop</div> Meeting in Cebu,
the Philippines, leaders of the Association of South-East Asian
Nations (ASEAN) agreed to accelerate their move
toward a regional free-trade area, and signed an agreement on migrant labour. An
accord was also reached with China on liberalising trade in services. <a
bin1/DM/y/h2PJ0FDHx80Mo0DfFY0Ew">See article</a> China and Russia vetoed a UN Security Council
resolution put forward by America condemning the junta in Myanmar and demanding political reform. Indonesia, its ASEAN partner, abstained.
 The foreign
ministers of India and Pakistan
met in Islamabad. There was no breakthrough, but both sides spoke positively of
a peace process that had appeared in jeopardy after last July's bombings in Mumbai. <a
bin1/DM/y/h2PJ0FDHx80Mo0DfFZ0Ex">See article</a> Fakhruddin Ahmed, a former World
Bank economist and central-bank governor, was appointed the new head of
Bangladesh's caretaker administration. With
the country in a state of emergency enforced by the army, Mr Ahmed promised to
arrange credible elections. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h2PJ0FDHx80Mo0DfFa0E5">See
size="-1">In important steps towards cementing peace in Nepal, Maoist rebels took seats in an interim parliament,
and promised to dissolve their parallel government. They also began to register
and lock up their weapons. Senior Afghan and American officials continued to accuse
Pakistan of harbouring Taliban militants
active in Afghanistan. Pakistan denied
the charges and mounted air strikes on a militant camp in South Waziristan, a
tribal area bordering Afghanistan. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/h2PJ0FDHx80Mo0DfFb0E6">See article</a> The
Philippines army claimed to have killed Abu Sulaiman, a leading member of
the Islamist militant group Abu Sayyaf, in a gun battle. The group has been linked
with al-Qaeda. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="the_new_kid_on_the_block">The new kid on
the block</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
Barack Obama
took his first formal step towards running for president by forming an
exploratory committee. The senator from Illinois, who has
held his seat for two years, is considered a front-runner for the Democratic
nomination along with a certain senator from New York who is
expected to make her intentions known (officially) soon. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/h2PJ0FDHx80Mo0DfFc0E7">See article</a> Jury selection began in the trial
of Lewis “Scooter” Libby. The former chief of staff for the vice-
president, Dick Cheney, is accused of perjury in an investigation into the leaking
of a former CIA officer's name to the press. The Plame
affair was a headache for George Bush prior to the 2004
election.</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Hello iPhone, Best of CES; Political Tiptoeing
DATE: 01/18/2007 13:58:37
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Top Stories For the Week of January 8 - January 12
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/1zealp9CXsZnJ8ch"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/smilies/montage_2.jpg" align="right"
border="0" height="273" width="456" /></a><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/wiSHIpAg8fxjn1jf">Hello, iPhone</a>. You've waited
for it, longed for it, dreamed about it-now start saving for the Apple iPhone,
which is an iPod, a cell and an Internet mobile communicator in <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/XwfH20jO6V5UeFTT">one sleek
device</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/F6inIEUYquw7hE8I">Read/Write
Web</a>). Apple <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Fm9Rjx8QWipH8qqt">exceeded expectations</a> with
the iPhone's sleek design, touch screen and ability to run OS X, blogs <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/8QX0VBOx4_15uVot">Monkey
Bites</a>. Sure, you have to cough up $499 for the 4GB or $599 for the
8GB, but <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/0rB_Lpvvlz1eEtRs">Mark Evans</a>
will happily dump his Palm, BlackBerry and iPod for a <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/GOhP-_rTlPL1YG-d">single device
with great design</a>. For one thing, the iPhone's got just one button-<a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/OZR9G4hnlqsKiZv4">everything else is on the touch
screen</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/yH6OaBDRlAeH63qA">Don Dodge</a>.
The markets were as pumped as Mac devotees, with AAPL jumping more than 3 percent
during <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/JMztEKOx7cFY7pM-">Steve Jobs's keynote address</a>
(via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/AjA85Nm7V-
L91iPM">Nik Cubrilovic</a>) and 7 percent for the day-while
sellers punished Research in Motion (BlackBerry) and Palm (Treo) with <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/hVISiTT-UOWshSol">6
percent hits on each</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/7fx8J0fWwAGgftUa">TechCrunch</a>).
 <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/NG8yV4LVRPp0aB6m"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/smilies/cingularjack.jpg" align="left"
border="0" height="104" width="103" /></a> It's a big risk for Jobs and <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/07_TOmX5RIviKdXM">Business 2.0</a>
details some gripes-the case may scratch,<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/3nCepFgC_fA2dfbI"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/smilies/mac%20router.jpg" align="right"
border="0" /></a> Cingular's weak cell coverage may cause even Jobs to <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Vk2CaMlEcdK2LluQ">throw his pricey paperweight at
the wall</a>, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/NG8yV4LVRPp0aB6m">data transmission may be
subpar</a>, and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/0jd42EEIo0ijKqTP">8GB isn't exactly huge capacity
for an iPod</a>. But <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/WWg3sx9hbJ4MHCup">GigaOM</a>
captures overall reaction with a simple graphic where <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/cWLP6M8znAWSv8Rf">Apple replaces a
fistful of other devices</a>, while <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Nj6eQSPZvZ6V73Hp">Gizmodo</a>
links to Apple's gorgeous video of an <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/EaumK0ewDMgy9D9X">iPhone making a phone
call</a>. Cisco owns the iPhone name and Apple has been negotiating
for the rights, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/heuZ0zC5GEQ5kOqv">Paul
Kedrosky</a>, but in the end Apple just went ahead and <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/MG3PQwyuBhDkD6Au">used it
anyway</a>. This could end with either a signed agreement between Apple and Cisco,
or <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/7AFHyilH1kpztoS8">big fights between their
lawyers</a>. Oh wait - <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/m06C4g1P681hUidP">Cisco just sued Apple</a>.
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/bnInU7TbQBNpokFo"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/smilies/200701051729.jpg" align="left"
border="0" height="284" width="402" /></a> Nearly forgotten in the iPhone roar is
AppleTV, which lets you transfer content from multiple PCs, outside sources or
even Apple.com to your TV. It's got a <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/2pg7y72wfQBqNlDa">40GB hard drive and will sell
for $299</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/3UfQmxuU_7EpVJay">VentureBeat</a>,
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/VTSQIQ_i3sGnR3pf">Techmeme</a>
points out it <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/hxtX6KEbsRXZobkA">follows all the right
standards</a>. Basically, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/xn5f9bU3bUDYt_VU">PVRblog</a>
writes, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/mha4SOfVOQjs_s1h">Apple now owns pay-per-view in
your living room</a>. And let's not forget the AirPort Extreme, five times faster
than its predecessor with WAN, Ethernet and USB ports, and <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/0PGBrSNn-Ou2wN44">finally doesn't
look like a boob</a> says <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/9eL2wPtIx84vnv1r">Gizmodo</a>. San Francisco wasn't the only city inundated with
hype. At CES Las Vegas, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/a-g_JcCY9lkzIbFa">Disney CEO Bob Iger introduced
the new Disney.com</a>, which will be heavy on widgets, video and personalization
(via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/gt_sj_68m1_-
8kk4">Micro Persuasion</a>). Bill Gates introduced the Windows
Home Server and why you need it-but <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/4Vg3FDkd1cdt_r_U">don't need a computer-science
degree to run it</a>, while <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/e73xNMS2ZpXWfNeo">TiVo finally announced the long-
awaited TivoToGo Mac client</a> and the incorporation of Rhapsody's unlimited
music service (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/xn5f9bU3bUDYt_VU">PVRblog</a>). <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/FzTqR3v80zknAeTQ"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/smilies/bush-mistake-iraq.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="183" width="160" /></a> Elsewhere in the
blogosphere, political candidates continue tiptoeing around the 2008 presidential
race, with <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/41hQsH2ZUw2RUDJp">Rudolph Giuliani trademarking
his name to protect against slander</a>, according to <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/UgYYbPw3spr7JUa6">Huffington
Post</a>, and acting cagey when asked <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/XbN9FHjswsPnP0hS">his position on the president's
��troop surge�� request</a> (via<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/KL5CHEaXXljcZwxA"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/smilies/somalia%20bombing.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="250" width="333" /></a> <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/44k3YZcCY6McNIT-">Eschaton</a>).
On the Democratic side, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/68rMI7BDnkmmO3Js">Taegan
Goddard</a> sees hopefuls Obama and Clinton rushing to <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/WIbzzK9mG9OEZbpE">poach the
fundraising network</a> of Evan Bayh, who has dropped out. 
U.S. forces apparently killed Fazul Abdul Mohammed, the <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Jw3X0oltgZa7fNQr">alleged
mastermind of the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa</a> (via <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/vDy_gLbDc9Vh6VCP">Instapundit</a>)
. Moral: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/PVhhkEAT-VXUUJMO">Never tangle with an AC-130
gunship</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/-d1W2niJh2wFRxy6">Power Line</a>).
But is he dead? <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/rNmdmk9qq1uG8C7f">First Draft</a>
says <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/M7LmHYKkMxm2ReBq">like Osama, Fazul is still among
the living</a>. And is the bombing right? <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/ZrXgiXVmbEAc1fjo">Jawa Report</a>
blogs that spending too much time on this question <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/-hcFs3vWRnldENlV">kept the U.S.
from
killing Osama bin Laden</a> in the 1990s.R
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 01/18/2007 13:57:17
STATUS: publish
BODY:
BP's
management was sternly criticised in a report from a panel investigating safety at
its operations in the United States. The panel, led by James
Baker, a former secretary of state, was commissioned by BP
(on the recommendation of America's chemical-safety board) after an explosion at
its Texan oil refinery in 2005 killed 15 people and injured 170 others. John
Browne, BP's chief executive, who last week said he was
stepping down in July, vowed that the report's recommendations would be
implemented in full. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h2PL0FDHx80Mo0DfE20EK">See
consortium of private-equity firms offered $37.6 billion for
Equity Office Properties, topping Blackstone's bid for America's
largest real-estate investment trust. The target of the biggest-ever leveraged
buy-out, Equity Office owns 20m square feet (1.9m square metres) of office space
in Manhattan alone, and is attractive because rents in many
of America's business districts are predicted to rise. Loosening the purse
strings</div> General Electric agreed to buy the aerospace business
of Smiths, a British engineering group, for $4.8 billion,
boosting GE's presence in supplying flight management,
landing gear and cockpit systems to civilian and military aircraft makers. GE's spending spree looked set to continue with speculation that
it was about to buy the diagnostics business of Abbott
Laboratories. Airbus reported 790 net orders for aircraft last year,
confirming it had slipped behind Boeing (which took 1,044 orders)
for the first time since 2000. But despite the production misery surrounding its
A380 super-jumbo, Airbus managed to deliver more aeroplanes
than its rival. The trial of 19 former senior executives at Swissair
began in Zurich. The airline, once considered a paragon of Swiss business
efficiency and reliability, collapsed in 2001 with debts of SFr17 billion ($10.5
billion). The 19 defendants are accused of neglecting their responsibilities to
shareholders when making expansive acquisitions in the 1990s. The parent company of
American Airlines reported net income of $231m for 2006, its
first profitable year since 2000. The carrier benefited from a surge in travel.
rel="nofollow" name="digging_itself_out_of_a_hole">Digging itself out of a
hole</div> Eurotunnel's debt-restructuring plan was approved by a
French court (and 33 lawsuits from creditors appealing against the process were
thrown out). The operator of the tunnel linking Britain and France has £6.2
billion ($12.2 billion) of debt, which will be cut by half as agreed to by most
debt-holders. Shares in Eurotunnel, suspended since last spring, are expected to
start trading again next month. An $8.9 billion offer for
Cablevision Systems from the company's founding Dolan family
seemed doomed after it was turned down by a special committee of the board for not
offering fair value. Charles and James Dolan, respectively Cablevision's chairman
and chief executive, led the bid. The share prices of
Intel and its arch-rival Advanced Micro Devices
came under pressure after indications that the chipmakers' price war is hurting
profits. Intel announced that gross profit margins in 2007 would be lower than
expected. AMD said its fourth-quarter earnings (due next
week) would show its profit had been squeezed by prices. Apple surpassed
the already giddy forecasts of its quarterly earnings and reported a net profit of
$1 billion, a rise of 77% for the quarter ending December 30th compared with a
year ago. Some 21m iPod players were shipped in the period, 50% more than last
year. The
music industry's trade group said that worldwide revenue from
tunes legally downloaded from the internet almost doubled in 2006, to $2 billion,
accounting for 10% of all music sales. Although 795m songs were transferred to
music players, burned to blank discs and the like, that was not enough to cover
the loss to recording companies of falling CD sales.
 A zesty rise
in the price of oranges was forecast after a cold snap in California's Central Valley damaged a large part of the crop. The
frigid weather also hurt other produce, including lemons, lettuces and avocados.
Around 20% of America's oranges are grown in the Golden
State, mainly for eating rather than pulping as orange juice. 
rel="nofollow">Give me liberty, anytime</div> <table align="right"
The annual
“index of economic freedom” for 157 countries was released. The
index measures ten variables, such as the ability to do business, property rights,
corruption and labour freedom. The average score (0 equals repressed, 100 equals
free) was 60.6%, down slightly from last year but the second-highest since the
survey began. North Korea remained rooted at the bottom (several countries, including
Iraq, were not ranked). </a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 01/11/2007 15:50:26
STATUS: publish
BODY:
edition</div> <table align="right" border="0"
cellpadding="0" cellspacing="4"> <tbody><tr><td valign="top"><table align="right"
width="160" /></td></tr><tr><td valign="top"> </td></tr></tbody> </table>
In a speech broadcast on
American television, George Bush outlined a new military plan for Iraq,
involving an increase of more than 20,000 troops, in an effort to stem the current
sectarian bloodbath, especially in Baghdad. The Democrats grumbled, but it is unlikely they
will use their congressional majority to try to scupper the plan. <a
bin1/DM/y/h11r0FDHx80Mo0DeAM0Em">See article</a> Mr Bush also made some personnel
changes and nominated Mike McConnell, a former head of the National Security
Agency, as the director of national intelligence. Mr McConnell
replaces John Negroponte, who is moving to the State Department as Condoleezza
Rice's deputy. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h11r0FDHx80Mo0DeAN0En">See
size="-1">Also appointed was a new White House
counsel to replace Harriet Miers. Fred Fielding was a deputy counsel
during the Watergate scandal and was once, wrongly, thought to be “Deep Throat”.
 Arnold
Schwarzenegger proposed a radical shake-up of California's health-care system, presenting a $12 billion
blueprint that requires Californians to have health insurance and provides help to
those on low income to achieve that goal. The governor said his plan was intended
to control some of the spiralling health-care costs that California, like most other states, is facing. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/h11r0FDHx80Mo0DeAO0Eo">See article</a> The Democratic-controlled House
of Representatives passed legislation raising the minimum wage
from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour. The bill must still be approved by the Senate and
signed by the president. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="the_hunt_goes_on">The hunt goes
on</div> America launched air strikes against Islamist fighters fleeing from the
advance of government and Ethiopian troops in southern Somalia. Scores of Somali civilians were reported to have
been killed. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h11r0FDHx80Mo0DeAP0Ep">See
size="-1">Khaled Meshal, the overall leader of Hamas, the Islamist
Palestinian movement which governs the West
Bank and Gaza, hinted that he might recognise Israel at some
point, should a Palestinian state be established on the 1967 ceasefire lines. “It
is true that in reality there will be an entity or state called Israel on the rest
of Palestinian land,” he said. Nigeria's government said it lost $4.4 billion in oil
revenues last year because of an increasing number of kidnappings and assaults on
oil installations in the Niger Delta region. In the latest
incident, nine South Koreans were seized from an energy facility; five Chinese,
kidnapped last week, are still missing. <table align="right"
border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="4"> <tbody><tr><td valign="top"><table
serif" size="-2">Reuters</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td
style="">Sudan's government and rebel groups in Darfur agreed to a 60-day ceasefire leading up to a peace
summit to be hosted by the African Union. The breakthrough came after talks
between Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, and Bill
Richardson, the governor of New Mexico who is a former
American ambassador to the UN. 
<div><a
rel="nofollow">Wake up, Europe</div> Belarus cancelled a transit tax on Russian
oil. The tax, imposed after Russia doubled the
price of gas supplies to Belarus, had prompted Russia to shut down a main oil pipeline to European Union
countries, causing renewed alarm about Russia's reliability
as an energy supplier. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h11r0FDHx80Mo0DeAQ0Eq">See
size="-1">In a step towards a common European energy policy, the
European Commission unveiled a plan for EU members to cut
greenhouse gases by 20% by 2020. The plan stresses renewable sources of energy,
with all new power stations to be “carbon neutral”. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/h11r0FDHx80Mo0DeAR0Er">See article</a> Stanislaw Wielgus, about to be
installed as Roman Catholic archbishop of Warsaw, resigned after admitting collaborating with Poland's communist-era secret police. The dean of Cracow's
cathedral resigned for similar reasons, adding to the Vatican's embarrassment. <a
bin1/DM/y/h11r0FDHx80Mo0DeAS0Es">See article</a> Prosecutors in Sweden began an inquiry into share options given to Carl
Bildt, the country's foreign minister (and former prime minister), when he was on
the board of a firm linked to Russia's Gazprom. Mr Bildt
says the shares, which he sold for $690,000, were a legitimate reward. 
style="">Austria's two main parties formed a coalition government,
three months after the election. The Social Democrat's leader, Alfred Gusenbauer,
becomes chancellor. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="looking_backwards">Looking
backwards</div> Venezuela's leftist president,
Hugo Chávez, began a new six-year term in office by saying he would nationalise
the telecoms and electricity industries and take other measures to accelerate his
country's transformation into a socialist state. The main telephone and
electricity companies are controlled by American firms; officials indicated that
they would receive compensation. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h11r0FDHx80Mo0DeAT0Et">See
size="-1">Daniel Ortega, the leader of the left-wing Sandinistas, was sworn in as
president of Nicaragua. He pledged good
relations with the United States, which in the 1980s backed
guerrillas trying to oust Mr Ortega's government, as well as with Venezuela and Cuba. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h11r0FDHx80Mo0DeAU0Eu">See
size="-1">During a riot at an overcrowded prison in El
Salvador 21 inmates were killed by members of a youth gang. More
than 2,000 members of the security forces later regained control of the prison.
 A former government minister in
">Colombia who was kidnapped by FARC
guerrillas in 2000 managed to escape from his captors during a military
operation. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="election_woes">Election
woes</div> A state of emergency was declared in Bangladesh, after weeks of violent protests. An alliance of
political parties is calling for electoral reform or the postponement of the
general election due on January 22nd. The alliance claims the election would be
rigged. Bombings and shootings in the north-eastern Indian state of
Assam killed some 70 migrant workers from
other Indian states. The attacks were blamed on the United Liberation Front of
Asom, a separatist insurgency. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h11r0FDHx80Mo0DeAV0Ev">See
size="-1">America presented a draft resolution to the UN
Security Council calling for political reform in Myanmar. The draft argues that Myanmar poses serious risks to peace and security in the region.
 <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="4">
<tbody><tr><td valign="top"><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
size="-1">Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, arrived in
China for talks with his counterpart, Wen Jiabao. China has
signalled it wants a greater role in the Middle East. Mr
Olmert asked China to support tougher measures against Iran
unless it halts work on its nuclear programme. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h11r0FDHx80Mo0DeAW0Ew">See
size="-1">Chinese officials acknowledged that China is failing to meet its own
targets for improving energy efficiency and reducing emissions. One called 2006
the grimmest year for China's environment.
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 01/11/2007 15:49:41
STATUS: publish
BODY:
edition</div> George Bush and Susan Schwab, America's trade chief, met José
Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, and Peter Mandelson, the
European Union's trade commissioner, at the White House in
an effort to push forward the stalled Doha
round of trade negotiations. No new offers overcame the sticking points
of American farm subsidies or European agricultural tariffs, but trade officials
promised to continue talking. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h11x0FDHx80Mo0DeAp0ET">See
size="-1">US Airways increased the value of its bid to buy
Delta Air Lines by 20%, to $10.2 billion, putting pressure on
Delta's creditors to accept the offer. Delta's management rejected US Airways' initial advance last November, deciding to stick with
a bankruptcy restructuring plan instead. <div>The next big thing</div> Apple held the
annual jamboree designed to show off its new products. The highlight was the
unveiling of the touch-screen iPhone, which Steve Jobs, the
company's chief executive, claimed would revolutionise the mobile-communications
industry just as the iPod changed the music industry. The share prices of some of
Apple's putative competitors suffered. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h11x0FDHx80Mo0DeAq0EU">See
size="-1">Motorola's share price slipped further following last
week's profit warning, which analysts blamed on the low profit margins to be had
from the company's bestselling range of RAZR ultra-thin
mobile phones. The battle for the market in high-definition DVDs moved
to new ground when LG Electronics introduced the first machine
capable of playing both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs. Consumer-
electronics firms and film studios have had to choose between the two formats,
making consumers uncertain which one will triumph and causing them to delay buying
new players. Eastman Kodak said it would sell its medical-imaging
unit, which traces its roots back to 1896 (soon after the discovery of X-rays), to a division of Canada's Onex
conglomerate. The deal, worth up to almost $2.6 billion, is part of the
photography company's strategy to refocus its business. It has made eight
consecutive quarterly losses. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="out_of_fashion">Out of
fashion</div> Gap's share price rose by more than 7% amid speculation
that its review of “brand strategies” might lead to the sale or break-up of the
company, which owns the Old Navy label. The review was disclosed last week by
Gap's boss when he reported poor sales leading up to Christmas. 
Express Scripts
filed a lawsuit with the intent of blocking Caremark's
acceptance of a merger with CVS. Express Scripts has
offered $26 billion for Caremark (both companies manage pharmacy services for
consumers and health-care firms), but Caremark says a lower bid from CVS, America's biggest retail-drug chain, provides less risk. A
merger with Caremark is attractive because of the extra weight it will bring to
price negotiations with drugs firms. China National Offshore
Oil Corporation agreed to invest in a $5.5 billion Indonesian
biofuels project, thought to be one of the world's largest. The
state-owned company is looking for energy sources that could one day ease China's
reliance on oil and coal. However, the news was not welcomed by environmentalists
worried about the rainforest that will be cleared to make way for crops needed to
produce the biofuels. France's stockmarket regulator gave François Pinault, a
retail and luxury-goods tycoon, a deadline of February 2nd to make a firm offer
for Suez, a French utility company which is in the midst of a
messy merger with Gaz de France. NYSE Group and
three other foreign investors, including Goldman Sachs, acquired a combined stake
of 20% (of 5% each) in India's biggest stockmarket, the National Stock Exchange.
The move by the operator of the New York Stock Exchange
underscores the trend toward consolidation among bourses. Under new rules, the
Indian government allows foreign investors to take combined stakes of up to 49% of
the country's stock exchanges. In a decision that took markets
by surprise, the Bank of England raised its key interest rate by
one-quarter of a percentage point to 5.25%. Britain's inflation rate has recently
crept up to its highest level in a decade. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h11x0FDHx80Mo0DeAr0EV">See
size="-1">Bulging fuel inventories in America on the back of mild winter weather
helped to dampen the price of oil, which fell below $53. <a
bin1/DM/y/h11x0FDHx80Mo0DeAs0EW">See article</a> <div>Too much of a good thing</div>
<table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="4"> <tbody><tr><td
cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td align="right" valign="top"> 
</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td valign="bottom"><img alt=""
The price of
copper continued to fall sharply (the metal's price has dropped by some
10% since the start of the year). Copper almost doubled its value last year, but
supplies have been steadily storing up as the demand from carmakers and
housebuilders in America has tapered off. </a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Rojo: Next Google; 2006 Wrap-Ups; YouTube Execution
DATE: 01/05/2007 11:05:14
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Top Stories For the Week of January 1 - January 5 
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/_2kwyfp_thW8CibC"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/smilies/google.jpg" align="right"
border="0" height="239" width="366" /></a>Happy 2007? The NY
Times started the year with a lengthy piece on who's vying to be the next Google,
showing the world that <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/_2kwyfp_thW8CibC">search really is everything</a>.
Well, maybe certain kinds of search, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/yH6OaBDRlAeH63qA">Don Dodge</a>,
like <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/ChvJio_fAirBeeOA">mobile, local or location-
based</a>. Meanwhile <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
Web</a> breaks Google challengers down into categories like <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/bh-
UQ2VSmb7JEgB2">better search and better looks</a> while <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/JJ0arUcOTNFLZCN6">Silicon
Valley Watcher</a> wonders if the real dream for investors is the <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/vOdSPdvuamEC1r6q">Silicon Valley mythology</a>:
Stanford, garage, modest start, groundswell of uptake, going public. Oh, and the
money: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/irrtWVH1Z5sZhEeo">Google owns the starting
point</a> on the Internet, writes <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/CdBs_VR37_raH1iC">Skrentablog</a>,
and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/HIR2SW9nvS_SbGiY">Geeking with
Greg</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/iR0uTYJEguzbLlNv"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/smilies/donaldtrumpmost%20annoying.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="175" width="195" /></a> breaks that value down to
about <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/7kTbo7ExNlaeDXiM">$0.20 per search</a>, up from
$0.10 two years earlier. Sergey Brin must think he can support a family on these
tiny amounts-he's <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/JkV3RcoXAS1xJ8UE">rumored to be engaged</a>.
 Meanwhile, bloggers posted plenty of 2006 wrap-ups this week. It was
the year that <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/GCU-Om5snmY0ed9L">tech blogs muscled conservative
blogs out of the Top 10</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/khkREisQ3S5PVZd3">Bloggers
Blog</a>), where <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/S7vUcMNbauXICOk6">half the AP's Top 10 news
stories</a> had a Middle East angle (via <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/_R20ySoxm78P_R-i">Daily
Kos</a>), where <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/iR0uTYJEguzbLlNv">Donald Trump was the most
annoying person</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Sj6uHFU7cCKh9ps1">Dealbreaker</a>)
, and where VideoSift gave <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/1pZfdVPGqzLBqbTQ">top-Web-video honors</a> to a
snippet about an autistic basketball player (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/yrbbapQdXB8JLgJs">Inside
Google</a>). Turning to 2007, <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/CjDuXWd9LmIsrEVy">Slashdot</a>
speculates about a doubling of Internet traffic and <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/T-sW6bUu_6JXxz2N">$1,000 GOOG
shares</a>. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/7fx8J0fWwAGgftUa">TechCrunch</a>'s
Michael Arrington predicts he'll continue posting <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/j6IM0o5hgOrJ0qNm">linkbait like
the Web 2.0 companies he can't live without</a>, while <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/e4I-dxoGI9iKhVSR">Web 2.0
Blog</a> adds the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/MmclY6SagQ2N0kSN">best Web 2.0 apps of 2006</a>.
On a more thoughtful note, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/0Xks7idatOgEj4Ki">Joi Ito</a>
answers the annual EDGE question, "What are you optimistic about?" and<a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/gdDUzC102CnKxKPA"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/smilies/tease.jpg" align="right"
border="0" height="137" width="202" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/sqcdRh_YGTqu1on-">links to other A-List bloggers'
answers</a>. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/r7pw0ChCrKSketNs"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/smilies/yearinvideo2006.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="54" width="350" /></a>You already know MacWorld is
January 9-12, but have you heard? <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/gdDUzC102CnKxKPA">LoopRumors</a>
has-like maybe new Leopard features, a lightweight Mac OS, and <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/j_E6TAbOZa8AqyZg">partnerships
with Disney and Google</a>. Meanwhile <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/9eL2wPtIx84vnv1r">Gizmodo</a> pants over
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/XscFjTu79FxKnulv">iTV and HDMI-equipped cinema
displays</a>, while <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/l75X_1_z2z7fDSZ3">Ryan Block</a>
wonders whether the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/v_AyH0FBg3ncTs_r">Applephone will make its
desperately awaited debut</a>. The Consumer Electronics Show is also next week; <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/9eL2wPtIx84vnv1r">Gizmodo</a> will
be <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/q395gYDAkPP7u0if">all over it</a> starting
Saturday, January 6. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/0eonVjI5f56vfgIa"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/smilies/2655107.jpg" align="left"
border="0" height="200" width="200" /></a>Elsewhere online, the <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/0eonVjI5f56vfgIa">cameraphone
video of Saddam Hussein's hanging</a> swept video-sharing sites worldwide (via <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/8DejLUfT7A0wDWoe">Mashable</a>).
Ironically, ABC-TV <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/NvH-eSHdnMTmt4km">interrupted a Friday-night 20/20
segment on viral video</a> to announce the dictator's death, blogs <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/fz134IhG9wGuPv9T">Daypop</a>. Was
the execution coverage a <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/sql20bXsrdMECIEt">shark-jump moment for mainstream
media?</a> asks <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/xVDFCN5OXyUAeFp2">Scripting
News</a> and was the cell phone guy part of the official coverage?
Apparently <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/qgipW77JNR4E43ft">death is what it takes to knock
Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan off the charts</a>, quips <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/ZrXgiXVmbEAc1fjo">Jawa
Report</a>. Warning: Fake videos piggybacking on the execution's eyeball
appeal <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/5gcfUm9IqsR-AcXz">run riot on YouTube and
elsewhere</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/QMTnqT_UWt46u-gd">Blogs of
War</a>). <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/00HJ0N6oC-9Vu1jn"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/smilies/764-rudy_headache.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="181" width="169" /></a><a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/LQtxPksI9rfsnkHP">Paul
Kedrosky</a> cites a BBC estimate that around <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/wG-aynJUQs-rUPJU">10 percent of TV
will soon be watched on the Net</a>. Implications for U.S. politics abound, as
John Edwards announced his presidential bid on a YouTube <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/jzotGNqn3zRwdkce">video that
mimicked</a> his appearance before TV networks. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/UHDYhH3Id1Zz5_rT">YouTeeVee</a> is
a little disturbed by the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/bwxb7oUre70YbBfO">coziness of certain celeb
bloggers with the candidates</a>, though. In contrast to the Net-savvy Edwards,
Rudolph Giuliani's campaign was <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/00HJ0N6oC-9Vu1jn">blindsided by the leak</a> of a
140-page internal strategy memo (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/nscvE-edRBiP1hTB">The News
Blog</a>), and now <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/2XvZLWIMf0dJFr44%20from%20Coyote%20Gulch%20http://
www.rojo.com/feed/QPv0qunreK40fNVb%20
to%20the%20Washington%20Post">everyone</a> from <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/QPv0qunreK40fNVb">Coyote Gulch</a>
to <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/xBLMn9uItQuMCSpS">The Washington Post</a> is
discussing <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/42SpkqNIv_tAP39H">Giuliani's weaknesses</a>. 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 15th - 20th December 2006
DATE: 01/04/2007 16:58:29
STATUS: publish
BODY:
serif" size="-2"><div>Dec 19th 2006 From The Economist print
size="-1">Nokia and Siemens put back the planned
merger of their telecoms-equipment businesses (agreed on last June) because of a
widening investigation into a bribery scandal at Siemens. German authorities are
looking into various allegations, including that company money, amounting to
possibly euro420m ($550m), was siphoned into secret accounts to sweeten
potential customers. Apple Computer delayed filing its annual report (for
the year to September 30th) because it needs to restate some earnings to account
for stock-option grants. The company is the biggest out of dozens
this year, mostly in the tech industry, to have reported the backdating of stock
options. Biomet agreed to a $10.9 billion buy-out from a group
of private-equity firms. The designer and maker of artificial
joints also said it would postpone its quarterly earnings after an internal review
found that its procedures for granting stock options “were not well
documented”. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="end_of_the_road">End of the
road</div> Italy's Autostrade and Spain's
Abertis scrapped their euro25 billion ($33 billion) plan
to merge. The cross-border deal, which would have created the world's biggest
toll-road operator, faced strong political opposition in Italy. Japan Tobacco made an offer to
buy Gallaher, a British cigarette-maker. At £7.5 billion ($14.7
billion), it would be the biggest-ever foreign acquisition by a Japanese company.
Speculation mounted that rival bids were being prepared. Private-equity firms
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Permira bought a
controlling stake in ProSiebenSat.1, valuing the German
commercial broadcaster at around euro5.6 billion ($7.4 billion). The new
owners want to combine their new purchase with other media assets they hold in
Europe, so presenting a challenge to RTL, a broadcaster that operates in 11 countries and is owned by
Germany's Bertelsmann. Thailand's central bank was forced into a humiliating
retreat after imposing capital controls designed to rein in the soaring baht.
After the stockmarket plunged, it removed curbs on foreign equity investors, but
left restrictions on other non-trade inflows. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hz630FDHx80Mo0DcJB0Ex">See
article</a> <div><a rel="nofollow" name="housing_trust">Housing
trust</div> Apollo Management, a private-equity firm, agreed to pay
$9 billion for Realogy, a real-estate company that includes the
Century 21 and Coldwell Banker franchises in its portfolio. Some analysts viewed
the deal as a vote of confidence in America's housing market amid signs that this
year's price falls may be bottoming out. Realogy was formed this year after the
break-up of the conglomerate Cendant. Express Scripts
made a counterbid for Caremark, valuing its rival at $26 billion.
Both companies manage pharmacy services to consumers and health-care firms. Last
month CVS, America's biggest retail-drug chain, made an
offer to acquire Caremark, but the deal failed to inspire investors. 
style="">Australia's competition regulator said it would review the A$11.1
billion ($8.6 billion) bid for Qantas Airways from a private-
equity consortium led by Macquarie Bank. The carrier's board
initially rejected the offer but then approved it to shareholders after the
consortium dropped its break fee. The regulator will investigate whether, among
other things, Macquarie's 49% stake in Sydney airport would hinder airline
competition. Westinghouse Electric won a much-sought contract to
build four nuclear reactors in China, which is expanding its use
of atomic power. Much was made of the politics behind the deal. Westinghouse is
owned by Japan's Toshiba, possibly signalling a thaw in Sino-Japanese relations,
but is based in America. The news came after trade talks in Beijing between senior American and Chinese officials. 
size="-1">Statoil, Norway's state-controlled oil company, agreed
to buy the oil and gas assets of Norsk Hydro, a compatriot in
which the Norwegian government has a 44% stake. The combined company will have a
market value of some NKr616 billion ($97 billion) and will be the world's largest
offshore operator. Both companies have been looking at ways to expand since they
(and others) were passed over as potential partners in the Shtokman gas field by
the Russian government in October. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="back_to_earth">Back to
earth</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
Following a 4% cut in
output that came into effect in November, the Organisation of Petroleum
Exporting Countries said it would reduce production by a further 2%, to
25.8m barrels a day, from February 1st. The oil cartel's decision came despite the
urging of Samuel Bodman, America's energy secretary, not to do so. Meanwhile,
OPEC announced that Angola would become its 12th member from
January 1st, the first country to join the organisation since Gabon (which has since left) in 1975. </a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 15th - 20th December 2006
DATE: 01/04/2007 16:57:58
STATUS: publish
BODY:
serif" size="-2"><div>Dec 19th 2006 From The Economist print
size="-1">America, China, Japan, Russia and South
Korea resumed talks with North Korea
in Beijing after a gap of more than a year. The discussions
are intended to bring an end to its nuclear-weapons programme—North Korea carried
out a nuclear test in October. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hz610FDHx80Mo0DcKQ0ED">See
height="10" hspace="2" width="17" /> <table align="right" border="0"
All the senior economic
officials in George Bush's cabinet joined Hank Paulson, America's treasury
secretary, in Beijing for the first meeting in a new twice-
yearly “strategic economic dialogue” with China. The two sides
haggled inconclusively about trade and exchange rates. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hz610FDHx80Mo0DcKR0EE">See article</a> The son of a prominent Indian
politician was convicted of the murder in 1999 of Jessica Lal, a
model, at a crowded party. The case had caused outrage when it appeared that,
despite the presence of large numbers of witnesses, the murderer would go free. <a
bin1/DM/y/hz610FDHx80Mo0DcKS0EF">See article</a> Anton Balasingam, chief
negotiator for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the rebels fighting for a
Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka, died in London. He was
seen as a moderate in an otherwise ruthlessly uncompromising
leadership. King Jigme Singye Wangchuk of Bhutan abdicated in favour of his son. A revered monarch,
he has promised that the country will hold its first democratic elections in
2008. The
peace process in Nepal took another step
forward with an agreement between mainstream political parties and rebel Maoists
on an interim constitution to prepare for elections next year. A fingergrip on power</div> The fragility of the Democrats'
hold on the incoming American Senate was thrown into sharp focus when Senator
Tim Johnson, from South Dakota, suffered a
brain haemorrhage. Mr Johnson is said to be recovering after surgery, but if he
dies, South Dakota's Republican governor will appoint
someone to fill the remainder of his term. A Republican replacement for Mr Johnson
would upset the new Democratic majority of one in the chamber. The death penalty
in two states was more or less put on hold over concerns that executions
by lethal injection had been botched. Florida's governor, Jeb Bush, ordered a halt
to executions after a convicted killer took 34 minutes to die and a judge in California ruled that the state's method of administering the
injections was cruel and therefore unconstitutional. Two of the oldest
Episcopalian parishes in the United States,
with roots in the colonial era, voted to break away from the national church to
protest against its growing acceptance of gays and the ordination of women.
Located in Virginia, the parishes aligned themselves with a conservative Nigerian
church. The debate over homosexuality and the role of women in the church
threatens to produce a schism in the worldwide Anglican communion. <a
bin1/DM/y/hz610FDHx80Mo0DcKT0EG">See article</a> New
Jersey's legislature passed a bill recognising civil unions
between gay couples, which gives same-sex partners the same rights and
benefits as married people in the state. <div><a rel="nofollow">Democracy's
turn</div> President Mahmoud Abbas called for a general election in the
Palestinian territories, as violence between the ruling Islamists
of Hamas and Mr Abbas's secular Fatah party increased in the Gaza
Strip. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hz610FDHx80Mo0DcKU0EH">See
face="verdana,geneva,arial,sans serif" size="-1">Supporters of Iran's populist president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, did badly
in elections to local councils and to the assembly of experts. The assembly can
choose Iran's supreme leader, who has more power than the
president. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hz610FDHx80Mo0DcKV0EI">See article</a> A Libyan court
sentenced five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor to death after they were
found guilty—on flimsy evidence—of deliberately infecting hundreds of Libyan
children with AIDS. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hz610FDHx80Mo0DcKW0EJ">See
size="-1">Nigeria's ruling party picked a
reclusive Muslim state governor, Umaru Yar'Adua, as its candidate in next year's
presidential election. He was strongly backed by the incumbent president, Olusegun
Obasanjo, who is to step down after two terms. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hz610FDHx80Mo0DcKX0EK">See
size="-1">Robert Mugabe, who has run Zimbabwe
since 1980, won his ruling party's backing to postpone the next
presidential election from 2008 to 2010. Some 250 foreign aid workers left
the Darfur region of Sudan
after some of them were shot at and their vehicles stolen at gunpoint.
The government in Khartoum continued to refuse to accept a
hybrid peacekeeping force from the African Union and the UN. <div><a rel="nofollow" name="stamping_his_authority">Stamping his
authority</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
As part of a promised
offensive on law and order, Mexico's new president, Felipe
Calderón, deployed 6,000 troops and police against drug gangs in the western state
of Michoacán and placed two separate federal police forces under a single command.
 Hundreds of
thousands of protesters took part in demonstrations in Santa
Cruz and other cities of eastern Bolivia.
They demanded greater autonomy and protested at the plans of Evo Morales,
the country's socialist president, to rewrite the constitution.
style="">Ecuador withdrew its ambassador from Colombia in disapproval of the decision by Álvaro Uribe's
government
to resume aerial spraying of coca plantations near the border between the two
countries. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hz610FDHx80Mo0DcKY0EL">See article</a> Cuba's government made a concerted effort to deny reports
that Fidel Castro, the island's president, was dying of cancer. Officials told
visiting American congressmen that Mr Castro would make a public appearance soon.
rel="nofollow" name="helping_with_inquiries">Helping with
inquiries</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
Tony
Blair became the first British prime minister ever to be questioned by
police during a criminal investigation. He was questioned as a witness in an
inquiry into alleged cash payments from party donors in return for peerages in the
House of Lords. Mr Blair said it was “perfectly natural” that he should assist. <a
bin1/DM/y/hz610FDHx80Mo0DcKZ0EM">See article</a> Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's former prime minister and the current centre-
right opposition leader, went to America for health checks. Mr Berlusconi, who is
70, collapsed at a political rally last month. A Spanish scheduled flight landed
at Gibraltar airport for the first time. The Iberia flight to the
British colony followed a three-way deal between the parties in
September. 
An ageing French rock star, Johnny Hallyday, caused a political
stir when he said he would move to Switzerland to escape
French taxes. Mr Hallyday claims that 68% of his income goes to the
taxman.</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Rojo: Person of the Year; Best of Everything 2006
DATE: 01/04/2007 16:47:39
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<h2>Rojo: Person of the Year; Best of Everything 2006</h2> Top
Stories For the Week of December 18 - December 22 <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/WIS-_FMlHM3AOP-
7"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/2006_12_timecov2.jpg"
align="right" border="0" /></a>It's the end of the year and time for some
annointing. TIME magazine this week chose "you"-meaning YouTube users,
bloggers, citizen journalists, and online social networkers-as its <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/RB9H-
7JB7bNdmOaq">person of the year</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
Blog</a>). Meaning anyone with some sort of connection to the Internet
and a<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/WIS-
_FMlHM3AOP-7"> total cop-out</a>, snarks<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/AykM1xgW07hkSNjK"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/time-person-of-year-06.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="165" width="123" /></a> <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/0uDeb9vT0UOPVwE3">Gothamist</a>.
We're all supposed to feel <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/LX6NZetgmeOqsVTw">flattered or intrigued</a>,
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/65l55m424tvTq7Rs">Gawker</a>, but
at least they didn't choose "blogs." Does this mean <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/_l_bmCubj5DQXPXE">crowdsourcing becomes the next
buzzword du jour</a>, asks <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/v1e11m9bU0YlboY1">Marc's
Voice</a>? And <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/AykM1xgW07hkSNjK">what happened to Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad</a>, writes <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/ncY7PsP1O5aazbMD">BAGnewsNotes</a>
? <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/07_TOmX5RIviKdXM">Business 2.0</a>
claims it <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/GHTFE8XbBywG5OYR">chose "you" waayyy back in
July</a>. If TIME was gunning for <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/-YXRmp9MIMOyDLmy">Linkbaiter of the Year</a>, they
got it, says <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/8Oj8StsjN9Rmy_iD">ProBlogger Blog
Tips</a>, passing out some <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/gaA_0mGHJa-sAtHf">year-end tips on getting your
post noticed</a>. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Hp2nGDoIZi-ukIIX"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/bubble20.jpg" align="left"
border="0" height="138" width="138" /></a> This was also the year of Bubble 2.0.
If you think there isn't one-those exotic valuations are justified!-watch as
Facebook board member Peter Thiel increases <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/w50T0apZdgg9tcSu">Facebook's value from $1 billion
to $8 billion</a> with a wave of his hand. Thiel gets away with this because of <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Hp2nGDoIZi-
ukIIX">Facebook's college-age users</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/heuZ0zC5GEQ5kOqv">Paul
Kedrosky</a>. Elsewhere in bubble-land, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/yH6OaBDRlAeH63qA">Don Dodge</a>
explains why the next bubble-burst won't be as devastating as the last one,
primarily because <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/pT0VldcLa_rUvxOa">VCs and acquiring companies will
be left holding the bag</a> rather than stockholders-but then, <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/uzqW4rMzr7C_V2th">2006 IPOs have
already beat 2005</a>, so hang on. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/sDj52SVMBC6mQMMR"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/compete_longtail3.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="295" width="327" /></a>Big media changes were
also afoot in 2006. Fresh from his Long Tail successes, Chris Anderson
proposes <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/4kTYPiVwTFnIiUNe">radical transparency for media
organizations</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/HsvPE0quFpX-rI3U">The Bivings
Report</a>, including showing what they're working on, promptly uploading
raw interview transcripts, and wikifying published stories. It may be <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/w_LGg7xCZgjLC7wR">too far from traditional
models</a>, says <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/rLqaq1igL6cI7TdF">digital
digs</a>, while <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/0B_YGq1hQw7GgYl3">Publishing
2.0</a> writes that fulfilling Anderson's vision means deciding whether
to <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/zDFcvuapY4IiRNWx">serve your online readers or
your print readers</a>. Finally, Anderson wades through the hullabaloo and posts
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/GcXaHfFeSuJctEQi">caveats and improvements</a> at
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/3JQmhJioM-
nrJhah">The Long Tail</a>. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/qIaVWPRR2PEpZOow"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/googleapplelogo.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="110" width="277" /></a><a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
Web</a> lists the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/sDj52SVMBC6mQMMR">top 10 Web domains of 2006</a>
and finds they account for a higher percentage of total Internet traffic than the
top 10 of 2001. Apple iPhone <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/qIaVWPRR2PEpZOow">rumors raged all year long</a>
and are still going strong, with <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/cgoFe3tQYCw9QFE3">Unofficial Apple
Weblog</a> and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/qyPDi3ReE56XpkXA">Andy Beal</a>
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/M5l35AH3oHCq4Wt4">fanning the flames</a>.
Meanwhile, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/WWg3sx9hbJ4MHCup">GigaOM</a>
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/yKoxfHL3Z1bepHKL">spots the real iPhone</a>-made
by Linksys. After you hang up, check out <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/TLRSDndbPcWBtCQB">Gizmodo</a>'s
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Kcu6nIvYzAMhzmu0">top five "I'm a Mac" parody
commercials</a>-the 12-second Mac vs. PC vs. Halo parody is
priceless. 2006 was also the year of fake blogs with the latest being a
PlayStation 3 flog which Sony took down after it was found to be <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/L59nZBD-DsjoVZti">registered to a
marketing firm</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/WPSAcosRQbyB0IEY">Blog
Herald</a>). <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/nVwimhkPElHrvgvP"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/macparody.jpg" align="left"
border="0" height="179" width="165" /></a>In year-end lists, <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/CkMkXh8js775ASRp">Forbes.com</a>
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/P8fzt6U9Y8Cot81Z">captures the 10 best- and worst-
selling games of the year</a>, with bests including Madden NFL '07,
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and the surprise puzzle hit Brain
Age. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/UU17NonYs6yROpbC">IFILM Featured
Videos</a> covers the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/nVwimhkPElHrvgvP">year's best viral videos</a>,
including Connie Chung's singing, Brokeback to the Future and Michael
Richards' racist rant. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/VvHPPOvZPGfvlC_6">Rough Type</a>
lists the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/VdSpg-
Mk2w4P-yub">top 10 searches on Google, Yahoo and AOL</a> and, finding almost zero
overlap, declares the engines to be for dweebs, horndogs and geezers,
respectively. Wrong! shouts <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/07_TOmX5RIviKdXM">Business
2.0</a>, demonstrating<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/qI7M8_1XoaLrxRnM"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/2006_12_bondholiday2.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="111" width="193" /></a> that <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/K_5-LxMenpu6Gt8i">AOL's true top
10 searches</a> are google, ebay, yahoo, yahoo.com, mapquest, google.com,
myspace.com, myspace, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.google.com/">www.google.com</a> and <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.yahoo.com/">www.yahoo.com</a>. Sign of the times.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 23rd December - 5th January 2007
DATE: 01/04/2007 16:46:25
STATUS: publish
BODY:
size="-1">François Pinault said he was “keeping his options open”
about making a bid for Suez, a French utility company. The
statement from the retail and luxury-goods tycoon (made through his holding
company) came after France's stockmarket regulator asked him to spell out his
intentions in response to speculation in the media. Suez, which is mired in a
politically controversial merger attempt with Gaz de France, sought further
clarification of Mr Pinault's remarks. Apple Computer
filed its earnings, which had been delayed because of restatements for
stock-option grants. The company has completed a review of its
procedures for granting such options and expressed its confidence in its chief
executive, Steve Jobs. Home Depot announced that Robert Nardelli was stepping
down as its boss. Critics of the retailer's penchant for awarding its executives
generous pay while the company lost ground to its competitors were not placated by
the $210m severance package presented to Mr Nardelli. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/h1fd0FDHx80Mo0DdDG0EN">See article</a> Speculation increased about the
outcome of manoeuvring to take control of Hutch. India's fourth-
largest mobile-phone operator is co-owned by Hong Kong's
Hutchison Telecom, which has a 67% stake, and India's
Essar Group, which controls the remainder. Both companies are
said to be mulling various possibilities including a sale, estimated at up to $17
billion. A
plan to develop a Franco-German internet search engine to rival Google was
reportedly scrapped. Quaero was included in a list of initiatives
designed to challenge America's dominance of the internet trumpeted by France's
Jacques Chirac. However, German officials grumbled about the cost and have
indicated they will produce their own, scaled-down search engine. 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 23rd December - 5th January 2007
DATE: 01/04/2007 16:45:30
STATUS: publish
BODY:
size="-1">Saddam Hussein, the former leader of Iraq, was executed by hanging. He had been convicted by an Iraqi
court of the killings of 148 Shias from the town of Dujail in the 1980s. Iraqi
authorities released official footage of the execution to prove that he was dead;
but unofficial mobile-phone footage quickly surfaced showing guards taunting
Saddam just before his death, further exacerbating ethnic tensions. <a
bin1/DM/y/h1fS0FDHx80Mo0DdDf0Eb">See article</a> In a military campaign lasting
barely a week, Somalia's previously weak
transitional government, together with Ethiopian armed forces,
routed the Islamist militias that had held sway over the capital, Mogadishu, and
much of the south of the country since last summer. The victors, with the help of
American naval forces, are now tracking down the remaining al-Qaeda operatives who
were thought to be fighting with the Islamists. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h1fS0FDHx80Mo0DdDg0Ec">See
size="-1">After a year of relentless diplomatic pressure, the Sudanese government
at last accepted a small United Nations force to operate alongside the existing
African Union force in Darfur. <a
bin1/DM/y/h1fS0FDHx80Mo0DdDh0Ed">See article</a> Gerald Ford was
given a full state funeral in Washington, DC. The former American president, who
held the office for fewer than 900 days in the 1970s, died on December 26th, aged
93. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/h1fS0FDHx80Mo0DdDi0Ee">See article</a> Preparations were made for the
swearing-in of America's 110th Congress, and for Nancy Pelosi to
become the first female speaker of the House of Representatives. The Democrats
vowed to implement their agenda quickly. Plans include an increase in the minimum
wage and the lifting of federal restrictions on stem-cell research. <a
bin1/DM/y/h1fS0FDHx80Mo0DdDj0Ef">See article</a> In a written new-year message
read out on state-controlled media, Cuba's
invalid president, Fidel Castro, said he was recovering slowly from intestinal
surgery last July, but admitted that it was likely to be “a long process”.
Officials have denied reports that he is suffering from cancer or any other
terminal illness. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h1fS0FDHx80Mo0DdDk0Eg">See
size="-1">Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was sworn in for a second term as
Brazil's president. He pledged to spur
sluggish growth and tackle gang-related violence, which killed 19 people in Rio de Janeiro last week. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/h1fS0FDHx80Mo0DdDl0Eh">See
size="-1">Romania and Bulgaria celebrated their entry into the European Union
as its 26th and 27th members. Slovenia
became the first eastern European country to join the euro area, as its 13th
member. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/h1fS0FDHx80Mo0DdDm0Ei">See article</a> Spain's hopes of
peace in the Basque region were set back when it became clear that ETA, the Basque separatist group, was responsible for a van
bombing at Madrid airport that killed two people. <a
bin1/DM/y/h1fS0FDHx80Mo0DdDn0Ej">See article</a> Eight bombs rocked Bangkok, killing three people. Thailand's military-backed government hinted that supporters of
Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister who was deposed last autumn, may
have been responsible. Mr Thaksin denied any involvement. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/h1fS0FDHx80Mo0DdDo0Ek">See article</a> Bangladesh's main opposition party said it would boycott
a general election, scheduled for January 22nd, claiming the poll would be rigged.
The Awami League only recently agreed to take part in the ballot after it mounted
a series of strikes and protests to push for electoral reform.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 9th - 14th December 2006
DATE: 12/14/2006 11:26:06
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
 <div>Dec 13th 2006 
From The Economist print edition</div> 
 
 <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
width="160" alt="Image" /></td></tr><tr><td valign="top"> 
</td></tr></tbody></table> A stalemate continued between the Lebanese government
and the opposition, whose supporters, more than 1m-strong, thronged the streets of
central Beirut, demanding the removal of the prime minister,
Fouad Siniora, and the creation of a national unity government in which Hizbullah,
the main Shia party, would have a veto. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hzoO0FDHx80Mo0DbOB0ES">See
article</a> 
Leading Iraqi
politicians criticised the report published last week by the Iraq Study Group co-chaired by James Baker, a former
secretary of state. Iraq's president, Jalal Talabani, a
Kurd, said it undermined Iraq's sovereignty. The White House said George Bush would not unveil his new strategy
until sometime in January. Sectarian violence continued with one lorry bomb in
Baghdad killing at least 70 Shia labourers on December 12th.
bin1/DM/y/hzoO0FDHx80Mo0DbR20EF">See article</a>
style="">Iran held a long-heralded conference questioning whether the
Holocaust ever happened. One of the guests was David Duke, a
former grand wizard of America's Ku Klux Klan. The Iranian president, Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, addressed the meeting and repeated his statement that the “Zionist
regime” would soon disappear. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hzoO0FDHx80Mo0DbR30EG">See
article</a>
Fears grew that the
Palestinians' volatile mix of political and clan feuds could
ignite an internecine conflict in Gaza. Gunmen shot dead a
judge affiliated to Hamas, the ruling Islamist movement, two days after the
killing of three young sons of a senior official of Fatah, the rival secular
group. 
Prince Turki al-Faisal,
a long-time former head of the Saudi intelligence service,
resigned abruptly as ambassador to the United States,
prompting speculation that, among other possibilities, he might replace his ailing
brother, Prince Saud al-Faisal, as foreign minister. 
Islamist leaders who
control Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, and most of the southern and central parts of the
country, said they would soon launch a “major attack” against Ethiopian soldiers
who have been massing in the west. 
A court in Ethiopia decided that Mengistu Haile Mariam, a Marxist
dictator who ruled ruthlessly for 17 years until 1991, was guilty of genocide.
Over 70 people were convicted with him, in a trial lasting 12 years. He was tried
in absentia.
 
<div><a rel="nofollow">At
arm's length</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
size="-1">General Augusto Pinochet, who ruled Chile from 1973-90 and who came to personify an era of brutal
military dictatorship in South America, died of
complications from a heart attack. His funeral took place at a military academy;
there was no official mourning. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hzoO0FDHx80Mo0DbR40EH">See
The outgoing United States Congress offered a crumb of comfort to four
Andean countries on trade, renewing existing preferences for six
months. Before ratifying free-trade agreements with Peru and
Colombia, leaders of the new Democratic-controlled Congress
have said they want extra labour-rights provisions attached to them.
size="-1">Canada's Parliament rejected by 175 votes to 123 a
motion by the Conservative minority government that would have allowed legislation
to ban gay marriage. 
Arctic could see the complete disappearance of all-year-round ice
in a few decades, American scientists have said. Data presented to the American
Geophysical Union showed that ice was recovering poorly from the summer
melt.
 
<div><a rel="nofollow"
name="remember_him">Remember him?</div> The ethics committee of America's
House of Representatives issued its findings on the Mark Foley
scandal. The report criticised Republicans in the chamber for failing to “exercise
appropriate diligence”, but did not single out any individual for disciplinary
action. Mr Foley's resignation, over his lurid contacts with teenage pages in
Congress, was no help to the Republicans during the recent mid-term elections.

Democrats completed their rout of the Republicans in the mid-term
elections by defeating a seven-term congressman in a run-off election in a Texas
district. Meanwhile, William Jefferson, a congressman who is being investigated
for bribery, won his run-off election in New Orleans.

 
name="must_try_harder">Must try harder</div> Ahead of a European Union summit,
EU foreign ministers agreed to suspend a large part of
Turkey's membership negotiations. This is
punishment for Turkey's failure to fulfil its obligation to
open its ports and airports to (Greek) Cyprus. The Turks
fumed about injustice, noting that the Europeans had not fulfilled on their
promise to lift a trade embargo on northern Cyprus. <a
bin1/DM/y/hzoO0FDHx80Mo0DbUH0Ee">See article</a>
Investigations into the
Litvinenko affair continued to broaden. British and Russian
detectives interviewed two Russians who met Alexander Litvinenko on the day he
died. Traces of polonium, the substance used to kill the former Russian agent,
were found to have contaminated four people in Hamburg. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hzoO0FDHx80Mo0DbR60EJ">See article</a>
Voters in
Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan, opted overwhelmingly for a constitution declaring
their own sovereignty. But Azerbaijan continues to reject
any notion of independence.
size="-1">Transdniestria, a breakaway part of Moldova that is backed by Russia, re-elected
its “president” to a fourth term.
 
name="scolding_averted">Scolding averted</div> In mayoral elections in
Taiwan's biggest cities, Kaohsiung and
Taipei, voters failed to give the stinging rebuke many
expected to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of
President Chen Shui-bian. Although the DPP's candidate lost
the mayorship of Taipei to the opposition Kuomintang, the
ruling party narrowly held on to Kaohsiung.
size="-1">The electorate in the Indonesian province of Aceh had its first chance to vote directly for a governor
and other officials. It was a landmark in the effort to bring an end to 29 years
of secessionist war. Polls suggested that former independence activists had done
well. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hzoO0FDHx80Mo0DbR70EK">See article</a>
style="">Bangladesh, the president, Iajuddin Ahmed, who is also
head of a caretaker government, ordered the army on to the streets of Dhaka and other cities to keep order ahead of elections due next
month. Four members of his administration resigned in protest.
America's Congress
passed legislation allowing nuclear co-operation with India. The
governments in Delhi and Washington, DC, declared it a great day for bilateral
relations. But India's main opposition party continued to object, as did its
Communists and some nuclear scientists. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hzoO0FDHx80Mo0DbR80EL">See
article</a>
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 9th - 14th December 2006
DATE: 12/14/2006 11:25:29
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
size="-2"><div>Dec 13th 2006 
 
The chairman of
Gazprom said that the Russian state gas monopoly planned to buy
around 50% of Sakhalin II, confirmation that Royal Dutch Shell
had bowed to pressure by ceding control of the energy project in Russia's far east. The decision had looked inevitable once Russian
authorities began to challenge the LNG and oil project in
September on environmental grounds. Many analysts saw that as a means to help
Gazprom force its way into the venture, demonstrating how determined the Kremlin
is to secure state control of energy investments in Russia.
bin1/DM/y/hzoR0FDHx80Mo0DbUF0Ef">See article</a>
rel="nofollow">Politics and markets, cont'd</div> DP
World, a company that is backed by the Dubai government, sold the American port assets
it had tentatively acquired through its takeover of P&O to AIG Global Investment, a
unit of the world's biggest insurer. Earlier this year the news that DP World was to manage operations in several big American ports
sparked a political backlash over security—even though Dubai
is an ally of the United States—and when the P&O deal was threatened, DP World
volunteered to find an American buyer. The new owner has little experience of port
operations. 
The gloves came off in
the bidding war for Corus, an Anglo-Dutch steelmaker.
CSN, a steel company based in Brazil, made
a formal bid of £4.9 billion ($9.6 billion), trumping a sweetened offer from
India's Tata Steel that had been made just hours earlier.

Freeport-
McMoRan's $26 billion proposed takeover of Phelps Dodge
was dealt a blow when it emerged that SAC
Capital, a hedge fund managed by billionaire investor
Steven Cohen, had increased its stake in Phelps Dodge to more than 5% with the aim
of blocking the deal. The combination of Freeport and Phelps would create the
world's biggest copper miner, but SAC claims it would not
be good for shareholder value. 
In the biggest-ever
acquisition in the Philippines, Mirant, an
American power company based in Atlanta, sold its assets in
the South-East Asian country to Tokyo Electric
Power, Asia's biggest utility, and Marubeni, a Japanese
conglomerate, for $3.4 billion.
Hewlett-
Packard agreed to pay $14.5m to settle a civil case brought against it by
California over the boardroom spying scandal that rocked the
company in the autumn. Patricia Dunn, HP's former chairman,
and four others have been indicted on charges stemming from the methods used to
uncover the source of a boardroom leak and pleaded not guilty. Other federal
agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission, are still probing.

rel="nofollow" name="running_out_of_superlatives">Running out of
superlatives</div> Goldman Sachs kicked off what is expected to be another
stellar earnings season on Wall Street. The investment
firm's net profit for the quarter ending November 24th rose by 93% compared with a
year ago, to $3.15 billion, setting yet another Wall Street
record. 
NASDAQ
formally launched its unsolicited £2.7 billion ($5.3 billion) bid for the
London Stock Exchange and in the process
lowered the level of the percentage of LSE shareholders that are required to agree to the offer.
As it owns a stake of almost 29%, NASDAQ is now seeking the
approval of just over a fifth of the LSE's other investors. They have until January 11th to
decide. 
A bid of A$10.9 billion
($8.6 billion) was formally made for Qantas Airways from a buy-
out consortium. The Australian airline rejected the offer, but a deal is not off
the table yet. The consortium has soothed Australians' worries about the takeover
of their iconic carrier by keeping within the foreign-ownership limits set by the
government; Australia's Macquarie Bank is leading the bid.
Separately, speculation mounted that United Airlines and
Continental were discussing a merger, more proof that
consolidation in the airline industry may be about to take off. 
Sabre Holdings, the
parent company of Travelocity.com, a travel reservations website,
agreed to a buy-out valued at some $5 billion from two private-
equity firms.
Britain's Office of Fair
Trading referred BAA to regulators because its “current
structure” prevents cost savings being passed on to customers. The British
airports operator, owned by a Spanish construction firm, has been criticised for
its plans for Heathrow and its landing-slot
charges.
rel="nofollow" name="a_sure_topic_for_conversation">A sure topic for
conversation</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td align="right" valign="top"> 
size="-1">America's trade deficit in goods dropped in October to
$65.1 billion, its lowest level since August 2005, reflecting a sharp fall in the
price of oil. However, the deficit with China continued to grow and hit $24.4
billion. The news came as a high-level delegation, led by Hank Paulson, the
treasury secretary, and Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, prepared to
visit Beijing for talks on trade. 
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Yahoo Retread; Best Blogs of 2006
DATE: 12/08/2006 08:50:53
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Top Stories For the Week of December 4 - December 8
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/U5l6Snr8L9xt-
s_y"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/0414_terry_semel-1.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="180" width="160" alt="Image" /></a>Pity poor
Lloyd Braun. Just a few years after being ousted from Disney, Yahoo's man in
Santa Monica charged with blending the Internet with Hollywood
showmanship has been <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/mKvgXFuAolAeo_62">ousted in a reorg</a> (via <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/iXrjKDKGKO_OC7OO">Hollywood Deadline
Daily</a>) that also kneecapped COO Dan Rosensweig. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/rdfu0Ar8lRjat5Uf">Valleywag</a>
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/phGe4YTvE9P5JIln"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/broken.jpg" align="left"
border="0" height="131" width="196" alt="Image" /></a> sees Braun's ouster as an
admission that <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/4yHNu2RXvF_RPUEe">Yahoo's "Hollywood" strategy has
failed</a>, but back in October, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/-aG5VhmeB_TB2y9i">BusinessWeek</a>
was already wondering whether Yahoo shouldn't <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/wvqTFrNrC6H9KHrf">focus on being a tech company
rather than a media company</a>. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/iwJBFQVFtgLDLA7U">GigaOM</a> blogs
that the exodus of Yahoo middle managers was a <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/IYHoA99D-imj9ttD">sure sign of internal
malaise</a>, and that CEO Terry Semel's 1,500-word press release doesn't indicate
whether <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/54dDMHvbxj3Qd2Xp">anything will really change at
Yahoo</a>. The reorg's big winner is CFO Susan Decker, who <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/WC8s9JccBLZu-f1J">NY
Times</a> and others now see as <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/dIk01Iuleef-i_Pc">Semel's heir-apparent</a>.
In other personnel moves, blog emperor Jason Calacanis has joined Sequoia
Capital as an <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/tKIn6aTTQiMivKVD"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/jasoncalacanis.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="127" width="169" alt="Image" /></a> "entrepreneur
in action," a decoder-ring way of saying <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/0ioaeYcqe_2C4cQU">watch this space for my
Sequoia-backed start-up</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/7fx8J0fWwAGgftUa">TechCrunch</a>.
It's a big rise in status for the abrasive Calacanis, since he profited nicely
from selling Weblogs Inc. to AOL but <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/nNdcKjByRsrNWM6_">had trouble finding respect
there</a>. He certainly doesn't get it from <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/qVTW2uQj7RKl5443">A VC</a>, who
thinks Calacanis will <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/tKIn6aTTQiMivKVD">last all of two months at
Sequoia</a>. And he doesn't get it from <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/bcpnI0lAlP7yEo0A">SEO Blackhat</a>
either who scoffs at Calcanis' assertion that <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/XGWuh8XcgaH1-fg7">SEO is bulls**t</a>.
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/UHDYhH3Id1Zz5_rT"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/200612050749.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="49" width="210" alt="Image" /></a>Elsewhere in
blog-land, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/TFv3Mo5nOXWso-37">Susan Mernit</a>
reports on <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/CJrCF57bpiLUBg1P">continuing growth and new
staffers at Om Malik's OMniverse</a>; <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/UHDYhH3Id1Zz5_rT">NewTeeVee</a>
covers online video, Hollywood style. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/m1ZqEL07Hyj5g8OR">Paul Boutin</a>
reports that <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/YxDOlgecgxgbvAaQ">former Wag editor Nick Douglas
has landed a thrice-weekly media column</a> for the <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
Post</a>. Matt Craven announced the sale of the <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/WPSAcosRQbyB0IEY">Blog
Herald</a> and that he will consult and do the <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/UgZBay1pcOqlJHO4">occasional
column</a>. He also cites <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/vMOcwmv48jFmMI5v">ten bloggers he respects</a>--
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/HnndOETGH1id7MPh">six who just bug him</a>. And
Mr. Web 2.0 himself, Michael Arrington of <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/7fx8J0fWwAGgftUa">TechCrunch</a>
will give up all-nighters and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/k6xRXUeZqV6iVSrx">take a 2 month break and live
with his parents</a>, but not before going on the record to say Valleywag's <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/S7jMgNJwC6FyFPSg">Nick Denton is evil</a>. <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/c-
h2pdNV22A5cb5n"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/reids_law_chart.jpg"
align="right" border="0" alt="Image" /></a>
It's the end-of-the-year list season and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/mfnTCm-grBku6HZO">Fimoculous</a>
kicks it off with the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/ym2VArdLJTjkA_Tz">Best Blogs of 2006 That You
(Maybe) Aren't Reading</a>, including design-focused <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/dTxX-jySfEbJSEE4">Pulse
Laser</a>, affordable stuff-focused <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/mwA-XzZPYMAJygYx">Josh Spear</a>,
and the landscape architecture mavens at <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/1K_svxQjcksM37tD">Pruned</a>. Pro
photojournalists won't have Reuters on their end-of-year lists, since it will
partner with Yahoo to <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/cF4m8yMvPeQhAxF8">harvest amateur
photo and video for undisclosed compensation</a>, another nail in their
profession's coffin, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/zAhF1TMZRs1x2k3f">Deep Jive
Interests</a>. If all those <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/H2kacEleNojTqMNi"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/barak%20hillary.jpg"
align="left" border="0" alt="Image" /></a>photogs decide to get tech jobs, they
could do worse than try LinkedIn, which <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/9kf6cz_c7XTf65Ce">Next Net</a>
blogs is now up to <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/c-h2pdNV22A5cb5n">8 million members</a>.
In politics, non-Hillary Dems are putting out feelers for 2008. <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/DNtTprz3dya1kkw1">Riehl World
View</a> blogs that <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/H2kacEleNojTqMNi">Barack Obama has been courting
George Soros-size donors</a>, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Jw2vxD4SIxM1Ep2n">Wonkette</a>
thinks <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/fK8u_tm5YIcSzDOv">Joe Biden is still dull</a>, Al
Gore keeps raising his media profile by <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/9CrgyFP-0rlaQlf3">criticizing President Bush</a>
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/IqzpR4_btX5lFVIa">Think
Progress</a>) and, heaven help us all, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Iz2xlPWJbKA-KT0l">Dennis Kucinich may run
again</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/68rMI7BDnkmmO3jS">Taegan
Goddard</a>). On the GOP side, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee
may announce <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/sDNu_OSCx_7383kz">a run along with the release of
his new book</a>, but <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/zAqpy4fPGi-jqIpd">Right Wing
News</a> thinks <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/ZpWwcEC8zc-_dKsL">John McCain is still clearly
ahead of Rudolph Giuliani</a> and Massachusetts' Mitt Romney.
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/bOpwt1YDyq6NdSrC"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/jenvince_breakup.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="175" width="270" alt="Image" /></a> 
And finally in entertainment, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/c8CvfMTnjgJwnbEd">Vince</a><a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/9VRZ4O-AQ6GIZlMV"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/top_srch_buzz.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="163" width="142" alt="Image" /></a> <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/c8CvfMTnjgJwnbEd">
Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston have split</a> mirroring their movie The Break-
Up. Vince is now <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/bOpwt1YDyq6NdSrC">just another Aniston
Friend</a>, writes <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/QWWhnAkD6Zsk299c">Jossip</a>,
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/65l55m424tvTq7Rs">Gawker</a> blogs
that Vaughn may <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/ljEaSsmZHDyY8GdD">already be cavorting with naked
dancers in Budapest</a>. In happier news, Britney is back on top, leading Yahoo's
list of most-searched terms as she has for <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/9VRZ4O-AQ6GIZlMV">5 out of the last 6
years</a>.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 2nd - 8th December 2006
DATE: 12/07/2006 13:20:57
STATUS: publish
BODY:
A report on
Iraq by a panel of foreign-policy experts
headed by a former American secretary of state, James Baker, and a former
congressman, Lee Hamilton, recommended that George Bush's administration should
start reducing the number of American troops there—bar unforeseen circumstances—by
the spring of 2008. Their primary mission should be to bolster and train the Iraqi
army. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hzU20FDHx80Mo0Dafn0Ed">See article</a>
The report also called
urgently for a Middle East regional summit, including
Syria and Iran and addressing such thorny issues as
Palestine. Mr Bush did not say whether he would heed the report's
findings but said he would take them “very seriously”. 
Robert Gates received
the approval of the Senate to become America's new defence secretary. Eyebrows
were raised at Mr Gates's stark assessment that America was not winning the war in
Iraq, a
contradiction to recent statements made by his boss. 
Hundreds of humanitarian
workers were evacuated from el-Fasher, capital of the Sudanese
state of North Darfur, after clashes between government-
backed janjaweed militias and rebels. The town is the hub of the
government's counter-insurgency campaign in the area and a UN-
aid base. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hzU20FDHx80Mo0Dafo0Ee">See
According to preliminary
results, Madagascar's incumbent president,
Marc Ravalomanana, a dairy tycoon, won a new five-year mandate in a presidential
poll on December 3rd. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hzU20FDHx80Mo0Dafp0Ef">See
Joseph Kabila was sworn
in as Congo's first freely elected
president in more than 40 years. He defeated his rival, Jean-Pierre Bemba, in a
run-off election last month.
 
name="a_new_reality_sinks_in">A new reality sinks in</div>
John Bolton
resigned as America's ambassador to the United Nations. The diplomat, who
has had a prickly relationship with the world body, was given the job by Mr Bush
on a temporary basis and needed to be approved by the Senate, an unlikely
proposition given that the Democrats, who will soon control the chamber, blocked
his permanent appointment last year. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hzU20FDHx80Mo0Dafq0Eg">See
Nancy
Pelosi, the incoming speaker in the House of Representatives, tried to
smooth things over with some of her colleagues after she bypassed the two most
senior Democratic congressmen on the intelligence committee to appoint Silvestre
Reyes as its chairman. The two senior contenders had been backed by, respectively,
the party's “Blue Dog” conservative coalition and the black caucus. 
NASA, America's space agency, revealed that it intends to build a
permanent manned base on the moon. Construction work is planned
to start in 2020, once a new breed of rockets to deliver people and components
there has been designed and tested.
 
name="hurricane_hugo">Hurricane Hugo</div> <table align="right"
serif" size="-2">AP</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td
size="-1">Hugo Chávez, Venezuela's left-
wing president, won a resounding victory in his country's presidential election.
With nearly all votes counted, he had won 63% to 37% for Manuel Rosales, his
social-democratic opponent. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hzU20FDHx80Mo0Dafr0Eh">See
General Augusto
Pinochet, Chile's elderly former dictator, was
rushed to hospital after a heart attack. Following surgery, he appeared to
recover. 
Felipe Calderón took
office as Mexico's president, and announced cuts in his own and
other public-sector salaries to finance an increase in spending on health care and
fighting crime. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hzU20FDHx80Mo0Dafs0Ei">See
size="-1">Canada's Liberal Party, the main opposition, chose
Stéphane Dion, a former academic and cabinet minister from Quebec, as its leader in preference to Michael Ignatieff, a writer
and journalist, and two other candidates. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hzU20FDHx80Mo0Daft0Ej">See
 
name="all_in_a_flap">All in a flap</div> The spat between Turkey and the European Union continued
to reverberate around Europe. The leaders of France and
Germany called for a further review in 15 months' time. A
last-ditch offer by Turkey to open one port and one airport
to (Greek) Cyprus seemed unlikely to succeed. <a
bin1/DM/y/hzU20FDHx80Mo0Dafu0Ek">See article</a>
style="">Finland, which currently holds the European Union
presidency, is to become the 16th out of 25 members to ratify the draft EU constitutional treaty. The German presidency early next year
promises to find some way of reviving the treaty, which was rejected by French and
Dutch voters in the summer of 2005.
France
launched its much-hyped international television news channel, France 24. The aim
of the channel, which is government-financed, is to challenge Anglo-American
channels such as CNN and BBC World.
France 24 will broadcast in French and English; later an Arabic channel will be
added.
British police went to
Moscow to investigate the murder of Alexander
Litvinenko. But they were told by Russian authorities that they could
neither make arrests of, nor seek to extradite, any Russian nationals. Traces of
polonium, the radioactive substance used to kill Mr Litvinenko, were found at the
British Embassy in Moscow. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hzU20FDHx80Mo0Dafv0El">See
 
name="brutal_weather">Brutal weather</div> Hundreds of people died in
the Philippines as Typhoon Durian caused torrential mudslides from
the slopes of Mayon volcano. The storm later went on to pound Vietnam's south coast. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hzU20FDHx80Mo0Dafw0Em">See
A court in the Philippines capital Manila sentenced an
American marine to up to 40 years in prison for raping a local
woman last November. America and the Philippines squabbled
over custody of the marine during his appeal. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hzU20FDHx80Mo0Dafx0En">See
size="-1">Frank Bainimarama, commander of Fiji's armed forces, staged a coup against the government
of Laisenia Qarase. Although the coup was widely condemned, John Howard, Australia's prime minister, ruled out military
intervention. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hzU20FDHx80Mo0Dafy0Eo">See
The Labor Party,
Australia's main opposition, voted out its
leader, Kim Beazley, and replaced him with Kevin Rudd, the party's foreign-affairs
spokesman. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hzU20FDHx80Mo0Dafz0Ep">See article</a>
As prospects for a
revival of the peace process continue to worsen, Sri
Lanka's government announced sweeping anti-terrorism measures. But
it stopped short of banning the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Despite a 2002
“ceasefire”, more than 3,400 people have died in fighting this year.
The opposition in
Bangladesh called off its latest strike and
blockade, which yet again had brought the capital, Dhaka, to
a standstill in protest at alleged efforts to rig the election due in January. <a
bin1/DM/y/hzU20FDHx80Mo0Daf10Ec">See article</a>
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 2nd - 8th December 2006
DATE: 12/07/2006 13:20:15
STATUS: publish
BODY:
size="-1">Pfizer's share price plunged after higher-than-expected
mortality and side effects reported during a clinical trial led it to scrap a drug
it had been developing since 1992. Torcetrapib boosted “good” cholesterol and had
been touted by the company's head of research as the biggest advance in
cardiovascular medicine in years just two days before he pulled the plug. The
decision leaves Pfizer without anything in the highly lucrative cholesterol-drug
market to replace Lipitor when its patent expires in 2010. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hzU40FDHx80Mo0Dadk0Ea">See article</a>
Two of America's most
venerable financial institutions agreed to merge in a $16.5 billion deal. The
combination of Bank of New York, which
Alexander Hamilton helped to set up in 1784 before he became America's first
treasury secretary, and Mellon Financial, founded in Pittsburgh in 1869, creates the world's biggest firm in the
business of safeguarding and administering securities, with $16.6 trillion in
assets under custody. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hzU40FDHx80Mo0Dadl0Eb">See
The merger of
NYSE Group, owner of the New York
Stock Exchange, and Euronext, operator of several European
stockmarkets, came a step closer when it was approved by regulators in Europe. The deal has faced opposition from those who claim it will
lead to American financial regulations being imposed on Europe, which NYSE and Euronext addressed
by creating a regulatory structure to assure the independence of the European
exchanges. The decisive hurdle for the deal is a vote by Euronext's shareholders
on December 19th. 
 
name="ups_and_downs">Ups and downs</div> Airbus launched
the delayed A350XWB (bad reviews led to a redesign). The
jet will enter service in 2013 and is crucial to troubled Airbus in its
competition with Boeing. However, Airbus's cheerier mood was dampened when
Lufthansa, a reliable customer, decided not to add to its order of A380 super-jumbos and went with an updated version of Boeing's
747 instead. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hzU40FDHx80Mo0Dadm0Ec">See
The Italian government
confirmed it would sell part of its 49.9% stake in Alitalia. The
size of the chunk it is selling, 30.1%, is bigger than had been indicated, but
conditions were attached to the sale including job security at the airline.

NTL, a
cable and telephone operator, abandoned its attempt to win control of
ITV, Britain's biggest commercial broadcaster. NTL's plans were scuppered when BSkyB, a rival television company
that is part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, took a 17.9% stake in ITV. NTL complained to regulators about
what it says are the “serious competition and public interest issues” of BSkyB's
stake. 
size="-1">Gallaher confirmed it had received a preliminary
takeover approach, speculated to be from Japan
Tobacco. The British tobacco firm, valued at some $15 billion, has
expanded its business in Russia and is an attractive target
for cigarette-makers wishing to peddle their wares outside America and Europe, where smoking is on the decline.
The Hard Rock
chain of restaurants and casinos was sold to a subsidiary of the
Seminole Tribe of Florida, which pioneered the opening of casinos
on Native American land, for $965m. Rank, the sellers of Hard Rock, want to
concentrate on their gambling businesses in Britain. 
 
name="a_recipe_for_success">A recipe for success?</div> The chief executive of
Yahoo! restructured its senior management and created a new unit
that will focus entirely on advertising sales. Concern about the company's future
revenue from advertising is one reason behind the 30% fall in its share price this
year. The management shake-up was nicknamed “Project Soufflé”. 
Meanwhile, a new venture
was unveiled between Yahoo! and Reuters to use amateur images from events such as
the Asian tsunami and London tube bombings in online news
reports. Material uploaded to You Witness will still be seen by
editors. 
LSI
Logic, a chipmaker that specialises in semiconductors
for DVD recorders, data storage devices and personal music
players, said it would buy Agere Systems, an integrated-circuit
components company, for $4 billion. The deal gives LSI a
presence in the market for mobile-phone chips. 
The fall in America's
housing market hurt profit at Toll Brothers, a builder of luxury
homes, which reported that net income had dropped by 44% in the three months to
October 31st compared with a year earlier. However, Toll Brothers' share price
rose after its boss said the market was “dancing on the bottom or slightly above”
and appeared to be stabilising.
</td></tr></tbody></table> 
name="what_to_make_of_it">What to make of it</div> New orders for
manufactured goods at America's factories dropped by 4.7% in
October compared with the previous month, the biggest fall since July 2000. Orders
for durable goods fell by 8.2%.
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Pocket YouTube; TechCrunch Secrets; Bad Ideas 2.0
DATE: 12/01/2006 06:39:41
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Pocket video is coming - but <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Fn0vO66aSFXPOWzp">PaidContent</a>
and others are <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/OS4_1KJLKEZC38u1">panning the new YouTube/Verizon
Wireless deal</a> which gives you a limited, prescreened number of videos plus the
ability to upload footage from your phone. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/JKIfwkXhjoPQPpVF">You'd have to be stupid to pay
$15 a month for the privilege</a>, gripes <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/0rB_Lpvvlz1eEtRs">Mark Evans</a>,
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/LeYshLEBBTyC2KK2">A VC</a> chimes
in about the deal's non-free, non-open, non-community nature--in a word, <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Hof5ll4z01__k6bx">it's lame</a>. <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/gD6ixXk9_5gVavcy"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/chrisp.jpg" align="left"
border="0" height="280" width="118" alt="Image" /></a> Online video is also <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/TUSbFa2YRQ1PoP2g">robbing TV of its
viewership</a>--at least in Britain, writes <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
Blog</a>, though just 9 percent of respondents are regular online-video
watchers. MobiTV is positioned to take advantage of the migration to online video
since it's close to offering a kind of <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/0klDGyvzC0olbgLB">online cable-TV
subscription</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
But can YouTube or anyone can make money from online video, since losing
control over distribution may mean <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/1MOMwGjtawXz5pFO">losing control over
monetization</a> wonders <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
2.0</a>.
Speaking of potentially shaky cash flow, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/8QX0VBOx4_15uVot">Monkey Bites</a>
covers Break.com, a guy-oriented site that will now <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Ezs2dGFmTWo_PpOP">pay video
contributors $400–$2,000</a> in an effort to lure eyeballs away from YouTube.
Break's money is good: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/WWg3sx9hbJ4MHCup">GigaOM</a> blogs
they've already paid members over $300,000 to date, and competitor <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/SdLBVxLzf-
xDPlRO">Metacafe is also paying out</a> according to a slightly different model.
Based on head-to-head competition, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/ispgaIDPvulmlCPY">Chris
Pirillo</a> thinks YouTube will get the most eyeballs, Revver the most
revenue, and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/gD6ixXk9_5gVavcy">Google Video the least
everything</a>.
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/_gZ1igeTg6CwyoNH"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/boo.jpg" align="right"
border="0" height="236" width="148" alt="Image" /></a>In blog news, editor
Marshall Kirkpatrick left TechCrunch to be a consultant, but not before sharing
some <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/lL-
z4yoQvsciBbWq">secrets for obtaining good news leads</a>. <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/gt_sj_68m1_-8kk4">Micro
Persuasion</a> adds that Kirkpatrick's tips don't mention PR people like
himself--meaning PR departments should join the conversation by giving news
editors <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/oucEm6Mb6QfV_GUU">good blog feeds, not just press
releases</a>.
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/HRIE_FP_7rf88nd4"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/iran-syria-hezbollah-
poster.jpg" align="left" border="0" height="150" width="282" alt="Image" /></a>
The Bubble is indeed back, at least in Sweden, where Boo.com awaits
relaunch. Will they still sell fashionable clothes--or just <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/_gZ1igeTg6CwyoNH">crash and burn
again</a>, asks <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/WPSAcosRQbyB0IEY">Blog Herald</a>?
AllAdvantage is also back--as the unfortunately named Agloco, blogs <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/rdfu0Ar8lRjat5Uf">ValleyWag</a>--
and at least they're <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/7w47AwaiCIe4MAMz">more honest about being a
pyramid scheme</a>.
Honesty is breaking out all over politics too: MSNBC and NBC have finally
started <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/BEjD6eoUFJyUYAx0">calling the Iraq civil war a
"civil war,"</a> though <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/6fpkkU7D5ACAtSle">Think
Progress</a> blogs that Fox News, the Washington Post, The
New York Times and others still use <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Ae6cPUxINUkAhWPW">weasel words
like "sectarian violence."</a> U.S. Marines in western Iraq don't
care what you call the insurgency--they just <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/j98g-_AciwacYm1Q">know they can't defeat it</a>,
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/oEAF4kPb_7VLWF9k">Outside the
Beltway</a>. And those <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/-WELPdVXtjC3N6s4"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/_40101954_bushtwins.jpg"
align="right" border="0" alt="Image" /></a> imams who were taken off the plane in
Minneapolis call US Air's actions racial profiling, but they were
doing more than just saying their prayers, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Kr3PG09VvWsXM5WM">Stop the
ACLU</a>, shunning their ticketed seats to take up others in a <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/tXqcS_pUkCWUC-
Z3">9/11-like pattern</a> and requesting seatbelt extenders that they didn't need
or use. Then there's the U.S. Embassy in Argentina, which apparently <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/-
WELPdVXtjC3N6s4">can't get the Bush twins on a plane fast enough</a>, citing
security considerations, according to the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
Post</a>. 
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/8jaxZ7pO5gXho0-
B"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/story.rock.anderson.gi.jpg"
align="left" border="0" alt="Image" /></a>Finally in entertainment, it's Groundhog
Day among the famous this week: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/d4Ls2BKfEDehtrbs">Snoop Dogg gets arrested on
weapons and drug charges again</a>; <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/8jaxZ7pO5gXho0-B">Pamela Anderson set course for
another divorce</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/MW09vJOvgM0ddAYt">Bricks and
Stones</a>); and Madonna's still <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/JXICiJlkIZYvBxIT">struggling to adopt a needy kid
from Malawi</a> rather than America.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 25th November - 1st December 2006
DATE: 12/01/2006 06:10:46
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
size="-2"><div>Nov 30th 2006 
 
size="-1">George Bush flew to Jordan's capital, Amman, to
hold talks with Iraq's beleaguered prime
minister, Nuri al-Maliki. Mr Bush described the meeting, aimed at stemming Iraq's burgeoning civil war, as productive, and gave assurances
that America was not trying to find a “graceful exit”. Such talk in Washington, he said, “just simply has no realism to it”. <a
bin1/DM/y/hy4r0FDHx80Mo0DZaY0Ea">See article</a>
A surprise truce between
Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip held good, despite the firing of rockets by a
Palestinian group that rejected the deal. Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert,
said he was ready for talks with a moderate Palestinian government, for a prisoner
exchange and for territorial compromise on the West Bank. <a
bin1/DM/y/hy4r0FDHx80Mo0DZaZ0Eb">See article</a>
A looming prospect of
war between Ethiopia and Somalia was
reduced, for the moment, by floods in the region. Somalia's
Islamists continued to gain ground against the country's internationally
recognised but feeble transitional government, which is backed by Ethiopia. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hy4r0FDHx80Mo0DZaa0Ei">See
The Supreme Court in
Congo ratified the results of the country's
presidential election, in which the incumbent, Joseph Kabila, handily beat his
chief rival, Jean-Pierre Bemba, in a run-off. Mr Bemba accepted his defeat, so
reducing the chances of civil strife.
style="">Nigeria's vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, put an end to
months of speculation by saying he would run for president next year, despite
opposition from Olusegun Obasanjo, the current president. The high court in Lagos ruled that two reports alleging corruption and fraud against
Mr Abubakar had no legal foundation.
 
name="an_ally_for_turkey">An ally for Turkey</div> On a four-day visit to Turkey, the pope told the Turkish prime minister
that he supported Turkish aspirations to join the European Union. The pope also
met the Orthodox patriarch in Istanbul and called for
greater tolerance of Christians in Turkey. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hy4r0FDHx80Mo0DZab0Ej">See article</a>
After Turkey refused to meet a European Union deadline of next
week for opening up its ports to trade with (Greek) Cyprus,
the European Commission proposed the suspension of eight of the 35 chapters of
membership negotiations. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hy4r0FDHx80Mo0DZac0Ek">See
size="-1">Police in London began retracing the events that
led to the apparent radiation poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, a former
Russian agent. Before he died, Mr Litvinenko accused Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, of orchestrating his demise,
something the Kremlin vigorously denied. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hy4r0FDHx80Mo0DZad0El">See
Silvio Berlusconi was
taken to hospital after he collapsed while speaking at a conference, reviving
speculation about how much longer the 70-year-old former prime minister of
Italy can lead its centre-right
opposition.
As expected, Nicolas
Sarkozy declared his candidacy for the French presidential
election. The interior minister has long been favourite for the centre-
right nomination.
A draft European
Parliament report found new evidence that several European governments knew of the
CIA programme of “extraordinary
renditions” of terrorism suspects, and of secret prisons the CIA ran in central Europe.
 
name="sharper_teeth">Sharper teeth</div> At the NATO
summit in Riga some countries were persuaded to relax
restrictions on their troops' exposure to fighting in Afghanistan. Some agreed to ease curbs preventing their soldiers
in the country moving to the south, scene of the fiercest fighting. Meanwhile, the
summit asked Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro to begin partnership-
for-peace negotiations with NATO. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hy4r0FDHx80Mo0DZae0Em">See article</a>
A report on alleged
sanctions-busting in Iraq by the AWB
(formerly the Australian Wheat Board) found it had paid
$221m in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's regime. But it cleared ministers and civil
servants of complicity. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hy4r0FDHx80Mo0DZaf0En">See
The International
Committee of the Red Cross revealed that the government of Myanmar had ordered it to close its five field offices in
the country. This, it said, had the effect of making its humanitarian work in
Myanmar impossible. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hy4r0FDHx80Mo0DZag0Eo">See
coal minister, Shibu Soren, and four others were found guilty of murdering Mr
Soren's secretary in 1994. Prosecutors said the victim had been blackmailing Mr
Soren about alleged corruption.
 
name="environmentally_aware">Environmentally aware</div> America's Supreme Court listened
to arguments in what is seen as the most important case it has yet heard on
climate change. A group of 12 states wants the federal government
to regulate carbon-dioxide emissions from vehicles. It is reluctant, saying the
effects on global warming are not fully understood. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hy4r0FDHx80Mo0DZah0Ep">See article</a>
New York's
mayor, Michael Bloomberg, said the death of an unarmed black man in a
hail of police bullets outside a nightclub was “unacceptable”. Mr Bloomberg has
been praised, so far, for his sensitive handling of the incident, a stark contrast
to the criticism heaped on Rudy Giuliani after police shot an unarmed African
immigrant in 1999. 
After considering a bid
for the White House, Bill Frist, who is
retiring as the Republican leader in the Senate, said he would not run in 2008.

 
name="tilting_right">Tilting right</div> Felipe Calderón,
Mexico's new president, completed his cabinet, naming Francisco Ramírez
Acuña, a right-wing former governor of Jalisco, as his
interior minister. His appointment dismayed human-rights groups. Many of the other
ministers are modernising technocrats, some with links to the formerly ruling
Institutional Revolutionary Party. 
size="-1">Rafael Correa, a Christian left-winger, won Ecuador's presidential election by a 14-point margin over
Álvaro Noboa, a banana-exporting billionaire. Mr Correa rattled financial markets
with talk of debt restructuring despite his country's oil windfall. <a
bin1/DM/y/hy4r0FDHx80Mo0DZai0Eq">See article</a>
size="-1">Canada's Parliament overwhelmingly gave its approval to
a motion proposed by Stephen Harper, the Conservative prime minister, to recognise
French-speaking Quebec as “a nation within a united Canada”.
bin1/DM/y/hy4r0FDHx80Mo0DZaj0Er">See article</a>
In a victory for
Bolivia's socialist president, Evo Morales,
the country's Senate approved a land-reform law despite an earlier walkout by the
conservative opposition aimed at preventing a quorum. 
style="">Cuba's president, Fidel Castro, said that he had not
recovered sufficiently from stomach surgery to take part in delayed celebrations
to mark his 80th birthday.
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 25th November - 1st December 2006
DATE: 11/30/2006 19:01:15
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
size="-2"><div>Nov 30th 2006 
 
The weakness of
the dollar came under the spotlight as it continued to slide,
reaching a 20-month low against the euro and falling against other leading
currencies. In an effort to soothe markets, Ben Bernanke, the chairman of
America's Federal Reserve, tried to dampen speculation that interest rates would
be cut next year in order to boost economic growth, which would put more pressure
on the greenback. The currency fell further after he spoke. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hy430FDHx80Mo0DZZ30Em">See article</a><img
src="http://www.economist.com/images/dingbats/e5.gif" alt="E+" height="10"
hspace="2" width="17" alt="Image" /> 
The slack dollar was one
factor that led stockmarkets to shed some of their recent gains. On November 27th
the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ
witnessed their sharpest declines since the summer, falling by 1.3% and 2.2%
respectively. Asian markets also caught the jitters and the next day Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell by its largest
amount since September 11th 2001. 
Ford
said it was seeking to raise $18 billion in loans. Because of the carmaker's poor
credit-rating it will, for the first time in its history, put up its factories and
other assets as collateral. The company, which is restructuring, has lost around
$7 billion so far this year as its share of the American market continues to
erode.
 
name="mass_consumerism">Mass consumerism</div> Bharti, an
Indian conglomerate, confirmed it would work with Wal-Mart in a
joint venture to open hundreds of Wal-Mart franchised stores in India, starting
next year. It is the biggest push yet by a foreign shopkeeper into India's booming
retailing sector, which remains largely closed to foreign investment. 
size="-1">Iberdrola, a Spanish energy company, offered to buy
Scottish Power for £11.6 billion ($22.5 billion). The friendly
deal is the latest effort among big European utilities to consolidate ahead of
next year's deregulation of energy markets. However, some deals remain mired in
political wrangling. This week the European Commission criticised Spain, again,
for the conditions it has attached to a bid for Endesa, the
country's biggest utility, from Germany's
E.ON. Spain wants Endesa to merge with Gas
Natural, the country's biggest gas supplier. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hy430FDHx80Mo0DZZ40En">See
Ryanair
raised its stake in Aer Lingus, its Irish compatriot, to more
than 25%. Ryanair, Europe's biggest low-cost carrier,
launched a hostile takeover for Aer Lingus in October, soon after Aer Lingus made
its stockmarket debut, but has failed to win the support of big shareholders. A
rival bid is improbable, given that the Irish government insists it will not sell
its 25.4% stake in Aer Lingus to anyone. 
 
name="chugging_along">Chugging along</div> The management of
Eurotunnel, the operator of the tunnel that links Britain and
France, breathed a sigh of relief as the company's core creditors voted (by a slim
margin) in favour of a restructuring plan. Some of the debt-holders, including
several hedge funds, abstained from the vote. They, and smaller bondholders,
remain unhappy with the blueprint, which restructures Eurotunnel's £6.2 billion
($12 billion) debt, because it undervalues their investments. 
size="-1">EMI's share price surged as the
music company confirmed it had been approached about a possible takeover,
reportedly by two private-equity firms. Merger talks between EMI and Warner Music proved fruitless earlier this year.

The retrial of
Josef Ackermann and five others on criminal charges stemming from
the awarding of executive bonuses at Mannesmann in 2000 ended when the judge
accepted a settlement from the prosecution. The deal requires Mr Ackermann, who is
now chief executive of Deutsche Bank, to pay euro3.2 million ($4.2
million) but without admitting to wrongdoing. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hy430FDHx80Mo0DZZ50Eo">See
Sales of
existing homes in America increased by 0.5% in October compared with the
previous month, the first time sales have risen since February, according to the
National Association of Realtors. But the median price for a home remained
$221,000, a drop of 3.5% compared with a year ago. It may be a buyer's market for
some time to come: the inventory of unsold homes was also up sharply. 
The European Union's
trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson, proposed a meeting of the world's trade
ministers before the end of the year in an attempt to revive the Doha round of talks. American officials backed away from
the idea and said they preferred the “quiet conversations” going on in a series of
smaller, informal meetings. 
 
name="cutting_back">Cutting back</div> <table align="right"
align="right" valign="top"> 
size="-1">The OECD issued its latest economic
outlook. The forum for 30 industrialised countries said a “rebalancing”
in the world's economy will see growth in Europe and Asia
compensate for a slowdown in America. The OECD cut its
estimate for GDP growth in the United States to
2.4% in 2007 from the 3.1% it forecast six months ago. 
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 18th - 24th November 2006
DATE: 11/24/2006 07:00:42
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Pierre Gemayel,
Lebanon's minister of industry and a member of a famous Christian
political dynasty, was shot dead in Beirut, inflaming
sectarian tensions. The Lebanese army took to the streets while the country
observed three days of mourning. Many fingers pointed at Syria, but Damascus strongly denied any
involvement. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hyf30FDHx80Mo0DYXN0E1">See
style="">Syria and Iraq
agreed to restore diplomatic relations after a break of 24 years. The charm
offensive by Syria, long suspected of stirring turbulence in
Iraq, followed a visit by its foreign minister to Baghdad, the first by a senior official since the toppling of
Saddam Hussein. Meanwhile, Iraq's president planned a visit
to Iran. And George Bush said he would travel to Jordan next
week to meet Iraq's prime minister. 
A new
UN report noted that this year more than 2m Africans will die of AIDS,
nearly three-quarters of all the AIDS-related deaths on the
planet. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hyf30FDHx80Mo0DYXO0E2">See article</a>
The Supreme Court in
Kinshasa, Congo's
capital, was set on fire by supporters of Jean-Pierre Bemba, the losing candidate
in last month's presidential election. Mr Bemba had asked the court to rule that
the victory handed to Joseph Kabila was unfair. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hyf30FDHx80Mo0DYXP0E3">See
A French judge said that
Rwanda's president, Paul Kagame, should be
put on trial for allegedly orchestrating a plane crash in 1994 that killed his
predecessor, Juvénal Habyarimana. The incident marked the beginning of the
genocide there. Rwanda's government said the French claim
was baseless.
Responding to an order
to clamp down on a spate of kidnappings in Nigeria's Delta region, the country's army carried out an
operation to free seven foreign workers who had been captured from a ship. One
British hostage and two kidnappers were killed. 
rel="nofollow" name="a_safe_pair_of_hands">A safe pair of
hands</div> Mexico's president-elect, Felipe Calderón, unveiled his
economic team, naming Agustín Carstens, a former IMF
official, as finance minister. Earlier, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the narrow
loser of last July's presidential election, proclaimed himself the “legitimate”
president at a rally of tens of thousands of his supporters. 
Six of the nine elected
regional governors in Bolivia said they
were breaking relations with Evo Morales, the socialist president, over a bill
that would allow the central government to scrutinise their funds and the Congress
to sack them. The opposition walked out of the Senate in protest over that, land
reform and other measures. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hyf30FDHx80Mo0DYXQ0E4">See
style="">Nicaragua's outgoing president signed into law a measure outlawing
all abortions, including when a woman's life is in danger. Chile's Congress rejected a bill that would have legalised
abortion in some circumstances.
rel="nofollow" name="consensus_politics">Consensus politics</div>
size="-1">The Dutch election produced an inconclusive result, but
it gave the ruling Christian Democrats under the outgoing prime minister, Jan
Peter Balkenende, the most seats. Mr Balkenende must now scrabble around for
coalition partners; the negotiations could take months. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hyf30FDHx80Mo0DYXR0E5">See article</a>
Allegations continued to
fly that Russian intelligence agents had poisoned a renegade
comrade who defected to Britain. Alexander Litvinenko remained in intensive care
in a London hospital after his apparent poisoning. Several prominent critics of
the Kremlin have been poisoned or shot in the past few years. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hyf30FDHx80Mo0DYXS0E6">See article</a>
style="">Italy's government sacked the chiefs of all three of its
intelligence agencies. The cause was apparently the involvement of one agency in a
CIA kidnapping of a Muslim cleric in Milan some years ago;
but others said the spies were not proving loyal to Romano Prodi's centre-left
government. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hyf30FDHx80Mo0DYXT0E7">See article</a>
The European Union gave
Turkey a deadline of December 6th to open
its ports and airports to Greek-Cypriot ships and aircraft, but Turkey has already said it will refuse. The likely outcome is that
those chapters in the EU accession negotiations with Turkey relating to trade and free movement will be frozen.

style="">Poland, 23 miners were killed in a gas explosion at their
mine in the Silesia region. It was the country's worst such disaster since
1979.
rel="nofollow" name="leadership_challenges">Leadership
challenges</div> In the United States the Democrats
continued to put their new leadership team in place but insisted they
were still united after rejecting John Murtha for majority leader in the House of
Representatives, choosing Steny Hoyer instead. Mr Murtha was championed by Nancy
Pelosi, who will become speaker when the new Congress starts in January.

Rupert Murdoch made a
rare apology and agreed that the decision of his company to publish a book by
O.J. Simpson recounting hypothetical details of the murder of his
ex-wife and her friend was “an ill-considered project”. The book has now been
scrapped and a television interview cancelled after a backlash. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hyf30FDHx80Mo0DYXU0E8">See article</a>
size="-1">NASA scientists conceded that they had probably lost the
Mars Global Surveyor in space. The probe, launched ten years ago,
has been one of the most successful missions run by America's space agency,
photographing Mars in unprecedented detail. 
rel="nofollow" name="peace_celebrations">Peace celebrations</div>
size="-1">The government in Nepal signed a
comprehensive peace agreement with the country's Maoist rebels. On paper, this
brings an end to ten years of conflict. Maoist fighters started arriving at the
cantonments where they are to be confined. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hyf30FDHx80Mo0DYXV0EA">See
Marking a visit to Delhi
by the Chinese president, Hu Jintao, India and
China signed a raft of mainly trivial agreements. The two
countries said they would try to double their bilateral trade by 2010.
In Washington, DC, the Senate approved controversial
legislation that would open the way to nuclear co-operation with
India, despite its having tested nuclear weapons and never having signed the non-
proliferation treaty.
In Hanoi, leaders of the
Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum
held their summit and made their usual vague commitments to freer trade. George
Bush discussed North Korea's bomb with his Russian, Chinese
and South Korean counterparts.
size="-1">Correction: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hyf30FDHx80Mo0DYXW0EB">Last week</a>
we erroneously reported that the summit George Bush was headed to in Hanoi was
being held by ASEAN. Sorry for the confusion. 
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 18th - 24th November 2006
DATE: 11/24/2006 07:00:02
STATUS: publish
BODY:
The London Stock Exchange rejected a second takeover bid by
the American NASDAQ exchange. The LSE
said the new £2.7 billion ($5.1 billion) offer still “substantially”
undervalued it, and spurned a proposal for further talks. After NASDAQ revealed it had increased its stake in the LSE to almost 29%, attention turned to the
Americans' chances of getting the LSE's biggest investors to support their offer. <a
bin1/DM/y/hyf50FDHx80Mo0DYWp0Eb">See article</a>
Tributes were paid to
Milton Friedman, who died on November 16th, aged 94. The American
economist, a champion of free markets, laid the intellectual foundations for the
ending of the post-war Keynesian consensus. Mr Friedman urged governments to cut
spending and privatise state services, but gave warning that “Hell hath no fury
like a bureaucrat scorned.” <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hyf50FDHx80Mo0DYWq0Ec">See
America's treasury
secretary, Hank Paulson, gave a speech in which he called for balance in
regulatory oversight of capital markets. Mr Paulson said that
legislation should not be “excessive” or impose “needless costs”, but he stopped
short of calling for an overhaul of Sarbanes-Oxley rules, which critics say are
intrusive. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hyf50FDHx80Mo0DYWr0Ed">See article</a>
rel="nofollow" name="a_long-running_tv_drama">A long-running TV
drama?</div> A fight broke out for control of ITV, Britain's biggest
commercial broadcaster.
BSkyB, a pay-TV channel that is part of Rupert Murdoch's empire, bought a
17.9% stake in ITV, which was interpreted as an attempt to
stymie a £4.7 billion ($8.9 billion) merger bid from NTL, a cable
and phone operator in which Sir Richard Branson is the largest shareholder. Sir
Richard called on regulators to intervene in what he fumed was BSkyB's “blatant attempt to distort
competition”, but ITV rejected NTL's
offer as too low. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hyf50FDHx80Mo0DYWs0Ee">See
In a significant step
towards an accommodation between newspapers and internet companies in lucrative
classified advertising, several firms representing 176 newspapers
in America reached a partnership with Yahoo! to share content and
advertising online. 
size="-1">Google's share price continued to rise and pushed past
$500 for the first time. The share price has gone up by around 40% since February,
when investors took fright at negative reports about future growth. Google now has
a market capitalisation of some $155 billion, more than eight times that of
General Motors. 
General
Motors' share price came under pressure as it emerged that Kirk Kerkorian
has cut his stake to 7.4% from 9.9%. Mr Kerkorian recently failed to persuade
GM to create an alliance with Renault and Nissan and
remains critical of GM's own blueprint to restructure its
business. 
rel="nofollow">Buy, buy, buy!</div> Hot on the heels of last week's
$26.7 billion agreement to buy out Clear Channel Communications,
a radio and outdoor-advertising company, the rush for big private-equity
deals continued. In the largest-ever leveraged buy-out,
Blackstone continued its property-acquisition spree by offering
$36 billion for Equity Office Properties, America's biggest real-
estate investment trust. It also emerged that Australia's
Qantas Airways had been approached about a potential buy-out,
said to value the airline at around A$11 billion ($8.5 billion). <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hyf50FDHx80Mo0DYWt0Ef">See article</a>
Mining and metals firms
also had an acquisitive week. Freeport-McMoRan secured a $25.9
billion deal for Phelps Dodge, a bigger mining rival which failed
to cement an ambitious three-way merger with Inco and Falconbridge earlier this
year. And in the largest investment by a Russian firm in America,
Evraz, a steel group controlled by a Russian oligarch, Roman
Abramovich, said it was buying Oregon Steel
Mills for $2.3 billion. 
CSN, a
Brazilian steelmaker, approached Corus, an Anglo-Dutch rival,
about a takeover. The move puts pressure on India's Tata Steel to
raise its recent offer for Corus. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hyf50FDHx80Mo0DYWu0Eg">See
The planned merger
between Gaz de France and Suez was thrown into
doubt again when the French courts said the deal could not be completed until
workers facing privatisation at GDF had had more time to
consider the agreement. The combination of the two utilities has been mired in
controversy since the French government unveiled the plan in February. 
Markets responded
positively as the Ifo institute's index of German business
confidence, seen as an indication of future growth in the euro area,
reached a 15-year high. 
rel="nofollow" name="sinking_economic_foundations">Sinking economic
foundations</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
size="-1">Construction started on new homes in America at an
annual rate of 1.49m in October, the lowest level for six years. The rate was 27%
below October 2005—the biggest year-on-year decline since March 1991 (the housing
market's slump has been blamed for weak growth in the third quarter). Meanwhile,
the White House lowered its GDP growth
forecast for 2007 to 2.9%. 
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Web 3.0; Valleywag Fired; 2008 Prez Watch
DATE: 11/17/2006 06:16:52
STATUS: publish
BODY:
It was a rough week for Web 2.0. Bloggers like <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/VvHPPOvZPGfvlC_6">Rough
Type</a> declared Web 2.0 sooo over following a <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/7ogYB54kArwcYZit">dull Web 2.0
Summit last week</a>. Why? Maybe the Summit's $3,000 price tag kept out everyone
but those <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Dyz2s1Jb-dzKlqky">preaching to the converted</a>,
blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/0rB_Lpvvlz1eEtRs">Mark Evans</a>.
But over at <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/f2TyAUg5RJ6STj4l">The New York
Times</a>, John <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/luZz3rGPWT8IdIue"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/duh.jpg" align="left"
border="0" height="50" width="105" alt="Image" /></a> Markoff has anointed <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/bEl4OJZ0W_g56eC-">Web 3.0 as the Next Next Big
Thing</a>. More like <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/j4eF3xXNnadPMfIe">Psychobabble 3.0</a>, blogs <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/bVebHCAGZT9Dex3m">/Message</a>,
snarking that Markoff talking about a meme makes people talk about it. <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/2bG1CrvhMLuy3WZB">Scobleizer</a>
blogs that in 50 interviews in the past three months <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/utxELK_qd4RupjRc">no one
ever mentioned a Web 3.0</a>. Looks like the Times is just <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/0MFkbGWfEXOzeQrp">mentioning a trend in case one
emerges</a>. All this leads <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/G4ug36VVNSglFwPJ">Ross Mayfield</a> to say
that if Web 2.0 is a bubble, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/d7zhry41im9-8VQ3">Web 3.0 will just be a
disaster</a>. After all, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/r9KIXi169uEqH5rE">Web 2.0 isn't even a buzzword
yet in the real world</a>, as <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/WPSAcosRQbyB0IEY">Blog Herald</a>
found out. 
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/X8Ev0ialbo7X4Kh_"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/sergey-marissa.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="159" width="219" alt="Image" /></a> Speaking of
bubbles, owner Nick Denton ejected <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
writer Nick Douglas-and wants to focus <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/F12OeADlf2FfPyow">more on money than sex</a>,
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/hkw5vwM9_zLXCnU3">Good Morning Silicon
Valley</a>. That's right: Denton will it for now and is looking for an
experienced reporter rather than, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/YOPnudQIotLJ5Z7W">ahem, another college kid</a>.
Old<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/3bnRyDg2K7358SEM"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/red2.jpg" align="right"
border="0" height="143" width="208" alt="Image" /></a> Valleywag: <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/X8Ev0ialbo7X4Kh_">Is Marissa Meyer sleeping with
Sergey Brin?</a> New Valleywag: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/yn_mYCuDmiIAskPT">John Batelle gets Farked</a> and
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/3bnRyDg2K7358SEM">Michael Arrington is the new
Red Herring</a>. 
 Could Douglas have been <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/AViQO4MCkknt3Ne3">fired for this interview</a>
with <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/hOmA6yDkS7rroZGq">10 Zen
Monkeys</a>, where he hints that Denton's bad-boy image is just an act?
Douglas made enough enemies while at Valleywag, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/dEHLnPbmKAH9ktDc">meaning he did a good job</a>,
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/zAhF1TMZRs1x2k3f">Deep Jive
Interests</a>-but despite the rumors, Douglas is <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Xv7fi2iPrywKiA87">not about to
partner with Amanda Congdon</a>. But don't worry about her - she's busy with a <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/FLu9ZdmY8L9C8P20">new TV gig for ABC</a> and will
appear on the 24-hour ABC News Now <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/SjlP5ge2K-hbYOio"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/racktacular.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="278" width="188" alt="Image" /></a> digital
channel (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/65l55m424tvTq7Rs">Gawker</a>) and
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/yHAsBrUo1tZIh1fi">Micro
Persuasion</a> reports <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/vftxtp5BX2M2OBAv">Congdon will also keep doing her
vlog</a>.
 Online ad revenues for Q3 2006 hit $4.2 billion, up 2 percent over Q2 and <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/AW0IbGiPyyql6cVF">up a heady 33 percent </a> over
Q3 2005 (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/-
Fihk3Vo54e7P3PO">John Battelle</a>). It's figures like this that
make Google's Eric Schmidt bullish on the possibility of <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/w_zSRqBRhxtbNg-w">free, ad-
supported mobile phones</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/WWg3sx9hbJ4MHCup">GigaOM</a>). Ad
sales notwithstanding, wet blanket Steve Ballmer of Microsoft reminds media
companies that money from their copyrights <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/xSVXGh-3fJabBsir">now flows toward Google</a>.<a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/ym2jjmDtarKytxi2"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/picture%201-31-tm.jpg"
align="right" border="0" alt="Image" /></a> 
 Speaking of Microsoft, the Zune media player launched this week and it didn't
take <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/mG_83mlWiYG-
qFZO">JANE magazine</a>'s editors too long to figure out it's <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/ebnnX1nBY5G4-
IIc">great for meeting boys on the bus</a>. It's also the first player that will
work with the iTunes store-<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/m0DQGJyDhUhagzlN">call it iZunes</a>, blogs <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/aKG5rDnM7i8BWMcK">TechNudge
Live</a> but it's <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/G16K5Qtyl8cCv-6x">not compatible with Vista</a>.
Oops. Also new this week, Confabb which helps <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/xS8w7XWUAMqN6HLX">conference junkies find over
16,000 conference options</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/9kf6cz_c7XTf65Ce">Next Net</a>),
and the relaunch of Jookster, which will let users <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/bcMA3pOjtFxZ_r_7">search MySpace,
YouTube and Grouper</a> simultaneously and adds options for digging,
del.icio.using and profiling anything you find (via <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/8DejLUfT7A0wDWoe">Mashable!</a>).
Oh, and Microsoft released Microsoft Firefox 2007 Professional Edition-<a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/mJ3jbuMfTD-
0ItBG">enjoy the spoof with the coffee you just spit up</a> (via <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/ZBSwagdoNCyS5WfH">Register</a>).
 Finally in politics, While Nancy Pelosi and other Dems pull out the stops to
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Pw82aGE6uBdcSJxX">make Jack Murtha the new House
Majority Leader</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
Post</a>), <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/-d1W2niJh2wFRxy6">Power Line</a>
reports the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/BKFxCW50b5tUBC-a"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/aaanicole.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="263" width="314" alt="Image" /></a> GOP has
quietly named Trent Lott its majority whip in the Senate despite Lott's disgrace
for saying a segregationist <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/8Q0OknJMBAsJrH2U">Strom Thurmond should have won
the presidency in '48</a>. Murtha is no saint either, <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/DqUlEY3f-rI3GvbY"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/pelosi07.jpg" align="left"
border="0" alt="Image" /></a>blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/df9QKUG0b8u7-V1Z">Riehl World
View</a>, considering he barely ducked punishment in the <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/-
sh_c3qbjiJQN5l0">1980s Abscam scandal</a>. But <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Khcu0_sIsr-rNXKs">Skippy the Bush
Kangaroo</a> says Murtha was the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/FV3iIV8DPzCMhuXM">only Dem with the cojones to
stand up on the Iraq war</a>-not Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer or Barack Obama. 
 '08 Presidential Watch: From <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
Goddard</a>, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Bvj4Cv1ilIvy7a3H">John Edwards hints to Jon
Stewart</a> that he may run, but <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/L5SRZDQ1dFhMH9ti">The Next
Prez</a> says Hillary is twice as popular in the '08 contest, while <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/2IJqzaKJpdRXguCG">Rudy Giuliani and John McCain
lead for the GOP</a>.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 11/16/2006 14:06:33
STATUS: publish
BODY:
President
Bush, battered by the mid-term elections, embarked on a long foreign trip
seemingly designed to boost his image as a global statesman. He was to drop in on
Moscow and Singapore before heading to Hanoi in Vietnam for the summit of ASEAN, the
Association of South-East Asian Nations. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hyDx0FDHx80Mo0DXXm0E6">See
The victorious
Democrats served notice that the promised spirit of
bipartisanship will have its limits. They say they will block the confirmation of
John Bolton's appointment as ambassador to the UN. The White House is still determined to get Mr Bolton confirmed. <a
bin1/DM/y/hyDx0FDHx80Mo0DXXn0E7">See article</a>
Senator Trent
Lott, who was forced to resign from the Republican leadership in December
2002 after he made racially insensitive remarks at a birthday party, returned to
the Senate's centre of power by winning election as the minority whip in the next
session. Mr Lott will be second-in-command to Senator Mitch McConnell, who
replaced Bill Frist as minority leader in the Senate. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hyDx0FDHx80Mo0DXXo0E8">See article</a>
Work began on a memorial
to Martin Luther King on Washington,
DC's National Mall. King's will be the first memorial there to
someone who was neither a president nor a war hero, and the first to a black
American. Work is due to finish in 2008.
 
name="state_within_a_state">State within a state</div> Leaders of
Mexico's main opposition, the Party of the Democratic Revolution
(PRD), called on their legislators to disrupt the
inauguration of the new president, Felipe Calderón, on December 1st. The PRD's candidate, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who narrowly lost
the presidential election in July, named a “shadow government” and plans to
proclaim himself the “legitimate” president on November 20th. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hyDx0FDHx80Mo0DXXp0EA">See article</a><img
Argentina's
President Néstor Kirchner sacked his housing secretary, Luis D'Elía,
after he criticised a warrant issued against nine former Iranian officials for
helping to plan the bombing of a Jewish community centre in Buenos
Aires in 1994. Mr D'Elía is a sympathiser of Hugo Chávez, Venezuela's pro-Iranian president, and a leader of an unemployed
workers' movement. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hyDx0FDHx80Mo0DXXq0EB">See
 
rel="nofollow">Mayhem, continued</div> <table align="right"
size="-1">In Iraq 11 people were killed at
a Baghdad market; more than 35 were killed in American
raids; and 20 bound bodies were found in the cities of Mosul
and Baquba. Kidnappers, apparently from the interior ministry, abducted dozens of
men after storming the education ministry in Baghdad; most
were released later the same day. 
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the
president of Iran, said that the world now
accepted that his country would master the nuclear-fuel cycle. But after a meeting
with George Bush, Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, said that Israel could not
accept a nuclear-armed Iran, and that he and Mr Bush had
“complete understanding” over their approach. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hyDx0FDHx80Mo0DXXr0EC">See
height="10" hspace="2" width="17" alt="Image" /> 
Hamas and Fatah were
reported to have agreed on Muhammad Shubair, an academic from Gaza who is close to Hamas but not a party member, as new prime
minister of the Palestinian Authority. But Hamas continues to vow
that it will not recognise Israel. Meanwhile, one Israeli was killed and others
injured by a series of rockets fired into Israel from Gaza. <a
bin1/DM/y/hyDx0FDHx80Mo0DXXs0ED">See article</a>
style="">South Africa's Parliament voted to legalise same-sex
marriages, the first African country to do so. The ruling African National
Congress party ordered all its MPs to vote for the bill to
bring the law into line with the country's constitution, despite opposition from
churchmen and traditional leaders.
With all the votes
counted, the incumbent president, Joseph Kabila, was declared the winner of
Congo's presidential run-off election
against Jean-Pierre Bemba. But Mr Bemba's supporters have alleged widespread fraud
and the result is likely to be contested in the Supreme Court and on the streets,
where the two candidates' private armies have been exchanging gunfire. <a
bin1/DM/y/hyDx0FDHx80Mo0DXXt0EE">See article</a>
Severe flooding in
eastern Kenya has killed at least 21 people and made a further
60,000 or so homeless.
 
name="services_delayed">Services delayed</div> The European Parliament approved
a law, much delayed and watered down, boosting cross-border competition in
services from 2010. Supporters say it could create 600,000 new
jobs.
In return for diplomatic
help against Iran, America is backing Russia's entry bid to the World Trade Organisation. That
removes one of the last big obstacles to Russia's
membership, although Georgia and Moldova, both of which are
suffering Russian sanctions, have yet to confirm their agreement.
Less than two weeks
before a planned Russia-EU summit, Poland vetoed the start of talks covering energy, trade and human
rights. It wants the Kremlin to lift a ban on Polish food imports and ratify an
earlier treaty liberalising Russia's energy
market.
The Center for
Constitutional Rights, an American pressure group, has asked Germany to sue the former defence secretary, Donald
Rumsfeld, over alleged prisoner abuse in Iraq and
Guantánamo Bay. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hyDx0FDHx80Mo0DXXu0EF">See
 
name="back_on_speaking_terms">Back on speaking terms</div> <table
size="-1">Senior diplomats from India and Pakistan resumed talks, broken off after India accused
Pakistan's intelligence forces of involvement in bomb blasts
in July that killed almost 200 people in Mumbai. They put a
little flesh on skeletal proposals for a “joint mechanism” to combat terrorism and
build trust.
On the eve of George
Bush's departure on his trip that will take in the ASEAN
summit in Hanoi at the weekend, America's State Department removed Vietnam from a list of countries accused of suppressing
religious freedom. But Congress failed to approve a proposal that the two
countries normalise trade relations.
After shutting down
">Bangladesh for four days in protest at the alleged bias of the
authorities due to oversee elections in January, the opposition called off its
national strike, at least until November 20th. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hyDx0FDHx80Mo0DXXv0EG">See
In the latest twist in
">Taiwan's continuing corruption scandals, prosecutors interviewed
Ma Ying-jeou, the mayor of Taipei and likely future presidential candidate for the
opposition Kuomintang, over allegations that he had misappropriated funds. Mr Ma
denied any wrongdoing.
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 11/16/2006 14:05:52
STATUS: publish
BODY:
US Airways
offered to buy its bankrupt rival Delta for $8.7
billion, in a hostile bid analysts hailed as proof that the outlook for America's
struggling airlines was improving. The deal would create America's biggest
carrier, and might prompt other mergers. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hyD20FDHx80Mo0DXW40Ex">See
The boss of
Deutsche Telekom, Kai-Uwe Ricke, resigned after shareholders
complained about falling profits. The head of the firm's mobile unit, René
Obermann, will succeed him. But strict German labour laws will make it difficult
for Mr Obermann to pare costs by cutting jobs. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hyD20FDHx80Mo0DXW50Ey">See
 
name="out_of_fashion">Out of fashion</div> Benetton's chief
executive, Silvano Cassano, also quit abruptly. He had rowed with the Benetton
family, which owns a controlling stake in the firm, over the fashion retailer's
plans to expand internationally. The chief financial officer resigned at the same
time. Benetton's shares fell by almost 9% on the news.
The job of Arun Sarin,
the embattled boss of Vodafone, appeared secure, however, after
the mobile-phone operator's results proved better than expected. Earnings for the
six months to October reached £6.2 billion ($11.5 billion). The firm projected
revenue growth for the full year of 6%.
Sony
launched a new games console, the PlayStation 3, which it hopes will revive its
fortunes after a year of embarrassing scandals and expensive technical faults. But
because of further glitches, the firm could supply Japanese retailers with only
93,000 units, which sold out within hours. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hyD20FDHx80Mo0DXW60Ez">See
In the latest proof of
Gazprom's growing clout, ENI, an Italian energy firm, agreed to cede 3%
of Italy's retail gas market to the Russian state-controlled
giant. In return, Gazprom will extend contracts to sell gas to ENI, its largest foreign customer, until 2035. The pair also
agreed to look for and develop new fields together in Russia
and Africa. 
Electric and Hitachi agreed to set up joint ventures in
America and Japan to vie for contracts to build nuclear
power plants. Their main rivals in the industry have already forged similar
alliances.
The price of copper and
other metals dropped as inventories rose. That led to a fall in
the shares of mining firms and a slide in the currencies of countries that export
lots of minerals, including Australia, Canada and South Africa. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hyD20FDHx80Mo0DXW70E1">See article</a>
Anglo
American, a mining conglomerate with big assets in South
Africa, said it would invest $4 billion in coal mining and processing in
China. Earlier, Larry Yung, a Chinese tycoon, had spent $800m on a 1.1% stake in
the firm, in the latest example of Chinese investment in natural resources in
Africa.
Deutsche
Börse, which runs Frankfurt's stockmarket, dropped
its bid to buy Euronext, an operator of exchanges in London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Lisbon. The decision clears
the way for a rival offer from the New York Stock
Exchange, and leaves Deutsche Börse searching for another partner.
bin1/DM/y/hyD20FDHx80Mo0DXW80E2">See article</a>
Meanwhile, a consortium
of big investment banks unveiled their plans for a new share-
trading platform that would compete with European stock exchanges. Citigroup,
Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and
UBS will all own shares in the new venture.
style="">Russia reached a deal with America on joining the
World Trade Organisation, a big boost to its 13-year-old campaign
for accession. The two countries plan to sign an agreement on November 19th in
Vietnam, which is about to become the WTO's 150th member. No sooner had Vietnam's
WTO membership been formally approved last week than Intel,
a computer-chip maker, announced that it would raise its investments in the
country by $700m.
 
rel="nofollow">Wace not, want not</div> Marshall Wace, a
British-based hedge-fund manager, plans to raise as much as €1.5 billion ($1.9
billion) on the Euronext stock exchange for a new fund. If successful, MW Tops may be the largest such listing. Traditionally, investors
have been able to buy stakes only in funds-of-funds, not individual ones, through
the stockmarket. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hyD20FDHx80Mo0DXXA0ED">See
 
name="back_down_to_earth">Back down to earth</div> <table
size="-1">The economy of the euro area grew by a sluggish 0.5% in
the third quarter compared with the previous one, according to preliminary
estimates. Economists had predicted a better performance, but stagnation in
France, lacklustre growth in Italy and a slowdown in Germany all weighed on the numbers. Japan's GDP also expanded by 0.5% in the third quarter
compared with the previous one, but that was higher than most economists had
forecast. Compared with the same period last year, the economy grew by 2.7%. <a
bin1/DM/y/hyD20FDHx80Mo0DXIJ0E6">See article</a> 
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Web 2.0 Malaise; Election Fallout; Brit Splits
DATE: 11/11/2006 09:18:27
STATUS: publish
BODY:
The Web 2.0 Summit opens against a backdrop of Web 2.0 funding <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/jAnbuOjdzWKZ-zPf">doubling over
the previous year to $455.5 million</a>. Hype is also soaring; witness the <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/QUcDWbOpGmg-
qrTO">breathless piece on Web 2.0</a> in the San
Francisco Chronicle's pre-conference coverage, (colorful commentary
via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/rdfu0Ar8lRjat5Uf">Valleywag</a>)
followed by a <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/h_pp_w_JExAnl0MO">Top 10 Lies of Web 2.0</a>,
including "We learned our lesson last time." See <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
Web</a> and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
for a whole bunch more <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/AkvuB1JnFRjfGurQ">logos-er, start-ups</a>-who
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/H2Nf9r9NTz2sVB--">presented at the Summit's
LaunchPad</a>, including Adify (virtual ad networks), Stikkit (digital sticky
notes) and Klostu (single sign-on for message boards). <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/3UfQmxuU_7EpVJay">VentureBeat</a>
gravitates toward <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/COtqQRGMExUUdSre">useful products like Omnify</a>,
which saves data from multiple sources to a single place. One thing that did get
attendees jazzed was the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/UZBKBpBfkrY-6CN7">interview with Google's Eric
Schmidt</a> in which he denied the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/UZFsCB9FyJeSsgWm">YouTube legal fund
rumors</a>.
<a rel="nofollow" title="State of the Blogosphere" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/S1zdxeC9dQVsuGP0"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/growth-of-blogs-2006.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="346" width="339" alt="Image" /></a> Still, few
bloggers seem excited about the 13 LaunchPad presenters, and <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/8QX0VBOx4_15uVot">Monkey
Bites</a> thinks only <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/3MMF_z0KI9HduMPK">one in three companies at the
Summit were even Web 2.0</a>. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/iwJBFQVFtgLDLA7U">Om Malik</a>
complains of Web 2.0 fatigue, citing excess spin from companies desperate for some
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/wfDZRdV78HoOLURw">Web 2.0 fairy dust</a>-but <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/zAhF1TMZRs1x2k3f">Deep Jive Interests</a> shoots
back that <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/nvmFZbl2NNAKXM7-">Om purveys some of that same
spin</a>. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/JJ0arUcOTNFLZCN6">Silicon Valley
Watcher</a> wonders <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/D8MWJ_kic2c9mw2F">where all the Web 2.0 users
are</a>-not registered users, but user communities. 
Even if the Web 2.0 Summit kick-off seemed anemic, the blogosphere added a
healthy 100,000 blogs per day during the third quarter of 2006, according to <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/jlfRyrpdPP30WSM5">Technorati's State of the
Blogosphere report</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/j_tWm7aWi4XI6b-r">Technorati
Weblog</a>). And<a rel="nofollow" title="XBox Movies" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Sc1iAoxzStrcJ-Ym"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/pimpmyride.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="223" width="157" alt="Image" /></a> vlogger
creativity was on display at the Vloggie videoblog awards, with <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/6TMi2x7EMIxpk4NI">Alive in Baghdad
taking Best Vlog</a> and Best Political Vlog for its Iraq
coverage. 
The Web giants were also busy this week: MySpace is <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/G3lyBvgopyXeAld7">expanding into
Japan</a>, where it would go head-to-head with Mixi (via <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/OF9Rby2HneqlPBZc">Mr. Wave
Theory</a>). Meanwhile, Microsoft announces it's turning its <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/ZnhKGFzBZPalqCs-">Xbox360 into an HDTV and movie
machine</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/y3k7zN7ZKd19S_5h">jkOnTheRun</a>).
Unfortunately, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/0ffO8_S8yFR3VtFl">Kotaku</a>
blogs, the content will include items like <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Sc1iAoxzStrcJ-Ym">Batman Forever and
Pimp My Ride</a>. 
<a rel="nofollow" title="Election Fallout" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/7fGJ2xiBkcb_Mnz8"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/pelosi-joy.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="202" width="158" alt="Image" /></a>In politics,
election night started out strangely enough what with <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/hMTap9oOFXmYVaWl">Dan Rather
appearing with Jon Stewart</a> and Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central. But reality
soon trumped comedy as a huge freshman class of <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/UlFcdeiiNH5qY_ic">Democrats won election to the
House</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/44k3YZcCY6McNIT-">Eschaton</a>).
RCP Blog's <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/i7zDksAxZeV7o1Ci">gallery of big-newspaper front
pages</a> says it all. The hunt for reasons the Republicans lost started
immediately: their role in <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/cAiIdHPdHOiT-6vn">runaway federal spending</a>,
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/vDy_gLbDc9Vh6VCP">Instapundit</a>.
A failure to deal with <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/p47GRDXYLMtrepV_">illegal immigration</a>, writes
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/ZAjAP0EexBgwxKdv">Radio
Equalizer</a> from the Republicans' No-Sulk Zone. A failure to stop<a
rel="nofollow" title="Rummy Resigns" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/tRPnoHFc3hfMOXHd"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/th_inurwar.jpg"
align="right" border="0" alt="Image" /></a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/ZpHWhus0PyHTM0nQ">looting in both Iraq and the
U.S.</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
Post</a>. Or maybe just a habit of taking up big issues and <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/jaGbbQ1J3Rhd5hRl">doing nothing with them</a>,
muses <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/yAwks5aGaaiw20IX">Hugh Hewitt</a>.
Expect a <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/d-
wGl3tUxBMytXqe">lame-duck Congress that tries passing a lot of bills</a>, and
(gulp) Nancy Pelosi as Speaker, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/mSwG7XX_Ilk-QQUO">The
Agonist</a>.
There was another electoral casualty as President Bush announced <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/l3ICOTTpfszNWciB">Donald Rumsfeld's resignation as
Defense Secretary</a>, with former CIA director Robert Gates to take his place
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/fZSmBLIHnFo045c0">Yahoo News</a>).
Gates was offered the job Sunday while Bush was in Crawford,
Texas, having <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/bsP__iIYOe-Yy2Vp">previously turned down the
director of national intelligence spot</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/duslOLIxzLg_jJP9">Confederate
Yankee</a>. So much for the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/jknYRV71EqXPlJs_">Joe-Lieberman-becomes-SecDef
rumors</a>, chuckles <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/2VP6d212sd8wOg5x">Daniel
Drezner</a>. Too bad Bush didn't <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/VrpzrxaaPXlAytq5">cut Rumsfeld before the
election</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/vHZ_lCMXPhlFyNOV">Blackfive</a>-it
would have shown those <a rel="nofollow" title="Brit Splits from K-Fed"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/8HmW22prgoLT0bEu"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/brit_split.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="263" width="329" alt="Image" /></a> who voted
against staying the course that he was making important changes. Maybe Rumsfeld
just couldn't face the idea of endless grillings before Democrat-controlled
panels, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/E97u-DNiZWYnDs4N">Tom Watson</a>.
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/RojJkhPnp_44Ch9A">On Deadline</a>
wraps up some of the early analyses. 
Finally in entertainment, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/65l55m424tvTq7Rs">Gawker</a> hails
the end of our long national nightmare as <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/8HmW22prgoLT0bEu">Britney Spears files to divorce
Kevin Federline</a> (call him Fed-Ex) and asks for full custody of their
offspring. Time to start looking for the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/FUyIpoNN6XdSuKzh">next ill-advised marriage</a>,
snarks <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/MtI5zyUUN_hMPrPV">Defamer</a>, but
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/WsTGRejcB7zvUUq3">Popsugar</a>
loves <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/subEam-
NIJWajOG1">Britney's ironclad prenup</a> while <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Vii3VBToefhzaXbz">PerezHilton.com<
/a> provides the ugly blow-by-blow of Mr. and Mrs. Spears' <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Vc-aW8avnAjmzHjx">last bitter
days</a>. Phew.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 11/09/2006 15:57:07
STATUS: publish
BODY:
The Democrats did better
than expected in America's mid-term elections. They handily won
the House of Representatives, ousting the Republicans who have controlled the
chamber since 1995 and positioning Nancy Pelosi as the first female speaker, and
seemed to have secured the Senate by a narrow margin. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hxk40FDHx80Mo0DWgA0E6">See article</a>
With the issue of Iraq prominent in the elections, a prominent casualty of the
Republican rout was Donald Rumsfeld, who resigned as defence
secretary. Earlier, the Army Times, the voice of America's troops, had
called for him to go. George Bush nominated Robert Gates, a
former head of the CIA, as his new defence chief. <a
bin1/DM/y/hxk40FDHx80Mo0DWgB0E7">See article</a>
Democrats also did well
in the various governors' races, giving them control of the
majority of governorships for the first time in 12 years. Colorado and Ohio,
seen as bellwether states in the 2008 presidential race, were among the states
they picked up. They also won Massachusetts, making Deval Patrick the second black man
to be elected to a governor's office. There was consolation for the Republicans in
California, where Arnold Schwarzenegger
romped to victory, and Florida, where Charlie Crist won, but only
after he embarrassed George Bush by ducking out of a campaign rally with him. <a
bin1/DM/y/hxk40FDHx80Mo0DWgC0E8">See article</a>
Plenty of state
initiatives were on the ballot. South
Dakota's voters rejected stringent restrictions on
abortion that had been passed by the legislature and which anti-
abortion advocates were hoping would provide a test case in the Supreme Court.
Arizona passed a raft of measures targeting illegal
immigrants, such as making English the state's official language, but
produced a surprise by becoming the first state to reject a constitutional ban on
gay marriage. Measures banning same-sex nuptials were passed
elsewhere. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hxk40FDHx80Mo0DWgD0EA">See article</a>
 
name="everlasting">Everlasting?</div> Political parties and Maoist
rebels in Nepal reached a peace agreement.
The Maoists will submit to United Nations supervision of their fighters and
weapons, and will join an interim government. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hxk40FDHx80Mo0DWgE0EB">See
style="">Thailand's authorities, seeking to pacify its troubled
Muslim-majority south, freed 92 southerners detained over the 2004 Tak Bai
protest, in which the police and army killed more than 80 Muslims.
A suicide bomber killed
more than 40 soldiers at an army training camp in north-west Pakistan. The army blamed the attack on militants taking
revenge for the bombing of an Islamic college in a nearby tribal area on October
30th, which killed 80.
size="-1">Protesters took to the streets of Taiwan's capital to demand the resignation of the
president, Chen Shui-bian, after prosecutors said they had evidence of corruption
by both himself and his wife. He denied the charges and stayed put, with the
support of his party. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hxk40FDHx80Mo0DWgF0EC">See
In eastern Sri Lanka, at least 45 civilians were killed when army
shells hit a camp sheltering people displaced by the war with Tamil Tiger rebels.

 
name="born_again">Born again</div> Daniel Ortega, the leader of
Nicaragua's Sandinistas, won a presidential
election. With 91% of the vote counted, he had 38%, a nine-point lead over his
nearest rival, Eduardo Montealegre, who was backed by the United
States. Mr Ortega was Nicaragua's president during
the Sandinista revolution from 1979-90. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hxk40FDHx80Mo0DWgG0ED">See
Mexico, bombs damaged the Federal Elections Tribunal, a Canadian
bank and the offices of the formerly ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party
(PRI) in the capital. A small leftist group said it placed
the devices to support a five-month uprising against the PRI
governor of the southern state of Oaxaca. 
style="">Cuba's foreign minister said he did not want to
��speculate�� about whether Fidel Castro, the country's ailing president, would
be well enough to attend an official celebration of his 80th birthday next month.
In July Mr Castro was operated on for ��intestinal bleeding��. He is widely
thought to be suffering from cancer. 
 
name="must_do_better">Must do better</div> The European Commission published
its annual report on Turkey and other
candidates for membership of the European Union. The report was highly critical of
Turkey's progress, though it stopped short of recommending a
suspension of the membership talks. An EU summit in
December will now consider that option. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hxk40FDHx80Mo0DWgH0EE">See
An attempt to end the
British opt-out from the EU's maximum working-time
rules failed. But several countries may now be taken to court for not
counting doctors' on-call time against the limits. 
In an unexpected
development after last week's election, the Spanish region of
Catalonia is to have a new government made up of three left-wing
parties, led by the Socialists. That consigns the centre-right nationalist party
which won the largest share of the vote to opposition.
The three candidates for
the Socialist Party's nomination in France's presidential
election held a final televised debate. The frontrunner, S��gol��ne Royal, is
clinging to her lead, though it has shrunk and some doubt whether she will win on
the first round. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hxk40FDHx80Mo0DWgI0EF">See
 
name="judicial_review">Judicial review</div> <table align="right"
size="-1">Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death for ordering the
killing of 148 people in the mainly Shia town of Dujail in 1982. He then appeared
in court again, on trial for the slaughter of more than 100,000 Kurds during the
Anfal campaign in 1987 and 1988. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hxk40FDHx80Mo0DWgJ0EG">See
style="">Iraq prepared a law to allow former members (excluding the most
senior) of Saddam's Baath Party to return to the public-service
jobs they were ousted from in 2003. Separately, Iraq's
interior ministry charged 57 employees with torturing prisoners at a detention
centre in Baghdad.
Hours after the Israeli
army ended its six-day occupation of Beit Hanoun in Gaza, its artillery bombarded the town, killing��by accident, it
said��at least 19 Palestinians. 
Talks on forming a
Palestine national unity government were resumed but got off to a
slow start. Hamas, which runs the Palestinian Authority, proposed an alternative
to the current prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh. Its opponents did not accept him.
bin1/DM/y/hxk40FDHx80Mo0DWgK0EH">See article</a>
Chad
accused Sudan of ��exporting the genocide�� from its Darfur region over the border. Chad's army has been engaged in
fierce fighting with rebel forces which it says are backed by Sudan.
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 11/09/2006 15:56:35
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Private-equity
firms came under scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic. It emerged that
America's Justice Department has expanded its informal inquiry into possible
antitrust practices among firms that join together in giant “club” buy-outs. And
Britain's Financial Services Authority published a detailed paper on private
equity that highlights possible dangers. It says private-equity firms appear to
pose fewer risks than hedge funds, and are unlikely to threaten the broader
economic system. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hxk70FDHx80Mo0DWgd0Ej">See
Meanwhile, the rush of
private-equity deals continued. Linde, which specialises in
industrial chemicals, sold its forklift truck business for euro4 billion
($5 billion) in Germany's biggest-ever leveraged buy-out.
And the parent of the Outback Restaurant chain, based in Tampa,
was picked up for $3.2 billion. Vivendi, a French media group,
revealed it had rejected an “expression of interest” from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts,
reportedly worth up to $50 billion. 
rel="nofollow" name="sharp_indeed">Sharp indeed</div> Four Seasons
Hotels received a $3.7 billion buy-out proposal from Isadore Sharp, its
chief executive and founder. As in other recent bids from management to take
companies private, concerns were raised about a potential conflict of interest in
the sale. Mr Sharp stands to gain $288m from the deal and indicated he would not
welcome rival offers. 
FedEx
cancelled its order for ten cargo-carrying versions of Airbus's
A380 and placed an order with Boeing instead. It was the first customer
to cancel a contract for the super-jumbo. The logistics and freight company said
delays to the troubled project were hindering its expansion plans. Meanwhile,
EADS, Airbus's parent company, reported a net loss of
euro195m ($250m) for the third quarter on the back of the production
woes. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hxk70FDHx80Mo0DWge0Ek">See article</a> 
In a surprise
announcement, Bernd Pischetsrieder said he was stepping down as
Volkswagen's chief executive, a decision viewed as a victory for
the carmaker's chairman, Ferdinand Piëch, with whom Mr Pischetsrieder has had a
rocky relationship over VW's restructuring plans. <a
bin1/DM/y/hxk70FDHx80Mo0DWgf0El">See article</a> 
Toyota
issued a forecast showing it was on track to make an operating profit of ¥2.2
trillion ($18.7 billion) for this fiscal year, which would be the biggest profit
ever for a Japanese company. The carmaker also unveiled a partnership with Isuzu,
a truck- and engine-maker, to develop Toyota's range of fuel-efficient cars.

Motors also said it was expanding its manufacturing of energy-efficient
cars—in China. From 2008 GM will make petrol-and-electric
hybrid cars in the country, which is a bright spot in an otherwise bleak sales
landscape for the company. Separately, GM said its third-
quarter loss, which it reported two weeks ago as being $115m, was actually $91m.

In a decision that some
analysts said was inevitable, Lakshmi Mittal was appointed chief executive of the
newly merged Arcelor Mittal, the world's biggest steelmaker. Mr
Mittal fought a protracted battle to combine Mittal Steel with Arcelor that
annoyed some politicians in Europe, where Arcelor is based.
In order to secure the deal, he had agreed to take a non-executive
position.
Abbott
Laboratories agreed to buy Kos Pharmaceuticals for $3.7
billion. The deal gives Abbott, based in Illinois, greater
access to the growing market for pharmaceuticals that boost “good” cholesterol (or
high-density lipoprotein), and thus help fight heart disease.
rel="nofollow" name="they_love_la">They love LA</div> Eli Broad, a
billionaire philanthropist, and Ronald Burkle, a supermarket
mogul, both based in Los Angeles, submitted a joint bid to buy the
Tribune media group, which includes the troubled Los Angeles Times among its assets. Earlier, the newspaper's
editor resigned after refusing to implement job cuts demanded by the paper's
owners. Several private-equity firms launched bids for Tribune last month.

style="">Vietnam gained the formal approval of the World Trade
Organisation to become its 150th member. The process for negotiations with Vietnam began in January 1995, some one-and-a-half years after
Russia's
started. Russia is still waiting to join. 
rel="nofollow" name="storing_up_more_trouble">Storing up more
trouble?</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
size="-1">China's trade surplus rose to a record $23.8 billion in
October on the back of strong demand for its exports ahead of the Christmas
shopping season. With its foreign-currency reserves also reported to have passed
$1 trillion, the largest amount held by any country, analysts predicted more
souring in trade relations between China and America and the European Union. Some
wondered whether, with the Democrats in the ascendant, stiff tariffs on Chinese
goods would now be back on the agenda in Washington.

</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Ballot questions across the US
DATE: 11/08/2006 07:10:31
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<a href="/news/special/politics/2006_elections/general_results/">Back
to full election results Here are the results of 51 key ballot
questions being decided across the United States on Nov. 7, 2006. Winners declared
by the Associated Press are denoted by a check mark (<img
src="http://cache.boston.com/news/special/politics/images/election_checkmark.gif"
alt="Winner" border="0" height="9" width="11" alt="Image" />); (i) denotes an
incumbent.
Other results: <img src="http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/File-
Based_Image_Resource/dingbat_arrow_icon.gif" width="4" height="9" border="0"
alt="Image" /> <a
href="/news/special/politics/2006_elections/general_results/us_president_all_state
s.htm">President</a> <img src="http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/File-
alt="Image" /> <a
href="/news/special/politics/2006_elections/general_results/us_senate_all_states.h
tm">US Senate</a> <img src="http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/File-
alt="Image" /> <a
href="/news/special/politics/2006_elections/general_results/us_house_all_states.ht
m">US House</a> <img src="http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/File-
alt="Image" /> <a
href="/news/special/politics/2006_elections/general_results/mass_results.html">Mas
sachusetts</a> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr
valign="top"> <td> <a name="Arizona"></a><table border="0" cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td><img
src="http://cache.boston.com/news/special/politics/2006_elections/medium_banner_l_
endcap.gif" alt="" border="0" height="20" width="38" alt="Image" /></td> <td
background="http://cache.boston.com/news/special/politics/2006_elections/medium_ba
nner_m_background.gif"> ARIZONA</td>
<td rowspan="3"><img
src="http://cache.boston.com/news/special/politics/2006_elections/medium_banner_r_
endcap.gif" alt="" border="0" height="20" width="5" alt="Image" /></td> </tr>
</tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr
bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Proposition 103 -- English
Language</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
style="">Designates English as the official language of the state.</div>
<div>2,186 of 2,209 precincts -- 99%</div></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table
border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr valign="bottom">
<th>Candidate</th> <th>Votes</th> <th>Pct.</th> </tr> <tr
valign="top"> <td><img
alt="Winner" border="0" height="9" width="11" alt="Image" /> Yes</td>
<td>843,911</td> <td>74%</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> No</td>
<td>293,180</td> <td>26%</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <div style="font-
family:Sans serif,Arial,Helvetica; font-size:8pt; ">Last updated:
05:23 AM</div> <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0">
<tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Proposition 200 -- Voter
Reward</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div style="">After
each general election, awards $1 million to a randomly chosen voter.</div>
alt="Winner" border="0" height="9" width="11" alt="Image" /> No</td>
<td>745,348</td> <td>66%</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> Yes</td>
05:23 AM</div> <table border="0" cellpadding="1"
cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Proposition 202
-- Minimum Wage</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
style="">Raises the minimum wage and ties it to inflation.</div> <div>2,184 of
2,209 precincts -- 99%</div></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="1"
cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr valign="bottom">
-- Gay Marriage</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
style="">Defines marriage as a union only between a man and a woman.</div>
-- Smoke Free</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
style="">This health industry version of Proposition 206 prohibits smoking in most
public places.</div> <div>2,186 of 2,209 precincts -- 99%</div></td> </tr>
valign="bottom"> <th>Candidate</th> <th>Votes</th> <th>Pct.</th>
</tr> <tr valign="top"> <td><img
-- Nonsmoker Protection</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff">
<td><div style="">The tobacco industry alternative to Proposition 201, it
prohibits smoking in most public places except bars.</div> <div>2,186 of 2,209
precincts -- 99%</div></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="1"
-- Eminent Domain</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
style="">Prohibits the use of eminent domain for private use and requires
compensation.</div> <div>2,186 of 2,209 precincts -- 99%</div></td> </tr>
05:23 AM</div> <a name="California"></a><table border="0" cellpadding="0"
family:helvetica,arial,sans; font-size:9pt;
">CALIFORNIA</td> <td rowspan="3"><img
</tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0">
<tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Proposition 86 -- Cigarette
Tax</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div style="">Creates a
$2.60-per-pack surtax on cigarettes with funds going to hospitals.</div>
<td>3,198,357</td> <td>52%</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td><img
<td>3,092,070</td> <td>52%</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td>
Yes</td> <td>2,917,125</td> <td>48%</td> </tr> <tr valign="top">
<td> Yes</td> <td>2,814,946</td> <td>48%</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
<div style="font-family:Sans serif,Arial,Helvetica; font-size:8pt; ">Last
updated: 05:23 AM</div> <table border="0" cellpadding="1"
cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Proposition 85 --
Notify Parent</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
style="">Requires a waiting period and parental notification for abortions by
minors.</div> <div>22,050 of 25,231 precincts -- 87%</div></td> </tr>
Yes</td> <td>2,779,731</td> <td>46%</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <div
style="font-family:Sans serif,Arial,Helvetica; font-size:8pt; ">Last
updated: 05:23 AM</div> <a name="Colorado"></a><table border="0"
cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td><img
">COLORADO</td> <td rowspan="3"><img
<tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Referendum I -- Partner
Benefits</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
style="">Establishes domestic partnerships, giving same-sex couples legal rights
of marriage.</div> <div>2,738 of 3,161 precincts -- 87%</div></td> </tr>
cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Amendment 42 --
Minimum Wage</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
style="">Increases the minimum wage and ties it to inflation.</div> <div>2,745
of 3,161 precincts -- 87%</div></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="1"
Marriage</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
05:23 AM</div> <a name="Florida"></a><table border="0" cellpadding="0"
family:helvetica,arial,sans; font-size:9pt; ">FLORIDA</td>
<tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Amendment 4 -- Tobacco
Settlement</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
style="">Requires state to use tobacco settlement money for tobacco education
programs.</div> <div>6,942 of 6,950 precincts -- 100%</div></td> </tr>
<td>2,749,529</td> <td>61%</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td> No</td>
<td>1,765,227</td> <td>39%</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <div style="font-
Eminent Domain</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
style="">Prohibits the use of eminent domain to take land for private use.</div>
05:23 AM</div> <a name="Georgia"></a><table border="0" cellpadding="0"
family:helvetica,arial,sans; font-size:9pt; ">GEORGIA</td>
<tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Amendment 1 -- Eminent
Domain</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
05:23 AM</div> <a name="Idaho"></a><table border="0" cellpadding="0"
nner_m_background.gif">
IDAHO</td> <td rowspan="3"><img
<tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Amendment SJR107 --
Tobacco</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
style="">Creates a restricted endowment fund from tobacco settlement money.</div>
<div>783 of 952 precincts -- 82%</div></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table
valign="top"> <td> Yes</td> <td>171,951</td> <td>58%</td> </tr>
<tr valign="top"> <td> No</td> <td>122,496</td> <td>42%</td> </tr>
</tbody></table> <div style="font-family:Sans serif,Arial,Helvetica; font-
size:8pt; ">Last updated: 05:23 AM</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff">
<td>Proposition 2 -- Eminent Domain</td> </tr> <tr
bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div style="">Restricts the use of eminent domain for
private use and requires compensation.</div> <div>783 of 952 precincts --
82%</div></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="1" cellpadding="1"
cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr valign="bottom"> <th>Candidate</th>
<th>Votes</th> <th>Pct.</th> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td><img
cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Amendment HJR2 --
Defines Marriage</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
<div>783 of 952 precincts -- 82%</div></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table
05:23 AM</div> <a name="Michigan"></a><table border="0" cellpadding="0"
">MICHIGAN</td> <td rowspan="3"><img
<tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Proposal 4 -- Eminent
cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Proposal 2 --
Affirmative Action</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
style="">Prohibits state universities from discriminating against individuals
based on their race.</div> <div>5,574 of 5,681 precincts -- 98%</div></td>
</tr> </tbody></table> <table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0">
<tbody><tr valign="bottom"> <th>Candidate</th> <th>Votes</th>
<th>Pct.</th> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td><img
05:23 AM</div> <a name="Missouri"></a><table border="0" cellpadding="0"
">MISSOURI</td> <td rowspan="3"><img
<tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Amendment 3 -- Tobacco
Tax</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div style="">Requires
the state to increase the tax per cigarette and use the revenue for healthcare and
tobacco prevention programs.</div> <div>3,676 of 3,746 precincts --
updated: 05:23 AM</div> <table border="0"
cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff">
<td>Amendment 2 -- Stem Cell</td> </tr> <tr
bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div style="">Permits stem cell research.</div>
cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Proposition B --
05:23 AM</div> </td> <td rowspan="1">��</td> <td rowspan="1"
bgcolor="#999999" valign="top"><img src="http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/File-
Based_Image_Resource/spacer.gif" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt="Image" />
</td> <td rowspan="1">��</td> <td> <a name="Montana"></a><table border="0"
nner_m_background.gif">
MONTANA</td> <td rowspan="3"><img
bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Initiative 151 -- Minimum Wage</td>
</tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div style="">Raises the minimum wage and
ties it to inflation.</div> <div>749 of 867 precincts -- 86%</div></td>
</tr> </tbody></table> <table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0">
<tbody><tr valign="bottom"> <th>Candidate</th> <th>Votes</th>
05:23 AM</div> <a name="Nevada"></a><table border="0" cellpadding="0"
family:helvetica,arial,sans; font-size:9pt; ">NEVADA</td>
bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Question 2 -- Property Rights</td>
</tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div style="">Prohibits the use of eminent
domain to take land for private use.</div> <div>1,879 of 1,913 precincts --
<td>344,623</td> <td>63%</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td><img
<td>291,793</td> <td>52%</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td>
Yes</td> <td>269,219</td> <td>48%</td> </tr> <tr valign="top">
<td> No</td> <td>258,300</td> <td>46%</td> </tr> <tr valign="top">
<td> No</td> <td>202,590</td> <td>37%</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <div
cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Question 6 --
<td>385,818</td> <td>69%</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td>
No</td> <td>175,898</td> <td>31%</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <div
updated: 05:23 AM</div> <a name="New Hampshire"></a><table border="0"
family:helvetica,arial,sans; font-size:9pt; ">NEW
HAMPSHIRE</td> <td rowspan="3"><img
bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Question 1 -- Curb Eminent Domain</td>
domain to take land for private use.</div> <div>294 of 301 precincts --
05:23 AM</div> <a name="North Dakota"></a><table border="0" cellpadding="0"
family:helvetica,arial,sans; font-size:9pt; ">NORTH
DAKOTA</td> <td rowspan="3"><img
bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Measure 2 -- Property Rights</td>
domain to take land for private use.</div> <div>567 of 567 precincts --
05:23 AM</div> <a name="Ohio"></a><table border="0" cellpadding="0"
family:helvetica,arial,sans; font-size:9pt; ">OHIO</td>
bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Amendment 4 -- Smoke Less</td> </tr>
<tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div style="">No-smoking measure sponsored by the
tobacco industry that would allow smoking in bars.</div> <div>11,101 of 11,193
precincts -- 99%</div></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="1"
cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Initiative 5 --
SmokeFree Work</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
style="">Bans smoking in public places.</div> <div>11,023 of 11,193 precincts
-- 98%</div></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="1" cellpadding="1"
<th>Votes</th>
style="">Increases the minimum wage and ties it to inflation.</div>
05:23 AM</div> <a name="Oregon"></a><table border="0" cellpadding="0"
family:helvetica,arial,sans; font-size:9pt; ">OREGON</td>
<tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Measure 39 -- Eminent
<div>578 of 1,000 precincts -- 58%</div></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table
cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Measure 43 --
Parental Notification</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
style="">Requires a waiting period and parental notification for abortion by
minors.</div> <div>594 of 1,000 precincts -- 59%</div></td> </tr>
05:23 AM</div> <a name="South Carolina"></a><table border="0" cellpadding="0"
family:helvetica,arial,sans; font-size:9pt; ">SOUTH
CAROLINA</td> <td rowspan="3"><img
<tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Amendment 5 -- Eminent
style="">Prohibits the use of eminent domain for private use.</div> <div>2,058
Define Marriage</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
05:23 AM</div> <a name="South Dakota"></a><table border="0" cellpadding="0"
family:helvetica,arial,sans; font-size:9pt; ">SOUTH
DAKOTA</td> <td rowspan="3"><img
<tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Amendment E -- Judicial
Liability</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
style="">Allows a special grand jury to fine or jail elected officials, juries,
judges, and prosecutors for judicial decisions they make.</div> <div>816 of
818 precincts -- 100%</div></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="1"
05:23 AM</div> <table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0">
<tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Referendum 6 -- Abortion
Ban</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div style="">Approve
ban on abortion passed by Legislature.</div> <div>816 of 818 precincts --
cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Amendment C --
Define Marriage</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
style="">Defines marriage
as a union only between a man and a woman.</div> <div>816 of 818 precincts --
05:23 AM</div> <a name="Tennessee"></a><table border="0" cellpadding="0"
">TENNESSEE</td> <td rowspan="3"><img
<tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Amendment 1 -- Define
05:23 AM</div> <a name="Virginia"></a><table border="0" cellpadding="0"
">VIRGINIA</td> <td rowspan="3"><img
<tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Amendment 1 -- Define
05:23 AM</div> <a name="Wisconsin"></a><table border="0" cellpadding="0"
">WISCONSIN</td> <td rowspan="3"><img
<tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Referendum 2 -- Death
Penalty</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
style="">Institutes death penalty for first-degree intentional homicide.</div>
cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td>Referendum 1 --
Same-Sex Marriage Ban</td> </tr> <tr bgcolor="#ffffff"> <td><div
05:23 AM</div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> Copyright 2006, Boston.com
and the Associated Press. All rights reserved.
</a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: GoogleSpot; YouTube Gossip; Kerry's Goof
DATE: 11/03/2006 06:16:09
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Top Stories for the Week of October 30 - November 3 
<a rel="nofollow" title="comedy central on youtube" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/-NFqXyhCAYs2bxzb"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/sternandstewart.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="230" width="385" alt="Image" /></a> Google
continues its pre-holiday shopping spree - this time <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/PlgVvRQw20_rN2y3">buying wiki
service JotSpot</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/mi_EZjQoOd1V-YAN">Paid
Content</a>). <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/8DejLUfT7A0wDWoe">Mashable!</a>
notes JotSpot is now closed to new sign-ups while the service-G-Spot, anyone?-is
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/h1oqlt1acGomBmZx">migrated to Google</a>. (<a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/mI9QRcNcTg9x9tFA">Enough with the mashups of
"JotSpot" and "Google" already</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/yrbbapQdXB8JLgJs">Inside
Google</a>.) It's a good fit for Google, blogs <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/gt_sj_68m1_-8kk4">Micro
Persuasion</a>, since JotSpot was already moving away from enterprise biz
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/rPwLQktURmDcq81h">toward consumer
applications</a>. JotSpot competitor <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/G4ug36VVNSglFwPJ">Ross
Mayfield</a> took the buy as an occasion to <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/a2-CQ5yMl3ZzedCa">push his own
wiki company, SocialText</a>, and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/yH6OaBDRlAeH63qA">Don Dodge</a>
cites SocialText's recent deal with Microsoft to create SocialPoint, <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/hED4Gm3Kis-StZDC">a
wiki-based collaboration service that will work with SharePoint</a>-and calls it
an amazing transformation for an open source company once competing with Redmond.
Whisper numbers of the deal are $50 million, prompting <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/rdfu0Ar8lRjat5Uf">Valleywag</a> to
ask: did Joe Kraus have <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/RjH_gBbEm4IL3p_G">blackmail material on someone in
M&A</a>? 
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Rc1lGGjjPO4I7AMK"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/redditlogo.jpg"
align="left" border="0" alt="Image" /></a> Meanwhile Condé Nast, in the guise of
Wired, bought <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/75j9_oVPm2j0X3O9">user-generated news site Reddit
for an undisclosed sum</a>, creating a few more Boston
millionaires (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/fZbcofY8Zg7wluNR">Slashdot</a>).
Who's next? Since Google bought YouTube, everybody's talking to everybody, writes
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/9kf6cz_c7XTf65Ce">business2blog</a
>. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/ZOPNd5tLcyMI_Yzy">News Corp. may be chatting with
digg</a>, Yahoo may be flirting with AOL again and there could even be a <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/9UPvL-
_Tcm63jxpB">Yahoo-Microsoft linkup</a>. 
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/fjM8OibESvHMykBV"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/hurley.jpg" align="right"
border="0" height="121" width="182" alt="Image" /></a>Speaking of buyouts, here's
a theory on what drove YouTube into Google's arms: increasing infringement
complaints from copyright holders big and small, and if <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/NvdUV_jCpwfSYqVv">Blog
Maverick</a>'s anonymous source is believable, $500 million of the $1.65
billion purchase price is now in escrow to <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/39QJ60WPLSRLvoQP">deal with copyright
problems</a>. That explains to <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
why YouTube is nixing copyrighted content-like <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/-NFqXyhCAYs2bxzb">all those Daily Show
clips</a>. Founder Chad Hurley says <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/fjM8OibESvHMykBV">YouTube's been doing this for
months</a> (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
>), but <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/NFSc1rGoL0-H5VMk"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/eepybird.jpg" align="left"
border="0" alt="Image" />Monkey Bites</a> links to speculation
that <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/5StGmlhR73jjQoct">length may be a factor in the
take-downs</a> (keep it under five minutes and you're okay). YouTube and Comedy
Central owner Viacom appear to be in talks over licensing, though, and <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/j2Auy8QBCJth1UeL">John Stewart is returning to
YouTube</a> as you read this (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/8DejLUfT7A0wDWoe">Mashable!</a>).

YouTube has new competition too, like BrightCove's release of new, consumer-
friendly products for <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/-49A3jUoOOsjTiRh">creating individual TV
channels</a>, Metacafe's <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/O-WPE8qBAcJqctjb">Producer Rewards program</a>
> ), and even a new <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/NFSc1rGoL0-H5VMk">revenue-sharing program by
Google Video</a>. 
 
Print newspapers keep hemorrhaging readers, blogs <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Q_BqmgrtmMrRBySX">BuzzMachine</a>,
but eyeballs are turning to online editions, with <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/iAvns8UrxwFfyye4">double-digit
increases in readership since last year</a>. Sure, average daily print circulation
is off 2.8% and Sundays are down 3.4%, but <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/0rB_Lpvvlz1eEtRs">Mark Evans</a>
blogs that it's like when radio faced the TV threat: <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/OEYn89KZD-whXgs8">Papers need to
adjust their economic model</a>. Better measurement of online readership will
help, particularly since <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/99mL_AeJhBXHjGqZ">advertisers demand it anyway</a>
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/f2TyAUg5RJ6STj4l">NYT:Technology</
a>). 
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Ql4S9S3yw2AMEiqN"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/newspaperkiosks.jpg"
align="right" border="0" alt="Image" /></a>Not content with losing 2004 for the
Democrats,<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/reE4M0iRu0Pl9KDr"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/kerry.jpg" align="left"
border="0" alt="Image" /></a> John Kerry told Pasadena
college students that members of the armed forces wound up in Iraq because
they were either <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/MZ7SFjExoVTfYbjl">lazy or dumb</a> (via <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/rKvLxdwmmtOaHt_O">Carpetbagger
Report</a>). White House spokesman Tony Snow
quickly jumped on Kerry's comments, but the Massachusetts senator <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/2vssVIDuJwYjxspw">refused to
apologize</a>, calling Snow a "stuffed suit White House mouthpiece" and implying that
Republicans who didn't serve in the military were cowards. Kerry's gaffe gave
President Bush some <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/W8JK9QfJ0v6Rtq5P">much-needed good news in a tough
year for the GOP</a>, writes the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/GL18JxOOgs-jczJl">New York
Times</a>, but bloggers were less kind. Kerry's still <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/akjx30PHhsJIRz_q">miserable and
bitter about the 2004 election</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/qSy8uLd9DAdY3a_B">Politik
Ditto</a>, while <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/yrvzMGiBNgh5Ewcj">Ace of Spades
HQ</a> chuckles that Kerry not only can't admit what he said, <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/u9eNQDMi0IQjPOZ_">he can't apologize for it
either</a>. Kerry finally apologized a day later for his "<a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/mwBkFmHAeie7Xv2Q">botched
joke</a>."
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/TyWYoJt0_nCCw2go"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/20061101troopsmessage.jpg"
align="right" border="0" alt="Image" /></a>On the liberal side, <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank"
Post</a> screams at Kerry to go on live TV now to <a
rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/jY-
x6F1L7FZqSBNs">defuse this bomb</a>, particularly since GOP Rep. John Boehner says
his party will <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/4R9uhNBK_wet-zjv">beat Kerry to death until he
apologizes</a>. But <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/ieNQDeIxw4lYgbnx">Gun Toting
Liberal</a> is psyched, saying Kerry's both-barrels-blazing reply shows
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/LkmSbXLg60EeJzqL">he's still got a pair</a>.
It could be worse: At least Kerry's staff didn't <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/UA_DmzAFvQfqpo1f">beat up a
blogger at a campaign rally</a>, as Virginia senator George "Macaca" Allen's
allegedly did (via <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/oc3HrxLXR5IJZOiw">Boing
Boing</a>). But Kerry is suddenly persona non grata among Democratic
candidates, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/OwE29WY_KKKWA9be">canceling</a> <a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/OwE29WY_KKKWA9be"> campaign
appearances in Iowa and Minnesota</a>, blogs <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/VEXHC1b461HDKlOn">Strata-
Sphere</a>. Hey, his <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/kdrUwrzsvnTGyYO-">schedule is lightening up</a>,
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Hk_btDmJ434_2C-B">Captain's
Quarters</a>. Kerry's troubles haven't kept name-brand politicos in both
major parties from rushing to stump in close Senate contests-<a rel="nofollow"
target="_blank" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Z078KpNXr66hKph9">Booker
Rising</a> spots <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/69VocGRLwg7L5LET">Bill Clinton appearing for
Tennessee Democrat Harold Ford Jr.</a> and Laura Bush for Ford's GOP opponent Bob
Corker.

-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 28th October - 3rd November 2006
DATE: 11/02/2006 14:26:49
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
size="-2"><div>Nov 2nd 2006 
 
America's political
parties rallied their core supporters as the electorate prepared to vote in the
mid-term elections on November 7th. George Bush hit the trail to
rail against gay marriage and terrorists in Iraq. He also
chastised Senator John Kerry, who is not up for election, for his gaffe that the
uneducated get “stuck in Iraq”. With polls forecasting that the Republicans will
lose the House of Representatives, but predicting the outcome in the Senate with
less certainty, Democrats continued with their mantra that the Iraq war has made America unsafe. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hxOe0FDHx80Mo0DVea0Ev">See article</a>
Authorities said arson
was the cause of a forest fire near Palm Springs,
California, that burned more than 40,000 acres. Five firefighters were
killed and dozens of properties destroyed. 
 
name="on_the_frontline">On the frontline</div> <table
size="-1">Iraq's unrelenting violence
included two particularly vicious bomb explosions in Sadr City, a Shia district of
Baghdad. One killed at least 15 people, including four
children, at a wedding; the other at least 30 people, mainly labourers looking for
work.
Israel launched a “major
operation” in the northern Gaza Strip,
reoccupying the town of Beit Hanoun with tanks and helicopter gunships. <a
bin1/DM/y/hxOe0FDHx80Mo0DVeb0Ew">See article</a>
Meanwhile, talks
continued about prisoner exchanges to retrieve the Israeli
soldier held captive in Gaza and the two held captive in
Lebanon. Egyptian officials negotiated with a Hamas
delegation in Cairo; and Hizbullah's leader, Hassan
Nasrallah, said the UN was negotiating between Israeli and
Hizbullah officials.
Tony Blair sent a senior
foreign-policy adviser, Sir Nigel Sheinwald, to Syria to find out whether President Bashar Assad could be
tempted into playing a more pro-Western role. America meanwhile warned Syria to cease attempts to destabilise the government of Lebanon. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hxOe0FDHx80Mo0DVec0Ex">See
Around 70 people were
killed by floods in Ethiopia's eastern
Ogaden region after a river burst its banks. In August, flooding killed an
estimated 900 people in the country.
A Nigerian
passenger aircraft crashed after take-off from the capital Abuja, killing 96 people. It was the country's third civilian air
disaster in a year. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hxOe0FDHx80Mo0DVed0Ey">See
style="">Congo's presidential run-off election on October 29th
passed off relatively peacefully. Early indications show a surprisingly close
contest between the incumbent president, Joseph Kabila, and his challenger, Jean-
Pierre Bemba. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hxOe0FDHx80Mo0DVee0Ez">See
 
name="no_temporary_solution">No temporary solution</div> Violent clashes erupted across
Bangladesh as an interim government, to
oversee elections due in January, took office. The opposition feared that the
outgoing government led by Khaleda Zia, the prime minister, might try to rig the
elections through a biased interim administration. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hxOe0FDHx80Mo0DVef0E1">See article</a><img
Just three weeks after
testing a nuclear device, North Korea
announced that it would rejoin multilateral talks on ending its nuclear-weapons
programme. The breakthrough came after secretly arranged talks with America and
China in Beijing. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hxOe0FDHx80Mo0DVeg0E2">See
Protests took place in
Pakistan after the army attacked a
madrassa in the tribal area of Bajaur and killed at least 80 people it
said were training as terrorists. Locals said many of the dead were children and
that pilotless American drones had begun the attack. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hxOe0FDHx80Mo0DVeh0E3">See article</a>
Two days of talks in
Geneva between Sri Lanka's government and
Tamil Tiger rebels ended with no progress towards fixing their battle-scarred
“ceasefire”.
 
name="mitteleuropa">Mitteleuropa</div> A summit in Berlin between Germany and Poland did little to resolve bilateral tensions over gas
pipelines and German property claims dating from the aftermath of the second world
war. The personal relationship between Germany's Angela
Merkel and Poland's Jaroslaw Kaczynski was at least cordial,
however.
One year after the riots
in France's troubled suburbs, another spate of vehicle burnings,
especially of buses, took place. In Marseille, a female bus
passenger was left badly burnt and fighting for her life. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hxOe0FDHx80Mo0DVei0E4">See article</a>
More than 70 Muslim
workers at Paris airport were stripped of their security
clearance. Some were reported to have visited terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hxOe0FDHx80Mo0DVej0E5">See article</a>
size="-1">Serbian voters approved a new constitution that
declares Kosovo to be an integral part of Serbia. A fresh
election will probably be held in December, but Kosovo is still likely to win
independence next year. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hxOe0FDHx80Mo0DVek0E6">See
size="-1">Catalonia held its first regional election since being
granted more autonomy by the Spanish government under a new statute. The
conservative nationalist CiU party
won most seats, but it will take weeks before a new coalition government is formed
in Barcelona.
Sir Nicholas Stern, the
head of Britain's government economic service and a former chief economist at the
World Bank, published a report on the economics of climate
change. It concludes that if greenhouse-gas emissions continue on their
current path, the cost could range between 5-20% of global output over the next
100-200 years. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hxOe0FDHx80Mo0DVel0E7">See
 
name="lucky_lula">Lucky Lula</div> <table align="right" border="0"
size="-1">Brazil's left-of-centre
president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, won a second term by a landslide. He gained
61% of the vote in a run-off ballot, against 39% for Geraldo Alckmin, his centre-
right opponent. Lula said he would seek to raise economic growth and cut the gap
between rich and poor. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hxOe0FDHx80Mo0DVem0E8">See
In a victory for
Bolivia's socialist president, Evo Morales,
ten foreign energy companies signed new contracts that grant majority ownership to
the state and will quadruple government tax revenues from energy. Mr Morales also
postponed previous plans to nationalise Bolivia's mines. <a
bin1/DM/y/hxOe0FDHx80Mo0DVen0EA">See article</a>
Thousands of federal
police retook the centre of the southern Mexican city of Oaxaca, which had been occupied by protesters for five months.
Congress called on the state's governor to step down. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hxOe0FDHx80Mo0DVeo0EB">See article</a>
At least 16 policemen
were killed in a homemade mortar attack by FARC guerrillas
on a rural police station in north-west Colombia.
After 47 rounds of
voting in which Guatemala regularly beat
">Venezuela but failed to secure a two-thirds majority, both
countries withdrew and agreed to support Panama to represent
Latin America in a rotating seat at the UN Security Council.
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 28th October - 3rd November 2006
DATE: 11/02/2006 14:26:14
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
size="-2"><div>Nov 2nd 2006 
 
Preliminary findings by
the federal agency that investigates industrial chemical accidents in America
rebuked BP for “the drastic effects of corporate cost-cutting”
that led to last year's explosion at the oil company's refinery at Texas City. The investigators described a series of lapses
underpinned by “cost pressures” that led to the blast, which killed 15 people and
damaged BP's reputation. The company has settled with most
of those who were injured or lost relatives in the accident, but the findings,
which BP questions, may prove pertinent if there is a
criminal trial. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hxOn0FDHx80Mo0DVe70EO">See
Investigations widened
on both sides of the Atlantic into the latest allegations of price-fixing
among chipmakers, which this time focus on fast-memory SRAM chips. Sony said it was co-operating with an inquiry by
America's Justice Department into industry-wide practices. Meanwhile, European
regulators raided the offices of several chipmakers as part of their
investigations. One of the companies reportedly targeted was Samsung, which was
fined $300m last year by America after admitting to price-fixing in slower DRAM chips.
size="-1">Google's buying spree continues. The firm announced it
had acquired a company that specialises in building wiki webpages.
JotSpot's products enable multiple users to collaborate on the
internet on websites such as blogs, and on corporate intranets. 
rel="nofollow" name="changing_drug_habits">Changing drug
habits</div> CVS, America's biggest retail drugs chain, agreed to
merge with Caremark, a company that offers pharmaceutical
services to health-care and insurance firms. The deal, valued at $21 billion,
adjusts the focus of CVS's core business from pharmacy
retail, in which Wal-Mart has become increasingly competitive on generic-drug
prices, to managing drug-benefit plans. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hxOn0FDHx80Mo0DVe80EP">See
Rinker,
an Australian building-materials company, rejected a $12.8 billion takeover offer
from Mexico's Cemex, the world's biggest maker of cement.
Rinker's share price, which had been declining recently in relation to the
slowdown in America's housing market, from which it derives the bulk of its
earnings, surged on Sydney's stockmarket.
There was some fairly
positive news from America's two biggest carmakers. General
Motors and Ford said their auto sales in the United States rose in October by 22% and 8% respectively compared
with a year earlier. With petrol prices tumbling from summer highs, the increase
was particularly marked in sales of trucks and pick-ups. However, analysts
cautioned that the comparison was skewed as October 2005 was a particularly dismal
month and that sales fell compared with September 2006. 
Schneider
Electric, a company based in France and the world's biggest electrical
equipment distributor, agreed to pay $6.1 billion for American Power
Conversion, which specialises in maintaining “critical power” supplies to
homes, businesses and hospitals during blackouts. 
After more than a year
of rumours about a possible deal, CB Richard
Ellis, which manages real estate for companies, agreed to buy
Trammell Crow, a smaller rival with more blue-chip clients, for
$2.2 billion. 
rel="nofollow" name="less_wealthy">Less wealthy</div> UBS had a bad
week. Amid reports that it was co-operating with a Securities and Exchange
Commission investigation into the possible manipulation of American Treasury
prices, the Swiss-based firm reported a 21% drop in net profit for the third
quarter compared with a year ago, a stark contrast to the stellar earnings posted
by other big investment banks. UBS blamed the “market
correction” that saw stockmarkets tumble in the early summer. <a rel="nofollow"
bin1/DM/y/hxOn0FDHx80Mo0DVfA0EZ">See article</a>
size="-1">MasterCard, which listed on the stockmarket in May,
issued its first results for a full quarter since it became a public company. The
credit-card company's net profit rose by 82%, to $193m, compared with a year
earlier, as consumers worldwide increased their use of plastic.
There was more evidence
of a slowing American economy. GDP grew by 1.6% at an annual rate in the third
quarter, the smallest increase since early 2003, with a sharp fall in home-
building contributing to the sluggish performance. And with carmakers cutting
production, the Institute for Supply Management's index indicated that
manufacturing was growing at its slowest pace in three years. 
rel="nofollow" name="positive_feelings">Positive feelings</div>
size="-1">The European Commission's indicator of business and consumer
economic sentiment in the euro area rose in October to its
highest level in more than five-and-a-half years. Among the bigger countries in
the currency block the uptick in optimism was particularly strong in Germany and France (where the unemployment rate is at a five-year
low), but in Italy confidence fell. 
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: GOOG to $560; Web Traffic Drop; Dirty Politics
DATE: 10/27/2006 16:31:13
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Blogs went nuts this week over Google's new personalized search engine, which <a
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/8QX0VBOx4_15uVot">Monkey Bites</a>
<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/jhEAgb-
vjIaXhqVe">explains in detail</a>. It makes it easy for anyone to <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/KdkCvYx5biB7RP4M">create a search engine for all
their favorite topics</a> without a Ph.D., with <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/8VyXj5_kgEUTVs-g">Search Engine
Journal</a> noting that bloggers can also earn revenue through AdSense.
You can even allow others to <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/HcpPI90eSm4PTojG">add to or edit your search
engine</a>, blogs <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/tM_0jaq_13z-MNpT">Mark Cutts</a>.
The days of <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/K6xk8FbQ-uZ839hw">Rollyo and Swicki may be
numbered</a>, blogs <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/eE043ilcAT2Ew0J5">Mathew
Ingram</a>, just like Kiko's were when Google released a Web-based
calendar. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Dzih8drtFPRuk_Ho"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/googlecooplogo.jpg"
align="left" border="0" alt="Image" /></a> Google also made a small but important
change to Google News so that blog and archive search are now neighbors-bringing
Google <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/x7m8xN52QWls_u_s">one step closer to integrating
news and blog searches</a>, writes <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/yHAsBrUo1tZIh1fi">Micro
Persuasion</a>. Meanwhile, <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/VeADLZisXsnJPo55">HipMojo.com</a>
blogs that advertisers can now <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/zv9XyctWEVtqsFvR">choose sites they want their
AdSense ads on</a>, a potentially deep cut in ad-agency revenue since more
advertisers may take ad planning and buying in-house. With Internet ad growth now
far <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/NVBiNcIkWODoGbwD">outpacing all other forms of
advertising</a>, it's no wonder <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/BAQin0RFH37JxU0O">GOOG shares just hit an all-time
high</a> (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/qVTW2uQj7RKl5443">A VC</a>) and <a
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/fW-UiJSboYPQ_-
Y7">Jim Cramer has Google going to $560</a>. Hold the hosannas, though: A somewhat
biased <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/3UfQmxuU_7EpVJay">Venture Beat</a>
blogs that the YouTube buy <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/O9LcSJergHUcllQ_">marks the end of the Google
Myth</a> because Mountain View finally looked outside its famously loose
engineering culture for a good business. 
<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/RrqkiEvYMA29KQXx"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/crayon.bmp" align="right"
border="0" height="88" width="192" alt="Image" /></a> September Web traffic <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/VtmVAmWIAXJKsh1J">dropped significantly</a> for
MySpace (4%), Facebook (12%) and YouTube (19%), possibly because the kidz are back
in school, writes <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
Blog</a>. Maybe their textbooks will become a little less expensive if
Jimmy Wales has his way; the Wikipedia founder has asked for ideas on <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/5Fj57gqNyMAidLNh">how to spend $100 million</a> to
free copyrighted works. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/WFPA0oAUM8KUF7C8">VentureBlog </a>
reports on Chris Anderson's post-Long Tail theory: <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/mGHEnh5sPbU1yvN3">The Economy of
Abundance</a>, where the costs of transistors, storage and bandwidth approach zero
and companies should try to do everything, dropping what doesn't work. Or they can
start <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/RrqkiEvYMA29KQXx">completely virtual branch
offices in Second Life</a>, like marketing firm Crayon is doing this week (via <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/3UfQmxuU_7EpVJay">VentureBeat</a>)
. 
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/_wwqeRw2zcUy54pv"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/bushgoogle2.bmp"
align="left" border="0" height="162" width="200" alt="Image" /></a>In politics, it
turns out <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/_wwqeRw2zcUy54pv">President Bush likes using "the
Google"</a> to browse satellite photos of his Texas ranch (via <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Sj6uHFU7cCKh9ps1">DealBreaker</a>
asks whether this misplaced "the" is some <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Kv8aJIw4_qbFy5v-">regional English tic</a>, but
everyone agrees the president has <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/KpR8nXuo6zywFHWR">dropped "stay the course"</a> in
favor of, um, constantly changing tactics to complete the mission (via <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/8hfgZ29SS3B9hg6j">Huffington
Post</a>). Although Army General George W. Casey Jr. may ask for <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/WVcr0DlmF8NyRfzs">more troops to calm Baghdad</a>,
writes <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/X2PBjNrWM-
smRH-h">The New York Times</a>, he asserts that just five of
Iraq's 18 provinces are really violent. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/0zpEt_Zgib3YnjtC">Brendan
Nyhan</a> disagrees; it's like saying <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/xvWuZmcD9BuCoKzV">the U.S. is calm except for
California, D.C., Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio,
Pennsylvania and Texas.</a>
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/yjXIRf2gtFvntngs"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/061025_haroldford_wide.hlar
ge.jpg" align="right" border="0" height="171" width="262" alt="Image" /></a>Back
in the U.S., the <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/ZIZlb4doWjPavSO8">GOP is accused of playing the
race card</a> (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/JFbvXrj1rCwK16rN">LA Times</a>).
in Tennessee's Senate race as one of its ads shows a scantily clad white woman
winking at the camera and saying <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/1u_Tfa2XqGiH3Wy0">"Harold, call me"</a> - a
reference to African American Senate candidate Harold E. Ford Jr. (via <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/IRAOWICHhkdFJivL">Tennessee Guerilla
Women</a>). Although the ad's composed of faux man-in-the-street
interviews, <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/CTz8xtXg1CVsNffr">Talking Points
Memo</a> says these are just filler designed to make the <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/PEw_m4BG129qyxdV">'Harold does white chicks' idea
seem to fit</a>. Ford responded by <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/yjXIRf2gtFvntngs">crashing Republican opponent Bob
Corker's press conference</a> (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Jw2vxD4SIxM1Ep2n">Wonkette</a>).
See the video <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h5MZMpXgWI">here</a>. 
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/mzE8SDpejeBLvgJh"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/stole_my_baby.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="238" width="364" alt="Image" /></a>In the politics
of entertainment, Madonna's adoption of David Banda has hit the rocks <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/kZ3vsmf3RaTyoeOb">since the boy's father started
complaining</a>, writes <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/QtLDEj2ouflXVe5P">Jossip</a>,
while <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/IYJCrALop8SzLNIT">Popbytes</a>
reports on <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/TD-
6K7Jy6TFxUSpN">The Material Girl's Oprah appearance</a> to defend herself. Tom
Cruise and Katie Holmes have <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/M5Dnxd3tsivTDvk6">finally set a wedding date</a>-
November 18-and place-Italy (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/8vKZiFIn_SM_uZGW">Yahoo News</a>).
But if you really need <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/GXKd228cewOm3oty">more pictures and speculation
about Suri</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/vWMQxkKSh5b5yb3o">Celebrity Baby
Blog's</a> got the goods. 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 21st - 27th October 2006
DATE: 10/26/2006 14:26:59
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Iraq remained the
dominant issue in America's mid-term elections. With less than
two weeks to go before polling day, Democrats hammered home the message that
October is already the deadliest month of the year in the conflict both for
American troops and Iraqi civilians. George Bush acknowledged his own
dissatisfaction but said America was constantly adjusting its strategy and still
winning. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hwzH0FDHx80Mo0DUkc0EH">See article</a>
In Iraq
itself, the prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, pledged to crack down on illegal
militias, particularly the Shia Mahdi Army, that are responsible for most of the
continuing sectarian violence. But he refused to set a timetable for this; Shia
parties with links to the militias make up part of his own coalition
government.
New
Jersey's highest court issued a mixed ruling on gay marriage. It decided
that homosexual couples are entitled to the same rights as heterosexual ones, but
it avoided a conservative backlash (for now) by giving the state legislature time
to ponder whether this constitutes “marriage”. 
The Mark
Foley scandal rumbled on as Dennis Hastert, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, presented his version of events to the House ethics committee.
The committee's report on Mr Foley's relationship with congressional pages is
expected soon. 
California's
department of corrections provided the first details of its plans to
house some prisoners temporarily in other states. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the
state's governor, issued an emergency proclamation earlier this month in response
to “severe overcrowding” in prisons. 
 
<div><a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" name="making_nice">Making nice</div> Iran's fiery
president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has called for Israel to be “wiped off the
map”, threatened that European countries could get “hurt” unless they distanced
themselves from the Jewish state. Meanwhile, unfazed by discussion of UN sanctions over its refusal to suspend suspect uranium-
enrichment work, Iran said it would inject uranium gas into a second cascade of
enrichment machines at its plant at Natanz.
size="-1">Israel's coalition government tilted towards the right
after the prime minister, Ehud Olmert, was forced to accept the inclusion in its
ranks of the right-wing Yisrael Beitenu Party, led by Avigdor Lieberman. The
decision is meant to ensure the government's survival following the war in Lebanon
over the summer, widely seen as a disaster. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hwzH0FDHx80Mo0DUid0EG">See
The head of the United
Nations mission to Sudan, Jan Pronk, was expelled from the
country by the government. His offence was to write in his blog that the Sudanese
army has suffered some defeats in Darfur against rebel fighters and that its
morale is low.
The capital of
Chad, N'Djamena, was fortified following reports that rebels were
moving towards it from the east of the country. The government of President Idriss
Déby, which survived a rebel assault on the city in April, accuses neighbouring
Sudan of arming and backing the rebels. 
The prime minister of
Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi, said that his country was now
“technically at war” with the Islamist militias that have taken over much of
neighbouring Somalia. Ethiopia has admitted to having hundreds of troops in the
country in support of the weak transitional government based in Baidoa. <a
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hwzH0FDHx80Mo0DUie0EH">See article</a>
 
rel="nofollow" name="devil_in_the_detail">Devil in the
detail</div> North Korea's regional neighbours continued their
consultations about how to impose sanctions on the country following its nuclear
test earlier this month. Pyongyang rattled its sabres and warned South Korea that
if it participated in the UN-backed sanctions this would be
a “declaration of confrontation”. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hwzH0FDHx80Mo0DUif0EI">See
prime minister, Manmohan Singh, appointed Pranab Mukherjee as foreign minister. Mr
Singh had been doing both jobs since last November, when his then foreign minister
resigned over the Iraq oil-for-food scandal. 
 
rel="nofollow">Russia's way</div> Russia's president
Vladimir Putin had a stormy few days after an open microphone
caught him praising Israel's president for his virility in multiple alleged rapes.
He also had a prickly meeting with European Union leaders in Finland, where they
pressed him to liberalise his country's energy market, and came under pressure
over Georgia. In a national phone-in, Mr Putin underlined his
anger with Georgia, accusing the authorities there of resolving problems “by
force”. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hwzH0FDHx80Mo0DUig0EJ">See article</a>
size="-1">Germany's armed forces are likely to have a more robust
role overseas. The government approved a new security doctrine that reaffirmed the
Atlantic alliance, but foresaw wider involvement in peacekeeping. Existing rules
restrict German troops in Afghanistan from fighting the Taliban. <a
bin1/DM/y/hwzH0FDHx80Mo0DUih0EK">See article</a>
size="-1">In Hungary, violent clashes between police and
demonstrators demanding the government's resignation marred the commemoration of
the 50th anniversary of the anti-Soviet 1956 uprising. Police used tear-gas
against the protesters and more than 100 were hurt. 
Britain announced
restrictions on migrants from Romania and
Bulgaria, which join the EU next year. The
restrictions were criticised by both free-marketeers and protectionists, but only
six EU countries have said, so far, that they will fully
open their labour markets to the workers. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hwzH0FDHx80Mo0DUkd0EI">See
 
rel="nofollow" name="wider_still_and_deeper">Wider still and
deeper</div> In a referendum 78% of those voting approved a $5.2 billion plan to
widen and deepen the Panama Canal. The expansion, due to be
completed by 2014, could turn Panama into the logistics hub of the Americas,
according to its backers.
size="-1">Mexico's Senate rejected a call to sack the governor of
the southern state of Oaxaca, which has had its capital disrupted by striking
teachers and left-wing protesters for the past five months. The governor's
supporters have called for federal police to evict the protesters.
After dozens of rounds
of voting at the United Nations General Assembly for one of the
two Latin American rotating seats on the Security Council, Guatemala out-polled
Venezuela, but failed to secure the required two-thirds majority. The search began
for a compromise candidate.
size="-1">Bolivia's government agreed to give jobs in a revived
state-owned mining firm to 4,000 self-employed miners involved in clashes over a
tin deposit earlier this month in which 16 people were killed and 60
injured.
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 21st - 27th October 2006
DATE: 10/26/2006 14:26:07
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
size="-2"><div>Oct 26th 2006 
 
Jeffrey
Skilling, Enron's former chief executive, was sentenced to more than 24
years in prison and ordered to pay $45m in restitution for his part in the fraud
that bankrupted the energy trader in 2001. Mr Skilling was found guilty in May
along with Kenneth Lay, but Mr Lay's convictions were recently “vacated” following
his death in July. Enron employees who lost their pensions expressed satisfaction
at Mr Skilling's sentence. He said he was innocent and would appeal against the
verdict. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hwzJ0FDHx80Mo0DUiF0Em">See article</a>
The former chief
financial officer of Comverse Technology pleaded guilty to fraud
in relation to a stock-options scandal. He was the first senior
executive to plead guilty in a host of similar scandals that have recently come to
light, though other big corporate cheeses have resigned from their jobs.
Comverse's former boss, Jacob “Kobi” Alexander, who fled America, is fighting his
extradition from Namibia. 
The retrial began of
Josef Ackermann, the chief executive of Deutsche Bank, and five
others who face criminal charges that stem from the awarding of executive bonuses
at Mannesmann. Mr Ackermann was on the company's supervisory board at the time of
its takeover by Vodafone in 2000 (Deutsche Bank is not connected to the trial).
There is speculation that Mr Ackermann will plead guilty to non-criminal charges
in order to concentrate on running Germany's biggest bank. 
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="pick_up_a_penguin">Pick up a
Penguin</div> United Biscuits, which makes some of Britain's best-
known snacks, including Jaffa Cakes, Penguin biscuits and Hula Hoops, agreed to be
bought by two private-equity firms for some £1.6 billion ($3 billion). 
Altria
announced that it would reveal its decision on whether (and how) to spin off
Kraft Foods at a shareholders' meeting in January. The
conglomerate has long wanted to sell Kraft, but its plans were put on hold after
its Philip Morris unit became embroiled in tobacco litigation.
Carl Icahn
won his battle to shake up the management of ImClone
Systems, a biomedical company, when it appointed him chairman and sacked
its interim chief executive. Mr Icahn, who owns around 14% of the company, had led
a shareholders' campaign to oust several directors. 
target="_blank" rel="nofollow">First, the bad news</div> Ford reported
its biggest quarterly loss in 14 years—$5.8 billion—as it booked writedowns and
charges. The performance of Ford's North American auto unit, where sales dropped
by some 15% compared with a year ago, and its premier-car group, which includes
Jaguar, continued to pull down its earnings. Alan Mulally, who was appointed
Ford's chief executive in September, said the results were “unacceptable”.

size="-1">DaimlerChrysler's quarterly profit, 37% lower than a
year ago, was also hampered by plunging sales in America, offsetting an improved
performance at the company's Mercedes unit. But there was some good news for
Detroit when General Motors said a net loss of $115m (compared
with $1.66 billion last year) was actually an adjusted profit of $529m if special
items, which are related to its restructuring, were excluded. 
Some much-needed good
news for Airbus. It sealed a deal to set up a plant in China and
won an order for 150 A320 jets from the country.
A substantial merger was
announced in Australia's insurance industry as Promina agreed to
a A$7.9 billion ($6 billion) takeover proposal from Suncorp-
Metway, a rival which also operates banks. 
In an unusual move for
the company, IBM filed two lawsuits against Amazon claiming the
online retailer infringed five patents on internet technology, including
processing online transactions. IBM holds more patents than
any other American company and usually seeks to resolve licensing disputes out of
court. 
Meanwhile,
Amazon said its quarterly profit had fallen (again). But as sales
exceeded forecasts, its share price rose. Investors also cheered Amazon's
statement that it would put a brake on buying new technology that has enabled it
to launch services such as film downloads, but dragged down earnings. 
size="-1">Sony's net profit plunged by 94% in its second quarter
(and it made an operating loss) compared with a year ago. Along with the
continuing troubles at its gaming unit, the conglomerate took a hit from the
safety recall of 9.6m laptop batteries, for which its executives apologised. <a
bin1/DM/y/hwzJ0FDHx80Mo0DUiG0En">See article</a>
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="only_bricks_and_mortar">Only bricks and
mortar</div> Existing-home sales in America slid in September for a
sixth month as the housing market continued to slow. The median home price also
fell, to $220,000—2.2% less than a year ago. But the fall was bigger in some
regions—5.1% in the north-east for instance. 
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Wal-Mart Flogged; Blogging for Clicks; Outing Politicians
DATE: 10/20/2006 08:20:15
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Top Stories for the Week of October 16 - October 20 
<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/clX-
tOZNkPsKVmfr"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/walmartsad.jpg"
align="right" border="0" alt="Image" /></a>The blogosphere coined a new word this
week: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/YcShE-
W3HuPE6atC">Flogvertising</a>. Remember Jim and Laura of Wal-Marting Across
America - the ones who created all those <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/alzKMDWlMLHeL2jx">folksy stories about Wal-
Mart</a>? (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/mMXzmUvYkRPHnd11">Real Lawyers Have
Blogs</a>). Turns out the couple were hired by the non-folksy execs at
Edelman, Wal-Mart's giant PR agency (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/xK5Ry1wT3UUG_uzl">JD on EP</a>).
Blogosphere reaction was predictably frantic. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
2.0</a> wants to know why Edelman waited so long to respond-<a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/aD2jdFTH5bJiEScq">you call this a
conversation</a>? And doesn't this <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/6jrgAxgv8K-UwE1z">violate the Word of Mouth
Marketing Association guidelines</a> Edelman helped create in the first place?
writes <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/dA1WZoje6GOIzd_S">Business Blog
Consulting</a>.
<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/gt_sj_68m1_-
8kk4">Micro Persuasion's</a> Steve Rubel, who works for Edelman,
was curiously absent from the debate, then made <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/DXNlrmuFzs0SaYH2">some tepid statement</a> about
Edelman's commitment to the WOMMA guidelines on transparency. If the first rule of
damage control is to have someone else speak for you, <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/FOCToDflWHfaF2Cw">Scobleizer</a>
swallowed the bait: After a <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/E6POXVgumzT9brti"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/reuters-sl%202.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="219" width="328" alt="Image" /></a> call from
Edelman's chief, he took the PR agency's word (!) that <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/r_w3c_4uTifDkso_">misleading
marketing is not acceptable there</a>. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/qsa5zMrl8bBcfnDD">Marketing
Roadmaps</a> blogs that Edelman's campaign didn't achieve its goals for
the client, and <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Z2EAm6G6YyET_czm">spawns far larger problems for
the agency</a> going forward. Too bad for client Wal-Mart, but as <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/S71CoWpxVY5kjkf5">gapingvoid</a>'s
mom is fond of saying, <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Y29AbMigiBUqeqS2">"Education is expensive."</a>

It's fine to pretend to be someone else as long as you say you're pretending,
which is what Reuters has done with its new bureau within Second Life. Reuters
media correspondent Adam Pasick will be "Adam Reuters," <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/FmzuheN_SlTMIyzQ">the news bureau's
avatar in the online world</a> (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/VN-m17WbcgVoYuXQ">Smart Mobs</a>).
Reuters' costs are lower than the real world and it <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/E6POXVgumzT9brti">may even get a
few scoops</a>, writes <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/8DejLUfT7A0wDWoe">Mashable!</a>
Amazon.com also has an avatar in Second Life, blogs <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/MueldmqJ0vLKhYGJ">The
Stalwart</a>, who is considering becoming <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/eJe51mm7w2nLct6r">SL's first
virtual hedge fund manager</a>. 
In other blog news, PopSugar is looking more and more like a West Coast Gawker
Media for women,<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/yTqmSqRdn-V0q9J1"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/popsugarchick_1.gif"
align="right" border="0" alt="Image" /></a> especially since <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/ICdGSuSgytO9MBnv">Sequoia Capital
just invested $5 million</a>, blogs <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/kfA3gQ3o_6jIsBZ9">alarm:clock</a>.
New products will include <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/5YetZ6TEu2o2BLVq">GeekSugar (a little sister to
engadget), BuzzSugar (music/movies/etc.) and YumSugar (food/drink)</a>, writes <a
Sugar Publishing already has 20 million page views per month and <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/L9rmIlx1Doy2Ke9w">1.5 million uniques</a>. And
page views are what every writer and editor at <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/9kf6cz_c7XTf65Ce">Business
2.0</a> is now gunning for-individually. The magazine is <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/5FnQ4DraX4K7PS65">making its whole staff blog</a>
and will compensate them accordingly for hits. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Q_BqmgrtmMrRBySX">BuzzMachine</a>
worries about B2.0's bloggers whoring for clicks, but confesses that he was <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/vABpWNjE8kxwz6C6">hit-driven at People
magazine so what's new</a>? 

href="http://www.rojo.com/story/jadr4EMDEXaEgr3f"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/jim_cramer.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="169" width="257" alt="Image" /></a> Go go GOOG.
Google is expected to report U.S. advertising revenues of $4 billion for 2006-<a
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/orx-
zGlV5O5KfuYo">one quarter of the $16 billion to be spent</a> and a 65 percent jump
from last year. No company has <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/c2EubxqsjZNEVSV4">ever acounted for that much Web
advertising</a>. The loser? Yahoo which reported disappointing quarterly earnings
and earned<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/VSluATTQ0p3gOW5O"> a stock downgrade from Elie
Wiesel</a> (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/EBfL3f_BaRUjkhmL">Blogging
Stocks</a>). Also resurfacing this week are rumors of a <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/uiTvESIo_rDKYREd">Yahoo buyout</a>: will it be
Microsoft, News Corp or Time Warner? And is Yahoo CEO <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/JON45WVdbwiNweWF">Terry Semel about
to join the dead pool</a> asks <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/rdfu0Ar8lRjat5Uf">Valleywag</a>.
<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/M-
jpL0zACQ7rxsXI"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/paypaldiagram.bmp"
align="right" border="0" height="216" width="231" alt="Image" /></a> 
The Friendster tell-all story was finally told this week and <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/yB7WO3ysfkpplKdK">it's not
pretty</a>, says <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
Friendster turned down a $30 million buyout offer from Google in 2003 and
everything went downhill from there. Though there's a lot of finger pointing in
the story, there's also a lot to learn from the site's bust, says <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/1AeDY3BTgt4KEkWE">Signal vs.
Noise</a>, including: accepting too much venture capital; spending too
much time on features instead of performance; and <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/31kVfI01M6uJsmOA">solving exciting
potential problems instead of real mundane ones</a>. Interestingly, Friendster
choked even though it was initially backed by <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/WKgO0UZo8A3OfMW9">the PayPal Mafia</a>. 
 
<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Yh7tKjg4Lysk4053"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/time-what-a-mess.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="280" width="208" alt="Image" /></a> Poltical
bloggers were busy this week in the runup to midterm elections. <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/NVbj-PalwfWOZ-
29">BlogActive</a> alleges that Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) is
gay, or at least has had same-sex sexual relations with consenting adults. Craig
is denying the accusation, blogs <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/FhXBNNPnH8w9NCDG">Sister
Toldjah</a>, and <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/ofoH3QXKx8cLYF3z">why do those outing gays think
it's alright</a>? <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/-OAdJNuvA89KprTf">Unclaimed
Territory</a> is amazed Republicans are objecting to the use of
homosexuality in politics, while <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/d3jr2mg3N9dheVlx">Wonkette</a>
blogs that as recently as October, Craig recently <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/QoTecJd89YvFG4zp">solicited
candidates to become congressional pages</a>. 
 
Other October surprises abound as the November 7 election approaches. Ohio is
becoming <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/SasZpUnKtfGMaQlr">hostile territory for
Republicans</a> says <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/PMYklMbhaGooyynz">The RCP
Blog</a>, and the governor's race may become a <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/r7kZizlbaK9LgLp4">Democratic
blowout</a>, (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
Goddard</a>). Out West, though, Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) faces a <a
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/xf-
SJ9XHILfsxH_T">real-estate scandal and questions about Christmas bonuses</a> he
gave staffers, (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/vDy_gLbDc9Vh6VCP">Instapundit</a>)
and California should return Republican governor <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/6tAsint1MqsEgJ8u">Arnold Schwarzenegger to office
in a walk</a>.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 14th - 20th October 2006
DATE: 10/19/2006 12:25:38
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
 
As the scandal over
backdated stock options continued to gather pace, William McGuire
resigned as chairman and chief executive of UnitedHealth. An
investigation carried out for the health insurer by a law firm reported
irregularities in granting stock options (worth some $1 billion) to Mr McGuire
stemming from contract negotiations in 1999. The report also raised concerns about
the depth of a financial relationship between Mr McGuire and the then acting-
chairman of the board's compensation committee. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hwar0FDHx80Mo0DTdl0EZ">See
A judge dismissed the
convictions for fraud handed down to Kenneth Lay in May. As
Enron's former boss died from heart failure in July, before he was sentenced or
could launch an appeal, the judge followed precedent by “vacating” the
convictions, which also stops the government from seeking compensation from Lay's
estate. 
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="no_longer_the_second_city">No longer the
Second City</div> In a deal that ends more than a century of rivalry, Chicago
Mercantile Exchange agreed to buy the Chicago Board of
Trade for $8 billion, the biggest merger yet in a spate of tie-ups among
financial exchanges. Both institutions specialise in derivatives. CME's former chairman said the deal sealed the transformation of
Chicago from the world's “hog butcher” to its “risk manager”. <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hwar0FDHx80Mo0DTdm0Ea">See article</a>
Banca Popolare
di Verona e Novara agreed to buy Banca Popolare Italiana
for euro8.2 billion ($10.3 billion), creating Italy's fourth-biggest
bank. BPI was at the centre of last year's scandal that
brought down Antonio Fazio as governor of the Bank of Italy. The deal is seen as
further evidence that the effort to encourage consolidation among the country's
banks is working. 
size="-1">Citigroup broadened its presence in Turkey's expanding
financial-services industry by agreeing to buy a 20% stake in
Akbank for $3.1 billion. It was Citigroup's first big deal since
the Federal Reserve lifted its ban on the company from making acquisitions after
it became embroiled in a series of regulatory problems.
After it apparently
attracted record interest from institutional investors, Industrial and
Commercial Bank of China's dual-listed public offering was opened to
individual investors. Hundreds of people queued to get a copy of the prospectus
ahead of this month's flotation. 
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="a_sale_on_high_waters">A sale on high
waters</div> The management of RWE, a German utility group,
agreed to sell Thames Water, Britain's biggest water company
which it bought in 2000, to a consortium led by Macquarie Bank
for £8 billion ($15 billion) including debt. It is the third announced takeover of
a British water company this month. The investment group trying to buy
Anglian Water's parent company raised its stake in the company to
fend off potential counterbids. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hwar0FDHx80Mo0DTdn0Eb">See
After much speculation
about a deal, Tata Steel, based in India, confirmed it was
proposing to buy Corus, an Anglo-Dutch steelmaker. Tata values
Corus at $10 billion, including debt, though other groups are thought to be
interested in launching rival bids. 
A week after Google
agreed to buy YouTube, Universal Music launched lawsuits against
two smaller video-sharing websites, Bolt and
Grouper, for copyright infringement. 
The rivalry between
Intel and Advanced Micro Devices was highlighted
as both chipmakers reported quarterly earnings. Particular scrutiny was given to
shipments of microprocessors, on which both companies compete intensely. Intel
enjoyed record shipments of microprocessors, and although its net profit dropped
by 35% compared with a year ago, its share price was buoyant. AMD's shipments also rose, but its gross profit margin was
squeezed by sagging prices and its share price fell, even though net profit rose
by 77%. 
In one of the biggest-
ever residential-property transactions, MetLife, an insurer,
agreed to sell two apartment complexes it owns in New York for
$5.4 billion to two buyers, one of which is Tishman Speyer, a company that owns
several prestigious buildings worldwide, including the Chrysler Building and the
Millbank tower in London. The deal is controversial, however, as most of the flats
in the buildings are rent-controlled; MetLife developed the properties after the
second world war to house returning troops. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hwar0FDHx80Mo0DTdo0Ec">See
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="pick_a_number">Pick a
number</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
size="-1">America's headline inflation rate fell by 0.5% in
September on the back of declining energy prices, the biggest monthly drop since
last November. The news was one factor that helped the Dow Jones
Industrial Average to push past 12,000, briefly, for the first time. But
the Federal Reserve will not be so optimistic: core inflation, which excludes
energy and food, reached 2.9%, its highest annual rate since February 1996. <a
bin1/DM/y/hwar0FDHx80Mo0DTdp0Ed">See article</a><img
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 14th - 20th October 2006
DATE: 10/19/2006 12:24:02
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
 
size="-1">The United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on North
Korea to protest against its nuclear bomb test. Condoleezza Rice,
America's secretary of state, headed to Tokyo, Seoul and Beijing to ask that the
sanctions be fully implemented (including a provision to search North Korean
ships). China, North Korea's nearest thing to an ally, suggested it would not do
so. North Korea said it viewed the sanctions as an act of war and reports
suggested it was preparing a second nuclear test. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hwap0FDHx80Mo0DTeE0Et">See article</a>
Tamil rebels carried out
attacks on government targets in Sri Lanka, including a suicide-
bomb aimed at a naval convoy that killed over 100 people, most of whom were
sailors. The government continued an air attack on a rebels stronghold, banishing
hope that the war will end soon. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hwap0FDHx80Mo0DTeF0Eu">See
Hafeez Saeed, the
founder of Lashkar-e-Toiba, the biggest jihadist group fighting Indian rule in
Kashmir, was released from custody in Pakistan. Mr Saeed heads
another Islamist group, Jamaat-ud-Dawa, that is banned by America, but not by
Pakistan. He denies America's claim that the group raises funds for fighters.

target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="day_by_day">Day by day</div>
With American casualties
rising in Iraq—more than 60 American soldiers have been killed so
far this month—the debate over possible new strategies in the conflict intensified
in Washington. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hwap0FDHx80Mo0DTeG0Ev">See
The police in
Israel recommended that the country's figurehead president, Moshe
Katsav, should face charges of rape. But unless he steps down, he cannot be tried
until his term ends next August. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hwap0FDHx80Mo0DTeH0Ew">See
A state of emergency was
declared in the Nigerian state of Ekiti after the governor was
impeached on corruption charges. Nigeria's financial crimes commission is
investigating 33 of the country's 36 governors for corruption. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hwap0FDHx80Mo0DTeI0Ex">See article</a>
After elections in
Côte d'Ivoire were delayed because of the slow pace of
disarmament by government and rebel militias, African leaders recommended that
President Laurent Gbagbo be allowed to stay in office until a ballot can be held,
but with reduced powers. 
South Africa
secured a non-permanent seat at the UN Security
Council for the first time. The government said it would use its position to
campaign for UN reform, including the expansion of the
council to include a permanent African member.
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="meanwhile">Meanwhile</div>
Hugo Chávez's expensive
campaign to win Venezuela a seat on the Security Council appeared
to be heading for defeat. Venezuela trailed its American-backed rival,
Guatemala, in more than 20 rounds of voting, but neither won the
required two-thirds majority. Diplomats expected that a third Latin American
country would emerge as a compromise candidate. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hwap0FDHx80Mo0DTeJ0Ey">See
size="-1">The remains of Juan Domingo Perón, Argentina's most
revered and most divisive political leader, were reburied in a new mausoleum
outside Buenos Aires. The ceremony, attended by thousands, was marred when
fighting broke out between rival factions of the ruling political movement that
bears his name. 
Álvaro Noboa, a banana
magnate and Ecuador's richest man, came first in the country's
presidential election, winning 26.2% of the vote. He will face a run-off ballot
against Rafael Correa, a leftist, next month. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hwap0FDHx80Mo0DTeK0Ez">See
Andrés Manuel López
Obrador, the centre-left loser of Mexico's presidential election,
suffered a second defeat when his party's candidate lost a gubernatorial election
in his home state, Tabasco. The defeat will undermine Mr López Obrador's campaign
of “civic resistance” against Mexico's government. 
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="the_statute_on_liberty">The statute on
liberty</div> Amid complaints from civil-liberties groups that he was reversing basic
constitutional rights, George Bush signed into law new rules on the
detention and prosecution of terrorism suspects. Republicans
seized on the act to bash Democrats for being soft on security issues. Lawyers
predicted challenges to the legislation, which was partly designed to clarify the
law. 
An earthquake
of magnitude 6.7 shook Hawaii, causing some structural damage but no
serious injuries. Possibly still stung by criticisms over Hurricane Katrina (and
maybe with one eye on the mid-term elections) the White House declared it a
disaster and ordered the release of federal assistance. It did the same for a
snowstorm in upstate New York and flooding that occurred—in August—in Alaska.

Another potential
congressional scandal brewed as Curt Weldon, a Republican who is
in a tight election race in his suburban Philadelphia district, confirmed that the
Justice Department was investigating his connection to lobbying contracts through
his daughter's firm. Mr Weldon blamed “left-wing liberal activists” for the timing
of the investigation. 
Arnold Schwarzenegger
burnished his green credentials by announcing a pact with north-eastern states,
including New York, to co-ordinate existing plans on reducing greenhouse-
gas emissions. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hwap0FDHx80Mo0DTeL0E1">See
target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Doesn't inspire</div> The Polish government
survived a vote of confidence after the conservative Law and Justice
party lured the populist Self Defence party, led by Andrzej Lepper, back into a
coalition. Mr Lepper, who was sacked a month ago, will be the agriculture
minister. The opposition accused the government of “squandering Poland's
prestige”.
Turkey
continued to protest over the French National Assembly's vote for a bill to
criminalise denial of the 1915 Armenian genocide. Many Turks detected yet another
attempt to derail their efforts to join the European Union. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hwap0FDHx80Mo0DTeM0E2">See article</a>
The new centre-right
government of Sweden, led by Fredrik Reinfeldt, had a rocky start
when two female ministers were forced to quit. One had registered her nanny
improperly; the other had not paid her television licence. 
Iceland
upset conservationists by announcing a resumption of commercial whaling. It plans
to take nine fin whales, an endangered species, and 30 minke whales a
year.
size="-1">France's three candidates for the Socialist Party
nomination for president in next year's election staged a televised debate. The
front-runner, Ségolène Royal, emerged without too much damage, although some
recent polls have put her behind the main centre-right candidate, Nicolas
Sarkozy.
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: DENGUE, MALARIA AND CHIKUNGUNYA
DATE: 10/17/2006 09:43:46
STATUS: publish
BODY:

Health & Welfare Services

Powai

October 5, 2006
 
 
<h1 style="margin-left:0.5in; text-indent:0.5in; ">OUTBREAK OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES </h1> <h1 style="margin-left:0.5in;
text-indent:0.5in; ">(DENGUE, MALARIA AND
CHIKUNGUNYA)</h1> 
 
There has been an outbreak of infectious diseases
like Dengue, Malaria and Chikungunya, in different parts of the
country, mainly caused by mosquito bite.
 
Though this has not been reported as an epidemic,
large numbers of people are falling sick due to these diseases.
All these diseases start with fever; only a
clinician and laboratory investigations can diagnose these diseases.
Following are the characteristics of theses
three diseases
<table style="width:7.95in; border-collapse:collapse; margin-left:6.75pt; "
align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr
style="height:12.75pt; "> <td style="background:rgb(204, 255, 255) none repeat
scroll 0%; width:105.6pt; height:12.75pt; " valign="top"> 
</td> <td style="border-style:solid solid solid none; border-color:windowtext
windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-width:1pt 1pt 1pt medium;
background:rgb(204, 255, 255) none repeat scroll 0%; width:187.8pt;
height:12.75pt; " valign="top"> 
Malaria
size:14pt; font-family:Arial; "> 
size:14pt; font-family:Arial; ">Dengue
size:14pt; font-family:Arial; ">Chikungunya fever
size:14pt; font-family:Arial; "> 
</td> </tr> <tr style="height:76.5pt; "> <td style="border-style:none solid
solid; border-color:-moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext; border-width:medium
1pt 1pt; width:105.6pt; height:76.5pt; "> What is it?
</td> <td style="border-style:none solid solid none; border-color:-moz-use-text-
color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-width:medium 1pt 1pt
medium; width:187.8pt; height:76.5pt; " valign="top"> Infectious disease caused by the
parasite called Plasmodia. (P.vivax and P.falciparum are more
common)
medium; width:130.3pt; height:76.5pt; " valign="top"> It is an acute viral
fever occurring in two forms 
- Dengue Fever 
- Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever
Caused by
Dengue virus
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">It is an acute viral fever caused
by the Chikungunya virus
style="font-family:Verdana; ">Mode of spread
</td> <td style="width:187.8pt; height:25.5pt; " valign="top"> Bite of infected
female Anopheles mosquito. (Night biter)
</td> <td style="border-style:none solid solid; border-color:-moz-use-text-color
windowtext windowtext; border-width:medium 1pt 1pt; width:130.3pt; height:25.5pt;
" valign="top"> Bite of an infected Aedes aegypti mosquito. (Day
biter)
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; "> Bite of an infected Aedes
aegypti mosquito. (Day biter)
style="font-family:Verdana; ">Onset of symptoms
</td> <td style="width:187.8pt; height:25.5pt; " valign="top"> Â§ 8-12 days after bite of infected
mosquito
</td> <td style="border-style:none solid solid; border-color:-moz-use-text-color
windowtext windowtext; border-width:medium 1pt 1pt; width:130.3pt; height:25.5pt;
" valign="top"> Â§
2-5 days
after bite of infected mosquito
medium; width:148.7pt; height:25.5pt; " valign="top"> Â§ 3-12 days after bite of infected
mosquito
style="font-family:Verdana; ">Symptoms
width:187.8pt; height:158.35pt; " valign="top"> Â§ Fever recurring every 2 days
Chills
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Headache, muscle acheTirednessNausea, vomiting and diarrhea may
occur
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Jaundice(Yellow colorings of skin
and eyes)
 
size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">High fever
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Severe headache
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Pain behind the eye
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Severe joint and muscle
pain
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Nausea and vomiting
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Rash
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">In hemorrhagic dengue, there is
damage to blood, lymph vessels, bleeding from nose, gums or under
skin
 
size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">High fever of sudden onset 
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Headache
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Joint pain and/or swelling of
joints
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Nausea and vomiting
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Infection of conjunctiva of eye and
sensitivity to light
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Rarely rash
style="font-family:Verdana; ">Complications
size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Commonly seen in P. falciparum
infection.
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Cerebral malaria (affecting the
brain), bleeding disorders, jaundice, kidney failure, respiratory distress and
death.
left:0.25in; text-align:left; text-indent:-0.25in; " align="left">Â§
Bleeding disorders leading
to bleeding from the nose, mouth and gums or skin bruising
 Very low blood
pressure leading to shock
size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Life-threatening complications are rare

style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Can affect the brain in new-born
children
style="font-family:Verdana; ">Diagnosis
size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Based on Clinical features and Peripheral blood smear 
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Negative blood test DOES NOT rule
out malaria
size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Based on Clinical features
"> Laboratory
tests such as Serology and PCR are used to confirm diagnosis.
size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Based on Clinical features
"> Laboratory
tests such as Serology and IgM antibody are used to confirm diagnosis.
style="font-family:Verdana; ">Treatment
size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Very effective drugs are available, Eg.
Chloroquine, Quinine, Primaquine, Sulphodoxine+Pyrimethamine, Arteether and
artemether.
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Early diagnosis and treatment can
prevent complications.
</td> <td colspan="2" style="border-style:none solid solid none; border-color:-
moz-use-text-color windowtext windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-width:medium
1pt 1pt medium; width:279pt; height:12.75pt; " valign="top"> No specific anti-viral treatment
available.
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Symptomatic treatment is given,
consisting of Pain relieving drugs (such as paracetamol, ibuprofen and
diclofenac) plenty of fluids and rest.
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Aspirin is to be avoided
style="font-family:Verdana; ">Prevention
</td> <td colspan="3" style="border-style:none solid solid none; border-color:-
moz-use-text-color black windowtext -moz-use-text-color; border-width:medium 1pt
1pt medium; height:324.5pt; " valign="top"> 
There is no vaccine available for all these diseases. Always notify
the public health authorities if any of these diseases occurs in your locality.
Preventive measures
include-
 
font-family:Symbol; ">Â¨ Using Personal protective
measures:
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Preventing mosquitoes from entering
the house- Apply nets to windows
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Protection from mosquito bites by
using 
Â Protective clothing
font-family:Verdana; ">Mosquito repellents
font-family:Verdana; ">Insecticide vapourizers 
font-family:Verdana; ">Mosquito nets
font-family:Symbol; ">Â¨ Elimination
of mosquitoes
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Avoiding or eliminating water
collections, as these mosquitoes lay eggs in clean stagnant water. Most such
collections are artificial, temporary and man made such as buckets, coconut
shells, tyres thrown in open and overhead water tanks, etc.
"> 
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Use of Larvicides such as Temiphos
and Fenthion
"> 
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Verdana; ">Killing adult mosquitoes using Space
sprays, Thermal fogs. Commonly used insecticide sprays are Organophosphate
insecticides and Pyrethroids
"> 
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> 
Recommendations:
Ã If there is stagnant water near sites / offices / residential
colonies notify Health / Sanitary authority for drainage /
anti larva measures ( spray of insecticides)
adjust:none; font-stretch:normal; "> Drain stagnant
water from potted plants, air coolers , old tins, old tyres etc.
adjust:none; font-stretch:normal; "> Enforce stringent
sanitary measures in and around our sites to reduce mosquito population by fogging
and spraying pesticides.
adjust:none; font-stretch:normal; "> To avoid mosquito
bites:
 Use mosquito
repellant creams while going outdoors
adjust:none; font-stretch:normal; "> Ensure mosquito
nets on windows
adjust:none; font-stretch:normal; "> Use electric
insecticide vapourisers as indoor mosquito repellants
adjust:none; font-stretch:normal; "> Use mosquito nets
in highly endemic areas
 
adjust:none; font-stretch:normal; "> Do not ignore fever
(with or without chills) more than 38oc / 104oF. Consult
your family physician
adjust:none; font-stretch:normal; "> All local
coordinators/ site in charge and doctors are requested to translate this
information into local language and spread awareness.
adjust:none; font-stretch:normal; "> In case you have a
suspect case please provide us information about location, telephone number of the
employees, his / her attending physicianâs / hospitals for follow up and better
coordination in order to provide best healthcare.
<h2>Dr. K J Kamat</h2> 
(Director â Medical, Health & Welfare Services)
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: FOUND IN KITCHENS
DATE: 10/17/2006 06:11:30
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Clean enough to be healthy 
but dirty enough to be happy 
 
Kitchen closed - - this chick has had it! 
 
Martha Stewart doesn't live here!! 
 
So this isn't Home Sweet Home 
Adjust! 
 
Ring Bell for Maid Service. 
If no answer do it yourself! 
 
I clean house every other day. 
Today is the other day! 
 
If you write in the dust, 
please don't date it! 
 
~~ I would cook dinner but I can't find the can opener! ~~ 
 
My house was clean last week, 
too bad you missed it! 
 
A clean kitchen is the sign of a wasted life. 
 
I came, 
I saw, 
I decided 
to order 
take out 
 
If you don't like my standards of cooking. 
Lower your standards. 
 
Apology 
My house doesn't always look like this 
Some days it's even worse. 
 
A messy kitchen is a happy kitchen, 
and this kitchen is delirious. 
 
A balanced diet is dark chocolate in one hand 
and white chocolate in the other. 
 
If you can laugh at yourself, 
you will always be amused. 
 
Help keep the kitchen clean 
EAT OUT 
 
Countless numbers of people have eaten in this kitchen and gone on to lead normal
lives. 
 
*My next house will have no kitchen --- just vending machines.* 
 
Shopping forever Housework, never! 
 
Remember only dull women have immaculate houses.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: 13 Reasons to Smile
DATE: 10/16/2006 11:12:55
STATUS: publish
BODY:
 
Now that food has replaced sex in my life, I can't even get into my own pants. 
 
 
Marriage changes passion. 
Suddenly you're in bed with a relative. 
I saw a woman wearing a sweat shirt with "Guess" on it 
So I said "Implants?" She hit me. 
 
 
How come we choose from just two people to run for 
president and over fifty for Miss America? 
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but, a true friend will be
sitting next to you saying, "Wow...that was fun!" 
 
 
I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear loose-fitting clothing. If
I HAD any loose-fitting clothing, I wouldn't have signed up in the first place! 
When I was young we used to go "skinny dipping," now I just "chunky dunk." 
 
 
Don't argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the
difference. 
Wouldn't it be nice if whenever we messed up our life we could simply press 'Ctrl
Alt Delete' and start all over? AMEN, AMEN !! 
 
 
Why is it that our children can't read a Bible in school, but they can in
prison? 
Wouldn't you know it... 
Brain cells come and brain cells go, but FATcells live forever. 
 
 
Why do I have to swear on the Bible in court when the Ten Commandments cannot be
displayed outside? 
Bumper sticker of the year: 
"If you can read this, thank a teacher -and, since it's in English, thank a
soldier" 
 
And remember: life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end,
the faster it goes. 
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Devamaindhan
DATE: 12/13/2007 22:59:31
Nice reading. it's refreshing always, such material. 
-Devamaindhan
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 7th - 13th October 2006
DATE: 10/12/2006 13:03:17
STATUS: publish
BODY:
North Korea
claimed to have carried out a nuclear test. Russia corroborated the
claim, and other regional powers monitored an underground explosion consistent
with it. The test was condemned around the world. Japan announced harsh sanctions
and America and other countries also threatened them. China, the only country
thought to have significant influence with North Korea, called the test a “brazen”
act; it was unclear what response it might support. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hwDa0FDHx80Mo0DSiz0E6">See article</a><img
size="-1">Pakistan condemned North Korea's test as a
“destabilising” act. It should know: Pakistan's inaugural nuclear tests in 1998
caused international outrage. In 2004 Abdul Qadeer Khan, the architect of
Pakistan's nuclear-arms programme, admitted to having illicitly furnished North
Korea, Libya and Iran with nuclear technology.
The British commander of
NATO forces in Afghanistan held talks with
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf about the Taliban
insurgents who have killed dozens of NATO troops in recent
months. Some Taliban leaders are believed to be based in northern Pakistan with,
some NATO officials claim, the approval of Pakistani
intelligence agencies. 
Scores of soldiers and
Tamil rebels were killed in heavy fighting in Sri Lanka's
northern Jaffna peninsula. The conflict began the day after the
government and rebels agreed a date for peace talks later this month. 
 
rel="nofollow" name="the_tipping_point">The tipping point?</div>
Republicans were
embroiled in the fallout from the Mark Foley scandal. As the
ethics committee in the House of Representatives issued subpoenas in their
investigation into the former congressman's communications with teenage pages,
Dennis Hastert, the speaker, ignored calls to resign for his handling of the
affair. Opinion polls showed a sharp drop in support for the party in next month's
mid-term elections. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hwDa0FDHx80Mo0DSi10Es">See
A small plane caused a
security scare in New York when it crashed into an apartment
building. The pilot, a player for the New York Yankees baseball team, and his
flight instructor were killed. 
size="-1">In the only television debate in the California
governor's race, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the incumbent, slugged it out
with Phil Angelides, his Democratic opponent. He said Mr Angelides had “joy” in
his eyes when he spoke about raising taxes. Mr Angelides did his best to link Mr
Schwarzenegger to George Bush, but with the governor far ahead in the polls the
chatter probably made little difference. 
The government announced
plans to crack down on violations of the trade embargo on Cuba
(sanctions-busting can carry a ten-year jail term). Critics said this was simply a
way of propping up the Republican vote in southern Florida.
 
rel="nofollow" name="health_update">Health update</div> Raúl Castro, interim leader of
Cuba, denied claims by American officials, reported in
Time magazine, that his brother, President Fidel Castro, has terminal
cancer and will never return to power. The president, who had intestinal surgery
in July, was “getting better all the time”, he said.
In the first televised
debate between the two remaining candidates in Brazil's
presidential election, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was put on the
defensive by aggressive questioning from the centrist challenger, Geraldo Alckmin,
about the corruption scandals that have dogged his four-year term in office.

 
rel="nofollow" name="a_grim_statistic">A grim statistic</div>
A team of American and
Iraqi epidemiologists estimated that 650,000 more people have died in
Iraq since the March 2003 invasion than would have died if there
had been no invasion. The Bush administration said the study was flawed. <a
bin1/DM/y/hwDa0FDHx80Mo0DSi20Et">See article</a>
The prospect of war in
Somalia increased after several hundred
Ethiopian troops were seen deep inside the country. They support
the transitional government that has been losing out to the Islamists, who now
control the capital and much of the country. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hwDa0FDHx80Mo0DSi30Eu">See
A ceasefire between
Uganda's government and a rebel group in the north, the Lord's
Resistance Army, seemed to be unravelling. Rebel leaders said they would not leave
the bush to begin formal peace talks until warrants for their arrest for war
crimes, issued by the International Criminal Court, were dropped.
Amnesty International
said several thousand child soldiers continue to serve within armed groups in the
Democratic Republic of Congo, three years after a war was
officially declared over.
A long-running feud
worsened between the president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, and
his vice-president, Atiku Abubakar, who hopes to contest presidential elections
next year. Mr Abubakar has been told to appear in court to answer corruption
charges and a close aide was jailed for disclosing classified
information.
 
rel="nofollow" name="death_of_a_heroine">Death of a heroine</div>
size="-1">Anna Politkovskaya, a campaigning Russian journalist
who exposed official wrongdoing, was shot dead in Moscow. President Vladimir
Putin, visiting Germany four days later, broke his silence on her killing to
condemn it, but described her as a person of “minimal influence” in Russian
political life. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hwDa0FDHx80Mo0DSi40Ev">See
Later, Mr Putin told his
hosts that he wanted to make Germany into Europe's “gas hub”, but
he faced criticism for Russia's human-rights record and treatment of its
neighbours. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hwDa0FDHx80Mo0DSi50Ew">See article</a>
Georgia
condemned Russia's deportation of ethnic Georgians, as the two countries' war of
words, prompted by a spying row, continued. 
The Czech
minority government resigned after losing a vote of confidence,
perpetuating a four-month-old political stalemate produced by a general election
in June that resulted in a tie between left and right. 
France
is to ban smoking in all public places from next February, the prime minister,
Dominique de Villepin, announced. Cafés, nightclubs and restaurants must ban
smoking by January 2008.
Jack Straw,
Britain's former foreign secretary, sparked a row when he said he
preferred Muslim women not to wear the veil in face-to-face meetings. Some accused
Mr Straw of trying to raise his profile because he wants to become deputy leader
of the Labour Party. Mr Straw's comments were supported by Gordon Brown, the
chancellor and likely successor to Tony Blair. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hwDa0FDHx80Mo0DSi60Ex">See
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 7th - 13th October 2006
DATE: 10/12/2006 13:02:32
STATUS: publish
BODY:
In what is being hailed
as one of the most important deals involving internet businesses,
Google said it was buying YouTube, which hosts
videos posted by its online users, for $1.65 billion. YouTube began as a start-up
a little more than 18 months ago, but now around 100m of its clips, ranging from
segments of films and music to videos of strange vegetables, are viewed each day.
Google, which has received mixed reviews of its own online video service,
described the partnership with YouTube as “compelling”. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hwDd0FDHx80Mo0DSkX0Ec">See article</a>
There was speculation
about what happens next at General Motors after Jerry York quit
the carmaker's board. Mr York is an adviser to Kirk Kerkorian, an
investor who owns 9.9% of the company, and was appointed to the board in February
after unveiling a set of cost-cutting measures. But since then, relations have
soured. Mr York's departure came shortly after GM rejected
an alliance with Renault-Nissan proposed by Mr Kerkorian, who is now considering
all his options.
ImClone
Systems announced the resignation of its chairman and a director, the
first apparent victories for Carl Icahn in his campaign to shake-
up the biomedical company's board. The investor, who owns almost 14% of ImClone
and is unhappy with its performance, is seeking to oust several other directors as
well. 
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="the_christian_thing_to_do">The Christian
thing to do</div> Airbus's management woes continued when Christian
Streiff stepped down as chief executive, with immediate effect, just three months
after he was given the job. Appointed after a debacle surrounding delays to the
company's signature A380 super-jumbo, Mr Streiff fell out
with EADS, Airbus's parent company, over his plans to cut
costs and improve performance. Louis Gallois, Mr Streiff's replacement and a co-
chief executive at EADS, pledged to continue with the
restructuring effort. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hwDd0FDHx80Mo0DSkY0Ed">See
Visa
detailed its restructuring plans. The credit-card issuer said it will launch a
public offering in about a year and separate its European unit from its other
regional businesses. Currently controlled by a network of banks, Visa follows
MasterCard by deciding to float on the stockmarket. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hwDd0FDHx80Mo0DSkZ0Ee">See article</a>
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="the_politics_of_energy">The politics of
energy</div> Gazprom, Russia's gas monopolist, decided that it would
develop the Shtokman natural-gas field on its own, a blow to five Western oil
companies that had been shortlisted for a stake in the $20 billion Barents Sea
project. The state-controlled firm also said priority in output from the field
would be given to European pipeline deliveries over LNG
shipments, a snub to America for dawdling over Russia's accession to the World
Trade Organisation. 
RUSAL
took the wraps off its much-trailed plan to merge with SUAL, its
Russian compatriot, and take over the aluminium assets of
Glencore, a Swiss commodities group. Valued at up to $30 billion,
United Company RUSAL will produce around 4m tonnes of
aluminium a year, vaulting it ahead of Alcoa as the world's biggest aluminium
company.
Cablevision
Systems received a $7.9 billion buy-out offer from Charles and James
Dolan, respectively its chairman and chief executive. The Dolan family controls
Cablevision, which counts the New York Knicks basketball team among its assets,
and has toyed with breaking up the firm. 
PNC, a
Pittsburgh bank, agreed to buy Mercantile Bankshares for $6
billion, so reaching into the lucrative market of metropolitan Washington, DC. 
France's Crédit
Agricole agreed to buy 654 bank branches from Banca Intesa
for euro6 billion ($7.5 billion). The acquisition arises from
Intesa's merger with Sanpaolo, an Italian compatriot; Agricole is Intesa's largest
shareholder.
There were more
corporate casualties related to stock-option practices. The chief
executive of job website Monster.com's parent company stepped
down saying he could no longer combine the job with a review into the company's
share-options policy. And the bosses of McAfee, a maker of anti-
virus software, and CNET, an online technology magazine, resigned because of
shenanigans stemming from backdated options. 
It emerged that
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China expects to raise around
$22 billion from its forthcoming dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai. This
would make the sale the world's biggest-ever public offering. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hwDd0FDHx80Mo0DSka0El">See article</a>
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="cereal_killer">Cereal
killer</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
size="-1">Wheat prices continued to rise as a drought in
Australia, the third-biggest producer of the grain, showed little sign of easing.
With low stockpiles in America, analysts are expecting an upward tick in the price
of foods such as bread, breakfast cereals and pasta. 
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Notable & Must read Blogs
DATE: 10/11/2006 14:03:02
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<div> <h2>Categories</h2> <div class="categoryItem"> <h3>Cutting
Edge</h3> <ul><li> <a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-112727.html" title="Learn more about Beyond VC">Beyond VC</a>
</li><li> <a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
119331.html" title="Learn more about Cleantech Investing">Cleantech Investing</a>
</li><li> <a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-120072.html" title="Learn more about Hypebot">Hypebot</a>
120031.html" title="Learn more about 1080Eye">1080Eye</a> </li><li>
<a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-120073.html"
title="Learn more about GPS Review">GPS Review</a> </li><li>
<a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-59333.html" title="Learn more
about Responsible Nanotechnology">Responsible Nanotechnology</a>
120074.html" title="Learn more about RFID Weblog">RFID Weblog</a>
4942.html" title="Learn more about Geek News Central">Geek News Central</a>
127076.html" title="Learn more about Science Blog">Science Blog</a>
</li></ul> </div> <div class="categoryItem">
<h3>Digital lifestyle</h3> <ul><li> <a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-49.html" title="Learn more about
Engadget">Engadget</a> </li><li> <a
Freedom to Tinker">Freedom to Tinker</a> </li><li>
<a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-157.html" title="Learn more about
Gizmodo">Gizmodo</a> </li><li> <a
Justin's Guide">Justin's Guide</a> </li><li> <a
Kotaku">Kotaku</a> </li><li> <a
Lifehacker">Lifehacker</a> </li><li> <a
PVRblog">PVRblog</a> </li><li> <a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-100680.html" title="Learn more about Terra
Nova">Terra Nova</a> </li><li> <a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-119332.html" title="Learn more about The
Gadgeteer">The Gadgeteer</a> </li><li> <a
TiVoBlog.com">TiVoBlog.com</a> </li><li> <a
TVOver.net">TVOver.net</a> </li><li> <a
JKOnTheRun">JKOnTheRun</a> </li><li> <a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-119340.html" title="Learn more about PCS
Intel">PCS Intel</a> </li></ul> </div>
<div class="categoryItem"> <h3>Law, politics</h3> <ul><li>
<a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-6356.html" title="Learn
more about Lawrence Lessig">Lawrence Lessig</a> </li><li>
about Declan McCullagh's Politech">Declan McCullagh's Politech</a>
56.html" title="Learn more about Groklaw">Groklaw</a> </li></ul>
 </div> <div class="categoryItem"> <h3>Mac
nation</h3> <ul><li> <a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-115898.html" title="Learn more about Apple
Matters">Apple Matters</a> </li><li> <a
AppleInsider">AppleInsider</a> </li><li> <a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-7311.html" title="Learn more about Daring
Fireball">Daring Fireball</a> </li><li> <a
iLounge">iLounge</a> </li><li> <a
Jackwhispers">Jackwhispers</a> </li><li> <a
MacMinute">MacMinute</a> </li><li> <a
Mac Observer">The Mac Observer</a> </li></ul> </div>
<div class="categoryItem"> <h3>Open source</h3>
<ul><li> <a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
25792.html" title="Learn more about Jeremy Zawodny's blog">Jeremy Zawodny's
blog</a> </li><li> <a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-120019.html" title="Learn more about Linux-
Watch">Linux-Watch</a> </li><li> <a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-103.html" title="Learn more about Doc
Searls Weblog">Doc Searls Weblog</a> </li><li>
about Slashdot">Slashdot</a> </li><li> <a
MozillaZine">MozillaZine</a> </li><li> <a
SunMink">SunMink</a> </li></ul> </div>
<div class="categoryItem"> <h3>Search, Media</h3> <ul><li>
more about Scobleizer">Scobleizer</a> </li><li>
about BuzzMachine">BuzzMachine</a> </li><li> <a
PressThink">PressThink</a> </li><li> <a
Romenesko">Romenesko</a> </li><li> <a
Threadwatch.org">Threadwatch.org</a> </li><li>
John Battelle's Searchblog">John Battelle's Searchblog</a>
22650.html" title="Learn more about New Media Musings">New Media Musings</a>
10784_3-102091.html" title="Learn more about Micro Persuasion">Micro
Persuasion</a> </li><li> <a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-120020.html" title="Learn more about Matt
McAlister">Matt McAlister</a> </li><li> <a
Blog Herald">The Blog Herald</a> </li><li> <a
Cyberjournalist.net">Cyberjournalist.net</a> </li><li>
PaidContent.org">PaidContent.org</a> </li><li>
about Search Engine Watch">Search Engine Watch</a> </li><li>
more about Seth Godin's Blog">Seth Godin's Blog</a> </li><li>
more about whatsnextblog">whatsnextblog</a> </li></ul> 
</div> <div class="categoryItem"> <h3>Security,
Threats</h3> <ul><li> <a
Schneier on Security">Schneier on Security</a> </li><li>
about Sunbeltblog">Sunbeltblog</a> </li><li> <a
TaoSecurity">TaoSecurity</a> </li><li> <a
Vitalsecurity.org">Vitalsecurity.org</a> </li><li>
about Security Fix">Security Fix</a> </li><li>
about Microsoft Security Response Center">Microsoft Security Response Center</a>
10784_3-105209.html" title="Learn more about Kim Cameron's Identity Weblog">Kim
Cameron's Identity Weblog</a> </li><li> <a
Spamroll">Spamroll</a> </li></ul> </div>
<div class="categoryItem"> <h3>Software</h3> <ul><li>
title="Learn more about IEBlog">IEBlog</a> </li><li>
Jon's Radio">Jon's Radio</a> </li><li> <a
Ongoing">Ongoing</a> </li><li> <a
Burnham's Beat">Burnham's Beat</a> </li><li> <a
C:PIRILLO.EXE">C:PIRILLO.EXE</a> </li><li> <a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-58548.html" title="Learn more about Channel
9">Channel 9</a> </li><li> <a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-102380.html" title="Learn more about Mini-
Microsoft">Mini-Microsoft</a> </li><li> <a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-80717.html" title="Learn more about Joi
Ito's Web">Joi Ito's Web</a> </li><li> <a
Neowin.net">Neowin.net</a> </li><li> <a
Molly">Molly</a> </li><li> <a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-23021.html" title="Learn more about Seattle
Post-Intelligencer Microsoft Blog">Seattle
Post-Intelligencer Microsoft Blog</a> </li><li>
about LonghornBlogs.com">LonghornBlogs.com</a> </li><li>
about O'Reilly Radar">O'Reilly Radar</a> </li><li>
about Between the Lines">Between the Lines</a> </li><li>
about Microsoft Watch from Mary Jo Foley">Microsoft Watch from Mary Jo Foley</a>
</li></ul> </div> <div
class="categoryItem"> <h3>Tech business</h3> <ul><li>
about BusinessWeek's Blogspotting">BusinessWeek's Blogspotting</a>
119313.html" title="Learn more about The Internet Stock Blog">The Internet Stock
Blog</a> </li><li> <a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-119955.html" title="Learn more about Tech-
Confidential">Tech-Confidential</a> </li><li>
about Dan Bricklin's Log">Dan Bricklin's Log</a> </li><li>
about Scripting News">Scripting News</a> </li><li>
Tecosystems">Tecosystems</a> </li><li> <a
Jonathan's Blog">Jonathan's Blog</a> </li><li>
Scott Rosenberg's Links & Comment">Scott Rosenberg's Links & Comment</a>
322.html" title="Learn more about Techdirt">Techdirt</a> </li><li>
title="Learn more about Silicon Valley Watcher">Silicon Valley Watcher</a>
133.html" title="Learn more about Venture Chronicles">Venture Chronicles</a>
10784_3-100533.html" title="Learn more about BusinessWeek's The Tech
Beat">BusinessWeek's The Tech Beat</a> </li><li>
about Ars Technica">Ars Technica</a> </li><li>
about TechCrunch">TechCrunch</a> </li><li> <a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-119954.html" title="Learn more about Alice
Hill's Real Tech News">Alice Hill's Real Tech News</a> </li><li>
title="Learn more about digg">digg</a> </li><li>
about Om Malik on Broadband">Om Malik on Broadband</a> </li></ul>
 </div> <div class="categoryItem"> <h3>Web
culture</h3> <ul><li> <a
Kuro5hin.org">Kuro5hin.org</a> </li><li> <a
PhysOrg Weblog">PhysOrg Weblog</a> </li><li> <a
Kottke.org">Kottke.org</a> </li><li> <a
XplanaZine">XplanaZine</a> </li><li> <a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-119957.html" title="Learn more about Geek
Culture">Geek Culture</a> </li><li> <a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-31711.html" title="Learn more about Boing
Boing">Boing Boing</a> </li><li> <a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-113453.html" title="Learn more about Things
That ... Make You Go Hmm">Things That ... Make You Go Hmm</a>
</li></ul> </div> </div> <h2>Blog 100
Index:</h2> <div class="alphaCol1"> <ul><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-120031.html">1080Eye</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-119954.html">Alice Hill's Real Tech
News</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-115898.html">Apple
Matters</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
192.html">AppleInsider</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
100880.html">Ars Technica</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
100047.html">Between the Lines</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-112727.html">Beyond VC</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-31711.html">Boing Boing</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-119329.html">Burnham's Beat</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-119959.html">BusinessWeek's Blogspotting</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-100533.html">BusinessWeek's The Tech
Beat</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
111708.html">BuzzMachine</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
2978.html">C:PIRILLO.EXE</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
58548.html">Channel 9</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
119331.html">Cleantech Investing</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-103109.html">Cyberjournalist.net</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-24855.html">Dan Bricklin's
Log</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-7311.html">Daring
Fireball</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-55.html">Declan
McCullagh's Politech</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
100407.html">digg</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
103.html">Doc Searls Weblog</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
49.html">Engadget</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
119311.html">Freedom to Tinker</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-119957.html">Geek Culture</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-4942.html">Geek News Central</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-157.html">Gizmodo</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-120073.html">GPS Review</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-56.html">Groklaw</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-120072.html">Hypebot</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-100200.html">IEBlog</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-117953.html">iLounge</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-119334.html">Jackwhispers</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-25792.html">Jeremy Zawodny's
blog</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
101430.html">JKOnTheRun</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
90.html">John Battelle's Searchblog</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-80717.html">Joi Ito's Web</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-111.html">Jon's Radio</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-100039.html">Jonathan's Blog</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-119953.html">Justin's Guide</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-105209.html">Kim Cameron's Identity
Weblog</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
119315.html">Kotaku</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
104.html">Kottke.org</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
79.html">Kuro5hin.org</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
6356.html">Lawrence Lessig</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
119317.html">Lifehacker</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
120019.html">Linux-Watch</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
113826.html">LonghornBlogs.com</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-7017.html">MacMinute</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-120020.html">Matt McAlister</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-102091.html">Micro Persuasion</a></li></ul> </div> <div
class="alphaCol2"> <ul><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
116141.html">Microsoft Security Response Center</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-126818.html">Microsoft Watch from Mary Jo
Foley</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-102380.html">Mini-
Microsoft</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
100605.html">Molly</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
136.html">MozillaZine</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
100874.html">Neowin.net</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
22650.html">New Media Musings</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-113700.html">O'Reilly Radar</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-125711.html">Om Malik on Broadband</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-106.html">Ongoing</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-189.html">PaidContent.org</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-119340.html">PCS Intel</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-119343.html">PhysOrg Weblog</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-16630.html">PressThink</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-378.html">PVRblog</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-59333.html">Responsible
Nanotechnology</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
120074.html">RFID Weblog</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
111373.html">Romenesko</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
80212.html">Schneier on Security</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-127076.html">Science Blog</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-68.html">Scobleizer</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-5899.html">Scott Rosenberg's Links &
Comment</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-39.html">Scripting
News</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-119130.html">Search
Engine Watch</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
23021.html">Seattle Post-Intelligencer Microsoft Blog</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-113620.html">Security Fix</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-124114.html">Seth Godin's
Blog</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-119321.html">Silicon
Valley Watcher</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
118134.html">Slashdot</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
126498.html">Spamroll</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
119328.html">Sunbeltblog</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
113044.html">SunMink</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
119960.html">TaoSecurity</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
119955.html">Tech-Confidential</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-119022.html">TechCrunch</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-322.html">Techdirt</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
398.html">Tecosystems</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
100680.html">Terra Nova</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
116702.html">The Blog Herald</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-119332.html">The Gadgeteer</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-119313.html">The Internet Stock Blog</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-119319.html">The Mac
Observer</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-113453.html">Things
That ... Make You Go Hmm</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
119338.html">Threadwatch.org</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-113788.html">TiVoBlog.com</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-119341.html">TVOver.net</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-133.html">Venture Chronicles</a></li><li><a
href="http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-
119961.html">Vitalsecurity.org</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-101316.html">whatsnextblog</a></li><li><a href="http://news.com.com/2311-
10784_3-119337.html">XplanaZine</a></li></ul> </div>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 30th September - 6th October 2006
DATE: 10/06/2006 06:41:33
STATUS: publish
BODY:
The share prices of
online gambling companies collapsed after America's Congress
passed legislation that stops banks and credit-card issuers from making payments
to them, essentially banning punters in the United States from their websites. <a
bin1/DM/y/hvok0FDHx80Mo0DRpP0EN">See article</a>
Harrah's
Entertainment, the operator of Caesar's Palace and other top casinos,
revealed it had received a buy-out offer of around $15 billion from two private-
equity firms. Although active in a range of industries, private-equity firms have
until now largely stayed clear of gambling. 
After failing to reach
agreement on how to share the benefits of a potential deal, General Motors
decided not to pursue an alliance with Renault and
Nissan and ended negotiations on the matter. GM will now concentrate on its own restructuring plan as it seeks
a return to profitability. The alliance's non-starter is a blow to Kirk Kerkorian,
a big GM investor who suggested the tie-up. Last week Mr
Kerkorian gave notice of his intention to raise his stake in the carmaker. <a
bin1/DM/y/hvok0FDHx80Mo0DRpQ0EO">See article</a>
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="more_missed_departures">More missed
departures</div> EADS confirmed a further delay to the Airbus
A380. It now expects to make the first delivery of the super-
jumbo in October 2007, putting the project some two years behind its original
schedule. The European aerospace company also upped the total amount of a
projected profit shortfall over four years to euro4.8 billion ($6.1
billion) because of the delays. Airlines that have contracts for the A380 indicated they were considering their options. <a
bin1/DM/y/hvok0FDHx80Mo0DRpR0EP">See article</a>
size="-1">Ryanair, Europe's biggest low-cost airline, launched a
takeover bid for Aer Lingus by buying a 16% stake in its fellow
Irish carrier, which made its stockmarket debut this week after converting itself
into a low-cost airline. 
The first criminal
charges were filed in relation to Hewlett-Packard's boardroom
spying scandal. California indicted HP's former chairman,
Patricia Dunn, and former ethics lawyer as well as three outside investigators,
who allegedly assisted the company to uncover a press leak. The five defendants
face several charges, including identity theft.
Apple
Computer completed its internal investigation into the way it has granted
past stock-options and found 15 cases of improperly backdated grants. The report
raised “serious concerns” about the actions of two former (unnamed) executives,
but found no misconduct by the current management team, although Steve Jobs,
Apple's chief executive, had been aware of the practices “in a few instances”. He
apologised.
The row between
ImClone Systems and Carl Icahn came to the boil
when the biomedical company accused the investor of sabotaging a proposed takeover
offer it had received by withholding his support. Mr Icahn, who owns 14% of
ImClone, is unhappy with the company's performance and is seeking to oust six
members of the board. 
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="cash_flow">Cash flow</div>
A further shake-up of
Britain's water companies seemed likely after a bidding war broke out for AWG, which owns Anglian Water. AWG had accepted a £2.2 billion ($4.1 billion) offer from an
investment group before confirming it had received rival bids from (unnamed)
interested parties. With South East Water agreeing to be bought
in a separate offer by an Australian fund manager for £665m, speculation returned
to the potential of a bid for Thames Water, Britain's biggest water company.

Siemens
said it would create a euro35m ($45m) fund to help employees at its
former mobile-phone unit find new work. Last year the German engineering company
sold the loss-making business to Taiwan's BenQ, which says the losses are
“unsustainable” and announced it would stop funding BenQ Mobile.
Executives at Siemens are contributing to the workers' fund by forgoing a
(controversial) 30% salary increase.
Having fallen by 23%
since early August to a seven-month low of less than $60 a barrel, oil prices rose
on news that ministers from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries were
discussing whether to cut oil production by 1m barrels per day.
Any cut would be the first since 2004 and could come after an emergency meeting of
the cartel. 
Sony's share price fell
after Toshiba and Fujitsu said they, too, were recalling Sony batteries
in some laptop computers because of fears they could overheat. Lenovo,
which makes computers under the IBM brand, has also
announced a recall after one of its laptops caught fire at Los Angeles airport.
Dell and Apple issued recalls in August. 
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="measuring_up">Measuring
up</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
size="-1">The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke its record
closing high, which had been previously reached in January 2000. Amid the
celebrations, some questioned why the DJIA continues to be
viewed as the benchmark stockmarket barometer considering it is an average of only
30 share prices that ignores the market value of a company. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hvok0FDHx80Mo0DRpS0EQ">See article</a>
Correction:
<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hvok0FDHx80Mo0DRpT0ER">Last week</a> we were wrong to say that Aer
Lingus was the first airline to debut on the London Stock Exchange since 2000.
Several airlines have floated on the LSE since then. Apologies. This has been
corrected online.
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 30th September - 6th October 2006
DATE: 10/06/2006 06:40:16
STATUS: publish
BODY:
The Republicans
had a bad week as attention focused on what the leadership in the House
of Representatives knew about Mark Foley's lurid overtures to teenage pages on
Capitol Hill, and when they knew it. Mr Foley resigned from his safe seat in
central Florida after sexually suggestive e-mails he sent to some of the young men
came to light. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hvog0FDHx80Mo0DRpy0Ey">See
With a month to go
before the mid-term elections the White House was put on the defensive over its
Iraq policy after the publication of Bob Woodward's latest book.
The veteran Washington insider depicts an administration striving to suppress
downbeat assessments about the situation in the country. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hvog0FDHx80Mo0DRpz0Ez">See article</a>
size="-1">George Bush signed a homeland security bill that provides funds to
construct 700 miles of fencing along the border with Mexico.
Congress rushed through the measure before it adjourned last week. 
A man entered an
Amish schoolhouse in Pennsylvania and shot ten young girls,
killing five. The gunman, who committed suicide, apparently had a background of
sexual molestation but it is not thought he bore a particular grudge against the
Amish. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hvog0FDHx80Mo0DRp10Em">See article</a>
The publisher of
Miami Herald Media resigned after three journalists he had sacked
for taking “unethical” government payments were reinstated. The journalists, based
at the Miami Herald's Spanish-language sister publication, did some work
for Radio Martí, an anti-Castro, government-funded broadcaster.
 
rel="nofollow" name="incomplete_victory">Incomplete victory</div>
size="-1">Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva failed to win a majority of the votes in
Brazil's presidential election, forcing a run-off on October
29th. His opponent will be Geraldo Alckmin, a former governor of São Paulo. <a
bin1/DM/y/hvog0FDHx80Mo0DRp20En">See article</a>
An airliner collided
with a private jet and crashed into the Amazon rainforest killing all 155 aboard,
Brazil's worst aviation disaster. The private jet's two American
pilots managed to land their plane and were ordered to stay in the
country.
 
rel="nofollow" name="playing_a_dangerous_game">Playing a dangerous
game</div> Tensions rose between North Korea and its neighbours as
it announced its intention to carry out a nuclear test. Japan and South Korea gave
warning of serious consequences if a test proceeded. America said it was “not
going to accept” a nuclear North Korea. China urged the reclusive state to
“exercise necessary calm and restraint”. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hvog0FDHx80Mo0DRp30Eo">See
India
said it would provide evidence to Pakistan that its intelligence
services were involved in July's bombings in Mumbai. Pakistan described the
allegation as “baseless”. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hvog0FDHx80Mo0DRp40Ep">See
NATO
assumed full command of peacekeeping in Afghanistan,
taking charge of 10,000 American troops in the east of the country. The alliance
now has 33,000 troops in Afghanistan; some 8,000 American soldiers are also there
to hunt terrorists.
size="-1">Thailand's military junta appointed a former army chief
as the country's interim prime minister. General Surayud Chulanont, who is close
to the king, promised a return to democracy. Meanwhile, Thaksin Shinawatra, the
ousted prime minister, now in exile, resigned as the leader of the Thai Rak Thai
party, the dominant force in Thai politics before the recent coup. <a
bin1/DM/y/hvog0FDHx80Mo0DRp50Eq">See article</a>
South Korea's foreign
minister seemed certain to become the next United Nations secretary-
general after winning an informal poll in the Security Council. Ban Ki-
moon is expected to receive a formal endorsement next week. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hvog0FDHx80Mo0DRp60Er">See article</a><img
 
rel="nofollow" name="neighbours_fall_out">Neighbours fall
out</div> A row between Georgia and Russia got worse. The
Georgians sent four alleged Russian spies back to Moscow and the Russians cut all
air, road and sea links. The countries' two presidents, Russia's Vladimir Putin
and Georgia's Mikhail Saakashvili, traded public insults. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hvog0FDHx80Mo0DRp70Es">See article</a>
Three people are to run
for the French Socialist Party's presidential nomination. The
favourite is Ségolène Royal; the other two candidates are Laurent Fabius, a former
prime minister, and Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a former finance minister. <a
bin1/DM/y/hvog0FDHx80Mo0DRp80Et">See article</a>
The minority centre-
right Czech government under Mirek Topolanek lost a vote of
confidence. The Czechs have not had a secure government since the election in June
produced a dead heat; another election now looks likely. 
Hungary's
president put pressure on the prime minister, Ferenc Gyurcsany, to step
down after his Socialists did badly in local elections. Mr Gyurcsany has been
under pressure ever since he admitted repeatedly lying to voters, but he still
refuses to go.
Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic, who led the country to independence
this summer, is resigning for personal reasons.
size="-1">Bosnia's election returned a clutch of leaders who may
break the country apart. The prospect has also receded of more reforms necessary
to start accession talks with the European Union. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hvog0FDHx80Mo0DRqA0E4">See article</a>
 
rel="nofollow" name="faction_fighting">Faction fighting</div>
The inability of the
besieged Hamas-run Palestinian Authority to pay civil servants or the security
forces resulted in violent clashes between Hamas and
Fatah militia in Gaza and the West Bank. Some 12 people were killed. <a
bin1/DM/y/hvog0FDHx80Mo0DRqB0E5">See article</a>
On a visit to the Middle
East Condoleezza Rice, America's secretary of state, exchanged
opinions with “moderate” Arab leaders and urged Israel to temper its blockade of
the Palestinian territories. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hvog0FDHx80Mo0DRqC0E6">See
In a bid to reduce
sectarian killing in Baghdad, Iraq's prime minister announced
that local security committees would be set up to supervise the security forces.
Dozens of murdered bodies are discovered in the city each day. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hvog0FDHx80Mo0DRqD0E7">See article</a>
Levy Mwanawasa was
comfortably re-elected as Zambia's president, with international
observers saying the poll was reasonably honest and open. Supporters of the
opposition leader protested violently in Lusaka, claiming the results were rigged.
<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hvog0FDHx80Mo0DRqE0E8">See article</a>
size="-1">The remains of Pierre de Brazza, a French explorer who
died in 1905, were exhumed in Algeria and placed in a mausoleum in Brazzaville,
Congo's capital city.
Tensions increased in
the Democratic Republic of Congo ahead of a presidential run-off
election. An unmanned surveillance drone used by UN
peacekeepers crashed in Kinshasa, the capital, killing a woman and sparking
protests. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hvog0FDHx80Mo0DRqF0EA">See article</a>
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: $1M Crowdsourcing; YouTube Doubt; Foley Train Wreck
DATE: 10/06/2006 06:38:57
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Are better DVD picks worth a million bucks? They are to Netflix. <a
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Vg21znUS-
cfCMWy5">Long Tail</a> explains that the company's million-dollar
contest to create better DVD recommendations is <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/qhTO14LMZQpA45Q9">an inspired business move</a>:
better search drives demand down the tail of time, where acquisition costs are
typically lower. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/5bPFtXL04kNbZ7Ti">It looks like crowdsourcing</a>,
but since just one person will win, it's winner-take-all outsourcing, blogs <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/AsCgpu9MDqOgO7L1">Techdirt</a>.
Want to win? Better include <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/rjYQtdYDxx095xdY">Ajax in the answer</a>, blogs <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/jZSfeJmENFUVoPNg">Ajaxian</a>.
Netflix should just encourage people to form clubs around actors, directors or
genres, then <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/KBDQdhSLRjQbfDSd">compare viewing history
(anonymously)</a>, says <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
>. Or take a cue from MovieTally which has great <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/WXo3Mb4t5t_Mys_2">missing NetFlix features</a>,
writes <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
Don't sell those theater stocks, though; Netflix CEO Reed Hastings thinks there
will always be a place for <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/cngu2AgbORfti7LL">theaters as a unique
entertainment destination</a> (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Cpa39h2151Gmhq2w">Hacking
Netflix</a>). <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/QYv6muUMrtC1UQh1"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/down-the-youtube.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="119" width="105" alt="Image" /></a> In other video
news, Forrester jumped onto the YouTube-will-get-sued bandwagon, saying one
copyright suit will force it to <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/tMq2ulhh_Bul_0cR">yank all copyrighted material
from the site</a> (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/PodKgIBeAe7H6iO2">CNET</a>). But
online video-editing and storage tools like <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/_HLAK_c93rLbcYEv">StashSpace may fill that
gap</a>, letting individual users create more and better video material. And
YouTube pessimism didn't prevent <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/f7gCgS6f9XjaKyxQ">Netscape from taking video
submissions</a>, writes <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
Blog</a>, or Fox from expanding its <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/ApCPMkBdw_ayyzwM">TV offerings through
MySpace</a>. At the same time, <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/KKWbRwxvPf_E9mtN">Wal-mart quietly killed</a> its
ill-conceived MySpace clone (reported via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/WPSAcosRQbyB0IEY">The Blog
Herald</a>).
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/KKWbRwxvPf_E9mtN"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/walmartmyspacebad.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="268" width="263" alt="Image" /></a>In blogger
news, PayPerPost wants to expand the offerings of splogs: It will <a
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/gP5Pia58-
wdNq_sV">pay bloggers for posts mentioning particular products or advertisers</a>,
blogs <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/h5vk0V8KERQVWh-q">Somewhat
Frank</a>, who can't seem to decide whether this is good or bad. <a
has no such doubts, labeling it mercenary and will <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/wqvnPflKSfqi1s0v">ruin the bloggers
it touches</a>. Meanwhile Cisco is taking a different advertising tack, asking
various technorati to define "<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/viFjFmLV3bQFkh-v">the human network</a>," the
tagline for its current marketing campaign (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/-Fihk3Vo54e7P3PO">John
Battelle</a>). If all you want to do is get on the front page of <a
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Fh-
L_gkd8fLqVn74">digg</a>, though, follow <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/bcpnI0lAlP7yEo0A">SEO
BlackHat's</a> <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/1bsBEYq8PoqahrNF">10 snarky steps</a> (write about
digg, appeal to Apple fanboys, and say Microsoft sucks to name a few). 
<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/-
VVuF9p_RRY6AnDI"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/boomtobust.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="188" width="265" alt="Image" /></a> Wall Street is
cheering a new record for the Dow this week. Too bad <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/-VVuF9p_RRY6AnDI">all-time highs
can signal crushing lows</a>, blogs <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/msYy0cfMJFqHpZtO">Wonkette</a>.
Besides, other market measures like the S&P, the Russell 2000 and <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Llq55cLHU63cuDTj">key sectors just aren't keeping
up</a>, writes <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/iCjdq4vqJ305avDz">Big Picture</a>-
but <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/B-
CtEsvMor__8Y-_">Blogging Stocks</a> captions a bit by Jim Cramer
saying that falling energy prices mean <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/s2og1j5arfCOp-ha">there's still headroom</a>. 
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/FikJcOpYJjGcBTdf"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/us_foley.jpg" align="right"
border="0" height="131" width="197" alt="Image" /></a>But even a record-setting
Dow is an afterthought next to the Mark Foley train wreck. The Florida Republican
resigned from the House on Thursday after <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/0-cyLElbDfR1m5C7">ABC News</a>
revealed <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/T4zotTMhCZPelktk">questionable e-mails he'd
written to teenage male pages</a>. House speaker Dennis Hastert quickly called for
an <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/136gGhSpEHngB0AY">FBI investigation</a>, but
prominent Republicans are saying <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/m129s2aPqVy6ldUt">Hastert didn't act for
months</a> (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/OOWlilol76pFx1Xq">Firedoglake</a>)
.
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/4kaRr4hX0HlF_fFI"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/image2.jpg" align="left"
border="0" height="300" width="220" alt="Image" /></a> Under siege, Hastert took
to the airwaves, telling Rush Limbaugh that <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/FH9ebbFVHJ44AT-2">Foley's victims
were out to get him</a> and the GOP (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/NRWeOGokLgPA_mfm">Daily Kos</a>).
Meanwhile Rep. Thomas Reynolds of New York, who runs the Republican national
campaign effort, <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/7ZaGEzo2TMSWMilw">surrounded himself with
children</a> during a press conference to avoid facing adult questions. With <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/mXHSGN3jkS7EREYf">Michelle
Malkin</a> describing newly revealed <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/UKiYX82BIvmyzqbM">Foley e-mails as "stomach-
turning"</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Q4P-JNbXxzLCH62R">National
Review</a> <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/hh2dLPy1JbpPMqz9">calling for his head</a>,
Hastert's hours may be numbered-<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/b9B8uM0bQTBmDM8R">will he resign before Friday at
5:00 or after</a>, asks <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/44k3YZcCY6McNIT-">Eschaton</a>.
Too bad <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/t3sTKBnJrXzUPa-L">the GOP didn't out Foley
itself</a> when it found out about his activities last year, blogs <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/qSy8uLd9DAdY3a_B?">Politik
Ditto</a>.
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/msYy0cfMJFqHpZtO">Wonkette</a>
rounds up <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/r8Rhaf1KaVAJIEy7">late-breaking Foley gossip
here</a>. And all this after President <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/j_5avgAGEo71mJ9k">Bush declared Monday Child
Health Day</a>.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 23rd - 29th September 2006
DATE: 09/29/2006 06:58:51
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Shinzo Abe, who was
confirmed as Japan's prime minister by the country's parliament,
picked a cabinet. He also cut his pay by 30% as a symbolic gesture to help reduce
Japan's huge public debt. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
<table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="4"> <tbody> <tr> <td
valign="top"> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2">
<tbody> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top">Getty Images</td> </tr>
</tbody></table></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="bottom"><img alt="Getty Images"
width="160" alt="Image" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"> 
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> The presidents of Afghanistan and
Pakistan, Hamid Karzai and Pervez Musharraf, held talks in
Washington, DC, with George Bush. Tensions between both
countries have increased lately with each blaming the other for the surge in
Taliban violence, which was illuminated by a suicide-bomb in Afghanistan's
southern Helmand province that killed 18 people. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
The leaders of
Thailand's military coup resurrected a dormant corruption
commission so it could begin investigating the previous government. A week after
tanks rolled onto the streets, the coup retained the support of most Thais. <a
Sri Lanka's
navy said it had engaged Tamil rebels in a sea battle 80km (50 miles) off
the strategic port of Trincomalee. The navy claimed to have killed 70 rebels in
the encounter; the rebels said three. 
 
rel="nofollow">Cause célèbre and effect?</div> George Bush released some parts
of a classified report on trends in global terrorism after it was
leaked to the press. The document stated that a number of factors were
contributing to the spread of jihadist ideology, including the “cause célèbre”—as
the authors called it—of the Iraq war. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
As Congress prepared to
adjourn ahead of November's elections, the White House reached a compromise with
Republicans who opposed Mr Bush's plans for interrogating and trying
terrorism suspects. But legislation that sought to settle the
legality of Mr Bush's wiretapping programme was held up by
differing versions of the bill.
The Republicans chose
Minneapolis-St Paul as the site for their convention in 2008, an
indication of how close the party thinks the presidential race in the Midwest will
be. The Democrats are still considering whether to hold their jamboree in Denver
or New York.
New Orleans
held a party to celebrate the city football team's first game at the
Louisiana Superdome since it was used to house evacuees from the flood that
followed Hurricane Katrina. 
 
rel="nofollow" name="justice_postponed">Justice postponed</div>
Saddam
Hussein's chaotic trial in Baghdad was adjourned until October 9th. The
defence lawyers had walked out after a change of chief judge, and Saddam himself
was ejected from court three times in a week.
British forces in Iraq
killed Omar al-Farouq, said to be a top lieutenant of Osama bin
Laden. Captured in Indonesia in 2002, he escaped from an American military prison
in Afghanistan last year.
Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2">AP</td> </tr> </tbody></table></td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="bottom"><img alt="AP"
size="-1">Israel freed Nasser al-Shaer, the Palestinian deputy prime minister, but
about 30 Hamas politicians remain in custody.
An Israeli newspaper
reported a secret meeting between a senior Saudi official and Israel's prime
minister, Ehud Olmert. Saudi Arabia has been trying to revive a
2002 Arab initiative calling for recognition of Israel in exchange for a
Palestinian state along the 1967 borders.
Russia and Iran signed a
deal over Iran's nuclear reactor at Bushehr, which they say
should be fully operational in November 2007.
The latest report of a
UN inquiry into the assassination of Rafik
Hariri, a former Lebanese prime minister, confirmed that he was killed by
a suicide bomber but did not elaborate on who was behind the attack.
Islamist forces captured
the Somali seaport of Kismayo, strengthening their hold on the
south of the country. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
 
rel="nofollow" name="let_them_in">Let them in</div> The European Commission gave the
go-ahead for Bulgaria and Romania to join the
European Union next January. But it set tough conditions so as to monitor the two
countries' progress towards EU standards. Most existing
members will impose labour-market restrictions on Bulgarians and Romanians. <a
Tension rose between
Russia and Georgia after the Georgians arrested
four Russian officers in Tbilisi on spying charges. Russia demanded their
immediate release. 
Bertie Ahern, the
Irish prime minister, admitted to receiving several large loans
from friends when he was finance minister in the 1990s. Mr Ahern insisted he had
broken no ethical, tax or legal codes, and said the lenders refused his offers to
repay the money.
Tony Blair
gave his final speech as prime minister to the annual Labour Party
conference. It was well received, even by his enemies, easing pressure on him to
step down sooner than next May's touted departure date. <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
A top Bosnian
Serb leader, Momcilo Krajisnik, was given a 27-year jail sentence for war
crimes by the UN tribunal in The Hague. Mr Krajisnik, who
was once speaker of the Bosnian Serb parliament, was a close aide to Radovan
Karadzic, who is still wanted on war-crimes charges.
A German opera company
cancelled a production of Mozart's “Idomeneo” because it featured a severed head
of Muhammad, among other religious leaders. The row over self-
censorship for fear of Muslim extremism overshadowed an Islamic conference held by
the government. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
 
rel="nofollow" name="coasting_to_a_win">Coasting to a win</div>
Final opinion polls
before Brazil's presidential election suggested that Luiz Inácio
Lula da Silva would win a second term, probably without the need for a run-off
ballot. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
The governor of the
state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico, whose capital city has been
brought almost to a halt by protests for four months, called for the dispatch of
federal police to impose order. The protesters want the governor sacked as they
claim he was fraudulently elected. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2">AFP</td> </tr> </tbody></table></td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="bottom"><img alt="AFP"
size="-1">In Guatemala, seven prisoners died when 3,000 troops
and police stormed a prison that had been controlled for more than a decade by
inmates, some of whom produced drugs and ran businesses inside the
jail.
size="-1">Venezuela lodged a diplomatic protest after its foreign
minister was briefly detained while about to catch a flight from Kennedy airport
in New York. American officials apologised. They said the minister had bought a
ticket with cash just 30 minutes before the flight and had refused extra security
checks.
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 23rd - 29th September 2006
DATE: 09/29/2006 06:58:11
STATUS: publish
BODY:
The spotlight stayed on
Hewlett-Packard's boardroom spying scandal as Congress prepared
to grill company officials about the affair. The big question is how much Mark
Hurd, HP's chief executive, knew about the methods used in
an investigation to uncover a company leak? Mr Hurd is now chairman too: he took
over when Patricia Dunn stepped down on September 22nd, soon after Mr Hurd gave
his first public account of the shenanigans. Ms Dunn had intended to step down
next January. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hvRa0FDHx80Mo0DQqs0EJ">See
An American federal
judge ruled that a claim filed in 2004 against tobacco companies,
alleging that they misleadingly marketed “light” cigarettes as comparatively safe,
could proceed as a class-action lawsuit. With the potential to include tens of
millions of smokers, it is thought to be the country's largest class-action suit
yet. The share price of big tobacco firms fell sharply. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hvRa0FDHx80Mo0DQqt0EK">See article</a>
It emerged that
Johnson & Johnson is seeking $5.5 billion in damages from
Boston Scientific and Abbott Laboratories for
breaching J&J's 2004 merger
agreement with Guidant, a maker of medical devices. J&J eventually lost a protracted bidding
war for Guidant to Boston earlier this year. Abbott was also involved in the
deal.
 <div><a
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="a_parisian_love_affair">A Parisian love
affair?</div> Rick Wagoner and Carlos Ghosn held talks in Paris about the mooted
alliance between General Motors, Renault and
Nissan, Renault's affiliate. It was the chief executives' first
meeting since the idea was floated by Kirk Kerkorian, an investor who owns almost
10% of GM, in June. Since then, speculation has increased
that GM would rather concentrate on its own restructuring
plans, but both sides agreed to continue exploring the “potential opportunities”
of a deal and report in the middle of October. 
PSA Peugeot
Citröen announced cost-saving measures that include the loss of 10,000
jobs, or 7% of its European workforce. Europe's second-biggest carmaker is
suffering from an erosion of its market position, attributed to the staleness of
its models. 
Aer Lingus
priced its initial public offering towards the lower range of
expectations, valuing the Irish state-owned carrier at euro1.13 billion
($1.4 billion) when it starts trading next week. The flotation is regarded as a
gauge of investors' appetite for airline shares after recent security scares—Aer
Lingus will be the first airline to make its debut on the London Stock Exchange
since easyJet in 2000.
Jacob “Kobi”
Alexander was arrested in Namibia, several weeks after he went on the run
to escape charges in a stock-option scandal stemming from when he was chief
executive of Comverse. American regulators are to ask for the extradition of Mr
Alexander, whose flight initiated a global manhunt and numerous alleged sightings.

Andrew
Fastow received a six-year prison sentence for the part he played in
Enron's collapse. The energy-trading company's former chief financial officer had
agreed to a ten-year term as part of a plea bargain, but the judge reduced this
because of the “exceptional” help Mr Fastow had given to the
prosecution.
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="dragging_e.on_and_on">Dragging E.ON and
on</div> Germany's E.ON raised its bid for
Endesa by almost 40%, valuing a merger with the Spanish utility
at around euro37 billion ($47 billion). E.ON acted
after learning that Acciona, a Spanish construction group, had taken a 10% stake
in Endesa, putting a further potential obstacle in the German company's path.
Spain's government was criticised by the European Commission this week for its
attempts to block the cross-border acquisition. 
The battle for Endesa
was not the only Spanish utility deal to excite investors. ACS, a
Spanish building firm, bought a 6.3% stake, worth euro2.1 billion ($2.7
billion), in Iberdrola, the country's second-biggest power
company. ACS also dampened speculation that it was trying
to pursue a merger with Union Fenosa, a utility of which it is
the controlling shareholder, and displace Endesa as Spain's biggest utility.

Consolidation among
European drug companies continued apace as UCB reached an
agreement to buy Schwarz Pharma for euro4.4 billion
($5.6 billion). The announcement came four days after Merck
unveiled its acquisition plans for Serono, and
Altana said it would sell its pharmaceutical business to
Nycomed. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hvRa0FDHx80Mo0DQqu0EL">See
briefly dipped below $60 a barrel for the first time since March. <a
bin1/DM/y/hvRa0FDHx80Mo0DQqv0EM">See article</a>
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="happy_talk">Happy talk</div>
<tbody> <tr> <td align="right" valign="top"> 
</td> </tr> </tbody></table></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="bottom"><img alt=""
size="-1">American consumer confidence rebounded in September
from August's sharp fall (the news was one element pushing the Dow Jones
Industrial Average towards a new high). Cheaper petrol prices were said to be the
main factor fuelling the optimism.
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Clinton Smackdown; Techmeme Brilliance; Woz Confesses
DATE: 09/29/2006 06:53:13
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Smackdown! Bloggers went wild this week as President <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/_a2kNBXRBkOO0SVi">Clinton barked
back at Fox's Chris Wallace</a> over pre-9/11 efforts against Al-Qaeda and the
results made the rounds on YouTube. YouTube's about <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/2TiwNg9QgGi6pfLy">bursts of
emotion, not ideological saturation</a>, blogs the Times' <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/NU5mrlpwGVChyHtK">Screens</a>
blog, while <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/Q_BqmgrtmMrRBySX">BuzzMachine</a> says Fox
lost future viewers by <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Y84fr4DchRQdLHLX">taking the interview clip
down</a>, particularly since Clinton's appearance generated the <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/GzljK6yhKDMtDTSZ">best ratings in
three years</a> (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/iOA-
Dp3oGK6nvkRb">Variety.com</a>). Despite Clinton's protests, the
CIA's Michael Scheuer says Clinton <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/ayu8y6TDrzcflRCE">flubbed several
opportunities</a> to take out bin Laden blogs <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/zZ5uqMrD95ekA6c_">Knowledge Is
Power</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/XilS8EX8ufQVMwWm">TownHall</a>
writes that Clinton's <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/Yxrh3kAQnAUMfXR5">rage might have just been
calculated</a> to motivate the Democratic base. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.techmeme.com/060925/p17#a060925p17"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/techmeme.png" align="left"
border="0" height="75" width="281" alt="Image" /></a> Plenty of bloggers
also went crazy over Techmeme's <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.techmeme.com/060925/p17#a060925p17">brilliantly simple
sponsorship model</a>, which is another nail in ad agencies' coffin: Advertisers
like <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/En9jLuA2GVDdojh1">Socialtext</a>
simply write a new blog post-slash-ad and it's <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/FQ7cYDy3egB4NRwb">automatically uploaded</a> to
Techmeme's page. It's the <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/iIAxOeiD2QmVWOKN">first viable form of social
advertising</a>, says <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/bVebHCAGZT9Dex3m">/Message</a>,
and the price is reasonable too. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/hBFPV1vx3io6zGtw">Wizbang Tech</a> blogs
that readers will trust Techmeme's <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/7VJB-vomUe4fjhcI">recommendation model of
advertising</a>. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/eZ2YV2-eLuiKOB3D">Digital Inspiration</a>
thinks Techmeme's ad structure is good enough to get Gabe Rivera an <a
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/I-
7XQEtFGdxammlp">invite to Federated Media</a>.
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/tUXPGnTAUKIYYdHK"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/revision3.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="51" width="182" alt="Image" /></a>In other tech-
blog news, Digg's founders soaked up a million in VC for Revision3, an Internet
video production house aimed at <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/tUXPGnTAUKIYYdHK">mobile phone/podcasting
demand</a> (via<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/HwSdfYuIqSNnNwsW"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/jajah175.jpg" align="left"
border="0" height="256" width="122" alt="Image" /></a> <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
. Programs like DiggNation are already pulling in <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/b8satYTyVz7qlpEf">$100,000 a
month</a> with no ad team, writes <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/8DejLUfT7A0wDWoe">Mashable!</a>,
and $1 million will help Revision3 hire a team and rent an office. Meanwhile <a
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/aZGYdyp1f-
MP7ZAj">Scobleizer has a new online show</a> writes
<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/9kf6cz_c7XTf65Ce">business2blog</a> and
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/61W4H6uaQJqWoTyV">BoingBoing has a weekly podcast
</a> featuring a blogger roundtable (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/FVuc9TUMZA4qivDE">Bloggers
Blog</a>). 
Dozens of new products made their debut at the ultra-exclusive tech conference
Demo 2006 this week. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
Web</a> likes MojoPac which allows Windows users to save their <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/WGZWSy_hdWtM5lju">entire PC onto a USB or iPod</a>
and BuzzLogic for tracking social influence on the Web - and is liveblogging the
whole event. Also this week, Jajah announced its killer product for seamless
phone-to-phone VoIP, and <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
says it solves problems that have <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/minAMZZpk9LZ7kmm">plagued mobile VoIP
services</a>. Only Symbian and Java-enabled phones can use it right now, writes <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/E8iZuhwkyz9v8Qcm">OhGizmo!</a>,
although <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/HwSdfYuIqSNnNwsW">more are on the way</a>. <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/s78Y1DC639kXZDtE">ZDNet Blog</a>
discounts threats to existing cells or VoIP, since cell users are already <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/x2QdTwxKoH8O1wwJ">locked into plans</a> and won't
have anyone they can talk to.
People talk at Google because the founders built it that way, writes <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/fLddrangMKKqLY4X">Google
Blogoscoped</a>; <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/HzjtgsYHK5JFvfXs"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/fortune_20061002.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="123" width="90" alt="Image" /></a>even telling
Larry Page you just <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/HzjtgsYHK5JFvfXs">lost several million company
dollars</a> is a good thing in Mountain View. If you earn considerably more than
several million a year, you might have made the Forbes 400 list-that means you,
Larry-and <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/LQtxPksI9rfsnkHP">Paul
Kedrosky</a> writes that these gazillionaires are distributed <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/1yr7XZmFAwVtIoOn">remarkably evenly</a> across the
U.S. If they ever need to talk with one another, Microsoft is ready with its <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/8DejLUfT7A0wDWoe">Wallop social-networking
spinoff</a> It's got big advantages (excellent network visualization, great mods)
and <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/iuqqtSd4G-
U0R7Qy">disadvantages</a> (Flash-based, and how do you permalink?). Think of it as
a combination of MySpace and Second Life, reports <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/C6-F2-acYx2xdHpL">Red
Herring</a>: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/DZ_ZKA3B3HKBV6SI">a social network where you pay
for bling</a>. 
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/108fMFFF5KZStW7S"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/food/wozniak250x180.jpg"
align="left" border="0" alt="Image" /></a>Problems paying for things may make <a
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/tx6HO0WYDrGKnwo8">eBay pull out of China</a>,
because of competitive pressure from China's Taobao and pending regulation of
online payment systems like PayPal. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/feed/3UfQmxuU_7EpVJay">VentureBeat</a>
thinks that this would be a major defeat for Silicon Valley companies, given that
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/U30dhzaixA_hJJsK">Google is already getting
trounced</a> by Chinese competitor Baidu. 
 
Finally, Steve Wozniak's iWoz is in bookstores everywhere and it tells how young
Steve phreaked into the Vatican phone system to try and <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/story/108fMFFF5KZStW7S">wake the Pope at
5:30 a.m.</a> Tragically, it's also full of stories of Jobs and Wozniak debating
who was better - <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/story/VM7v-ew-7-foZiUc">Dylan or the Beatles</a>?

-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 16th - 22nd September 2006
DATE: 09/21/2006 14:24:38
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Concerns were raised
about the regulation of hedge funds after Amaranth Advisors,
based in Connecticut, lost billions of dollars because it misjudged the natural-
gas futures market; its losses this month could reach 65% of its funds. As
speculators, including Goldman Sachs, counted their losses, Christopher Cox, head
of America's Securities and Exchange Commission, gave warning that certain types
of hedge funds are not appropriate for individual investors. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hu4H0FDHx80Mo0DPll0EA">See article</a>
Russia was criticised by
Europe and Japan after withdrawing its approval, on environmental grounds, of a
permit required for a $20 billion energy project led by Royal Dutch Shell
on the eastern island of Sakhalin. The decision to revoke the licence
(which must be approved by regulators) raises the chances that Gazprom, the state
gas monopoly, will force its way into the project. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hu4H0FDHx80Mo0DPlm0EB">See article</a><img
Responding to
speculation, which was putting pressure on its share price, EADS
confirmed that there would be “further delays” in the production of Airbus's A380. The planemaker's parent company gave no details (a review
of the super-jumbo's production is expected soon). 
 
rel="nofollow" name="man_trap">MAN trap</div> Scania, a
Swedish truckmaker, rejected a euro9.6 billion ($12.2 billion) takeover
bid from MAN, a German rival. Scania's two leading shareholders, Volkswagen and
the investment arm of Sweden's Wallenberg family, believe the offer undervalues
the company. But a battle for control seemed certain after MAN received the support of Renault, which holds a 5% voting
stake in Scania. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hu4H0FDHx80Mo0DPln0EC">See
said it had employed the services of Sir John Bond, Vodafone's chairman and a
former chairman of HSBC, as a part-time financial
consultant to Bill Ford, the carmaker's chairman. Last week investors showed
little enthusiasm when Mr Ford unveiled plans for 10,000 more white-collar job
cuts and two additional plant closures. 
Detroit's woes continued
as DaimlerChrysler's boss, Dieter Zetsche, predicted that
Chrysler would make a loss for the year, rather than a previously
forecast profit. As it continues to lose market share in North America, the
carmaker is making additional cuts to vehicle production this year. <a
bin1/DM/y/hu4H0FDHx80Mo0DPlo0ED">See article</a>
 
rel="nofollow" name="communications_breakdown">Communications
breakdown</div> The row over Telecom Italia's restructuring scheme
intensified when the company's chairman resigned in apparent protest at government
meddling. The centre-left government and unions say they will oppose TI's plan to spin off its fixed-line and mobile businesses to
concentrate on broadband and media services. But TI's
commitment to the plan was underscored when it announced the acquisition of AOL's broadband business in Germany. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hu4H0FDHx80Mo0DPlp0EE">See article</a>
A consortium of
private-equity firms led by Blackstone looked set to seal a $17.6
billion bid for Freescale Semiconductors after a rival consortium
ended negotiations on its offer. Freescale, once part of Motorola, accepted
Blackstone's bid, but has 50 days to solicit other offers. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hu4H0FDHx80Mo0DPlq0EF">See article</a>
size="-1">Motorola made its biggest acquisition since it took
over General Instruments in 2000 by agreeing to buy Symbol
Technologies for $3.9 billion. The deal allows Motorola to expand its
corporate logistics business; Symbol makes hand-held devices (often used in
supermarkets) for tracking stock and reading radio-identification tags.

Oracle
reported a 29% increase in net profit for the quarter ending August 31st, compared
with a year earlier—evidence that Larry Ellison's strategy is working. Mr Ellison
has spent $20 billion in acquisitions over the past three years, and maintained
that his spree would result in higher profits. More tellingly, Oracle's sales of
new software licences rose sharply, indicating stable future revenues from its
core business. 
Serono,
a Swiss pharmaceutical company, which had been searching for someone to take it
over, finally found a buyer. Merck, a German rival, said it would
buy the 64.5% stake in Serono held by the Bertarelli family for SFr16.6 billion
($13.3 billion) and make an offer for the remaining shares. 
Another long-running
drugs saga, over the purchase of PLIVA, a Croatian drugs company,
came to a head when Actavis, an Icelandic rival, withdrew its
bid, leaving a $2.5 billion offer from Barr Pharmaceuticals on
the table. 
 
rel="nofollow" name="hand_in_hand">Hand in hand</div> <table
size="-1">America's Federal Reserve left the federal funds rate
unchanged at 5.25%. The decision came after it was reported that
America's headline inflation rate had fallen by more than
expected in August, partly because of a slower increase in energy prices, which
rose by 0.3% in August compared with 2.9% in July. 
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 16th - 22nd September 2006
DATE: 09/21/2006 14:24:03
STATUS: publish
BODY:
The leaders of
Thailand's (bloodless) military coup gave assurances that a new
prime minister would be named shortly and promised new elections within a year. A
military junta seized power after months of political limbo following April's
contentious general election. Thaksin Shinawatra, who had retained the post of
prime minister, was in New York at the time of the coup. He was told he was
welcome to return, but could face corruption charges. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hu4E0FDHx80Mo0DPlH0EV">See article</a>
Shinzo Abe was virtually
assured of becoming Japan's next prime minister after the ruling
Liberal Democratic Party chose him as its leader. Although a protégé of Junichiro
Koizumi, who steps down at the end of this month, observers have questioned Mr
Abe's commitment to a reform agenda. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hu4E0FDHx80Mo0DPlI0EW">See
A suicide-bomber riding
a bicycle killed four NATO soldiers in a district of
southern Afghanistan, one day after the district had been
declared free of Taliban insurgents. Britain's defence secretary admitted that
battling the insurgents was “harder than we expected” and urged NATO countries to respond to a request for 2,500 extra troops.

 
rel="nofollow">No, sir, Mr President</div> The White House and Senate
leaders sought a compromise on interrogating terrorist suspects
after a mini-revolt by leading Republicans, including John McCain. The rebels
backed legislation to bring America more in line with the Geneva Conventions.
George Bush, in a testy press conference, warned he would shut a CIA interrogation programme if he didn't get his way.
The Nuclear
Threat Initiative, a private charity, offered $50m (if others stumped up
a further $100m) from Warren Buffett to create a nuclear fuel bank run by the
IAEA, the UN's nuclear guardian. The
aim is to encourage countries to buy civilian nuclear-reactor fuel, rather than
make their own using proliferation-prone technologies. 
size="-1">California launched a lawsuit against six carmakers for
the impact of vehicle emissions on climate change. Although carmakers have been
sued to force a reduction in emissions before, this is the first time that a state
has sought damages for the consequences. 
 
rel="nofollow" name="street_rage">Street rage</div> <table
align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="4"> <tbody> <tr> <td
Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2">Reuters</td> </tr> </tbody></table></td>
</tr> <tr> <td valign="bottom"><img alt="Reuters"
size="-1">Hungary's capital, Budapest, was hit by successive
nights of riots and car-burnings as protesters took to the streets after a leaked
tape revealed that the prime minister, Ferenc Gyurcsany, had misled them about the
state of the economy. Mr Gyurcsany was quoted as saying, before his Socialist
Party won re-election in April, that “we lied morning, noon and night.” He refused
to resign. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hu4E0FDHx80Mo0DPlJ0EX">See article</a>
Muslims around the world
continued to protest, sometimes violently, over the pope's recent
lecture quoting a Byzantine emperor's negative views of Islam. The Vatican issued
a rare apology for any offence that had been caused, and the pope's trip to Turkey
in November is still on. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hu4E0FDHx80Mo0DPlK0EY">See
In their general
election, disgruntled Swedes threw out the long-serving Social
Democrats led by Goran Persson in favour of a four-party centre-right alliance
under Fredrik Reinfeldt. Mr Reinfeldt will have a narrow majority of seven seats,
but that is enough for him to form a new government, which promises modest tax and
welfare cuts and some privatisation. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hu4E0FDHx80Mo0DPlL0EZ">See
article</a><img alt="E+" src="http://www.economist.com/images/dingbats/e5.gif"
The breakaway Moldovan
enclave of Transdniestria held a referendum in which voters
overwhelmingly opted for independence and possible union with Russia. No outside
body endorsed the vote, not even Russia. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hu4E0FDHx80Mo0DPlM0Ea">See
In two state elections
in eastern Germany, the Christian Democrats, the party of
Chancellor Angela Merkel, lost heavily. And the neo-Nazi National Democratic Party
won a clutch of seats in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania for the first time.
 
rel="nofollow" name="grudging_welcome">Grudging welcome</div>
Sudan's
president, Omar al-Bashir, told the United Nations that 7,000 African Union
peacekeepers in Darfur could stay for a bit, despite an earlier threat to throw
them out, but rejected the plan for a bigger UN force. The
Security Council and African leaders tried to work out how to make the African
force more robust. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hu4E0FDHx80Mo0DPlN0Eb">See
Iran's
president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, told the UN General
Assembly that America and Britain were using the Security Council for their own
ends. George Bush adopted a relatively conciliatory tone in his address to the
body, saying he hoped diplomacy could solve the stand-off over Iran's nuclear
programme. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hu4E0FDHx80Mo0DPlO0Ec">See article</a>
General John Abizaid,
America's top military commander in the region, said that America is unlikely to
begin withdrawing its troops from Iraq until mid-2007.

Abdullahi Yusuf, the
president of Somalia (or at least of its temporary capital,
Baidoa), narrowly escaped assassination by a suicide car-bomb, which killed
several people. 
A judge in South
Africa threw out a corruption case against Jacob Zuma, a former deputy
president, before it properly began. Mr Zuma was acquitted of rape earlier this
year and it now looks as if he will run for president in 2009. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hu4E0FDHx80Mo0DPlP0Ed">See article</a>
The World Health
Organisation recommended that use of the insecticide DDT, which
was more or less banned because of its effects on wildlife, should be actively
encouraged in certain circumstances: people who live in malarious areas should
spray their houses to kill mosquitoes. 
 
rel="nofollow" name="finally_fizzling">Finally fizzling</div>
Andrés Manuel López
Obrador, the failed left-wing candidate in Mexico's presidential
election in July, proclaimed himself president-elect, promised to set up a rival
government and vowed to continue his campaign of “peaceful civil resistance”. But
his populist movement of opposition to president-elect Felipe Calderón is losing
momentum. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hu4E0FDHx80Mo0DPlQ0Ee">See article</a>
size="-1">Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, sacked
his campaign chief, Ricardo Berzoini, just 11 days before the presidential
election amid ongoing allegations of dirty tricks. Mr Berzoini is president of the
governing Workers' Party. Two other Lula advisers resigned. 
size="-1">More than 50 heads of state from the 118-strong Non-Aligned
Movement gathered in Havana for their three-yearly summit. The shrillest
speeches came from the leaders of Iran, North Korea and Venezuela, who all
predictably aligned themselves behind criticism of America, while the leaders of
India and Pakistan encouragingly agreed to resume peace talks.
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 9th - 15th September 2006
DATE: 09/14/2006 14:42:15
STATUS: publish
BODY:
America commemorated the
fifth anniversary of the terrorist strikes of September 11th
2001. In a series of solemn events, George Bush went to Ground Zero in
New York, the Pentagon in Washington, DC, and Shanksville,
Pennsylvania, to honour the almost 3,000 victims of the attacks. 
In a nationally
televised broadcast, Mr Bush once again made the link between September 11th and
the war in Iraq. Democrats rejected it, and a long-awaited Senate report on
pre-war intelligence disclosed the CIA's
conclusion of no links between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein.
In a closely watched
race, Lincoln Chafee, a moderate Republican senator who has often opposed the
party line, won his primary election in Rhode Island. Mr Chafee
faced a strong challenge from the right, but the national party pulled out all the
stops to help him win, conceding it would forfeit the seat in November if he lost.
bin1/DM/y/hufB0FDHx80Mo0DOiS0EP">See article</a>
Keith Ellison beat the
competition to become the Democratic candidate for the congressional district that
includes Minneapolis. If he wins, as expected, in the mid-term
elections, Mr Ellison will become the first Muslim to sit in Congress. 
Adrian Fenty won the
Democratic primary for mayor of Washington, DC, virtually ensuring that he will be elected to the
post in November. Anthony Williams, the incumbent, has served the maximum of two
terms. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hufB0FDHx80Mo0DOiT0EQ">See article</a><img
 
rel="nofollow">One man's freedom fighter</div> A bomb blast in Diyarbakir, in
the Kurdish south-eastern region of Turkey, killed 11 people.
Turkey has experienced an upsurge of violence by separatist Kurdish guerrilla
groups recently. 
The deputy chairman of
Russia's central bank, Andrei Kozlov, was shot dead in the
grounds of a leading Moscow football club by two gunmen. Mr Kozlov had been
revoking licences for banks suspected of involvement in money
laundering.
After infighting last
week, senior figures in Britain's Labour Party attempted to dampen further
speculation about the date of Tony Blair's eventual departure
from office. The plea seemed to work. Meanwhile, following his confirmation that
he would be gone within a year, Mr Blair made his last visit to the annual
gathering of Britain's trade unions. His speech was received with even less grace
than usual. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/hufB0FDHx80Mo0DOiU0ER">See article</a>
The coalition led by
Milo Djukanovic, prime minister of Montenegro, easily won the
first election held since the country became independent in May. Mr Djukanovic is
hoping to restart talks on joining the European Union. 
 
rel="nofollow" name="reinforcing_afghanistan">Reinforcing
Afghanistan</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
size="-1">A meeting of NATO at Mons, in Belgium, failed to
produce offers of fresh troops to reinforce the security force in
Afghanistan. Condoleezza Rice, America's secretary of state, had
given warning that Afghanistan risked becoming a dangerous failed state, a
markedly more downbeat assessment than before. Poland later offered to send 1,000
extra troops to Afghanistan, but not until February. 
Police in
India said they were exploring the possibility of a link between
last week's bomb attacks in the western town of Malegaon, which killed 32 people,
and July's bombings in Mumbai. The latest attacks came before this week's expected
meeting in Havana, Cuba, between India's prime minister, Manmohan Singh, and
Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hufB0FDHx80Mo0DOiV0ES">See
China
announced a new, more restrictive system of controls on the reporting of
court cases. Leaks from anyone other than authorised spokesmen will be
punished.
 
rel="nofollow" name="the_echo_of_a_dirty_war">The echo of a dirty
war</div> Ubiratan Guimar��es, Brazil's former chief of police,
who was held responsible for the deaths of 111 prisoners in a riot in a S��o Paulo
jail in 1992, was found shot dead at his home. Although the target of frequent
death threats, police believe his murder to have been a crime of passion. <a
bin1/DM/y/hufB0FDHx80Mo0DOiW0ET">See article</a><img
An American court ruled
that Luis Posada Carriles, a Cuban former CIA agent, should
be released from an immigration centre. He is wanted by Cuba and
Venezuela in connection with the 1976 bombing of a Cuban plane
that killed 73 people and a plot to kill Fidel Castro. The Americans refuse to
deport him, believing he could be tortured. 
 
rel="nofollow" name="making_up">Making up</div> Hamas, which runs the
Palestinian Authority, and Fatah, which used to, agreed to form a
national unity government. Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader, is expected to stay on
as prime minister. Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, will be in charge of
negotiations with Israel. It remains unclear whether Western countries will resume
aid to the PA. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hufB0FDHx80Mo0DOiX0EU">See
A car-bomb attack on the
American embassy in Damascus was thwarted by local security
forces. Three of the attackers and one Syrian security man were killed.

 Violence in
Iraq continued undiminished. The bodies of 60 people were found
on one day in Baghdad bound, tortured and shot; car bombs claimed yet more
victims. A health ministry report says that 1,536 people were violently killed in
Baghdad in August. 
Tony Blair went to
Lebanon for talks with his Lebanese counterpart, Fouad Siniora,
about aid for the country. Leading Shia politicians accused him of supporting
Israel during its recent conflict with Hizbullah and some 2,000 pro-Hizbullah
protesters took to the streets of Beirut.
Experts from the World
Health Organisation flew to C��te d'Ivoire after deadly toxic
waste was dumped last month in residential areas of Abidjan, the country's biggest
city. At least six people have died from the pollution and some 10,000 have
suffered illness. A public backlash forced the government to resign last week. <a
bin1/DM/y/hufB0FDHx80Mo0DOiY0EV">See article</a><img
size="-1">Unions called a day of protest in Zimbabwe, complaining
about miserable living conditions, a lack of AIDS treatment
for the poor and the fast-collapsing economy. Police detained union leaders before
they could march and chased away protesters.
The African Union
approved a plan for the deployment of 8,000 peacekeepers to Somalia.
The deployment is supposed to take place within weeks, but member
countries have yet to stump up the soldiers and money required for the mission.

</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 9th - 15th September 2006
DATE: 09/14/2006 14:41:34
STATUS: publish
BODY:
 
In an effort to take
some of the heat out of a boardroom spying scandal at Hewlett-
Packard, Patricia Dunn announced she would step down as chairman in
January (in favour of the company's chief executive Mark Hurd). Ms Dunn, who will
remain on the board, has been criticised for her handling of the affair, which
revolves around the dubious methods used by outside investigators in uncovering
the source of a series of boardroom leaks. California's attorney-general said he
now has enough information to bring charges in the case. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hufD0FDHx80Mo0DOh10Eq">See article</a>
Dell
revealed that the Justice Department has joined a widening investigation
into the company's accounting. Michael Dell, the computer-maker's chairman, threw
his support behind Kevin Rollins, the chief executive.
It emerged that a
Russian state-owned bank has taken a 5% stake in EADS, making it
the biggest investor in Airbus's parent company outside its “core” group of
shareholders. It is thought the holding was bought on behalf of a state company
set up to co-ordinate strategy in Russia's aerospace industry. An aide to
President Vladimir Putin fuelled speculation about how deep a partnership Russia
is seeking with EADS by implying that the bank might raise
its holding to acquire a blocking stake. 
Meanwhile, Mike Turner,
the chief executive of BAE Systems, which is
selling its 20% stake in Airbus to EADS, said he would be
“surprised” if there were no more delays to the A-380
super-jumbo. Airbus is assessing the project after a series of hold-
ups.
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="outside_advice_for_the_board">Outside advice
for the board</div> Bristol-Myers Squibb dismissed both its chief
executive and general counsel for their conduct in negotiations with Apotex, a
Canadian maker of generic drugs, in a patent lawsuit. The decision to sack the
pair was made on the recommendation of a federal judge who is monitoring corporate
governance at Bristol-Myers as part of a deferred prosecution deal, struck with
investigators last year, over a separate accounting scandal. 
The Internal
Revenue Service settled the largest-ever tax dispute in its history.
America's taxman reached an agreement with GlaxoSmithKline, a
British drugs company, in which it will pay $3.4 billion to resolve charges that
it tried to minimise its tax bill by underreporting its American profits through a
system of transfer pricing. GSK will also drop its claim
that it is owed $1.8 billion by the IRS. 
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="still_golden">Still
golden</div> Two big Wall Street banks cheered investors by reporting better-than-
expected quarterly earnings. Goldman Sachs recorded a net profit
of $1.6 billion for the three months ending August 25th, down slightly from a year
ago (and reversing a trend of stellar increases in earnings), but the bank beat
estimates thanks to its investment-banking operations. Lehman
Brothers said its net income for the quarter ending August 31st had risen
by 4% to $916m.
size="-1">Nationwide agreed to take over
Portman, the biggest merger yet among Britain's mutually owned
building societies, creating the country's second-largest mortgage lender after
HBOS. 
Gold
Fields struck a $2.5 billion deal to take control of the South Deep mine
near Johannesburg, one of the world's biggest and deepest gold mines. The South
African miner's gold reserves will increase by half as a result, taking it closer
in size to rivals such as Newmont Mining. 
Telecom Italia
caused a political storm when it unveiled a plan to spin off its fixed-
line and mobile arms in two separate enterprises, hinting that both are up for
sale. TI completed the merger of its mobile-phone unit only
last year, but now wants to direct its attention to broadband and media services.
Any potential sale would help reduce the company's euro41 billion ($52
billion) debt, which almost exceeds its market value. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/hufD0FDHx80Mo0DOh20Er">See article</a>
Computer unveiled its latest service, films which can be downloaded from
its iTunes website. Only Disney titles are available. Amazon
introduced a similar service last week, Unbox, which offers films from seven
Hollywood studios. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/hufD0FDHx80Mo0DOh30Es">See
News
Corporation agreed to buy 51% of Jamba, which
specialises in ringtones for mobile phones, for $188m. The deal gives Rupert
Murdoch control of a firm that last year recorded sales of $500m, having unleashed
the “Crazy Frog” ringtone on the world. 
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="good_time_to_fill_the_tank">Good time to fill
the tank</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
size="-1">The price of oil continued to retreat from recent
highs, falling to the level it reached in early spring. One factor that affected
trading was OPEC's decision not to lower its production
quotas (for the time being). However, the head of the IMF
warned that oil prices would remain high by comparison with recent years. <a
bin1/DM/y/hufD0FDHx80Mo0DOh40Et">See article</a>
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Federer vs Roddick - From SI.com - US Open Final
DATE: 09/11/2006 12:41:42
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td> BOX SCORE </td>
</tr> <tr> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr>
<td> 
</td> <td>Federer</td> <td>Roddick</td> </tr> <tr> <td>1st Serve Percentage</td>
<td>61</td> <td>66</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Aces</td> <td>17</td> <td>7</td> </tr> <tr>
<td>Double Faults</td> <td>0</td> <td>1</td> </tr> <tr> <td>1st Serve Winning
Pct.</td> <td>84</td> <td>65</td> </tr> <tr> <td>2nd Serve Winning Pct.</td>
<td>50</td> <td>39 </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Winners</td> <td>69</td> <td>33</td> </tr>
<tr> <td>Unforced Errors</td> <td>19</td> <td>23</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Break
Points</td> <td>6-16</td> <td>2-8</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Net Points</td> <td>26-
38</td> <td>26-49</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Total Points Won</td> <td>126</td>
<td>99</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td></tr> <tr><td>Time of Match:
2:27</td></tr></tbody></table>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Six Apart Buys Rojo; Tech Froth; Apple iPhone
DATE: 09/08/2006 05:27:05
STATUS: publish
BODY:
op Stories for the Week of September 4 - September 8 <a
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/show-
story/?storyGuid=dDiXvFXnneNOcybP"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/web1vsweb2.png" align="right"
border="0" alt="Image" /></a>Word of the week: <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/show-story/?storyGuid=ic3e2J9VnHXW-
ZoU">frothy</a>. The tech industry is spewing companies and Web
doohickeys and blog amalgamizers and Internet contraptions like <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/show-
story/?storyGuid=lT5rHOboN0csHxBg">video social-networking wiki cooking sites</a>
says <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/?feed-
id=239561">Kevin Maney</a>. Translation: It's out of control. The
inventor of the Web, Tim Berners-Lee tried putting some brakes on the hype,
calling Web 2.0 <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/show-
story/?storyGuid=dDiXvFXnneNOcybP">"a piece of jargon, nobody even knows what it
means."</a> Blogger reaction was not what you'd call subdued: <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/?feed-id=2445492">Web
2.0</a> launched a lengthy defense of Web 2.0's <a target="_blank"
story/?storyGuid=dDiXvFXnneNOcybP">architectures of participation</a>. Um right.
Dead 2.0 agreed with Berners-Lee that <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/show-story/?storyGuid=eHIjXuCA1ZHt939z">hype has
outstripped 2.0 technology</a>, while <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/?feed-id=2437611">Scobleizer</a> says
of course it's a bubble-a froth bubble-and here's <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/show-story/?storyGuid=P9yW8Ifmi-
Ve5Saz">how to step outside it</a>.
<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/show-
story/?storyGuid=r3AZ8-kjnOWe4Yia"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/apple-iphone.jpg" align="left"
border="0" height="221" width="145" alt="Image" /></a>Back inside the reality
distortion field, Apple announced an event September 12 to showcase <a
story/?storyGuid=aNGXdW-J831GjTZX">what's rumored to be the iTunes Movie
Store</a>, (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/?feed-
id=2668427">CrunchGear</a>) although <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/?feed-id=147527">Cult of
Mac</a> said don't count on it; the timing's all wrong and where are the
invitations, anyway? Oh, here they are-<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/show-story/?storyGuid=J5HqUXYRt8K0-EZ6">it's real,
alright</a>. But <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/?feed-id=2582588">paidContent.org</a>
blogs that <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/show-
story/?storyGuid=Iz99GbrvSieLz7cj">there's no demand for full-length video
downloads</a> anyway. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/?feed-id=85643">Gizmodo</a> thinks a
long-awaited iPhone intro will happen soon, to the point where brokers are
recommending <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/show-
story/?storyGuid=5V3C4UskkkS_BhbF">an AAPL "buy" before the phone's release</a>.

story/?storyGuid=E65vBFUnUc4A97UT"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/myspace.03.jpg" align="right"
border="0" alt="Image" /></a>Facebook launched its redesign but it's visibly
tracking users' movements-and <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/show-story/?storyGuid=1hFuTvxc9vvk-Nv1">telling their
friends what some of them are</a>, reports <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/?feed-id=2430743">Mashable!</a> Plenty
of users are <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/show-
story/?storyGuid=lk3xs7GQhjADdSxw">creeped out</a>. Meanwhile, <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/?feed-
id=2514711">SiliconBeat</a> blogged that <a target="_blank"
story/?storyGuid=M1LwHqqfg2fAjMOp">YouTube is now on Facebook's turf</a> with
YouTube Colleges, while <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/?feed-id=1624732">ProHipHop </a> is <a
story/?storyGuid=6e_cfJ9MDn44EKeF">upbeat about MySpace selling indie music</a>
through Snocap's back end. This is no iTunes competitor since <a target="_blank"
story/?storyGuid=8BknoozwzORJgfCD">the songs are unrestricted MP3s</a>, writes <a
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/?feed-
id=2446074">Go Big Blog Network</a>, but <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/?feed-id=2401791">NetFamily
News</a> says it's yet <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/show-story/?storyGuid=PJM371q99C-zRv_s">more bad news
for Tower Records</a>.
story/?storyGuid=DsUumkVeuwOaJMXS"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/chris-alden.jpg" align="left"
border="0" alt="Image" /></a> And Rojo (that's this service, folks) was <a
story/?storyGuid=4Fna6ByE90JZ0UJa">bought by Six Apart</a> this week blogs <a
id=2392591">TechCrunch</a> and calls it one of his favorite web
sites (thanks, Mike!). There are getting to be <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/show-story/?storyGuid=00aLDhO2o-3XsFx8">fewer and fewer
feed readers</a> say <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/?feed-id=2478906">GigaOm</a> (note on
that link: Rojo is not being rolled into Vox) as feed reading becomes a
feature on other sites. Instead Six Apart will continue to focus on its core
business while Rojo.com and its newsreader will be <a target="_blank"
story/?storyGuid=ZEzEuC8_h7qdM1Ua">spun off with the goal of selling a majority
interest</a> (see <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/?feed-id=2582588">paidContent.org</a>
for more). We're going to see lots of these kind of deals blogs <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/?feed-id=2434929">Mark
Evans</a> as Web 2.0 start-ups <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/show-story/?storyGuid=cPmE1nDCLcd47vLb">scramble into
the arms of well-financed Web 2.0 players</a>.
In other major media news, the Audit Bureau of Circulation will start <a
story/?storyGuid=SUC-RcFpEM3TioyZ">combining print and online audience numbers</a>
to determine readership, blogs <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/?feed-id=60858">BuzzMachine</a>, but
the model's flawed since it only takes a one-day snapshot and doesn't count people
who<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/show-
story/?storyGuid=cYf2_lS26Eo9zv12"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/katiecbsnews.jpg" align="right"
border="0" height="73" width="334" alt="Image" /></a> read both the online and
paper versions of a publication. It may not matter, writes <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/?feed-id=2437014">Don
Dodge</a>, since <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/show-story/?storyGuid=sNCaQ5o3nwQVGmk0">newspapers and
magazines are dying off</a> anyway. 
story/?storyGuid=nHiFRLzYaf3knSf0"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/vfsuri.jpg" align="left"
border="0" height="243" width="169" alt="Image" /></a> In entertainment news,
Rosie O'Donnell is about to join Barbara Walters on The View, but not
before <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/show-
story/?storyGuid=JtkdLfLSBTiDorPu">blogging her complaints</a> bout the show's
promotion. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/show-
story/?storyGuid=EmBTdd-O_AxVcVmH">Walters asked her to stop</a>, according to <a
id=806727">Micro Persuasion</a>, but that's not the week's only
rocky beginning. Katie Couric finally tried her hand at journalism, with mixed
results, writes <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/?feed-
id=720">Gothamist</a>: decent Afghanistan coverage but a bit <a
story/?storyGuid=uwhI0TGfP28QdWey">Entertainment Tonight with the Suri
Cruise "coverage."</a> Of course Suri is beautiful, writes <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/?feed-id=2040151">Blogging
Baby</a>, but that's what you get from a <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/show-story/?storyGuid=boEsPU8y-
H4nglMj">super-secret Annie Liebovitz photo shoot</a>. Suri aside, <a
id=2351716">TV Squad</a> liked the Free Speech segment where
well-known personalities like Bill Clinton, Rush Limbaugh and Bill Maher will get
to say what's on their minds, and<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/show-story/?storyGuid=XbTdZ_8vc8-3DvnP"><img alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/steveirwin.jpg" align="right"
border="0" alt="Image" /></a> recommended that Katie sign off by saying <a
story/?storyGuid=cYf2_lS26Eo9zv12">"I'm Katie Couric, and I like asparagus."</a>
The show generated big ratings for Katie and CBS, giving the network its <a
story/?storyGuid=b_J9E3Xwg68zbyPy">highest ratings in that time slot since
1998</a>.
Finally and sadly, bloggers mourned the death of TV's Crocodile Hunter
and famed conservationist Steve Irwin after he was <a target="_blank"
story/?storyGuid=RI37RZaAvhQA2qvi">stabbed through the heart by a stingray</a> in
Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Crikey! The whole thing was <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/show-story/?storyGuid=XbTdZ_8vc8-
3DvnP">caught on film</a> but the tape will likely be destroyed writes <a
id=720">Gothamist</a>. Animal Planet plans an <a
story/?storyGuid=cKCyuxw7VIL58_hM">all-day tribute September 10</a>, and Irwin's
father will <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/show-
story/?storyGuid=xdW1aLlkAB6pgu9F">take over his son's conservation work</a>
reports <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.rojo.com/?feed-
id=332">Blogcritics</a>. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.rojo.com/show-story/?storyGuid=r-jcs4ZwNdEtQ1i4">A video tribute
to Irwin is here</a>.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 2nd - 8th September 2006
DATE: 09/07/2006 13:12:42
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Tony
Blair, Britain's prime minister, suffered his worst week since taking
power in 1997. He was plunged into a leadership crisis when some of his Labour
Party MPs pushed him to set a timetable for his departure
from office. Britain's political class has talked of little else but the date of
Mr Blair's leaving since he announced his intention to quit in good time before
the next general election. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/huIv0FDHx80Mo0DNc70ED">See
A survey of
European public opinion revealed rising disapproval of George
Bush's handling of international affairs. The survey, conducted by the German
Marshall Fund, found that 77% of European Union citizens disapproved of the
American president, up from 56% four years ago. 
After a controversial
debate, Turkey's parliament voted by a substantial majority to
send troops to join the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon.
The foreign ministry said the Turkish contingent was likely to be made up of fewer
than 1,000 soldiers.
A report from the
European Parliament was critical of Turkey's progress in
membership negotiations with the EU. The report said that
Turkey was failing to fulfil promises on human rights and on relations with
Cyprus. 
At a youth rally for the
centre-right UMP party, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French
interior minister, emerged as the clear candidate for the party in
France's presidential election next spring. His most popular
Socialist rival, Ségolène Royal, is still being challenged by heavyweight
contenders within her party. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/huIv0FDHx80Mo0DNc80EE">See
 
rel="nofollow" name="an_issue_of_national_security">An issue of national
security</div> Catching some of his critics off guard, George Bush confirmed the
existence of a secret CIA programme for interrogating
suspected terrorists in foreign prisons. He announced that 14 of
the prisoners, including the alleged mastermind behind September 11th, were to be
transferred to Guantánamo Bay where they may be tried by revamped military
tribunals awaiting Congress's approval. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/huIv0FDHx80Mo0DNdA0EO">See
Campaigning for
November's mid-term elections began in earnest as congressmen
returned to Washington from their August break. Republicans stuck to their
familiar theme of national security (see above). The Democrats focused their
attacks on Donald Rumsfeld, calling for a change in the civilian leadership at the
Pentagon. The party said America had been made less secure by following a “stay-
the-course strategy” in Iraq. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/huIv0FDHx80Mo0DNdB0EP">See
The former governor of
Illinois, George Ryan, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in
jail for his part in a corruption scandal that convulsed the state Republican
Party for years. Mr Ryan made world headlines when he commuted the capital
sentences of prisoners on Illinois's death row shortly before he left office in
2003. 
Columnists mulled over
last week's (downplayed) allegation that Richard Armitage, a
former deputy secretary of state, was the original source that leaked Valerie
Plame's name to the press. For months, journalists had focused on Karl Rove, Mr
Bush's top adviser, as the source. 
 
rel="nofollow" name="being_neighbourly">Being neighbourly</div>
In separate visits to
Kabul, Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, and NATO's
secretary-general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, pledged more co-operation with
Afghanistan in fighting the Taliban. NATO's top commander called for troop reinforcements to fight a
stronger than expected insurgency in Afghanistan's south. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/huIv0FDHx80Mo0DNdC0EQ">See article</a><img
Meanwhile, Pakistan
insisted its army spokesman had been misquoted in an interview for American
television in which the official said that Osama bin Laden would
not be taken into custody if he was in Pakistan as a “peaceful citizen”.

size="-1">Protests calling for electoral reform ahead of January's election in
Bangladesh turned violent in the capital, Dhaka. The main
opposition party alleged that one of its politicians was beaten by
police.
Fighting continued in
Sri Lanka's north-east between the government and Tamil rebels.
The army claimed it had won control of a strategic area near the port city of
Trincomalee, an important industrial and naval centre.
 
rel="nofollow" name="troops_trickle_in">Troops trickle in</div>
Israel said it would
lift its air-and-sea blockade of Lebanon, as UN
peacekeeping forces began to move into the south of the country; nearly
10,000 troops have been pledged, but the UN wants 15,000.
Earlier, at a conference in Sweden, governments of rich countries promised to
provide nearly $1 billion towards rebuilding Lebanon after its 34-day
war.
At a preliminary
hearing, a state prosecutor asked for Jacob Zuma, South Africa's
former deputy president, whose supporters still want him to be the next
president, to be tried next month for corruption. 
More than 60
international HIV scientists, calling the South African
government's policy on the virus “disastrous and pseudo-scientific”, sent a letter
to President Thabo Mbeki to demand the resignation of his health
minister. 
The governments of
Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda said they were ready, in principle, to send
peacekeepers to Somalia to stop the conflict between the UN-backed transitional government and the Council of Islamic
Courts. Islamists in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, protested against foreign
intervention.
Police in
Sudan's capital, Khartoum, fired tear gas at demonstrators
protesting against higher fuel prices. Opposition to the Islamist regime is
getting bolder as the government faces pressure from the UN
to let a peacekeeping force into Darfur, where troops are threatening to launch an
all-out assault on rebels. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/huIv0FDHx80Mo0DNdD0ER">See
 
rel="nofollow" name="time_to_move_on">Time to move on</div> <table
size="-1">Two months after Mexico's presidential election, the
country's electoral tribunal delivered its final verdict: Felipe Calderón, the
candidate of President Vicente Fox's ruling party, had won. But Andrés Manuel
López Obrador, the loser, continued to dispute the result and threatened to
declare himself president. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/huIv0FDHx80Mo0DNdE0ES">See
A 25-day strike at
Chile's Escondida mine, the world's biggest privately owned
copper mine, ended after workers accepted a new contract. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/huIv0FDHx80Mo0DNdF0ET">See article</a><img
Cuba's
ailing president, Fidel Castro, who temporarily ceded power to his
brother after undergoing intestinal surgery, said that “the most critical moment”
was behind him and that he was on the road to recovery. 
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 2nd - 8th September 2006
DATE: 09/07/2006 13:12:06
STATUS: publish
BODY:
appointed Alan Mulally as its chief executive after Bill Ford, Henry Ford's great-
grandson, said he was stepping down (he remains chairman). The news took some by
surprise; Mr Ford had just completed a round of media interviews and
announcements, such as a proposal to sell Ford's luxury Aston Martin unit. Mr
Mulally heads to Detroit from Boeing, where he led a successful turnaround of the
commercial-aircraft division. Investors in Ford will hope he can do the same for
them; the company's share price has nose-dived since Mr Ford took control in 2001.
bin1/DM/y/huIx0FDHx80Mo0DNcB0EQ">See article</a>
Fresh from his
blockbuster bust-up with Tom Cruise, Viacom's chairman, Sumner
Redstone, ousted Tom Freston as chief executive. The company's share price has
been languishing of late, despite splitting its CBS
operations into a separate unit, a decision intended to boost Viacom's stock. Mr
Freston was in charge of Viacom's Paramount studio and cable-TV stations, but was criticised for lacklustre operations on the
internet. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/huIx0FDHx80Mo0DNcC0ER">See article</a>
BAE
Systems confirmed that it would, after all, sell its 20%
stake in Airbus to EADS, which holds the other
80%. The price of the sale—euro2.75 billion ($3.5 billion)—is the same
value that an independent audit by Rothschild put on the holding. Meanwhile,
Christian Streiff made his first big change at Airbus since becoming chief
executive by replacing the head of the A380 super-jumbo
project. 
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="then_there_was_one">Then there was
one</div> Two months after it mapped a blueprint to create one of the world's
biggest mining groups, Phelps Dodge, a copper miner based in
Arizona, abandoned its bid to take over Inco, a Canadian nickel
miner. The pair were keen to unite, but the transaction required Inco to complete
its (now failed) merger with Falconbridge, a compatriot. Big investors were also
dissatisfied with the deal. A C$19.4 billion ($17.5 billion) hostile bid for Inco
remains on the table from CVRD, a big Brazilian mining firm.

Takafumi Horie, the
former boss of livedoor, pleaded not guilty to fraud charges at
the start of his trial in Tokyo. The internet-services company was thought to
embody a new brash style in Japan's business culture before it collapsed earlier
this year. 
It emerged that the
state of California had launched an investigation into Hewlett-
Packard's methods of dealing with leaks that sprung from a boardroom
dispute at the time of Carly Fiorina's sacking last year. Former directors have
alleged their communications were hacked by the company. 
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="when_the_chips_are_down">When the chips are
down</div> Intel said it was cutting 10% of its workforce, or
10,500 jobs, to reduce costs and boost profit, which is being squeezed by intense
competition from Advanced Micro Devices. Investors, hoping for more savings, were
unimpressed with the chipmaker's plans. 
Sony
announced another embarrassing delay to the launch of its PlayStation 3 games
consoles in Europe. Further problems related to the integration of new Blu-ray
technology mean the device will not now be available in the region until March
2007. 
Universal
Music, a unit of the media conglomerate Vivendi, won the bidding to buy
Bertelsmann's BMG Music Publishing, for which it
will pay euro1.6 billion ($2.1 billion). The deal vaults Universal ahead
of EMI and Warner Music in the lucrative business of
licensing song lyrics and tunes to enterprises for uses ranging from television
shows to ringtones. 
Russian authorities
exerted more pressure on a liquefied-natural-gas project led by Royal
Dutch Shell through a legal challenge to its construction on
environmental grounds. The action should help the efforts of Gazprom, Russia's gas
monopoly, to gain leverage over the $20 billion venture on Sakhalin
island.
The Compagnie
Générale de Géophysique, a French energy-field surveyor, said it was
buying Veritas, a Texan rival, for $3.1 billion. The deal
underscores increased demand for seismic-equipment services linked to the hunt for
new energy reserves. 
Meanwhile, Chevron, in
alliance with two partners, revealed it had successfully completed a deep-water
oil-production test in the Gulf of Mexico (breaking several
records in the process). Some think that yields from recent discoveries in the
Gulf may eventually rival those at Alaska's Prudhoe Bay, America's biggest
field.
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="bouncing_back">Bouncing
back</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
size="-2">Infographics</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td
valign="bottom"><img alt="Infographics"
size="-1">Asian stockmarkets continued to rebound from sharp
falls early in the summer, when they performed particularly badly amid a worldwide
decline in shares. Figures pointing to economic and labour-market stability in
America fed optimism that Asia's exports will rise as a result. Hong Kong's Hang
Seng index reached a six-year high.
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 26th August - 1st September 2006
DATE: 09/01/2006 13:08:02
STATUS: publish
BODY:
The UN
secretary-general, Kofi Annan, visited
Lebanon, Israel, Jordan and Syria and the West Bank in an effort
to bolster the fragile peace in Lebanon. But Hizbullah refused to release its
Israeli prisoners and Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert,
rejected Mr Annan's call to lift an air-and-sea blockade, saying he would wait
until all terms of the ceasefire were implemented. 
The senior American
general in Iraq said that an American-led security drive in
Baghdad was reducing the sectarian bloodshed and that Iraqi forces could be
running most of the country in 12 to 18 months. But nearly 50 Iraqis were killed
on August 30th, mostly in Baghdad. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/htvC0FDHx80Mo0DMeF0EM">See
The Ugandan
government signed a truce with the rebel Lord's Resistance Army, which
has terrorised much of northern Uganda for the past 20 years. The rebels now have
until September 12th to gather their forces at two designated camps in
neighbouring southern Sudan before reaching a final peace settlement. <a
bin1/DM/y/htvC0FDHx80Mo0DMfp0E4">See article</a>
Thomas Lubanga, who led
the Union of Congolese Patriots militia in the war-ravaged Ituri region of eastern
Congo, was formally charged at the International Criminal Court
in The Hague with recruiting child soldiers, a war crime. He is the first person
to appear before the court, set up in 2002 to try genocide, war crimes and crimes
against humanity.
Sudanese ministers told
American officials that their government would not allow the deployment of UN peacekeeping troops in the Darfur region of
the country, where the mandate of the current (and inadequate) African Union force
runs out at the end of this month.
Officials from
Somalia's UN-backed transitional
government and its rival, the Council of Islamic Courts, which has conquered most
of Somalia, met for peace talks in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. 
Chad, President Idriss Déby proclaimed the start of a
“revolution” by demanding the expulsion of two foreign oil companies, though he
later revised his decision, demanding instead that they should pay $500m in taxes.
bin1/DM/y/htvC0FDHx80Mo0DMeG0EN">See article</a><img
 
rel="nofollow">Down, but not out</div> <table align="right"
size="-1">George Bush went to New Orleans to commemorate the first anniversary of
Hurricane Katrina and urged people to return to the city, which
is making a patchy recovery from the flooding that followed the storm. <a
bin1/DM/y/htvC0FDHx80Mo0DMeH0EO">See article</a>
In a possible curtain-
raiser to campaigning for November's mid-term elections, Donald
Rumsfeld attacked critics of the administration's policies on Iraq and
terrorism. The defence secretary accused them of appeasing a “new type of fascism”
that they did not fully understand. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/htvC0FDHx80Mo0DMeI0EP">See
Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger, defying opposition from business lobbies and some fellow
Republicans, agreed with Democrats who control the California
legislature to cap the state's greenhouse-gas emissions and reduce carbon-dioxide
emissions by 25% by 2020. California will be the first American state to impose
such limits, which have been opposed by the Bush administration. 
The Census Bureau
reported that America's poverty rate had basically remained
unchanged in 2005 at 12.6% of the population, marking the first time the rate has
not increased since Mr Bush became president. However, the good news was tempered
by a rise in the number of people without health insurance: 46.6m
in 2005 compared with 45.3m in 2004. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/htvC0FDHx80Mo0DMeJ0EQ">See
A DNA test on John Mark Karr cleared him of the
killing of JonBenet Ramsey in Colorado ten years ago. Mr Karr was extradited from
Thailand after apparently confessing that he had killed the six-year-old beauty
queen. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/htvC0FDHx80Mo0DMeK0ER">See article</a>
 
rel="nofollow" name="killing_the_peace">Killing the peace</div>
International peace
monitors in Sri Lanka accused the army of killing 17 mostly Tamil
employees of a French charity. The bodies of the aid workers were discovered last
month near Muttur in the north-east of the country, where there has been heavy
fighting between Sri Lankan troops and Tamil rebels. The government vigorously
denied the claim. 
A series of small bomb-
blasts hit at least 21 banks in southern Thailand. One person was
reported killed in the blasts and dozens were injured. Islamist militants and
criminal gangs have carried out similar attacks in the area.
size="-1">Pakistan's prime minister, Shaukat Aziz, survived a
vote of no-confidence filed by opposition politicians who accuse him of
corruption. The vote came against the backdrop of an outbreak of violence in the
province of Baluchistan following the killing of a rebellious tribal leader by the
Pakistani army. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/htvC0FDHx80Mo0DMeL0ES">See
Alfredo Reinado, a
former military officer in Timor-Leste who is blamed for last
spring's unrest in the country, escaped from jail.
 
rel="nofollow" name="winners_and_losers">Winners and losers</div>
Felipe Calderón, a
conservative, saw his narrow victory in Mexico's presidential
election all but confirmed by the federal electoral tribunal. The tribunal
released the results of a partial recount, which reduced Mr Calderón's margin of
victory by just 4,000 votes. It has still to rule on other claims by the loser,
Andrés Manuel López Obrador, that the election was unfair. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/htvC0FDHx80Mo0DMeM0ET">See article</a><img
An election in
Guyana passed off peacefully, despite fears of a recurrence of
violence that marred previous votes. A partial count gave victory to the
president, Bharrat Jagdeo, and his People's Progressive Party, on a reduced
turnout. The opposition cried fraud. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/htvC0FDHx80Mo0DMeN0EU">See
In another setback to
the efforts of Evo Morales, Bolivia's socialist president, to
nationalise his country's gas industry, the head of YPFB,
the state oil and gas firm, was forced to resign over allegations of
mismanagement. 
 
rel="nofollow" name="bombing_tourists">Bombing tourists</div>
size="-1">A group calling itself the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons claimed
responsibility for a wave of bomb attacks on tourist areas in
Turkey that claimed the lives of three Turks and injured scores
of other people. America appointed a former NATO general to
help tackle Kurdish rebels based in Iraq. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/htvC0FDHx80Mo0DMeO0EV">See
The centre-left
coalition that has governed the Czech Republic since a general
election in June fell apart. A centre-right coalition now looks set to form a
government, but as it lacks a majority in parliament another election seems
likely. 
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 26th August - 1st September 2006
DATE: 09/01/2006 13:07:21
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Banca Intesa
and Sanpaolo IMI, Italy's second-
and third-largest banks, confirmed they were to merge and so create one of
Europe's biggest financial institutions. The speed at which the banks' boards
decided to combine is seen as evidence that the new regime at the Bank of Italy is
encouraging consolidation in the banking industry. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/htvE0FDHx80Mo0DMfk0E1">See article</a>
There was further
embarrassment for BP as it emerged that it was being investigated
for allegedly manipulating crude-oil and gasoline markets (a similar inquiry is
under way into BP's influence on propane prices). A series
of accidents and probes over the past 18 months has harmed the company's
reputation and put it in the crosshairs of America's congressmen, who will grill
executives next week. 
Prudential
Financial's brokerage unit settled charges that it had been involved in
the improper trading of mutual funds between 1999 and 2003. Several firms have
been investigated by American authorities over their mutual-fund trading, but the
broker, which will pay $600m to regulators, is the first to admit to “criminal
wrongdoing” as part of a settlement. 
Schering-
Plough resolved an inquiry into its past drug-marketing practices in
America by agreeing to pay $435m and admitting that it had tried to mislead the
government. 
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="going_for_a_song">Going for a
song</div> In a challenge to the dominance of Apple's iTunes in the market for
music downloads, Universal Music said it would make its catalogue
of ditties available free on a new start-up site, SpiralFrog. At
first available in North America, the service will require consumers to watch 90-
second advertisements before downloading a tune, which can then be stored for up
to six months on a computer (but can't be burned to a CD).
Another big online deal
was sealed when eBay announced that advertising on its websites
outside the United States would be handled by Google. The
decision enables eBay to increase revenue from its internet-calling service,
Skype. Google will incorporate “click to call” features on eBay's sites so that
consumers can talk directly to advertisers. 
The mining industry saw
another blockbuster deal. Goldcorp, a Canadian gold-miner, agreed
to acquire Glamis Gold, based in Nevada, for which it will pay
approximately $8.6 billion. 
In one of the biggest-
ever leveraged buy-outs, Kinder Morgan, an energy distributor and
pipeline operator based in Houston, accepted a sweetened $15 billion offer from a
consortium of private-equity groups and investors led by its chief executive and
co-founder, Richard Kinder. The company had been considering an offer since
May.
size="-1">Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch consumer-goods company, sold
most of its European frozen-foods activities to Permira, a
private-equity group, for euro1.73 billion ($2.21 billion). The sale
contains several brands, including Birds Eye, but Unilever will retain its ice-
cream-making businesses, such as Ben & Jerry's.
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="the_faint_watermark_of_change">The faint
watermark of change</div> The president of Oji Paper admitted that his
firm's attempt to take over Hokuetsu Paper had failed. Oji's was
the first hostile bid from a Japanese blue-chip company for a domestic rival and
observers had hoped a deal would spur Japan's corporate culture to open up to
Western business practices. However, Hokuetsu kept its shareholders on board by
tactics that included the sale of a stake to Mitsubishi Corporation.
size="-1">Telstra's share price was turbulent after Australia's
government announced a scaled- down sale of its stake in the country's biggest
telecoms company. Around a third of the 51.8% stake will now be floated in the
autumn in an A$8 billion ($6 billion) offering (the rest of the holding will be
placed in a fund that will help pay for pensions). The decision not to sell the
entire stake comes after a bad year for Telstra, which has seen its share price
decline amid a regulatory imbroglio over network-access fees for its
rivals.
It was reported that
RUSAL had struck a deal to merge with SUAL, a Russian compatriot, and take over the
aluminium assets of Glencore, a Swiss commodities group, thereby
creating the world's biggest aluminium producer. An official announcement is not
expected for some weeks.
dipped briefly below $70 a barrel for the first time in over two months.

target="_blank" rel="nofollow" name="an_early_autumn_chill">An early autumn
chill</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
size="-1">American consumer confidence fell in August to its
lowest level since November 2005, suffering its biggest one-month drop since
Hurricane Katrina. A less favourable outlook on jobs, a slowdown in the housing
market and high fuel prices all contributed to the decline in optimism. <a
bin1/DM/y/htvE0FDHx80Mo0DMeJ0ES">See article</a><img
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Google Office; Foo Camp; Slow-Motion Disasters
DATE: 09/01/2006 06:36:38
STATUS: publish
BODY:
op Stories for the Week of August 28 - September 1 <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,2srn,dz2s,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/theman.jpg"
align="right" border="0" alt="Image" /></a>Just in time for <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,2srn,dz2s,kpqm,g1qy">Bur
ning Man</a>: Google CEO Eric Schmidt got himself <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,c3dk,alj7,kpqm,g1qy">vot
ed onto Apple's board</a> and now sits with luminaries like Al Gore and Steve
Jobs. Considering some of the trouble Apple's been in lately -- suppliers suing
newspapers over reports of overworked employees in China, a less-than-stellar
environmental record, stock option backdating scandals -- could this be a way for
Google to <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,i84h,a81r,kpqm,g1qy">out
source all the evil they're supposedly not going to do</a>? asks <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,abz8,keyj,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>SFist</a>. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,bypj,ddp7,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Valleywag</a> lists six effects of the Schmidt move--like maybe now
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,aj1q,i0v7,kpqm,g1qy">Goo
gle will stop being so damn ugly</a>. But seriously: <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,c6rb,is1j,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Don Dodge</a> thinks Apple-Google cooperation is <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,dsqi,5k24,kpqm,g1qy">no
big deal until money changes hands</a>, and sometimes not even then. <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,bhci,d9wu,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Infinite Loop</a> says Steve Jobs runs the company and board
members lack influence; <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,5gbr,jq1o,kpqm,g1qy">a
board seat just means you're a friend of Steve's</a>.
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,i84h,a81r,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/gapple.jpg"
align="left" border="0" alt="Image" /></a> Mountain View hasn't exactly been
sitting still awaiting the Schmidt announcement. On Sunday, Google unveiled <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,ja8m,144i,kpqm,g1qy">Goo
gle Apps for Your Domain</a>, a set of Google tools (Gmail, Google Talk, Google
Calendar and Google Page Creator) aimed at small businesses (via <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,kz5e,2ehz,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Lifehacker</a>). So what, writes <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,9g52,em9t,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Microsoft Watch</a>--<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,bn39,dni2,kpqm,g1qy">whe
re's the Word, the Excel, the PowerPoint</a>? Red flags are going off for <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,cgmw,g3de,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Om Malik</a> who's wary of Web-based stuff since AOL Datagate, but
he thinks Mountain View will likely add Writely and Spreadsheets to <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,1am6,6qv0,kpqm,g1qy">pok
e Microsoft in the eye</a>. And when the premium version comes out later this year
(more storage, etc.), <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,kdo5,a6l0,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Paul Kedrosky</a> figures <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,9aed,2upb,kpqm,g1qy">eve
n more money will get sucked out of the small-biz software market</a>. Plus
there's the new eBay deal. Following its May domestic-advertising deal with Yahoo,
eBay has struck a deal with Google so it will be the <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,j5hc,eyvz,kpqm,g1qy">onl
y text-ad provider on the auction giant's international sites</a>, blogs <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,xco,ku8l,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>Download Squad</a>, and will work on <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,n08,bsw8,kpqm,g1qy">clic
k-to-call tools that let customers call advertisers</a> (via<a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,5xj3,2mdw,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/chumby_2.gif"
align="left" border="0" height="57" width="200" alt="Image" /></a> <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,ilyw,dq2y,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Paidcontent.org</a>). eBay's happy to straddle the fence between
Yahoo and Google, blogs <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,clak,48o5,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Ars Technica</a>, because <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,l3r5,1grz,kpqm,g1qy">one
handles U.S. ads and the other foreign</a>. This is <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,m81j,550w,kpqm,g1qy">why
Ray Noorda coined the term "coopetition,"</a> blogs <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,kxcd,aj46,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>BusinessWeek Online</a>. 
If you were a FOO (Friend of O'Reilly) you might have been at the invite-only
Foo Camp last weekend. It starts with everyone standing to give their <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,5igv,2f4h,kpqm,g1qy">nam
e, affiliation and exactly three words</a>, (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,grrc,iyti,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>JoHo Blog</a>) so <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,6170,gzgu,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Strange Attractor</a> said, <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,5680,63tu,kpqm,g1qy">"Sc
aring businesses. Kittens."</a> <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,1yry,fayc,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Tim O'Reilly</a> wrote about Chumby, a <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,7xq2,bzlj,kpqm,g1qy">hac
kable, WiFi-enabled clock radio</a>, while <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,l14e,9rz4,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>VentureBlog</a> liked the Halfbaked.com; entrepreneurial improv
theatre session, where participants turned randomly chosen two-word company names
into a VC-ready business plans in just 15 minutes (Bottlecap Porn won.) 
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,gl5y,7du1,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/nytmag-
katrinacover.jpg" align="right" border="0" height="306" width="263" alt="Image"
/></a><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,5fxu,cmut,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/globalbubble.gif"
align="left" border="0" height="237" width="245" alt="Image" /></a>In national
news, Floridians exhaled as Ernesto came ashore as a weak tropical storm on the <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,gzi5,jwy2,kpqm,g1qy">one
-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina</a>. The anniversary mixed good news like
the <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,g61y,3j9m,kpqm,g1qy">reo
pening of Mississippi's Beau Rivage Resort and Casino</a> (via <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,gj4v,m93r,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Topix.net</a>) with grim predictions that <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,cwp4,7p3k,kpqm,g1qy">fut
ure disaster aid will only save the rich</a> (via <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,4gne,lncv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Guardian Unlimited</a>). Mostly it just spurred endless What It
Meant for America-style breast-beating, which made Robin Roberts' simple
recollection of <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,iwng,jkxz,kpqm,g1qy">a
post-Katrina trip to her relatives' home in Mississippi</a> a breath of fresh air
(via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,4kmx,bant,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TVNewser</a>).
In other slow-motion disasters, the <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,h34f,5wf2,kpqm,g1qy">hou
sing bubble may deflate</a> much <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,rje,hpew,kpqm,g1qy">fast
er than anyone expects</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,cfbg,adb,kpqm,g1qy">suck
down 73,000 jobs a month</a> (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,iudh,8f4f,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>reddit</a>), and could be more damaging to the world economy than
the dotcom crash. Read all about it every day on the <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,cjnk,6mps,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Housing Bubble Blog</a>, which runs cheerful headlines like <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,9xb,hjv0,kpqm,g1qy">"Hou
sing Market 'Chill' Taking Toll."</a>
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,5h7h,a7wm,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/courics.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="167" width="235" alt="Image" /></a>In
entertainment, plenty of <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,fecw,2ql0,kpqm,g1qy">You
Tubers hate Paris Hilton</a> as evidenced by a faux news report showing
riots against the star in an Internet neighborhood called YouTube (via <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,bios,14be,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Blog Herald</a>). <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,bios,14be,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Blog Herald</a> also sights a sneak peek of Idolator, Gawker
Media's <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,m7nx,1jo1,kpqm,g1qy">new
music blog</a>. No one knows why CBS Photoshopped a photo of Katie Couric <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,bsjp,2k0h,kpqm,g1qy">to
make her thinner and her suit darker</a>--but it did (via <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,c0l4,7irf,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gawker</a>). And finally, why did Snakes on a Plane have
great blog buzz but flop at the box office? <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,ih5d,ums,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>Freakonomics</a> may have found the smoking gun: <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qup8,39mg,8r9w,ex1y,kpqm,g1qy">som
eone tampered with the movie's IMDB rankings</a>.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Final Part of the report
DATE: 08/28/2006 08:47:59
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Table 33: Strengths & Weaknesses: Manipur 
Factors Strong Criteria Weak Criteria 
 
Economic Strength Per Capita SDP Growth (1.3) Total Investment (1.7) 
Commercial Banks Credit Disbursement (1.10) 
 
 
Business Efficiency Industrial Labour Productivity Growth (2.3) Registered
Factories (2.1) 
Labour Cost (2.6) Employment Growth (2.7) 
Profits in Manufacturing Industries (2.9) 
 
Governance Quality Cognizable Crimes (3.1) Per Capita Plan Expenditure
(3.6) 
Govt. Expenditure (% of SDP) (3.2) Transport & Communication Spending
(3.8) 
Fiscal Deficit (3.4) 
Expenditure on S&T (3.7) 
 
Human Resource Death Rate (4.2) Number of workers (4.3) 
Enrolment Ratio (Secondary Schools) (4.16) Access to Sanitation (4.13) 
Public Expenditure on 
Education (4.18) Pupil-Teacher Ratio (Primary Schools) (4.17) 
Child Labor (4.25) Female Literacy Rate (4.19) 
 
Infrastructure Universities (Nos) (5.9) Rail Route kms (5.1) 
Secondary Schools (Nos) (5.11) Drinking Water (5.15) 
Population Covered by Primary Health Centres (5.14) Forest Area (5.17) 
Figures in brackets are the criteria codes for details see Appendix 1 
 
Table 34: Strengths & Weaknesses: Meghalaya 
 
Economic Strength Share of Service (1.4) SDP Growth (1.2) 
Consumer Prices (1.5) Total Investment (1.7) 
FDI Inflow (1.8) Commercial Banks Credit Disbursement (1.10) 
 
Business Efficiency Average Hours Worked (2.5) Registered Factories (2.1) 
Industrial Labour Productivity Growth (2.3) 
Employment Growth (2.7) 
 
Governance Quality Cognizable Crimes (3.1) Interest Payment (% of Revenue)
(3.3) 
Transport & Communication Spending (3.8) Fiscal Deficit (3.4) 
Revenue Receipts (3.5) 
 
Human Resource Pupil-Teacher Ratio (Primary Schools) (4.17) Birth rate
(4.1) 
Female Labor Participation (Rural) (4.20) Industrial Workers (4.3) 
Unemployment Rate (4.24) Immunization (4.9) 
Literacy Rate (4.14) 
 
Infrastructure Electricity Tariff (5.6) Degree colleges (Nos) (5.10) 
T&D Losses of Electricity (5.8) Drinking Water (5.15) 
Secondary Schools (Nos) (5.11) 
 
 
Table 35: Strengths & Weaknesses: Mizoram 
 
Economic Strength Per Capita SDP (1.1) SDP Growth (1.2) 
Share of Service (1.4) Commercial Bank Deposits (1.9) 
 
Business Efficiency Small Scale Industries (2.10) New Industries (Nos)
(2.8) 
 
Governance Quality Revenue Receipts (3.5) Cognizable Crimes (3.1) 
Per Capita Plan Expenditure (3.6) Interest Payment (% of Revenue) (3.3) 
Transport & Communication Spending (3.8) 
 
Human Resource Death Rate (4.2) Public Expenditure on Education (4.18) 
Health Expenditure (4.12) 
Literacy Rate (Total) (4.14) 
Female Literacy Rate (4.19) 
Female Labor Participation (Urban) (4.21) 
 
Infrastructure Secondary Schools (Nos) (5.11) Rail Route kms (5.1) 
Primary Schools (Nos) (5.12) Universities (Nos) (5.9) 
Primary Health Centres (5.13) Drinking Water (5.15) 
Forest Cover (5.17) 
 
 
Table 36: Strengths & Weaknesses: Madhya Pradesh 
 
Economic Strength Consumer Prices (1.5) Per Capita SDP (1.1) 
FDI Inflow (1.8) Per Capita SDP Growth (1.3) 
Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (1.6) 
Commercial Bank Offices (1.11) 
 
Business Efficiency Industrial Labour Productivity (2.2) Employment Growth
(2.7) 
Profits in Manufacturing (2.9) New Industries (2.8) 
Small Scale Industries (2.10) Competent Senior Managers (2.12) 
 
Governance Quality Interest Payment (% of Revenue) (3.3) Expenditure on S& T
(3.7) 
Fiscal Deficit (3.4) Reform Outlook (3.13) 
Per Capita Plan Expenditure (3.6) Transparency (3.16) 
Governmentâs Finances in Next Two Years (3.18) 
 
Human Resource Industrial Disputes (4.22) Hospital Beds (4.11) 
Unemployment Rate (4.24) Access to Sanitation (4.13) 
Female Labour Participation (Rural)(4.20) Health Expenditure (4.12) 
 
 
Infrastructure Telephone Lines (5.3) Availability of Power (5.19) 
Electricity Tariff (5.6) Development and Maintenance of Infrastructure
(5.20) 
Electricity Connected Villages (5.7) Quality of Power (5.22) 
Secondary Schools (Nos) (5.11) Safe Drinking Water (5.15) 
Primary Schools (Nos) (5.12) 
 
 
Table 37: Strengths & Weaknesses: Nagaland 
 
Economic Strength Share of Service (1.4) Per Capita SDP Growth (1.1) 
Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (1.6) Commercial Bank Deposits (1.9) 
 
Business Efficiency Labour Cost (2.6) Industrial Labour Productivity
(2.2) 
Profits in Manufacturing (2.9) 
Small Scale Industries (Nos)(2.10) 
 
Governance Quality Cognizable Crimes (3.1) Fiscal Deficit (3.4) 
Govt expenditure (% of SDP) (3.2) Transport & Communication Spending
(3.8) 
Revenue Receipts (3.5) 
Per Capita Plan Expenditure (3.6) 
 
Human Resource Female Labour Participation (Rural) (4.20) Immunization
(4.9) 
Female Labor Participation (Urban) (4.21) Access to Sanitation (4.13) 
 
Infrastructure Road Kms (5.2) Rail Route Kms (5.1) 
Population Covered by Primary Health Centres (5.14) Technical Institutes
(Rs) (5.16) 
Drinking Water (5.15) Infrastructure Expenditure (5.18) 
 
 
Table 38: Strengths & Weaknesses: Orissa 
 
SDP Growth (1.2) 
Commercial Bank Deposits (1.9) 
 
Business Efficiency Capital Intensity (2.4) Industrial Labour Productivity
Growth (2.3) 
Average Hours Worked (2.5) Employment Growth (2.7) 
Small Scale Industries (2.10) 
 
Governance Quality Government Expenditure (% of SDP) (3.2) Fiscal Deficit
(3.4) 
Expenditure on S & T (3.7) Interest Payment (% of revenue) (3.3) 
Transport and Communication Spending (3.8) 
Govt. Finances in the Next Two Years (3.18) 
 
Human Resource Pupil-Teacher Ratio (Primary Schools) (4.17) Death Rate
(4.2) 
Mandays Lost (4.23) Hospital Beds (4.11) 
Educational System (4.32) Health Expenditure (4.12) 
Population Below Poverty Line (4.26) 
 
Infrastructure Road kms (5.2 Rail Route kms (5.1) 
Telephones Lines (5.3)) Universities (Nos) (5.9) 
Availability of Power (5.19) Drinking Water (5.15) 
Quality of Power (5.22) 
 
 
Table 39: Strengths & Weaknesses: Punjab 
 
Economic Strength Consumer Prices (1.5) Share of Service (1.4) 
Per Capita SDP (1.1) FDI Inflow (1.8) 
Commercial Bank Deposits (1.9) 
Commercial Bank Offices (1.11) 
 
Business Efficiency Registered Factories (Nos) (2.1) Capital Intensity
(2.4) 
Industrial Labour Productivity Growth (2.3) New Industries (2.8) 
Small Scale Industries (2.10) Competent Senior Managers (2.12) 
 
Governance Quality Cognizable Crimes (3.1) Fiscal Deficit (3.4) 
Revenue Receipts (3.5) Computerization of Records (3.10) 
Transport & Communication Spending (3.8) Govt. Procedures (3.15) 
 
Human Resource Life Expectancy (Male) (4.6) Dependency Ratio (4.5) 
Life Expectancy (Female) (4.7) Enrollment Ratio (Primary Schools) (4.15) 
Medical Practitioners (4.10) Public Expenditure on Education (4.18) 
Population Below Poverty Line (4.26) 
Labour Relations (4.29) 
 
Infrastructure Rail Route kms (5.1) Secondary Schools (Nos) (5.11) 
Cellular Subscribers (5.4) Primary Health Centres (5.13) 
Electricity Generation Capacity (5.5) Forest Cover (5.17) 
Drinking water (5.15) 
Infrastructure Expenditure (5.18) 
 
 
Table 40: Strengths & Weaknesses: Rajasthan 
 
Economic Strength Share of Services (1.4) 
 
Business Efficiency Average Hours Worked (2.5) Small Scale Industries
(2.10) 
Labour Cost (2.6) Competent Senior Managers (2.12) 
Capital Intensity (2.4) 
 
Governance Quality Government Expenditure (% of SDP) (3.2) Per Capita Plan
Expenditure (3.6) 
Entry/Local Taxes (3.17) Transport & Communication Spending (3.8) 
Govt. Procedures (3.15) 
 
Human Resource Enrollment Ratio (Secondary Schools) (4.16) Birth Rate
(4.1) 
Unemployment Rate (4.24) Immunization (4.9) 
Per Capita Protein Intake (4.28) Literacy Rate (4.14) 
Female Literacy Rate (4.19) 
 
Infrastructure Infrastructure Expenditure (5.18) Rail Route Kms (5.1) 
Availability of Power (5.19) Road kms (5.2) 
Development & Maintenance of Infrastructure (5.20) Universities (Nos)
(5.9) 
Urban Infrastructure (5.21) Forest Cover (5.17) 
 
 
Table 41: Strengths & Weaknesses: Sikkim 
 
Economic Strength Commercial Bank Deposits (1.9) Total Investment (1.7) 
Per Capita SDP (1.1) Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (1.6) 
 
Business Efficiency Small Scale Industries (2.10) 
New Industries (Nos) (2.8) 
 
Governance Quality Govt Expenditure (% of SDP) (3.2) Fiscal Deficit (3.4) 
Revenue Receipts (3.5) Expenditure on S&T (3.7) 
Per Capita Plan Expenditure (3.6) 
 
Human Resource Dependency Ratio (4.5) Hospital Beds (4.11) 
Enrollment Ratio (Primary Schools) (4.15) Pupil Teacher Ratio (Primary
Schools) (4.17) 
Child Labour (4.25) Population Below Poverty Line (4.26) 
 
Infrastructure Universities (Nos) (5.9) Road kms (5.2) 
T&D Losses (5.8) Population Covered by Primary Health Centres (5.14) 
Degree Colleges (Nos) (5.10) Technical Institutes (Nos) (5.16) 
Primary Health Centres Nos (5.13) Forest Cover (5.17) 
Drinking Water (5.15) 
 
 
Table 42: Strengths & Weaknesses: Tamil Nadu 
 
Economic Strength Share of Service (1.4) Per Capita SDP (1.3) 
FDI Inflow (1.8) Consumer Prices (1.5) 
Commercial Bank Credit Disbursement (1.9) 
 
Business Efficiency Registered Factories (2.1) Industrial Labour
Productivity Growth (2.3) 
Profits in Manufacturing (2.9) Competent Senior Managers (2.12) 
Small Scale Industries (2.10) 
 
Governance Quality Interest Payment (% of SDP) (3.3) Cognizable Crimes
(3.1) 
Computerization of Records (3.10) Govt. Expenditure (% of GDP) (3.2) 
Entry/Local Taxes (3.17) Per Capita Plan Expenditure (3.6) 
State Govt. Finances in Next Two Years (3.18) 
 
Human Resource Industrial Workers (4.3) Industrial Disputes (4.22) 
Immunization (4.9) Unemployment Rate (4.24) 
Industrial Disputes (4.22) Average Calorie Intake (4.27) 
Work Culture (4.30) Average Protein Intake (4.28) 
IT Literates (4.31) 
 
Infrastructure Telephone Lines (5.3) Electricity Tariff (5.6) 
T&D Losses of Electricity (5.8) Electricity Connected Villages (5.7) 
Universities (Nos) (5.9) Secondary Schools (Nos) (5.11) 
Degree Colleges (Nos) (5.10) Forest Cover (5.17) 
Technical Institutes (Nos) (5.16) 
 
 
Table 43: Strengths & Weaknesses: Tripura 
 
Economic Strength SDP Growth (1.2) Per Capita Consumption Expenditure
(1.6) 
Per Capita SDP Growth (1.3) Commercial Bank Credit Disbursement (1.10) 
 
Business Efficiency Labour Cost (2.6) Capital Intensity (2.4) 
Employment Growth (2.7) Small Scale Industries (2.10) 
 
Governance Quality Cognizable Crimes (3.1) Per Capita Plan Expenditure
(3.6) 
Government Expenditure (3.2) Expenditure on S& T (3.7) 
 
Human Resource Birth rate (4.1) Health Expenditure (4.12) 
Death rate (4.2) Female Labour Participation (Rural) (4.20) 
Literacy Rate (4.14) Female Labour Participation (Urban) (4.21) 
Public Expenditure on Education (4.18) Unemployment Rate (4.24) 
Population Below Poverty Line (4.26) 
 
Infrastructure Road kms (5.2) Degree Colleges (Nos) (5.10) 
Electricity Connected Villages (5.7) Primary Schools (Nos) (5.12) 
Population Covered by Primary Health Centres (5.14) Drinking Water
(5.15) 
Infrastructure Expenditure (5.18) 
 
 
Table 44: Strengths & Weaknesses: Uttar Pradesh 
 
Total Investment (1.7) Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (1.6) 
Commercial Bank Offices (1.11) Commercial Banks Credit Disbursement
(1.10) 
 
Business Efficiency Industrial Labour Productivity Growth (2.3) Registered
Capital Intensity (2.4) Average Hours Worked (2.5) 
Profits of Manufacturing (2.9) Employment Growth (2.7) 
 
 
Governance Quality Cognizable Crimes (3.1) Interest Payment (% of SDP)
(3.3) 
Expenditure on S & T (3.7) Fiscal Deficit (3.4) 
Transparency (3.16) Revenue Receipts (3.5) 
Entry/Local Taxes (3.17) 
 
Human Resource Industrial Disputes (4.22) Birth Rate (4.1) 
Man-days Lost (4.23) Death Rate (4.2) 
Unemployment Rate (4.24) Enrolment Ratio (Primary Schools) (4.15) 
Average Calorie Intake (4.27) Female Literacy (4.19) 
Average Protein Intake (4.28) Child Labour (4.25) 
 
Infrastructure Rail Route kms (5.1) Electricity Generation Capacity
(5.5) 
Average Electricity Tariff (5.6) Universities (Nos) (5.9) 
Infrastructure Expenditure (5.18) Forest Cover (5.17) 
 
 
Table 45: Strengths & Weaknesses: Uttaranchal 
 
Economic Strength SDP Growth (1.2) Total Investment (1.7) 
 
Business Efficiency Industrial Labour Productivity Growth (2.3) Capital
Intensity (2.4) 
Employment Growth (2.7) Profits of Manufacturing (2.9) 
 
Governance Quality Fiscal Deficit (3.4) Per Capita Plan Expenditure (3.6) 
Interest Payment (% of Revenue) (3.3) 
 
Human Resource Industrial Workers (4.3) Health Expenditure (4.12) 
Death Rate (4.2) Female Literacy Rate (4.19) 
 
Infrastructure Forest Cover (5.17) Rail Route kms (5.1) 
 
 
Table 46: Strengths & Weaknesses: West Bengal 
 
Economic Strength SDP Growth (1.2) Per Capita SDP (1.3) 
Per Capita SDP Growth (1.3) Consumption Expenditure (1.6) 
Consumer Prices (1.5) 
 
Business Efficiency New Industries (Nos) (2.8) Industrial Labour
Productivity (2.2) 
Competent senior managers (2.12) Capital Intensity (2.4) 
Profits of Manufacturing (2.9) 
Problem Solving Attitude of Managers (2.11) 
 
Governance Quality Cognizable Crimes (3.1) Government Expenditure (% of GDP)
(3.2) 
State Governmentâs Interface with Private Sector (3.11) Interest Payment
(% of Revenue) (3.3) 
Speed of Government Response (3.12) Fiscal Deficit (3.4) 
Expenditure on S& T (3.7) 
 
Human Resource Death Rate (4.2) Industrial Disputes (4.22) 
Dependency Ratio (4.5) Pupil Teacher Ratio (Primary Schools) (4.17) 
Female labor Participation (Rural) (4.20) 
Mandays Lost (4.23) 
Unemployment Rate (4.24) 
 
Infrastructure Rail Route kms (5.1) Cellular Subscribers (5.4) 
Drinking Water (5.15) Universities (Nos) (5.9) 
Quality of Power (5.22) Degree Colleges (Nos) (5.10) 
Population Covered by Primary Health Centres (5.14) Secondary Schools
(Nos) (5.11) 
Infrastructure Expenditure (5.18) Primary Health Centres (5.13) 
Technical Institutes (Nos)(5.16) 
 
 
 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Healthcare, Infrastructure, Human Rights, Technology, Law
DATE: 08/28/2006 08:47:31
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Table 16 (Contd.) 
Bigger States 
States Immuniza-tion-vaccination 
(4.9) Registered Medical Practitioners 
(4.10) No. of hospital beds 
(4.11) Health Expenditure 
(4.12) Access to Sanitation 
(4.13) Literacy rate 
(4.14) Enrolment ratio primary schools 
(4.15) Enrolment ratio Secondary schools 
(4.16) 
AP 8 9 5 9 11 12 9 13 
Assam 14 8 2 12 15 9 2 6 
Bihar 15 10 13 15 8 15 12 15 
Gujarat 7 6 3 8 3 4 1 7 
Haryana 5 15 10 11 7 7 14 9 
Karnataka 6 2 7 5 1 8 3 5 
Kerala 4 4 1 2 2 1 11 1 
MP 11 13 14 13 14 10 6 10 
Maharashtra 2 5 4 7 6 2 7 3 
Orissa 9 11 15 14 13 11 4 11 
Punjab 3 1 9 1 4 5 13 8 
Rajasthan 13 12 11 10 5 13 5 4 
Tamil Nadu 1 3 6 3 10 3 10 2 
UP 12 14 12 6 12 14 15 14 
WB 10 7 8 4 9 6 8 12 
Smaller States 
Arunachal 8 NA 1 4 1 12 2 6 
Chattisgarh NA NA NA 14 NA 10 NA NA 
Delhi 3 1 3 8 3 3 11 11 
Goa 1 2 2 1 8 2 10 5 
HP 2 NA 6 6 6 4 9 1 
J&K 4 3 4 5 10 13 8 7 
Jharkhand NA NA NA 13 NA 14 NA NA 
Manipur 7 NA 8 9 9 8 7 2 
Meghalaya 10 NA 7 7 7 11 3 10 
Mizoram 5 NA 5 2 2 1 4 3 
Nagaland 11 NA 9 10 11 9 5 9 
Sikkim 6 NA 10 3 4 7 1 4 
Tripura 9 NA 11 11 5 5 6 8 
Uttaranchal NA NA NA 12 NA 6 NA NA 
 
Bigger States 
States Primary Pupil-Teacher ratio 
(4.17) Public Expenditure on Education (4.18) Female literacy rate 
(4.19) Female labour participation (Rural) 
(4.20) Female labour participation (Urban) 
(4.21) No. of Disputes 
(4.22) Mandays lost 
(4.23) 
AP 13 12 10 1 3 12 12 
Assam 5 1 9 14 10 3 1 
Bihar 15 3 15 13 15 4 7 
Gujarat 10 8 6 4 9 13 8 
Haryana 11 15 8 12 13 2 11 
Karnataka 3 11 7 7 4 10 5 
Kerala 1 2 1 10 1 11 14 
MP 4 7 12 3 8 1 3 
Maharashtra 9 10 2 2 6 9 9 
Orissa 2 9 11 8 5 6 2 
Punjab 6 14 4 9 11 5 6 
Rajasthan 8 4 13 5 7 7 10 
Tamil Nadu 7 5 3 6 2 14 13 
UP 12 13 14 11 14 8 4 
WB 14 6 5 15 12 15 15 
Arunachal 3 7 12 5 8 NA NA 
Chattisgarh NA NA 11 NA NA NA NA 
Delhi 2 1 3 11 9 2 1 
Goa 8 8 2 9 6 3 3 
HP 4 5 4 3 7 4 2 
J&K 6 NA 13 6 11 NA NA 
Jharkhand NA NA 14 NA NA NA NA 
Manipur 10 2 10 8 3 1 NA 
Meghalaya 1 4 8 1 4 NA NA 
Mizoram 5 6 1 4 1 NA NA 
Nagaland 9 9 6 2 2 NA NA 
Sikkim 11 10 7 7 5 NA NA 
Tripura 7 3 5 10 10 NA NA 
Uttaranchal NA NA 9 NA NA NA NA 
 
 
Bigger States 
States Unemploy-ment rate 
(4.24) Child labour (4.25) Population below poverty line (4.26) Average
Calorie Intake 
(4.27) Average Protein Intake 
(4.28) Labour Relations 
(4.29) Work culture (4.30) IT literates (4.31) Educational system 
(4.32) 
AP 4 15 6 10 13 12 9 10 13 
Assam 14 4 12 14 14 NA NA NA NA 
Bihar 9 10 14 5 5 2 6 5 5 
Gujarat 2 6 4 12 8 5 5 4 11 
Haryana 6 2 2 1 2 NA NA NA NA 
Karnataka 7 11 7 9 9 3 3 3 4 
Kerala 15 1 3 13 10 13 10 7 12 
MP 3 13 13 8 6 8 7 6 7 
Maharashtra 11 12 9 11 7 6 2 2 1 
Orissa 10 5 15 6 12 10 11 8 2 
Punjab 8 3 1 3 3 1 4 9 8 
Rajasthan 1 9 5 2 1 7 12 13 10 
Tamil Nadu 12 7 8 15 15 4 1 1 3 
UP 5 14 11 4 4 9 8 11 6 
WB 13 8 10 7 11 11 13 12 9 
Arunachal 2 3 8 NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Chattisgarh NA NA NA NA NA 5 5 5 5 
Delhi 7 8 4 4 4 3 3 1 1 
Goa 11 1 2 3 3 1 2 2 2 
HP 3 10 3 2 2 2 1 4 3 
J&K 5 1 1 1 NA NA NA NA 
Jharkhand NA NA NA NA NA 4 4 3 4 
Manipur 8 4 6 NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Meghalaya 1 9 9 NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Mizoram 4 5 5 NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Nagaland 10 6 7 NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Sikkim 6 2 11 NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Tripura 9 7 10 NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Uttaranchal NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 
 
Table 17: Criterion wise Ranking of States -Infrastructure 
Bigger States 
States Rail route kms 
(5.1) Road kms (5.2) No of telephone lines 
(5.3) Cellular subscribers (5.4) Electricity generation Capacity 
(5.5) Average Tariff (5.6) Electricity Connected villages 
(5.7) 
AP 11 11 15 8 6 4 11 
Assam 6 7 9 14 15 15 3 
Bihar 7 13 10 12 14 11 4 
Gujarat 8 14 6 3 2 8 12 
Haryana 3 12 12 6 7 9 13 
Karnataka 14 9 4 4 8 7 8 
Kerala 9 1 8 1 4 1 15 
MP 12 10 3 10 9 3 1 
Maharashtra 10 5 11 7 3 14 9 
Orissa 15 2 1 13 10 13 2 
Punjab 2 3 7 2 1 2 7 
Rajasthan 13 15 5 11 12 6 5 
Tamil Nadu 5 4 2 5 5 12 14 
UP 4 6 13 9 13 5 6 
WB 1 8 14 15 11 10 10 
 
 
Arunachal 13 10 NA NA NA NA 2 
Chattisgarh 5 NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Delhi 1 1 4 1 2 5 NA 
Goa 2 2 2 NA 4 3 10 
HP 7 5 1 2 1 4 1 
J&K 10 11 3 NA 3 1 8 
Jharkhand 3 NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Manipur 12 6 NA NA NA NA 5 
Meghalaya 7 NA NA NA 2 4 
Mizoram 11 9 NA NA NA NA 6 
Nagaland 9 4 NA NA NA NA 9 
Sikkim 4 8 NA NA NA NA 7 
Tripura 8 3 NA NA NA NA 3 
Uttaranchal 6 NA NA NA NA NA NA 
 
Bigger States 
States T& D Losses (5.8) Universities or Equivalent (5.9) Degree Colleges
(5.10) Secondary Schools (5.11) Primary Schools (5.12) 
AP 13 6 8 10 4 
Assam 15 9 13 5 2 
Bihar 7 12 15 8 6 
Gujarat 5 11 11 3 14 
Haryana 12 8 9 14 10 
Karnataka 9 3 1 1 13 
Kerala 6 7 7 12 15 
MP 4 2 10 2 1 
Maharashtra 2 4 2 7 12 
Orissa 14 10 4 4 3 
Punjab 3 5 6 11 9 
Rajasthan 11 13 12 6 7 
Tamil Nadu 1 1 3 13 11 
UP 10 14 5 9 8 
WB 8 15 14 15 5 
Arunachal 4 4 2 5 4 
Chattisgarh NA NA NA NA NA 
Delhi 10 3 11 11 11 
Goa 5 1 1 10 8 
HP 1 7 7 6 2 
J&K 11 10 8 3 5 
Jharkhand NA NA NA NA NA 
Manipur 8 5 5 4 6 
Meghalaya 2 8 10 2 1 
Mizoram 9 11 4 1 3 
Nagaland 7 6 6 8 9 
Sikkim 3 2 3 7 7 
Tripura 6 9 9 9 10 
Uttaranchal NA NA NA NA NA 
 
Bigger States 
States Primary/Village Health Centres (5.13) Population covered by primary
health centers 
(5.14) Safe Drinking water 
(5.15) Technical Institutes (5.16) Forest Area 
(5.17) Infrastructure Expenditure (5.18) 
AP 10 6 11 4 4 6 
Assam 7 3 13 13 3 14 
Bihar 6 2 10 15 5 15 
Gujarat 12 10 5 8 11 9 
Haryana 13 4 3 7 15 10 
Karnataka 2 15 4 3 7 12 
Kerala 3 12 15 1 2 5 
MP 5 5 12 10 8 11 
Maharashtra 14 9 6 5 9 8 
Orissa 1 14 14 9 1 13 
Punjab 11 7 1 6 14 1 
Rajasthan 4 13 9 12 13 4 
Tamil Nadu 8 11 7 2 6 7 
UP 9 8 8 11 12 3 
WB 15 1 2 14 10 2 
Arunachal 4 8 4 9 1 1 
Chattisgarh NA NA NA NA 7 NA 
Delhi 11 1 1 4 13 2 
Goa 10 2 6 1 10 9 
HP 2 10 2 2 11 8 
J&K 6 6 7 3 4 4 
Jharkhand NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Manipur 7 5 8 6 12 6 
Meghalaya 5 7 10 5 8 7 
Mizoram 1 11 11 11 2 5 
Nagaland 9 4 5 10 6 10 
Sikkim 3 9 3 8 9 3 
Tripura 8 3 9 7 5 11 
Uttaranchal NA NA NA NA 3 NA 
 
Table 17(Contd.) 
Bigger States 
States Power Availability (5.19) Development & Maintenance of Infrastructure
(5.20) Quality of Urban Infrastructure (5.21) Power Quality 
(5.22) 
AP 12 5 1 12 
Assam NA NA NA NA 
Bihar 9 7 7 8 
Gujarat 7 1 5 6 
Haryana NA NA NA NA 
Karnataka 11 9 10 11 
Kerala 10 6 8 9 
MP 13 13 13 13 
Maharashtra 5 4 6 5 
Orissa 1 11 4 2 
Punjab 6 3 3 7 
Rajasthan 2 2 2 3 
Tamil Nadu 3 8 11 4 
UP 8 12 12 10 
WB 4 10 9 1 
Arunachal NA NA NA NA 
Chattisgarh 1 4 4 5 
Delhi 4 2 2 3 
Goa 2 1 1 2 
HP 3 5 5 1 
J&K NA NA NA NA 
Jharkhand 5 3 3 4 
Manipur NA NA NA NA 
Meghalaya NA NA NA NA 
Mizoram NA NA NA NA 
Nagaland NA NA NA NA 
Sikkim NA NA NA NA 
Tripura NA NA NA NA 
Uttaranchal NA NA NA NA 
 
Table 18: Strengths & Weaknesses: Andhra Pradesh 
Economic Strength Total Investment (1.7) Consumer Prices (1.5) 
FDI Inflow (1.8) Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (1.6) 
 
Business Efficiency Labour Cost (2.6) Industrial Labour Productivity
(2.2) 
Employment Growth (2.7) Capital Intensity (2.4) 
Competent Senior Managers (2.12) Small Scale Industries (2.10) 
 
Governance Quality Annual Plan Expenditure (3.6) Govt. Expenditure (% of
SDP) (3.2) 
Computerization of Records (3.10) Corruption Level (3.14) 
Speed of State Governmentâs Response to Private Initiative (3.12)
Transparency (3.16) 
Governmentâs Procedures (3.15) 
 
Human Resources Female Labor Participation (Rural) (4.4) Enrollment Ratio
(Secondary School) (4.16) 
Unemployment Rate (4.24) Pupil Teacher Ratio (4.17) 
Child labour (4.25) 
Educational System (4.32) 
 
Infrastructure Electricity Tariff (5.6) Number of Telephone lines (5.3) 
Primary Schools 5.12) T&D Losses of Electricity (5.8) 
Urban Infrastructure (5.21) Quality of Power (5.22) 
 
Table 19: Strengths & Weaknesses: Arunachal Pradesh 
Economic Strength Per capita SDP (1.3) SDP Growth (1.2) 
Share of Service (1.4) 
 
Business Efficiency Small Scale Industries (2.10) Average Hours Worked
(2.5) 
 
Governance Quality Plan Expenditure (3.6) Interest Payment (3.3) 
Transport & Communication Spending (3.8) Fiscal Deficit (3.4) 
 
Human Resource Dependency Ratio (4.5) Literacy Rate (4.14) 
Number of Hospital Beds (4.11) Female Literacy Rate (4.19) 
Access to Sanitation (4.13) 
 
Infrastructure Electricity Connected Villages (5.7) Rail Route kms (5.1) 
Degree Colleges (5.10) Road kms (5.2) 
Forest Cover (5.17) Technical Institutes (5.16) 
Infrastructure Expenditure (5.18) 
 
 
Table 20: Strengths & Weaknesses: Assam 
Economic Strength SDP Growth (1.2) 
 
Business Efficiency Average Hours Worked (2.5) Capital intensity (2.4) 
Labour Cost (2.6) Small Scale Industries (2.10) 
 
Governance Quality Cognizable Crimes (3.1) Revenue Receipts (3.5) 
Govt. Expenditure (3.2) Expenditure on S&T (3.7) 
 
Human resource Dependency Ratio (4.5) Access to Sanitation (4.13) 
Number of Hospital Beds (4.11) Female Labor Participation (4.20) 
Enrollment Ratio (Primary School) (4.15) 
Public Expenditure on Education (4.18) 
 
Infrastructure Primary Schools (Nos) (5.12) Electricity Generation (5.5)
 
Population Covered by Primary Health Centres (5.14) Electricity Tariff
(5.6) 
T & D Losses of Electricity (5.8) 
 
 
Table 21: Strengths & Weaknesses: Bihar 
Economic Strength SDP Growth (1.2) Per Capita SDP (1.3) 
Consumer Prices (1.5) Total Investment (1.7) 
FDI Inflow (1.8) 
Commercial Bank Credit Disbursement (1.10) 
 
Business Efficiency Average Hours Worked (2.5) Registered Factories (2.1) 
Problem Solving Attitude of Managers (2.11) Employment Growth (Mfg.)
(2.7) 
Profits of Manufacturing Industries (2.9) 
 
Governance Quality Government Expenditure (3.2) Revenue Receipts (3.5) 
Governmentâs Procedures (3.15) Per Capita Plan Expenditure (3.6) 
Transparency (3.16) Transport & Communication Spending (3.8) 
Governmentâs Finances in Next Two Years (3.18) 
 
Human resource Public Education Expenditure (4.18) Birth Rate (4.1) 
Labour Relations (4.29) Health Expenditure (4.12) 
IT Literates (4.31) Pupil-Teacher Ratio (Primary Schools) (4.17) 
Female Literacy (4.19) 
 
Infrastructure Rail Route kms (5.1) Degree Colleges (Nos) (5.10) 
Electricity Connected Villages (5.7) Technical Institutes (Nos) (5.16) 
Population Covered by Primary Health Centres (5.14) Infrastructure
Expenditure (5.18) 
 
 
Table 22: Strengths & Weaknesses: Chattisgarh 
 
Economic Strength Total Investment (1.7) Per Capita SDP (1.3) 
Share of Service (1.4) 
 
Business Efficiency Industrial Labour Productivity (2.2) Registered
Capital Intensity (2.4) 
 
Governance Quality Government Interface with Private Sector (3.11) Fiscal
Deficit (3.4) 
Speed of Governmentâs Response to Private Initiative (3.12) Per Capita
Plan Expenditure (3.6) 
 
Human Resource Birth Rate (4.1) Health Expenditure (4.12) 
Death Rate (4.2) Literacy Rate (4.14) 
 
Infrastructure Availability of Power (5.19) 
 
 
Table 23: Strengths & Weaknesses: Delhi 
Economic Strength Share of Service (1.4) Total Investment (1.7) 
Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (1.6) 
FDI Inflow (1.8) 
 
Business Efficiency Small Scale Industries (2.10) Capital Intensity (2.4) 
Problem Solving Attitude of Managers (2.11) Labour Cost (2.6) 
Competent Senior Managers (2.12) 
 
Governance Quality Expenditure on S& T (3.7) Cognizable Crimes (3.1) 
Investor Friendliness (3.9) Revenue Receipts (3.5) 
Governmentâs Interface with Private Sector (3.11) 
Governmentâs Reforms Outlook (3.13) 
 
Human Resource Death Rate (4.2) Female Labor Participation (4.4) 
 
Dependency Ratio (4.5) Enrollment Ratio (Primary Schools) (4.15) 
Medical Practitioners (4.10) 
Public Education Expenditure (4.18) 
 
Infrastructure Rail route kms (5.1) T&D Losses of Electricity (5.8) 
Cellular Subscribers (5.4) Degree Colleges (Nos) (5.10) 
Population Covered by Primary Health Centres (5.14) Secondary Schools (Nos)
(5.11) 
Drinking Water (5.15) Primary Schools (Nos) (5.12) 
 
 
Table 24: Strengths & Weaknesses: Goa 
Economic Strength Per capita SDP (1.1) Consumer Prices (1.5) 
SDP Growth (1.2) 
Commercial Bank Credit Disbursements (1.10) 
 
 
Business Efficiency Registered Factories (2.1) Labour Productivity (2.3) 
Industrial Labour Productivity (2.3) Labour Cost (2.6) 
Employment Growth (2.7) 
 
Governance Quality Investor Friendliness (3.9) Interest Payment (% of
Revenue) (3.3) 
Computerization of State Records (3.10) Fiscal Deficit (3.4) 
Governmentâs Interface with Private Sector (3.11) 
Governmentâs Reform Outlook (3.13) 
Corruption Level (3.14) 
Governmentâs Procedures (3.15) 
Transparency (3.16) 
 
Human Resource Birth Rate (4.1) Enrollment Ratio (Primary Schools) (4.15) 
Immunization (4.9) Unemployment Rate (4.24) 
Child Labour (4.25) 
Population Below Poverty Line (4.26) 
 
Infrastructure Universities (Nos) (5.9) Electricity Connected Villages
(5.7) 
Degree Colleges (Nos) (5.10) Secondary Schools (Nos) (5.11) 
Development & Maintenance of Infrastructure (5.20) Primary Health Centres
(5.13) 
Forest Area (5.17) 
 
 
Table 25: Strengths & Weaknesses: Gujarat 
 
Economic Strength Consumer Prices (1.5) SDP Growth (1.2) 
Total Investment (1.7) Per capita SDP Growth (1.3) 
FDI Inflow (1.8) Commercial Bank Offices (1.11) 
 
Business Efficiency Industrial Labour Productivity (2.3) Average Hours
Worked (2.5) 
Capital Intensity (2.4) Competent Senior Managers (2.12) 
New Industries (2.8) 
Profits of Manufacturing Industries (2.9) 
 
Governance Quality Investor Friendliness (3.9) Fiscal Deficit (3.4) 
Corruption Level (3.14) 
Entry/Local Taxes (3.17) 
 
Human resource Industrial Workers (4.3) Child Mortality (4.8) 
Enrollment ratio (Primary Schools) (4.15) Pupil Teacher Ratio (4.17) 
Unemployment Rate (4.24) Industrial Disputes (4.22) 
IT Literates (4.31) Average Calorie Intake (4.27) 
 
Infrastructure Cellular Subscribers (5.4) Road kms (5.2) 
Electricity Generation Capacity (5.5) Electricity Connected Villages
(5.7) 
Secondary Schools (Nos) (5.11) Primary Schools (Nos) (5.12) 
Development & Maintenance of Infrastructure (5.20) Forest Area (5.17) 
 
 
Table 26: Strengths & Weaknesses: Haryana 
 
Economic Strength Per Capita SDP (1.3) Share of Service (1.4) 
Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (1.6) Consumer Prices (1.5) 
Total Investment (1.7) 
 
Business Efficiency Registered Factories (2.1) Average Hours Worked (2.5) 
Industrial Labor Productivity Growth (2.3) Labour Cost (2.6) 
Employment Growth (2.7) 
 
Governance Quality Revenue Receipts (3.5) Interest Payment (% of Revenue)
(3.3) 
Transport and Communication Spending (3.8) Expenditure on S&T (3.7) 
 
Human resource Industrial Workers (4.3) Dependency Ratio (4.5) 
Life Expectancy (Male) (4.6) Registered Medical Practitioners (4.10) 
Industrial Disputes (4.22) Enrolment Ratio (Primary Schools) (4.15) 
Average Calorie Intake Per Capita (4.27) Public Expenditure on Education
(4.18) 
Average Protein Intake Per Capita (4.28) 
 
Infrastructure Rail route kms (5.1) Electricity Connected Villages (5.7) 
Population covered by Primary Health Centres (5.13) Secondary Schools (Nos)
(5.11) 
Safe Drinking Water (5.15) Forest Cover (5.17) 
 
 
Table 27: Strengths & Weaknesses: Himachal Pradesh 
Economic Strength SDP Growth (1.2) Share of Services (1.4) 
Total Investment (1.7) Consumer Prices (1.5) 
FDI Inflow (1.8) 
 
Business Efficiency Industrial Labour Productivity (2.2) Labour Cost
(2.6) 
Average Hours Worked (2.5) Employment Growth (2.7) 
New Industries (2.8) 
Small Scale Industries (2.10) 
 
Governance Quality Interest Payment (% of Revenue) (3.3) Cognizable Crimes
(3.1) 
Fiscal Deficit (3.4) Revenue Receipts (3.5) 
Entry/Local Taxes (3.17) Computerization of Records (3.10) 
 
Human Resource Immunization (4.9) Dependency Ratio (4.5) 
Enrolment Ratio (Secondary Schools) (4.16) Enrollment Ratio (Primary
Schools) (4.15) 
Female Labor Participation (Rural) (4.20) Child Labour (4.25) 
Work Culture (4.30) 
 
Infrastructure Telephone lines (5.3) Rail route kms (5.1) 
Electricity Generation Capacity (5.5) Population Covered by Primary Health
Centres (5.14) 
Electricity Connected Villages (5.7) Forest Area (5.17) 
T& D Losses (5.8) 
 
 
Table 28: Strengths & Weaknesses: Jammu & Kashmir 
 
Economic Strength Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (1.6) Per Capita SDP
(1.3) 
Commercial Bank Offices (Nos) (1.11) 
 
Business Efficiency Industrial Labor Productivity Growth (2.3) Registered
Employment Growth (2.7) Industrial Labor Productivity (2.2) 
Profits in Manufacturing Industries (2.9) 
 
Governance Quality Revenue receipts (3.5) Plan Expenditure (3.6) 
Expenditure on S&T (3.7) Transport & Communication Spending (3.8) 
 
Human Resource Population Below Poverty Level (4.26) Literacy Rate (4.14) 
Average Calorie Intake (4.27) Female Literacy Rate (4.19) 
Average Protein Intake (4.28) Female Labor Participation (Urban) (4.21) 
 
Infrastructure Average Tariff on Electricity (5.6) Rail Route kms (5.1) 
T&D losses of Electricity (5.8) Road kms (5.2) 
Secondary Schools (Nos) (5.11) Population Covered by Primary Health
Centres (5.14) 
 
 
Table 29: Strengths & Weaknesses: Jharkhand 
 
Economic Strength Total Investment (1.7) SDP Growth (1.2) 
Per Capita SDP (1.3) 
Consumer Prices (1.5) 
 
Business Efficiency Capital Intensity (2.4) Industrial Labor Productivity
Growth (2.3) 
Profits of Manufacturing (2.9) Employment Growth (2.7) 
Problem Solving Attitude of Managers (2.11) 
 
Governance Quality Investor Friendliness (3.9) Interest Payment (% of
Revenue) (3.3) 
Governmentâs Reforms Outlook (3.13) Plan Expenditure (3.6) 
Entry/Local Taxes (3.17) 
 
Human Resource Industrial Workers (4.3) Literacy Rate (4.14) 
Labour Relations (4.29) Female Literacy Rate (4.19) 
 
Infrastructure Development & Maintenance of Infrastructure (5.20) Rail
route kms (5.1) 
 
 
Table 30: Strengths & Weaknesses: Karnataka 
Economic Strength Per Capita SDP Growth (1.3) Consumer Prices (1.5) 
FDI Inflow (1.8) Commercial Bank Offices (1.11) 
 
Business Efficiency Problem Solving Attitude of Managers (2.11) Industrial
Labor Productivity Growth (2.3) 
Competent Senior Managers (2.12) Labour Cost (2.6) 
New Industries (2.8) 
 
Governance Quality Interest Payment (3.3) Cognizable Crimes (3.1) 
Computerization of Records (3.10) Government Expenditure (% of SDP)
(3.2) 
Reform Outlook (3.13) 
 
Human Resource Medical Practitioners (4.10) Literacy Rate (4.14) 
Access to Sanitation (%) (4.13) Public Expenditure on Education (4.18) 
Labor Relations (4.29) Child Labor (4.25) 
 
Infrastructure Telephone Lines (5.3) Rail Route Kms (5.1) 
Cellular Subscribers (5.4) Primary Schools (Nos) (5.12) 
Degree Colleges (Nos) (5.10) Population Covered by Primary Health Centre
(5.14) 
Secondary Schools (Nos) (5.11) Infrastructure Expenditure (5.18) 
Technical Institutes (Nos) (5.16) Quality of Power (5.22) 
 
 
Table 31: Strengths & Weaknesses: Kerala 
 
Economic Strength Share of Service (1.4) Consumer Prices (1.5) 
Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (1.6) Total Investment (1.7) 
Commercial Bank Offices (1.11) FDI Inflow (1.8) 
 
 
Business Efficiency Employment Growth (2.7) Industrial Labour Productivity
(2.2) 
Small Scale Industries (2.10) Capital Intensity (2.4) 
Competent Senior Managers (2.12) Average Hours Worked (2.5) 
 
Governance Quality Expenditure on S&T (3.7) Cognizable Crimes (3.1) 
Corruption Level (3.14) Government Expenditure (% of SDP) (3.2) 
Transparency (3.16) 
 
Human Resource Birth Rate (4.1) Dependency Ratio (4.5) 
Child Mortality (4.8) Mandays Lost (4.23) 
Hospital Beds (4.11) Industrial Disputes (4.22) 
Literacy Rate (4.14) Unemployment Rate (4.24) 
Female Literacy Rate (4.19) 
 
 
Infrastructure Road kms (5.2) Electricity Connected Villages (5.7) 
Electricity Generation Capacity (5.5) Drinking Water (5.15) 
Cell Phone Subscribers (5.4) 
Average Electricity Tariff (5.6) 
 
 
Table 32: Strengths & Weaknesses: Maharashtra 
 
Economic Strength Total Investment (1.7) SDP Growth (1.2) 
FDI Inflow (1.8) Per capita SDP Growth (1.3) 
 
Business Efficiency Labour Cost (2.6) Industrial Labour Productivity Growth
(2.3) 
New Industries (Nos) (2.8) 
Profits in Manufacturing (2.9) 
Competent Senior Managers (2.12) 
 
Governance Quality Governmentâs Expenditure (% of SDP) (3.2) 
Per Capita Plan Expenditure (3.6) 
Transport & Communication (3.8) 
 
Human Resource Life Expectancy (Male) (4.6) Health Expenditure (4.12) 
Life Expectancy (Female) (4.7) Child Labor (4.25) 
Work Culture (4.30) 
Educational System (4.32) 
 
Infrastructure Electricity Generation Capacity (5.5) T&D Losses (5.8) 
Degree Colleges (Nos) (5.10) Primary Schools (Nos) (5.12) 
Forest Cover (5.17) 
 
 
 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Competitiveness Ranking of Indian States
DATE: 08/28/2006 08:46:25
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Table 9 Factor Competitiveness Ranking of Indian States - Business Efficiency 
Smaller States STD Values Rank 
Goa 0.864 1 
Delhi 0.833 2 
Jharkhand 0.672 3 
HP 0.458 4 
Arunachal 0.212 5 
Mizoram 0.108 6 
J&K 0.102 7 
Chattisgarh 0.031 8 
Uttaranchal -0.031 9 
Tripura -0.120 10 
Manipur -0.382 11 
Meghalaya -0.477 12 
Sikkim -0.629 13 
Nagaland -0.674 14 
- - - 
 
 
Vast variations were seen among the smaller states in the case of Governance
Quality too. Goa with a Standard Value of 1.254 came to the top followed by Sikkim
(1.023). Delhi at the third place achieved far lower a Standard Value, 0.431. At
the bottom of the list came Jammu & Kashmir (-0.193) (Fig. 10). 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 10 Factor Competitiveness Ranking of Indian States - Governance Quality 
Goa 1.254 1 
Sikkim 1.023 2 
Delhi 0.431 3 
HP 0.315 6 
Uttaranchal 0.099 9 
Nagaland 0.039 10 
Tripura -0.041 11 
Manipur -0.149 12 
J&K -0.193 14 
- - - 
 
 
Smaller states showed significant variations among themselves in regard to Human
Resources. Mizoram came to the top of the list with a Standard Value of 0.756
followed far below by Goa (0.369) and Himachal Pradesh (0.347) (Fig. 11). At the
bottom of the list came Jharkand (-0.492) and Chattisgarh (-0.688). 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 11 Factor Competitiveness Ranking of Indian States - Human Resources 
Goa 0.369 2 
Delhi 0.347 3 
HP 0.302 4 
Manipur 0.019 7 
Uttaranchal -0.148 9 
J&K -0.187 10 
Tripura -0.337 12 
Jharkhand -0.492 13 
Chattisgarh -0.688 14 
- - - 
 
 
Smaller states were characterized by significant variations as far as
Infrastructure was concerned. Goa with a Standard Value of 0.505 came to the top
followed by Jharkand (0.489). Nagaland (-0.402) and Tripura (-0.422) were at the
bottom of the list (Fig 12). 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 12 Factor Competitiveness Ranking of Indian States â€“ Infrastructure 
Goa 0.505 1 
HP 0.427 4 
Delhi 0.238 6 
Uttaranchal 0.195 7 
Meghalaya 0.101 8 
J&K -0.208 11 
Manipur -0.272 12 
Tripura -0.422 14 
- - - 
 
 
 
Table 13 Criterion wise Ranking of States - Economic Strength 
Bigger States 
States Percapita SDP 
(1.1) SDP Growth 
(1.2) Percapita SDP Growth 
(1.3) Share of Service 
(1.4) Consumer Price (Capital Cities) 
(1.5) Per capita Consumption Expenditure 
(1.6) 
AP 8 8 5 6 12 10 
Assam 12 13 12 10 NA 13 
Bihar 15 1 2 4 3 14 
Gujarat 4 14 14 9 2 6 
Haryana 3 4 4 14 14 3 
Karnataka 7 3 1 7 11 7 
Kerala 6 5 6 1 10 1 
MP 11 12 13 11 5 12 
Orissa 14 15 15 13 7 15 
Punjab 1 6 8 15 1 2 
Rajasthan 10 10 11 12 8 8 
Tamil Nadu 5 7 7 3 13 5 
UP 13 9 9 8 6 11 
WB 9 2 3 5 4 9 
Arunachal 6 14 13 11 NA 7 
Chattisgarh 13 10 12 12 NA NA 
Delhi 2 4 7 1 2 1 
Goa 1 3 3 5 NA 2 
HP 3 5 6 10 3 6 
J&K 11 6 9 8 1 5 
Jharkhand 14 9 10 13 NA NA 
Manipur 12 8 4 9 NA 9 
Meghalaya 10 11 8 4 4 8 
Mizoram 4 12 11 2 NA 4 
Nagaland 7 13 14 3 NA 3 
Sikkim 5 7 5 7 NA 11 
Tripura 9 2 1 6 NA 10 
Uttaranchal 8 1 2 NA NA NA 
Bigger States 
States Total Investment 
(1.7) FDI Inflow 
(1.8) Commercial Banks Deposit 
(1.9) Credit Disbursement by Commercial Banks 
(1.10) Commercial Bank Offices (1.11) 
AP 3 5 9 7 11 
Assam 14 15 15 14 12 
Bihar 15 14 13 15 7 
Gujarat 2 4 4 6 10 
Haryana 11 10 7 8 5 
Karnataka 7 3 6 4 8 
Kerala 13 13 3 5 1 
MP 9 6 11 10 15 
Maharashtra 1 1 1 1 9 
Orissa 12 8 14 12 13 
Punjab 6 12 2 3 2 
Rajasthan 10 11 12 11 14 
Tamil Nadu 5 2 5 2 4 
UP 4 9 10 13 6 
WB 8 7 8 9 3 
 
Arunachal 11 NA 8 12 11 
Chattisgarh 1 NA 10 6 NA 
Delhi 5 1 1 1 1 
Goa 4 3 2 2 2 
HP 3 2 3 5 4 
J&K 8 5 5 3 10 
Jharkhand 2 NA 6 7 NA 
Manipur 13 7 13 13 8 
Meghalaya 9 4 7 10 5 
Mizoram NA NA 12 11 9 
Nagaland 10 6 11 14 7 
Sikkim 12 NA 4 8 6 
Tripura 7 8 9 9 3 
Uttaranchal 6 NA NA 4 NA 
 
Table 14 Criterion wise Ranking of States - Business Efficiency 
Bigger States 
States Registered Factories (2.1) Industrial Labour Productivity (2.2)
Industrial Labour Productivity Growth 
(2.3) Capital Intensity (Mfg.) 
(2.4) Average Hours Worked 
(2.5) Labour Cost Per Worker (Mfg.) 
(2.6) 
AP 6 15 8 12 11 2 
Assam 12 12 5 13 1 1 
Bihar 15 7 9 9 5 15 
Gujarat 3 2 7 2 12 4 
Haryana 4 5 1 8 13 11 
Karnataka 8 8 14 7 10 13 
Kerala 7 13 6 15 15 12 
MP 5 3 4 5 6 9 
Orissa 14 6 15 1 2 8 
Punjab 2 10 2 14 7 3 
Rajasthan 9 9 10 4 4 5 
Tamil Nadu 1 11 13 10 9 6 
UP 11 4 3 3 14 10 
WB 10 14 11 11 8 7 
 
Arunachal NA NA NA NA 7 NA 
Chattisgarh 7 3 7 3 NA NA 
Delhi 2 5 5 9 4 7 
Goa 1 1 6 2 3 8 
HP 4 2 4 4 1 5 
J&K 9 11 1 8 6 3 
Jharkhand 8 4 8 1 NA NA 
Manipur 10 7 2 7 8 4 
Meghalaya 11 8 10 5 2 6 
Mizoram NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Nagaland 6 10 9 6 9 2 
Sikkim NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Tripura 5 9 NA 10 5 1 
Uttaranchal 3 6 3 11 NA NA 
 
 
 
Bigger States 
States Growth in Employment (Mfg.) 
(2.7) Number of New Industries/ Enterprises 
(2.8) Profits (Mfg.) 
(2.9) Number of Small Scale Industries (2.10) Problem Solving Attitude of
Managers (2.11) Competent Senior Managers (2.12) 
AP 2 4 11 13 12 3 
Assam 7 14 12 14 NA NA 
Bihar 15 12 14 8 1 6 
Gujarat 6 3 2 7 4 8 
Haryana 4 15 7 5 NA NA 
Karnataka 5 11 5 6 3 2 
Kerala 1 9 9 2 7 4 
MP 14 10 6 4 8 10 
Orissa 12 8 13 15 5 7 
Punjab 11 13 8 1 6 11 
Rajasthan 10 7 10 12 9 12 
Tamil Nadu 3 6 3 3 10 13 
UP 13 5 4 10 11 9 
WB 9 2 15 11 13 5 
Arunachal NA NA NA 5 NA NA 
Chattisgarh 5 NA 4 NA 5 5 
Delhi 6 1 2 1 1 1 
Goa 3 5 3 4 2 2 
HP 7 2 5 2 4 3 
J&K 4 NA 8 6 NA NA 
Jharkhand 8 NA 1 NA 3 4 
Manipur 11 3 10 7 NA NA 
Meghalaya 10 6 9 8 NA NA 
Mizoram NA 8 NA 3 NA NA 
Nagaland 9 7 11 9 NA NA 
Sikkim NA 9 NA 11 NA NA 
Tripura 1 4 6 10 NA NA 
Uttaranchal 2 NA 7 NA NA NA 
 
Table 15 Criterion wise Ranking of States â€“ Governance Quality 
Bigger States 
States Cognizable crimes 
(3.1) Govt. Expendi-ture 
(3.2) Interest payment 
(3.3) Fiscal Deficit 
(3.4) Revenue receipts 
(3.5) State annual plan expenditure (3.6) Expendi-ture on S&T (3.7)
Transport & Communication Spending 
(3.8) 
AP 7 11 8 4 8 1 8 8 
Assam 4 3 4 6 10 7 13 5 
Bihar 6 1 9 9 15 15 NA 14 
Gujarat 12 7 6 14 3 2 7 3 
Haryana 8 9 10 7 2 5 11 1 
Karnataka 10 12 1 2 7 3 9 6 
Kerala 14 10 7 8 6 9 2 4 
MP 9 4 3 1 9 4 12 7 
Maharashtra 15 15 5 5 4 14 3 15 
Orissa 5 2 13 13 12 11 1 12 
Punjab 1 8 11 11 1 8 4 2 
Rajasthan 13 6 12 12 11 13 10 13 
Tamil Nadu 11 13 2 3 5 10 6 9 
UP 3 5 14 10 14 6 5 11 
WB 2 14 15 15 13 12 14 10 
 
 
Arunachal 9 NA 12 13 4 2 NA 1 
Chattisgarh NA NA 3 12 NA 14 NA NA 
Delhi 11 9 2 4 11 9 1 6 
Goa 8 8 10 9 2 4 7 8 
HP 7 6 1 2 7 7 4 5 
J&K 6 4 4 7 6 11 2 12 
Jharkhand NA NA 8 6 NA 13 NA 7 
Manipur 4 3 9 3 9 10 3 11 
Meghalaya 2 7 14 11 10 6 9 4 
Mizoram 10 NA 13 8 3 3 NA 3 
Nagaland 1 2 5 10 5 5 5 9 
Sikkim 5 1 6 14 1 1 6 2 
Tripura 3 5 7 5 8 8 8 10 
Uttaranchal NA NA 11 1 NA 12 NA NA 
 
Table 15 (Contd.) 
Bigger States 
States Investor friendliness 
(3.9) Computeri 
sation of Records 
(3.10) . Interface with Business 
(3.11) Speed of Response 
(3.12) Reform outlook 
(3.13) Corruption Level 
(3.14) Government Procedures 
(3.15) Transpar-ency 
(3.16) Entry/local Taxes 
(3.17) Govt. Finances 
(3.18) 
AP 9 1 5 1 7 13 1 10 2 1 
Assam NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Bihar 10 5 10 7 8 4 2 1 5 3 
Gujarat 1 6 4 8 6 3 4 5 4 9 
Haryana NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Karnataka 2 2 3 3 2 1 5 6 7 5 
Kerala 3 4 2 4 1 2 3 2 8 6 
MP 11 7 12 12 13 10 11 12 11 4 
Maharashtra 8 10 6 9 12 12 9 13 12 11 
Orissa 12 12 11 11 9 6 6 7 10 13 
Punjab 6 11 9 6 5 9 12 4 6 7 
Rajasthan 13 13 13 13 10 11 13 8 3 10 
Tamil Nadu 7 3 8 10 3 7 8 9 1 2 
UP 5 9 7 5 11 8 7 3 13 8 
WB 4 8 1 2 4 5 10 11 9 12 
 
Arunachal NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Chattisgarh 4 3 2 2 3 5 4 4 3 3 
Delhi 2 2 3 3 2 3 2 2 5 2 
Goa 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 1 
HP 5 5 5 5 4 2 3 3 1 5 
J&K NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Jharkhand 3 4 4 4 3 4 5 5 2 4 
Manipur NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Meghalaya NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Mizoram NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Nagaland NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Sikkim NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Tripura NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 
Uttaranchal NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA 
 
 
Table 16 Criterion wise Ranking of States - Human Resources 
Bigger States 
States Birth rate 
(4.1) Death rate 
(4.2) Industrial Workers 
(4.3) Female labor 
(4.4) Dependency Ratio 
(4.5) Life Expectancy Male 
(4.6) Life Expectancy Female 
(4.7) Child Mortality 
(4.8) 
AP 5 9 5 1 4 8 8 7 
Assam 10 12 10 15 1 14 12 9 
Bihar 14 11 15 13 6 10 11 12 
Gujarat 9 4 2 7 3 9 9 10 
Haryana 11 5 3 10 15 4 6 8 
Karnataka 7 7 8 6 9 7 5 5 
Kerala 1 1 7 9 14 1 1 1 
MP 12 13 11 3 10 15 15 15 
Maharashtra 4 6 6 5 8 3 3 2 
Orissa 8 15 13 8 11 13 13 11 
Punjab 6 3 4 11 13 2 2 3 
Rajasthan 13 10 12 2 5 11 10 13 
Tamil Nadu 2 8 1 4 7 5 4 4 
UP 15 14 14 12 12 12 14 14 
WB 3 2 9 14 2 6 7 6 
 
Arunachal 10 6 NA 3 2 NA NA NA 
Chattisgarh 12 13 6 NA NA NA NA NA 
Delhi 7 1 2 11 1 NA NA 2 
Goa 1 10 1 9 8 NA NA 3 
HP 9 9 4 1 10 0 0 1 
J&K 5 7 8 6 NA NA NA 4 
Jharkhand 11 11 3 NA NA NA NA NA 
Manipur 4 4 10 7 7 NA NA NA 
Meghalaya 13 12 11 2 4 NA NA NA 
Mizoram 3 2 NA 4 5 NA NA NA 
Nagaland NA NA 9 5 6 NA NA NA 
Sikkim 8 5 NA 8 3 NA NA NA 
Tripura 2 3 7 10 9 NA NA NA 
Uttaranchal 6 8 5 NA NA NA NA NA 
 
 
 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: 2004 State Rankings - Chief Minister Performance
DATE: 08/28/2006 08:45:04
STATUS: publish
BODY:
State Rankings 
 
Based on the results, the states are shown in the ranking order for each of the 95
ranked criteria. Whether a high Standard Value reflects good or bad performance
depends on what the data is intended to measure and which competitiveness factor
it is in. Factor-wise rankings are then determined by calculating the average of
the Standard Values of all the ranked criteria, which make up each factor. This
average is found by dividing the sum of the Standard Values of the ranked criteria
by the number of ranked criteria. This enables us to “lock” the weight of the
factors independently of the number of criteria they contain so that each factor
has an equal impact on the overall ranking. Each criterion, whether from hard data
or from survey data, is weighted equally in determining the average Standard Value
in each factor. Wherever data is not available for a particular state, the missing
values are replaced by a Standard Value 0. 
 
Next, we arrive at the factor average Standard Values to determine the
Competitiveness Factor rankings. The Standard Values of the Competitiveness
Factors are then aggregated to determine the Overall Competitiveness Rankings. All
the ranked criteria in the five Competitiveness Factors are thus covered in the
Overall Competitiveness Rankings. Since all the values are standardized, they can
be aggregated to compute the indexes. We use these indexes to compute the rankings
for the five Competitiveness Factors and the Overall Competitiveness Scoreboard.
 
 
For purpose of presentation and comparison of the state rankings we grouped all
the states in to two categories based on the size in terms of population, i.e.,
the bigger states and the smaller states. Overall Competitiveness Rankings of the
states are given in table 1. State-wise Factor Competitiveness rankings are given
in tables 2 - 6. The states are ranked according to the detailed 95 criteria in
tables 7 - 11. 
 
Based on the rankings obtained by the states for each of the 95 criteria (Tables 7
- 11), we have identified the strengths and weaknesses for each state (Tables 12-
40). Strong criteria indicate that the state has considerable competitiveness
(high rank) vis-à-vis the rest of the states in terms of those criteria.
Similarly, weak criteria indicate that the state has low competitiveness (lower
rank) vis-à-vis other states.� It should be noted that this identification is not
based on any international norm or comparison. 
 
 
References 
 
World Competitiveness Yearbook (2004), Institute for Management Development (IMD),
Lausanne, Switzerland 
 
Global Competitiveness Report ( 2004), World Economic Forum (WEF), Geneva,
Switzerland 
 
A.T. Kearney (2004), FDI Confidence Index, Global Management Consulting Firm,
Chicago, US 
 
Goldman Sachs (2003), Dreaming with BRICs: The Path to 2050, by Dominic Wilson and
Roopa Purushotaman, Global Economics Paper No. 99 
 
National Productivity Council (1992a), Human Development in Indian States,
Productivity, Vol. 33, No.2, July-September 
 
National Productivity Council (1992b), Infrastructure Development in Indian
States, Productivity, Vol.33, No.3, October-December 
 
National Productivity Council (1994), Competitiveness Ranking of Indian States,
Productivity, Vol. 35, No.2, July-September 
 
Business Today (1995), Competitive Advantage of Indian States, June 7- 21 
 
Business Today (1997), Best States to Invest in, Dec 22, 1997 - Jan 6, 1998 
 
Business Today (B 1999), Best States to Invest in, Dec 22, 1999 - Jan 6, 2000 
 
National Council of Applied Economic Research (2000), Policy Competitiveness of
Indian States in Attracting Direct Investment 
 
Confederation of Indian Industries & Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary
Studies (2000) Performance of the Indian States 
 
India Today (2003), Small is Beautiful – India’s Best and Worst States: The State
of the States, May 19 
 
India Today (2004), North South Lead – India’s Best and Worst States: The State of
the States, August 16 
 
Ranking of states (graphical representation) 
 
There were wide variations in the Overall Competitiveness among the bigger Indian
states Maharashtra came to the top of the list with a Standard Value of 0.543.
Punjab with a Standard Value of 0.524 came the second followed by Gujarat (0.511).
Karnataka (0.478) and Kerala (0.452) came to the fourth and fifth positions
respectively. The Standard Values of UP (-0.106) and Assam (-0.238) at the bottom
of the list were found far lower. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 1 Overall Competitiveness Ranking of Indian States 
Bigger States�� STD Values�� Rank 
Maharashtra�� 0.543�� 1 
Punjab�� 0.524�� 2 
Gujarat�� 0.511�� 3 
Karnataka�� 0.478�� 4 
Kerala�� 0.452�� 5 
Tamil Nadu�� 0.440�� 6 
AP�� 0.233�� 7 
Haryana�� 0.090�� 8 
WB�� -0.023�� 9 
MP�� -0.066�� 10 
Orissa�� -0.091�� 11 
Rajasthan�� -0.091�� 12 
Bihar�� -0.100�� 13 
UP�� -0.106�� 14 
Assam�� -0.238�� 15 
 
� 
 
Wide variations were noted among bigger Indian states in the case of
Competitiveness Factor Economic Strength. Maharashtra on the top of the list
recorded a Standard Value as high as 0.750 (Fig 2). The next in the list, Tamil
Nadu, achieved a Standard Value significantly lower, 0.197, closely followed by
Karnataka (0.189). Assam (-0.623) and Orissa (-0.674) were at the bottom of the
list. 
 
� 
 
Table 2 Factor Competitiveness Ranking of Indian States - Economic Strength 
Tamil Nadu�� 0.197�� 2 
Gujarat�� 0.142�� 4 
Punjab�� 0.140�� 5 
Kerala�� 0.130�� 6 
WB�� 0.099�� 7 
AP�� 0.040�� 8 
Haryana�� -0.091�� 9 
UP�� -0.242�� 10 
Bihar�� -0.271�� 11 
Rajasthan�� -0.353�� 12 
MP�� -0.413�� 13 
Assam�� -0.623�� 14 
Orissa�� -0.674�� 15 
 
� 
 
Wide variations were found among the bigger Indian states in the case of
Competitiveness Factor Business Efficiency too. Maharashtra on the top of the list
recorded a Standard Value as high as 0.990 (Fig 3). The next best state, Gujarat,
achieved a Standard Value significantly lower, 0.779. The third in the list,
Punjab had a score only of 0.402. West Bengal and Bihar at the bottom of the table
were found with very low Standard Values, -0.254 and -0.401 respectively. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 3 Factor Competitiveness Ranking of Indian States - Business Efficiency 
Gujarat�� 0.779�� 2 
Punjab�� 0.402�� 3 
Tamil Nadu�� 0.198�� 5 
MP�� 0.151�� 6 
Haryana�� 0.112�� 7 
AP�� 0.092�� 8 
Orissa�� 0.039�� 9 
UP�� -0.003�� 10 
Rajasthan�� -0.014�� 11 
Kerala�� -0.016�� 12 
Assam�� -0.138�� 13 
WB�� -0.254�� 14 
Bihar�� -0.401�� 15 
 
� 
Karnataka with a Standard Value of 1.194 came on the top of bigger Indian states
in the case of Governance Quality closely followed by Kerala (1.074) and AP
(1.003) (Fig. 4). Standard Values of the lowest in the list viz. Maharashtra and
Rajastan were found far lower, 0.027 and -0.310 respectively. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 4 Factor Competitiveness Ranking of Indian States - Governance Quality 
 
Kerala�� 1.074�� 2 
AP�� 1.003�� 3 
Gujarat�� 0.939�� 4 
Tamil Nadu�� 0.776�� 5 
Punjab�� 0.733�� 6 
Bihar�� 0.710�� 7 
Haryana�� 0.691�� 8 
UP�� 0.317�� 9 
Assam�� 0.199�� 10 
WB�� 0.177�� 11 
Orissa�� 0.160�� 12 
MP�� 0.065�� 13 
Rajasthan�� -0.310�� 15 
 
� 
 
�Significantly wide variations were observed among the bigger states in the case
of Human Resources. The list was headed by the highest literacy state in the
country, Kerala with a Standard Value of 0.640 followed by Maharashtra (0.623) and
Punjab (0.592).� At the bottom of the list were Bihar (-0. 362) and UP (-0.465)
(Fig. 5). 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 5 Factor Competitiveness Ranking of Indian States - Human Resources 
Kerala�� 0.640�� 1 
Punjab�� 0.592�� 3 
Tamil Nadu�� 0.560�� 4 
Gujarat�� 0.408�� 6 
Rajasthan�� 0.085�� 7 
Haryana�� 0.049�� 8 
AP�� 0.038�� 9 
WB�� -0.212�� 10 
MP�� -0.285�� 11 
Orissa�� -0.285�� 12 
Assam�� -0.296�� 13 
Bihar�� -0.362�� 14 
UP�� -0.465�� 15 
 
 
Inter-state variations among bigger states in regard to Infrastructure were found
to be very high. Punjab (0.751) headed the list followed by Tamil Nadu (0.469) and
Kerala (0.435). Haryana (-0.309) and Assam (-0.330) were at the bottom of the list
(Fig. 6). 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 6 Factor Competitiveness Ranking of Indian States – Infrastructure 
Punjab�� 0.751�� 1 
Tamil Nadu�� 0.469�� 2 
Kerala�� 0.435�� 3 
Orissa�� 0.306�� 5 
Gujarat�� 0.285�� 6 
MP�� 0.151�� 8 
Rajasthan�� 0.136�� 9 
WB�� 0.074�� 10 
AP�� -0.007�� 11 
UP�� -0.139�� 12 
Bihar�� -0.178�� 13 
Haryana�� -0.309�� 14 
Assam�� -0.330�� 15 
 
� 
As in the case of bigger states significant inter-state variations were observed
among the smaller states in regard to Overall Competitiveness. Goa with a Standard
Value of 0.776 came to the top followed very closely by Delhi (0.775). Himachal
Pradesh (0.291) and Mizoram (0.172) at the third and fourth places respectively
achieved significantly lower Standard Values. Nagaland at the bottom of the list
recorded a Standard Value of -0.332 (Fig.7). 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 7 Overall Competitiveness Ranking of Indian States 
Smaller States�� STD Values�� Rank 
Goa�� 0.776�� 1 
Delhi�� 0.775�� 2 
HP�� 0.291�� 3 
Mizoram�� 0.172�� 4 
Uttaranchal�� 0.144�� 5 
Jharkhand�� 0.110�� 6 
Arunachal�� 0.079�� 7 
Sikkim�� 0.064�� 8 
Chattisgarh�� -0.011�� 9 
J&K�� -0.109�� 10 
Tripura�� -0.166�� 11 
Manipur�� -0.211�� 12 
Meghalaya�� -0.220�� 13 
Nagaland�� -0.332�� 14 
-�� -�� - 
 
 
Vast variations were seen among the smaller states in the case of Economic
Strength. First in the list, Delhi with a Standard Value of 2.028 was far ahead of
Goa (0.888) in the second and Uttaranchal (0.606) in the third. At the bottom of
the list was Jharkhand with a Standard Value� –0.504 followed by Arunachal
(-0.744) (Fig. 8). 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 8 Factor Competitiveness Ranking of Indian States - Economic Strength 
Smaller States�� STD Values�� Rank 
Delhi�� 2.028�� 1 
Goa�� 0.888�� 2 
Uttaranchal�� 0.606�� 3 
Tripura�� 0.091�� 4 
HP�� -0.048�� 5 
J&K�� -0.057�� 6 
Chattisgarh�� -0.124�� 7 
Mizoram�� -0.133�� 8 
Sikkim�� -0.199�� 9 
Manipur�� -0.271�� 10 
Nagaland�� -0.377�� 11 
Meghalaya�� -0.416�� 12 
Jharkhand�� -0.504�� 13 
Arunachal�� -0.744�� 14 
-�� -�� - 
 
 
 
Vast variations were observed among the smaller states in regard to Business
Efficiency as well. Goa with a Standard Value of 0.864 came to the top of the list
followed closely by Delhi (0.833). Sikkim (-0.629) and Nagaland (-0.673) remained
at the bottom of the list (Fig. 9) 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Indian State Competitiveness Studies - 2004 Analysis
DATE: 08/28/2006 08:44:10
STATUS: publish
BODY:
State Competitiveness Studies 
 
Experimental studies on competitiveness of Indian states have been pioneered by
National Productivity Council (NPC) as early as in 1992 when fifteen major Indian
states were ranked by it based on their performance in Human Development (HDI)
(Productivity 1992 a). The four variables considered while ranking the states were
life expectancy, literacy rate, per capita state domestic product (SDP) and
population below poverty line. The study ranked Punjab at the top in terms of HDI
followed by Kerala and Haryana. NPC followed this study with yet another study on
the competitiveness of Indian States based on Infrastructure Development Index
(IDI) (Productivity 1992 b).� In this study also NPC considered the same list of
fifteen major states for ranking purposes. Six variables related to infrastructure
were taken in to account viz. road length, navigable waterways, railway route
length, tele-density, electricity consumption and number of commercial bank
branches. Based IDI Punjab was ranked at number one followed by Gujarat and
Haryana. Bihar ranked last in both the studies. 
 
In its third study (National Productivity Council 1994) a state level
Competitiveness Index was developed by the NPC covering a total of eleven
variables including all those already considered in the HDI and IDI studies. The
additional factors covered by the Competitiveness Index were the man days lost,
political stability and state government taxes. Here again the UNDP’s methodology
had been followed in order to construct the Competitiveness Index for ranking the
states. Punjab emerged as the most competitive Indian state followed by Kerala and
Haryana. As in the case of earlier studies Bihar emerged as the lowest in terms of
competitiveness. � 
 
In 1995, Business Today (BT), June 7- 21, carried out a survey on competitive
advantage of Indian states. The main objective of the BT survey was three-fold
viz. (i) identify, in order of importance, the parameters used by the corporate
locating their projects (ii) rate the states on each of these parameters and (iii)
combine the ratings into a composite rank for each state. In 1997, the BT (Dec 22,
1997 -Jan 6, 1998) conducted a second survey on best states to invest in. Besides
relying purely on perceptions, an objective index was also constructed, which was
used to rank 26 Indian states. The objective index was arrived at based on 28
parameters belonging to four broad categories viz. physical infrastructure (18
parameters), government (3 parameters), labour (4 parameters) and social
infrastructure (3 parameters). A state was thus evaluated on two dimensions viz.
objective score, which comprised 28 parameters and a survey or perception score
consisting of 19 parameters. To obtain a summary statistic for the state these two
scores were averaged. BT’s third study in the series published in 1999 (December
22, 1999 to January 6, 2000) introduced a marketing index besides the objective
and the perception (survey) indices. The weights assigned to various factors while
computing the objective rank of the states are as follows: physical infrastructure
– 40%, quality of governance – 30%, financial infrastructure, labour and social
infrastructure 10% each. The overall rank of a state was arrived at by averaging
the scores in three different factors (objective, perception and marketing) with
the objective score receiving 40% weight. The subjective score also received 40%
weight while the marketing score was given a 20% weight. Maharashtra topped the
list followed by Gujarat, Delhi, Tamil Nadu etc. 
 
National Council of Applied Economic Research ( 2000) undertook a study to find
out the policy competitiveness of Indian states in attracting direct investment
and the effects of this competition on economic development. The study found
infrastructure as the most critical variable influencing the investors’ decisions
as compared to incentives offered by the state governments. 
 
In 2000 Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) commissioned the Rajiv Gandhi
Institute for Contemporary Studies (RGICS) to carry out a detailed study on the
performance of the Indian states. The study was based on a detailed analysis of
the physical, legal and capital market infrastructure as well as the level of
human resource development in each state. Other factors included by the study are:
economic and financial performance of the state, investment climate, labor force,
law & order and consumer demographics. Based on the state’s performance in terms
of these criteria, an overall ranking was worked out using Principal Components
Analysis. The study covered 18 states of India. Delhi was rated the best
performing state, followed by Goa (2nd rank), Kerala (3rd rank), Punjab (4th rank)
and Maharashtra (5th rank). Bihar was once again at the bottom of the list. 
 
In 2003 India Today (May 19) carried out a study to rank 19 Indian states
according to what it called ‘to live and work in’. The study noted that small
states enjoyed inherent advantages over their big brother counterparts. Goa was
found as the number one Indian state with Delhi and Punjab in second and third
positions respectively.� Bigger states like Madhya Pradesh and UP received lower
ranks of 17 and 15 respectively. 
 
In their recent study on the state competitiveness by the India Today 2004 (August
16), 35 Indian States and Union Territories have been considered in three
different categories such as Big States (20), Small States (10) and Union
Territories (5). The bigger states are identified as the ones having more than
35000 sq.kms and with a population of over five million.� Among the bigger states
Punjab was ranked first, while Kerala got second rank and Himachal Pradesh got
third rank while Bihar was ranked the last. Among the smaller states category
Pondicherry was ranked first followed by Delhi while Meghalaya got the last rank.
Among the Union Territories, Chandigarh was ranked first and Dadar & N.Haveli got
the last rank. One major finding of the study is that the smaller states are
relatively more competitive as compared to their bigger counter parts. This study
considered 49 measures across eight broad macro economic performance parameters.
Principal Components Analysis was used to generate weights for each of the
measure. 
 
 
Competitiveness Measurement 
 
Innumerably a large number of micro and macro level aspects govern the
competitiveness dynamics of anyone economy. It was found almost impossible to
track all of them in a single study especially because of the non-availability of
reliable indicators in the case of a developing country like India with inadequate
data infrastructure. More so at the disaggregated levels of the states. The
present study by the NPC identified about 95 socio-economic and technological
criteria through extensive research of economic literature and feedback from the
business community, government agencies and academia. The 95 criteria were grouped
under the following five competitiveness factors: 
 
1. Economic Strength�� 11 Criteria�� Macro-economic evaluation of the state
economy: 
Economy, Investment & Prices 
2. Business Efficiency�� 12 Criteria�� Extent to which enterprises are
performing in an innovative, profitable and responsible manner: 
Productivity, Labor costs, management practices and entrepreneurial resources 
3. Governance�� Quality�� 18 Criteria�� Extent to which government policies are
conducive to competitiveness: 
Fiscal Policy and health, transparency and outlook of the government towards
business 
4. Human Resources�� 32 Criteria�� Extent to which human resources meet the
needs of business: 
Quality of manpower, employment scenario and work culture 
5. Infrastructure�� 22 Criteria�� Extent to which basic infrastructure meets the
needs of business: 
Basic infrastructure – Physical and Social 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The study focuses on the impact of interaction by these five factors on the
state’s local environment. The methodology assumes that healthy performance in
these dimensions creates the environment that sustains the state’s
competitiveness. 
�� 
The study arrives at the Overall Competitiveness Index of the 29 Indian states
based on the respective computed values by taking into account the identified
socio-economic and technological criteria. For presentation of the ranks the
states are grouped in to two broad categories based on the size of their
population: bigger states and smaller states.� In the construction of the
competitiveness indices, two types of data are combined. First are the
quantitative indicators related to the state’s economy, performance and policies
of the state government, efficiency of the business units operating within the
state’s borders, characteristic features of the state’s human resources and
finally its state of the infrastructure. Referred to as hard data, these are
obtained from various published sources at national and local levels. Out of the
list of 95 identified criteria (Appendix 1) 75 are based on hard data sources
(Appendix 2) to determine the overall ranking. These 75 criteria represent a
weight of approximately eighty percent in the overall rankings. 
 
Second, the survey data comes from an opinion survey specifically undertaken for
purposes of the present study across all the states in India. The survey was
conducted with a view to quantify aspects related to competitiveness for which
there is no statistics, or statistics available with significant time lags. A
survey schedule that incorporated 20 such aspects relating to competitiveness
(Appendix 3) was mailed to about 3000 top and middle level executives from all the
sectors, opinion leaders and policy makers in the country. The respondents were
solicited to evaluate the prevailing and expected competitiveness conditions in
the state in which they resided or operated during the year preceding the survey.
The respondents’ assessment of the competitiveness issues was sought on a 6 point
scale with response 1 indicating a positive, highest perception and 6 indicating
the negative, lowest perception.� Based on the responses the average value for
each state was calculated.� The data is then converted from a 1-6 scale to a 1-10
scale. Finally, the survey responses are transformed into their Standard Values,
from which the rankings are calculated. In all 172 respondents participated in the
opinion survey. Results reflected prevailing views about the conditions in each
state and draw on the wealth of the respondents’ experience. The survey data help
quantify aspects that otherwise would not have been measurable, but are
nonetheless crucial to a state’s competitiveness. Each survey question is treated
as separate criterion and used to calculate the rankings. In the overall rankings
the survey data represent a weight of one-fifth. 
 
With a view to avoid serious volatility in the case of hard data due to seasonal
and cyclical factors we have used the averages of the previous five years values
wherever available.� In most of the cases, a higher value is found better. For
example, for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) the state with the highest Standard
Values is ranked first while the one with the lowest the last. However, in some
cases, the lowest value is the most competitive, e.g. Consumer Price Inflation or
number of Cognizable Offences. In such cases a reverse ranking is used, the state
with the highest Standard Values receiving the last rank and the one with the
lowest Standard Values receiving the first. 
 
Standard Value 
 
As the criteria are scaled differently, a comparable standard scale is used to
compute the overall factor results. The relative performance of each state in the
final rankings is measured through the Standard Deviation Method (SDM). First, for
each criterion, we compute the average value for all the states. Then the standard
deviation is calculated using the following formula: 
�� 
�� S�� =�� (x - x) 
�� N 
 
Finally, we compute each of the 29 states Standard Values (STD) for the 95 ranked
criteria by subtracting the average value of each criterion from the state’s
original value and then dividing the result by the standard deviation. 
�� 
�� Standard Value =�� x - x 
�� S 
 
Where: 
x�� = original value 
_ 
x� = average value of for all the states 
N = number of states 
S = Standard Deviation 
 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Indian States Performance Analysis - 2004 : Economic Survey
DATE: 08/28/2006 08:43:18
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Economic Services Group 
National Productivity Council 
Lodi Road New Delhi 
 
 
Preface 
 
Despite globalization and liberalization, several recent studies underlined the
key role by the states in shaping the environment in which enterprises from both
public and private sectors operate. A significant part of the competitive
advantage of states is believed to arise from far reaching incentive polices which
are designed to attract foreign investment like tax breaks, subsidies etc. This
study examined the dynamics of state level competitiveness and ranked all the
Indian states based on both hard and soft data variables. Though the states are
quite diverse in terms of area, population or resources, they are operating under
more or less the same policy environment and hence are endowed with almost equal
opportunity to grow and prosper. In this study the ranking of the states has been
made based on a vast list of quantitative and qualitative parameters using a well-
established methodology developed by Institute for Management Development (IMD)
(Switzerland) for the World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) for the preparation of
which NPC serves as a the Partner Institute from India. 
 
National Productivity Council (NPC) has pioneered experimental studies on
competitiveness of Indian states as early as in 1992 when fifteen major Indian
states were ranked by it based on their performance in Human Development. NPC
followed this study with yet another study on the competitiveness of Indian States
based on Infrastructure Development Index. In its third study, for the first time
in India, a state level Competitiveness Index was developed by the NPC covering a
total of eleven variables. Later on Business Today, CII, NCAER and India Today
examined in some detail issues related to competitiveness of Indian states. Sub-
national level competitiveness is a complex phenomenon, the dynamics of which is
governed by innumerably a large number of socio-economic, technological and
political aspects. It was found almost impossible to track all of them in a single
study especially because of the non-availability of reliable indicators in the
case of a developing country like India with inadequate data infrastructure. The
present study by NPC identified about 95 socio-economic and technological criteria
through extensive research and feedback from the business community, government
agencies and academia. 
 
This study is an addition to the growing literature on the subject. Though the
report ranked the Bigger and Smaller Indian States based on their achievements in
the identified competitiveness factors, the effort has been to identify the
strengths and weaknesses of each state in order to enable policy formulation
towards performance improvement. 
 
We place on record our thanks to former Director General Shri. Brijesh Kumar IAS
who was instrumental in initiating this study by NPC and to Smt. Sunila Basant IAS
DG NPC under whose able guidance major portion of the work was completed and
brought to the present form. 
 
New Delhi Dr. N.K.Nair 
27th December 2004 Group Head 
Economic Services (ES) 
 
 
RESEARCH TEAM 
Team Leader 
Dr. N.K.Nair - Group Head (ES) 
 
Research Co-ordinator 
Dr. K.P.Sunny - Dy.Director 
 
Team Members 
V.Anilkumar - Dy Director 
Utpal Chattopadhyay â€“ Dy.Director 
D.Jagannath Rao - Asst. Director 
Rajesh Sund - Asst. Director 
Arundhati Chattopadhyay- Asst.Director 
 
 
CONTENTS 
 
PAGE NO. 
India in the World Competitiveness Landscape 1 
Competitiveness: Role of the States 2 
Competitiveness: The Concept 5 
State Competitiveness Studies 7 
Competitiveness Measurement 9 
Standard Value 12 
State Rankings 12 
Ranking Highlights: Bigger States 13 
Ranking Highlights: Smaller States 14 
References 16 
Figures 17-22 
Tables 23-68 
Appendices 
 
 
 
 
List of Figures 
 
Figure Title Page No. 
Figure 1 Standard Values - Overall Competitiveness, Bigger States 17 
Figure 2 Standard Values - Economic Strength: Bigger States 17 
Figure 3 Standard Values - Business Efficiency, Bigger States 18 
Figure 4 Standard Values - Governance Quality, Bigger States 18 
Figure 5 Standard Values - Human Resources : Bigger States 19 
Figure 6 Standard Values â€“ Infrastructure, Bigger States 19 
Figure 7 Standard Values - Overall Competitiveness Smaller States 20 
Figure 8 Standard Values - Economic Strength, Smaller States 20 
Figure 9 Standard Values - Business Efficiency, Smaller States 21 
Figure 10 Standard Values - Governance Quality Smaller States 21 
Figure 11 Standard Values - Human Resources, Smaller States 22 
Figure 12 Standard Values â€“ Infrastructure, Smaller States 22 
 
 
 
List of Tables 
 
Table No. Title Page No. 
Table 1 Overall Competitiveness Ranking of Indian States 23 
Table 2 Factor Competitiveness Ranking of Indian States-Economic Strength
23 
Table 3 Factor Competitiveness Ranking of Indian States- Business Efficiency
24 
Table 4 Factor Competitiveness Ranking of Indian States-Governance Quality
24 
Table 5 Factor Competitiveness Ranking of Indian States-Human Resources
25 
Table 6 Factor Competitiveness Ranking of Indian States â€“ Infrastructure
25 
Table 7 Criterion wise Ranking of States - Economic Strength 26 
Table 8 Criterion wise Ranking of States - Business Efficiency 28 
Table 9 Criterion wise Ranking of States â€“ Governance Quality 30 
Table 10 Criterion wise Ranking of States - Human Resources 32 
Table 11 Criterion wise Ranking of States -Infrastructure 36 
Table 12 Strengths & Weaknesses: Andhra Pradesh 40 
Table 13 Strengths & Weaknesses: Arunachal Pradesh 41 
Table 14 Strengths & Weaknesses: Assam 42 
Table 15 Strengths & Weaknesses: Bihar 43 
Table 16 Strengths & Weaknesses: Chattisgarh 44 
Table 17 Strengths & Weaknesses: Delhi 45 
Table 18 Strengths & Weaknesses: Goa 46 
Table 19 Strengths & Weaknesses:Gujarat 47 
Table 20 Strengths & Weaknesses: Haryana 48 
Table 21 Strengths & Weaknesses: Himachal Pradesh 49 
Table 22 Strengths & Weaknesses: Jammu & Kashmir 50 
Table 23 Strengths & Weaknesses: Jharkhand 51 
Table 24 Strengths & Weaknesses: Karnataka 52 
Table 25 Strengths & Weaknesses: Kerala 53 
Table 26 Strengths & Weaknesses: Maharashtra 54 
Table 27 Strengths & Weaknesses: Manipur 55 
Table 28 Strengths & Weaknesses: Meghalaya 56 
Table 29 Strengths & Weaknesses: Mizoram 57 
Table 30 Strengths & Weaknesses: Madhya Pradesh 58 
Table 31 Strengths & Weaknesses: Nagaland 59 
Table 32 Strengths & Weaknesses: Orissa 60 
Table 33 Strengths & Weaknesses: Punjab 61 
Table 34 Strengths & Weaknesses: Rajasthan 62 
Table 35 Strengths & Weaknesses: Sikkim 63 
Table 36 Strengths & Weaknesses: Tamil Nadu 64 
Table 37 Strengths & Weaknesses: Tripura 65 
Table 38 Strengths & Weaknesses: Uttar Pradesh 66 
Table 39 Strengths & Weaknesses: Uttaranchal 67 
Table 40 Strengths & Weaknesses: West Bengal 68 
 
 
 
 
 
Competitiveness of Indian States 2004 
 
India in the World Competitiveness Landscape 
 
At the turn of the new century, Indian economy was 10 years into economic reforms
during which the traditional â€œcommand and controlâ€ management of the economy
and the â€œcommanding heightsâ€ of the public sector were slowly and steadily
replaced by market oriented and business friendly economic structures and
policies. In the process Indian economy became progressively synchronized with the
global market. To its credit India successfully stood the contagion effects of
South Asian meltdown of the late 1990s and also the currency crisis that hit many
nations later. However, the global economic slowdown reached the Indian shores in
2001. 
 
The recently released World Competitiveness Yearbook 2004 (WCY) by the
International Institute for Management Development (IMD) ranked India 34th among a
list of 60 major countries and regions in the world it considered. This is 16
notches up from the 50th rank India achieved in the previous year. As succinctly
summarised by WCY (2004) â€œIndia has taken off with a GDP growth of 8.1%. ------
India thrives on qualified engineers, scientists, low wages, and especially an
English-speaking work force. ---- the country is becoming a hot spot for the
â€œoff shoringâ€ of administrative and back office operations. But India is also
developing its competitiveness in software operations, manufacturing,
entertainment and financial services. It is estimated that 2 million jobs in
financial services will be relocated from industrialized nations to India up to
2008. The main challenge for India will be to maintain a steady and predictable
competitive strategy, avoiding the wide fluctuations of the past. If it succeeds,
it will emerge as one of the most attractive investment places on the
competitiveness landscapeâ€. 
 
Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) 2004 of the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked
India in the 55th position among a larger list of 104 world economies in terms of
the Growth Competitiveness Index. This is one step higher than the ranking the
country received in the 2003 rankings. India received significantly higher
rankings in regard to what GCR termed the Business Confidence Index, 30 from
amongst 104 economies. This is up 8 ranks from what India received in the previous
year and shows â€œthe benefits of increased company sophistication and
strengthened clustersâ€. 
 
Compared to other large emerging markets, China and India are cited by A T
Kearneyâ€™s (2004) FDI Confidence Index as the most attractive FDI destinations in
the next three years and well into the future, beating markets like Brazil, Mexico
and Poland. While China led for manufacturing and assembly, India led for IT,
business processing and R&D investments. Investors found India's highly educated
workforce, management talent, rule of law, transparency, cultural affinity, and
regulatory environment as more favorable than what China presents. For the first
time in the history of the Index, India displaced the U.S. to become the second
most attractive FDI location among manufacturing investors. India's strong
performance among manufacturing and telecom & utility firms was driven largely by
their desire to make productivity-enhancing investments in IT, business process
outsourcing, research and development, and knowledge management activities. The
recent Goldman Sachs (2003) study came out with forecast estimations, which showed
that by 2050 India would overtake most of the leading world economies in terms of
economic growth and would emerge as the third largest economy in the world behind
China and US. 
 
Indiaâ€™s Competitiveness: Role of the States 
 
The story of India's economic development is being scripted in the state capitals
across the country. The failure of one state will undermine the success of the
others as it pulls down the countryâ€™s average. While there will always be high
and low performing states in India, the country as an integrated whole cannot
shine unless the growing gap between the standard of living of the people in
different parts is halted. Hence, it becomes pertinent to study the performance of
the states in terms of their relative position within the countryâ€™s
competitiveness landscape. More so because the limiting edge of economic reforms
is progressively felt at the level of the states, especially since all factor
markets are either in the state list or in the concurrent list of the Constitution
and different states have reacted differently to economic reforms. 
 
The competitiveness performance at sub-national level is predominantly dictated by
the quality of governance. The small northern hill state of Himachal Pradesh
revolutionized its education and rural infrastructure in the 90s. The state's
literacy rate rose 14 percentage points in a matter of a single decade, from 63
percent in 1991 to 77 percent in 2001. Most of the villages in the state are
electrified and about 80 percent of them have access to safe drinking water. The
proportion of people living below the poverty line fell dramatically from 29
percent in 1993-94 to less than 8 percent in 2001. Rajasthan's big strides in
education and agriculture and Madhya Pradesh's fast progress in primary healthcare
are instances of governance that improved the quality of life in those states. In
contrast is the case of the most populous state in the country viz. Uttar Pradesh,
the per capita income of which, despite being a low at about Rs. 5000 per annum in
the early 90s, grew at a snails pace to reach less than Rs. 6000 by the close of
the century. In Bihar, which spends only Rs. 60 a year on the healthcare of a
person living in the state, 67 percent of the households had access to safe
drinking water in 1991. By 2001, only 53 percent of the households enjoyed this
amenity. By the beginning of the new millennium an average person in the state was
at least four times poorer than his counterpart in Punjab, whose per capita income
growth too tottered at less than 2.5 percent a year in the 90s. 
 
India has states like Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka, which have grown as fast
as Asia's tiger economies during the past 10 years. It also has Bihar, with a
population size of Germany's and a living standard at par with Burundi's. The
divisions among the states are widening because in the 1990s the guiding principle
for resource sharing has shifted from entitlement to competition. Competition
among the states is likely to increase regional disparities in future. In 1991,
Bihar's per capita income was 4 times lower than Goaâ€™s. By 2002, the difference
had grown more than 8 times. This however does not imply that inter-state
disparities in performance are wholly a post-economic reform phenomenon. 
 
Why do liberalization and competition increase inequality? Because competition
gives participants a chance to perform to their potential, even as it allows non-
performers to drift. Private investment has shied away from the poorly governed
states and has flowed almost entirely to better-managed richer states. Not all
mechanisms of transferring funds from the rich (often also the better performing)
to the poor (often also the non-performing) have been given up. 
 
The Planning Commission and the Finance Commission still redistribute resources
from the rich to the poor even now. Such redistribution has, however, shrunk a bit
and private investment is free to go where it wants to. 
 
While inequalities magnified, inter-state competition seemed to have been
intensified in the nineties. Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka had been successfully
hot selling themselves as alternatives and even better investment destinations
than the established investment centres such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Tamil
Nadu. To a lesser extent, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and lately
Chattisgarh have been competing for increased shares in the investment pie with
varying degree of success. 
 
Following economic reforms the states are now empowered with increased autonomy in
many key areas such as infrastructure. Slowly but surely there is increasing
realization among the states that they can shape their own destiny. This prompted
the governments at the sub-national level to initiate measures to attract more
financial resources into the states including foreign direct investments (FDIs).
During the nineties some of the states emerged as the most happening places in
India. Thus competition is a double-edged weapon. It can increase or decrease the
inequalities in economic growth. Not all poor states are necessarily non-
performers and competition allows the laggards the chance to catch up with the
rich and thus bridge the inequality gap. 
 
Several recent studies underlined the key role by the states in shaping the
environment in which enterprises from both public and private sectors operate,
despite globalization and liberalization. A significant part of the competitive
advantage of states is believed to arise from far reaching incentive polices which
are designed to attract foreign investment like tax breaks, subsidies etc. 
 
In the ongoing war in the market place economies should not, and indeed they did
not, rely solely on products and services. They also competed with brains. The
ability of a state to develop an excellent education system and to improve the
knowledge of the labour force through training is vital to competitiveness. In
addition to being competitive (temporarily) because of cheap labour, they aim to
develop their competitiveness level so that it is based (permanently) on an
educated workforce. Knowledge is perhaps the most crucial of the competitiveness
criteria. As states move up the economic scale, the more they thrive on knowledge
of the workforce higher will be their ability to compete in the fiercely competed
world markets. How that knowledge is acquired and managed is almost entirely the
stateâ€™s responsibility. 
 
From the mid-1990s there has been coalition governments at the Centre with
regional political outfits partnering the political power. This rendered the
states to have larger say in the decisions of the Centre than was the case
earlier. In an era of coalition governments, state Chief Ministers, at least some
of them, became politically more powerful than they were before. With changes in
the political scenario role of the states thus took a new dimension. 
 
In this study National Productivity Council examined the dynamics of state level
competitiveness and ranks all the Indian sates based on both hard and soft data
variables. Even though the sates are quite diverse in terms of either area,
population or resources they are operating under more or less the same policy
environment and hence were endowed with almost equal opportunity to grow and
prosper. In this study the ranking of the states has been made against a select
list of quantitative and qualitative parameters using a well-established
methodology developed by International Institute for Management Development (IMD)
(Switzerland) for the World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) for the preparation of
which NPC serves as a the Partner Institute from India. 
 
 
Competitiveness: The Concept 
 
The word competitiveness ordinarily means â€˜ability to competeâ€™. In economic
terms it could be expressed at different levels such as the nation, industry and
the company. In conventional economic theory a nationsâ€™ growth prospects are
governed by the principle of comparative advantage, derived from the factor
endowments. The notion of national competitive advantage differs from the
conventional comparative advantage in that, where as the latter is nature dictated
and therefore unalterable, the former is policy driven, flexible and hence
accommodates choices. 
 
Competitiveness is one of the most powerful concepts in modern economic thinking
and encompasses the economic consequences of non-economic aspects such as
education, science, political stability or even culture and value systems. The
present study looks at the relationship between the macro environment and wealth
creation process by enterprises and individuals. In a market economy, individual
firms and industries play the critical role in building and sustaining national
competitiveness. A nationâ€™s competitiveness depends on the capacity of its
organizations to innovate and upgrade. At micro levels, competitiveness is defined
as the capacity to grow through market success or share, and improved profits
based on its perceived superiority over the competitors, which depend on the
macroeconomic environment in which firms operate and compete with each other. 
 
World Economic Forum (WEF), which has been ranking the leading world nations on a
number of competitiveness criteria, defines Growth Competitiveness Index (GCI) as
â€œthe ability of a country to achieve sustained high rates of growth in GDP per
capitaâ€ (GCR 2003). The Business Confidence Index (BCI), on the other hand,
evaluates the underlying microeconomic conditions that define the current
sustainable level of productivity in each country. The two specific areas
evaluated by the BCI are â€œthe sophistication of the what the GCR called the
operating practices and strategies of companies and the quality of the
microeconomic business environment in which a nations companies competeâ€. In
their World Competitiveness Yearbook the Institute For Management Development
(IMD) defines competitiveness as â€œthe ability of a nation to create and maintain
an environment that sustains more value creation for its enterprises and more
prosperity for its peopleâ€. 
 
While competitiveness of the nations is well understood now, the same is still
fuzzy at the sub-national level. This is because competition among the states,
which are part of the same nation, is limited in nature and magnitude, when
compared to competition across the countries. States have to work under the socio-
economic policies framed at the national level. This leaves a relatively small
area of maneuverability on the part of individual states. This does not undermine
the importance of competitiveness at the sub-national level. In the coming years
more of economic functions may be entrusted to the state governments in India.
Competition among regions/states is here to stay. State-level competitiveness
ought to be understood within the context of national competitiveness, because a
state is a miniature version of the country. Therefore, definitions applied for
measuring the countryâ€™s competitiveness can be adopted for the states as well.
 
 
Among the available definitions of national competitiveness, the one used by the
IMD in its annual World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) appears to be broader in
terms of application. The definition brings forth the role of the state in
enhancing (or maintaining) competitiveness of the region. The state should provide
the enabling environment to organizations within its borders and at the same time
ensure prosperity to the people. This definition (of competitiveness) fits well
within the functional autonomy enjoyed by the Indian states in the federal
framework of the country. 
 
However, while operationalising the above definition, certain modifications are
required. This is necessary because some of the traditional national
competitiveness parameters (e.g. exchange rate, foreign trade policy, monetary
policy) operate uniformly across the country and therefore they become irrelevant
for interstate comparisons. Moreover, for some variables state level data may not
be available. Such variables need to be dropped or their proxies to be
identified. 
 
IMDâ€™s methodology is known for its simplicity and the direct approach while
dealing with a large number (over 300) of diverse indicators. The fundamental
principle, which underlies the distinction between notions of national
competitiveness and enterprise competitiveness, focuses on where the creation of
economic value takes place. A nationâ€™s environment hinders or supports the
wealth creation process through its policies. The present report Competitiveness
of Indian States 2004 (CIS 2004) extends this principle to the states in India.
The competitiveness of economies and the competitiveness of firms are
interdependent concepts. The CIS 2004 focuses on the first. It measures and
compares how states are doing in providing an environment that sustains the
domestic and global competitiveness of the firms operating within their
borders. 
 
Wealth is the outcome of readily available natural resources (e.g. Jharkhand) or
accumulated capital and knowledge (e.g. Delhi). Economic power arises from a
combination of wealth and the size. Uttar Pradesh is economically a powerful state
in 
 
the country but not necessarily competitive. A stateâ€™s competitiveness cannot be
reduced merely to its gross value of production or its productivity measured per
person or per unit of capital. This is because firms must cope with the political,
cultural, and educational dimensions of the geo-political entity. Therefore, it is
in providing firms with an environment that has the most efficient structure,
institutions and policies that states should compete with each other. 
 
 
-----
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AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 08/25/2006 11:53:43
STATUS: publish
BODY:
The pace of existing
home sales in America fell by 4.1% in July, to its lowest level
since January 2004. The drop deepened worries about the overall economy. Increases
in house prices also slowed. The median price for existing homes was $230,000 in
July, up 0.9% from a year earlier and the slowest annual gain in more than a
decade. Shares fell on the news, with housebuilders particularly hard hit. <a
bin1/DM/y/htaK0FDHx80Mo0DLkw0E2">See article</a><img alt="E+"
src="http://www.economist.com/images/dingbats/e5.gif" height="10" hspace="2"
width="17" alt="Image" /> 
An American central-bank
official suggested that interest rates may rise further. Michael
Moskow, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, said further increases
may be needed to slow inflation. There have been 17 increases in interest rates in
the past two years.
BHP
Billiton, the world's largest mining company, said attributable profit in
the year ended June 30th rose 63%, to $10.45 billion. Although the firm plans a $3
billion share buyback, its shares fell on its concerns about rising wages and
equipment costs. The results, spurred by strong prices for metals, come amid a
strike at the Escondida copper mine in Chile, in which BHP
is the biggest shareholder.
 
rel="nofollow" name="mergers_in_europe">Mergers in Europe</div>
Banca Intesa
and Sanpaolo IMI, Italy's second- and
third-largest banks, said they had proposed talks on a possible merger. Such a
deal, if completed, would create a stronger rival to UniCredit, Italy's largest
bank. Intesa and Sanpaolo said they would hold board meetings by the weekend to
discuss a merger. Before the announcements, their market capitalisations were
euro28.1 billion ($35.9 billion) and euro23.3 billion,
respectively. The Bank of Italy has encouraged consolidation in the banking
sector.
Applications for
corporate mergers in Europe are being filed at a record rate,
European Commission statistics show. If the pace continues, merger filings this
year will exceed those in 2000, the highest total to date.
New worries were raised
about the proposed merger of Gaz de France and
Suez. European officials are said to have concerns about their
dominant positions in the gas and electricity markets of France and Belgium. <a
bin1/DM/y/htaK0FDHx80Mo0DLkx0E3">See article</a><img alt="E+"
VNU, a
Dutch media company bought earlier this year by a group of private-equity firms,
recruited David Calhoun as its chairman and chief executive. The veteran of
General Electric was thought to have been offered compensation of at least $100m,
which is double what he received at GE.
Prosecutors struck a
deal with Frank Quattrone, a once-high-flying banker in Silicon
Valley, to drop charges against him. Mr Quattrone, who has denied wrongdoing and
will not face a fine, said he would resume his career as soon as possible.

Felix
Rohatyn, a prominent figure in the financial world and a former American
ambassador to France, will join Lehman Brothers as a senior adviser to the
chairman and chief executive. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/htaK0FDHx80Mo0DLky0E4">See
Oil workers in Nigeria
threatened to pull out of the Niger Delta because they fear for their safety,
after a string of kidnappings and attacks. A union vote has been called for August
30th. Disruptions in oil supply from Nigeria have helped to push
up oil prices.
Apple Computer
will pay Creative Technology, a Singapore firm, $100m to settle a patent
dispute over the iPod digital music-player. 
 
rel="nofollow" name="china_interest_rate">China interest
rate</div> China raised a benchmark interest rate in an effort to
slow a boom in credit and investment. The People's Bank of China raised banks'
one-year deposit and lending rates by 0.27 percentage points, the central bank's
second such move in the past four months.
size="-1">Weyerhaeuser will merge its copier-paper business with
Domtar, a Canadian firm. The $3.3 billion transaction is the latest restructuring
in the paper industry. Under the deal, Weyerhaeuser will receive $1.35 billion in
cash.
Net profit at
Nestl��, the world's biggest food company, rose by 11.4% in the
first half, to SFr4.2 billion ($3.3 billion) on sales of SFr47 billion. The
result, which surpassed many analysts' predictions, was partly achieved through
hedging and price increases to offset higher costs in energy and commodity inputs.

 
rel="nofollow" name="burgher_blues">Burgher blues</div> <table
size="-1">Confidence among German investors and financial
analysts fell to a five-year low in August. A survey by ZEW, an economic-research centre, showed confidence at the lowest
point since June 2001 on worries about higher taxes and higher borrowing costs.
But a survey of business sentiment by Ifo, a research institute, showed that
confidence did not fall as much as expected. The euro rose on the news.
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 08/25/2006 11:53:02
STATUS: publish
BODY:
ran gave
its long-awaited reply to an offer of political and economic incentives from
America, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany if it agreed to suspend
uranium enrichment in accordance with a resolution from the UN
Security Council. It said it was ready for “serious talks”, but would not
stop enrichment by the end-of-August deadline. America's State Department said the
reply “fell short”. The Security Council will now have to discuss sanctions. <a
bin1/DM/y/htaI0FDHx80Mo0DLle0Ei">See article</a><img alt="E+"
width="17" alt="Image" /> A fragile ceasefire more or less held in Lebanon,
despite various infractions, including an Israeli commando attack to stymie what
Israel said was a Hizbullah operation to restock its arsenal. European Union
countries continued to argue about sending soldiers to beef up the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/htaI0FDHx80Mo0DLlf0Ej">See article</a><img alt="E+"
Meanwhile,
Israel's politics fell into turmoil. Army reservists protested
against poor military planning and lack of equipment, there were disputes over how
to hold an inquiry into the war, and two ministers and the president, Moshe
Katsav, came under criminal investigation. Mr Katsav is accused of sexual assault
on an employee, but denies the allegations. 
Despite more killings
and suicide bombings in Baghdad, a British general and an American one both said
that sectarian bloodshed in Iraq had declined in recent
weeks.
Gun battles erupted in
Congo's capital, Kinshasa, after results of the
first round in the presidential election. Having won 45% of the vote, the
incumbent, Joseph Kabila, is set to face one of his vice-presidents, Jean-Pierre
Bemba, in a run-off in October. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/DM/y/htaI0FDHx80Mo0DLlg0Ek">See
Two African Union
peacekeepers from Rwanda were killed when their convoy was attacked by unknown
assailants in Sudan's Darfur region.
The South
African government became embroiled in another controversy over its AIDS policies. At the end of an international AIDS conference in Toronto, the UN envoy
responsible for tackling the disease in Africa accused the government of
supporting theories worthy of a “lunatic fringe” and of being “obtuse, dilatory
and negligent” in distributing anti-retroviral drugs. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/htaI0FDHx80Mo0DLlh0El">See article</a><img alt="E+"
 
rel="nofollow">Welcome, up to a point</div> It emerged that the British
government is likely to put restrictions on the free entry of workers from
Bulgaria and Romania when those countries join the European Union
next year. In May 2004 Britain took the moral high ground when it was one of only
three member states to let in workers from the eight new central European members.
bin1/DM/y/htaI0FDHx80Mo0DLli0Em">See article</a><img alt="E+"
German police
arrested a suspected terrorist, a Lebanese man who, along with an
accomplice, was said to have placed suitcases containing bombs on German trains in
late July. A second suspect was arrested in Lebanon. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/htaI0FDHx80Mo0DLlj0En">See article</a><img alt="E+"
On her return from
holiday, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, faced demands to
turn leftwards and spend more time on social policy. Ms Merkel, whose popularity
has fallen sharply in recent weeks, rejected the calls.
A Russian
airliner filled with holiday-makers crashed and burst into flames in
Ukraine, killing all 170 people aboard. Officials believe it may have been struck
by lightning. A spate of accidents has raised fresh concerns about the safety of
Russian airlines.
 
rel="nofollow" name="brother_in_arms">Brother in arms</div>
In his first public
comments since temporarily taking over the leadership of Cuba,
Raúl Castro said he had mobilised the country's army after the announcement that
his brother Fidel was ill. This was to prevent an invasion by the United States,
he said.
A block of free-trading
countries on South America's Pacific coast took firmer shape. Chile, which has
said it will rejoin the four-country Andean Community, signed a
trade agreement with Peru. Venezuela's Hugo Chávez recently withdrew his country
from the group because of other members' trade deals with the United States. <a
bin1/DM/y/htaI0FDHx80Mo0DLlk0Eo">See article</a>
A strike in Chile's
Escondida, the world's biggest copper mine, continued into a third week, keeping
copper prices extremely high. The union rejected two pay offers
by the mine's operators. 
 
rel="nofollow" name="palin_significance">Palin significance</div>
In the Republican
primary for the governorship of Alaska, the incumbent, Frank
Murkowski, who was the state's senator for 22 years, lost to Sarah Palin, a former
mayor. Ms Palin won 51% of the vote and will face the Democrat Tony Knowles in
November. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/htaI0FDHx80Mo0DLll0Ep">See article</a>
size="-1">John Mark Karr was arrested in Thailand in connection
with the killing ten years ago of JonBenet Ramsey, a six-year-old beauty queen. He
agreed to be extradited to Colorado to face murder charges. JonBenet's parents had
previously been suspected of involvement in her death. <a target="_blank"
bin1/DM/y/htaI0FDHx80Mo0DLlm0Eq">See article</a><img alt="E+"
A year after
Hurricane Katrina wrecked New Orleans, George Bush gave warning
that it would take “a long time” to rebuild the city. Meanwhile, Democratic
lawmakers criticised the reconstruction effort, saying that thousands of families
were still without emergency housing and that corruption and incompetence were
rife. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://news.economist.com/cgi-
bin1/DM/y/htaI0FDHx80Mo0DLln0Er">See article</a>
 
rel="nofollow" name="far_from_home">Far from home</div> Thai police arrested 159
North Koreans, the largest group of suspected illegal migrants
the country has yet seen.
Japan's
foreign minister, Taro Aso, joined the race to succeed Junichiro Koizumi,
who stands down next month. The favourite to win, Shinzo Abe, the cabinet
secretary, is expected to declare his candidacy soon.
Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2">Reuters</td> </tr> </tbody></table></td>
</tr> <tr> <td valign="bottom"><img alt="Reuters"
size="-1">Close to 100 Taliban militants were killed by foreign forces in clashes
in Afghanistan's southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar,
which are experiencing their bloodiest fighting since the Taliban were overthrown
in 2001.
Two
Indian ministers resigned as their small regional party from the
state of Andhra Pradesh left the unwieldy coalition government. They said the
government had not made good on earlier promises to create a separate state in
Andhra Pradesh's northern Telangana region. 
International peace
monitors in Sri Lanka withdrew to the capital, Colombo, because
fighting in the north-east is making their work too dangerous. The mission looks
set to be crippled anyway by a demand from the rebel Tamil Tigers that all
monitors from EU countries leave. The EU has declared the Tigers to be a terrorist outfit, but has said
it will comply with the demand. 
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Blogging for $; Bubble 2.0; Heads Roll at AOL
DATE: 08/25/2006 11:48:53
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Top Stories for the Week of August 21 - August 25

<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" title="mike arrington techcrunch"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,1p30,gxyb,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/satire-is-dead2.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="367" width="259" alt="Image" /></a>What's in a
blog? Windows Live claims to be the world's largest blogging service so <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,k6bz,863h,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Scobleizer</a> decided to <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,hjph,jjrn,kpqm,g1qy">def
ine what a blog is and measure who had the most</a>. This prompted an argument
with Windows Live's Mike Torres over <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,buqr,jhig,kpqm,g1qy">whe
ther private spaces are blogs</a>, and Scoble asked <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,fhkp,3bkq,kpqm,g1qy">whe
ther empty spaces count, public or not</a>? <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,6sqc,ddhw,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>/Message</a> gripes about Scoble's public-vs.-private distinction--
of course private spaces are still blogs--and breaks down the <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,k5la,f3ae,kpqm,g1qy">val
ue of splogs, plazas and link blogs</a>. Meanwhile, <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,krew,63l6,kpqm,g1qy">spl
ogs may destroy everything</a>, writes <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,37qa,lj8n,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Micro Persuasion</a>, quoting studies showing that up to 56 percent
of active English-language blogs are spam. 
<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" title="Bubble 2.0"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,6sbg,40tz,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/bubble.jpg" align="left"
border="0" height="55" width="287" alt="Image" /></a>But the blog-value debate
quickly degenerates into whether "A-list" bloggers and readers are more valuable
to advertisers than others--<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,8fbs,8tmc,kpqm,g1qy">an
idea that's too Old Media for words</a>, says <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,ag0q,gu29,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Publishing 2.0</a>. So what do those A-List bloggers really make?
Lots, estimates <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,lrtm,8fez,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>business2blog</a>: from a low of $720,000/year for Michael
Arrington's <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a> to around <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,1p30,gxyb,kpqm,g1qy">$7
million annually</a> for Drew Curtis at <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,1l5d,bkil,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Fark</a>. Scripting News chimed in with real numbers: <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,biux,55k,kpqm,g1qy">$2.3
million last year on expenses of roughly $1,000 a month</a>. <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,besf,jnnx,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Silicon Beat</a> admired Michael Arrington's <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,h0sa,lxps,kpqm,g1qy">sta
r turn</a> at <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,65og,2ne4,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>CNN Money</a> and just knew he was going to be big, but <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,7jxe,e2qv,kpqm,g1qy">won
ders where that "1.5 million regular" readers figure came from</a>. 
<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" title="Grouper "
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,isuu,7iev,kpqm,g1qy"></a
>Maybe Web 2.0 is a special kind of bubble, writes <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,73xc,b2cu,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>John Battelle</a>, without insane IPOs but also with <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,6sbg,40tz,kpqm,g1qy">com
panies that fail to fail</a>. Other signs of the bubble: <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,rs3,3ghd,kpqm,g1qy">Frie
ndster recapitalized at $10 million and Facebook is valued at $500 million</a>
(via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,besf,jnnx,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>SiliconBeat</a>), plus online <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,f0sy,j7ss,kpqm,g1qy">vid
eo startup Grouper sold to Sony</a> for $65 million (via <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,dyt9,1uxj,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Mashable!</a>). If no one's bought your company yet, <a
rong>TechCrunch</a> recommends Bullshitr, which <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,el31,cqr5,kpqm,g1qy">aut
omatically creates everything you need to sell it to Yahoo</a>. And hurry up,
before anyone <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" title="Paris Hilton YouTube"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,bj1g,kzla,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/channel_icon.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="69" width="90" alt="Image" /></a>else hears <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,162g,h4f2,kpqm,g1qy">Tim
Berners-Lee dissing Web 2.0 as Web 1.0</a> (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,7t81,6xvx,kpqm,g1qy">Rea
d/Write Web</a>). 
rong>TechCrunch</a> covers the cluster$!%& over AOL's user-data
disclosure: Heads rolled, including the CTO, but <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,9zjm,6r8k,kpqm,g1qy">are
they the responsible heads</a>? Stephen Colbert's got tips for protecting
your identity on AOL, like don't type using your dominant hand <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,agot,3s7o,kpqm,g1qy">so
the password won't appear in your handwriting</a>. <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,dyt9,1uxj,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Mashable!</a> also describes YouTube's launch of branded channels,
starting with a <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,bj1g,kzla,kpqm,g1qy">Par
is Hilton channel that has 13 videos</a>. Maybe ads on these channels will solve
YouTube's ludicrous bandwidth expenses, but if not, the <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,83nk,9dan,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Wall Street Journal</a> reports YouTube <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,5cbf,e41,kpqm,g1qy">vide
o ads are on the way</a>.
<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" title="Reporters Kidnapped"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,fs2f,k2cy,kpqm,g1qy"></a
>In politics, the whereabouts of kidnapped Fox News correspondent Steve Centanni
and cameraman Olaf Wiig are still unknown, but Palestinian prime minister <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,fs2f,k2cy,kpqm,g1qy">Mah
moud Abbas claims the two are safe</a>, blogs <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,jcev,c93m,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Huffington Post</a>. A previously unknown Palestinian group, the
Holy Jihad Brigades, <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,ctkl,c2k5,kpqm,g1qy">dem
anded the release of unspecified "Muslim prisoners" within 72 hours in exchange
for the two</a>. Speaking of impossible demands, Pat Buchanan told Fox's Bob
Beckel that Hispanic immigrants aren't assimilating into America <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,dkl4,lfeb,kpqm,g1qy">bec
ause they're into "rap culture"</a> (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,ixt5,f04h,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Think Progress</a>). And Judge Anna Diggs Taylor, who ruled against
the Bush administration in her NSA wiretapping decision, has a potential conflict
of interest, writes <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,jnq4,gbr5,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Blogs for Bush</a>: <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,770y,9r5z,kpqm,g1qy">She
's on the board of a foundation that donated money to the plaintiff</a>, ACLU of
Michigan. Even if this helps the administration's appeal, <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,9rjm,edxd,kpqm,g1qy">wha
t's really needed is a full-blown Supreme Court review of the NSA program</a>,
blogs <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,jma8,cqpd,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Captain's Quarters</a>. 
<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" title="Cruise Cracked"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,9ans,jwhq,kpqm,g1qy"></a
>JonBenet Ramsey murder suspect <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,hlgj,d6ep,kpqm,g1qy">Joh
n Mark Karr awaits extradition to Colorado</a> (via <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,hova,71a0,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Foxnews.com</a>). A writer says he has already secured rights to the
Karr family's story, according to <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,400t,ag29,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>NBCSandiego.com</a>, which also reports <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,24c7,we9,kpqm,g1qy">Karr
's distress at appearing in court in an orange jumpsuit</a>. Karr isn't half as
upset as Boulder residents, who are <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,7nmy,l90e,kpqm,g1qy">bac
k in the media spotlight yet again</a> (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,ktn1,hnio,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Boulder, CO</a>). Bizarre off-screen behavior got Tom Cruise canned
from his sweet production deal with Paramount, blogs <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,anb8,fj5z,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gossipist</a>, who can see scolding Lindsay Lohan but not somebody
who can make three phone calls and own half of Korea. <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,g3bg,j3sv,kpqm,g1qy">Her
e's</a> a round-up of Cruise headlines plus all the headlines newspapers
should be using. And despite overwhelming blogger hype, <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,lnuv,jtbv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Defamer</a> reports that Samuel Jackson's <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qshb,39mg,8otp,5q10,kpqm,g1qy">Snakes on a Plane just barely edged out Will Ferrell's Talladega
Nights</a> for the weekend box-office crown. 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: PCs Burning; Google This; Spammer's Gold
DATE: 08/18/2006 07:15:28
STATUS: publish
BODY:
op Stories for the Week of August 14 - August 18 
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,hm4e,1eqi,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/dell%20laptop%20exploding.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="220" width="294" alt="Image" /></a>The <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,m1cm,9pa7,kpqm,g1qy">IBM
PC turns 25 this week</a> ... but <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,hm4e,1eqi,kpqm,g1qy">dud
e, is that your laptop burning</a>? Turns out the PC's most popular offspring are
exploding and bursting into flames courtesy of faulty lithium-ion batteries, which
has <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,5mu6,6yax,kpqm,g1qy">cau
sed Dell to recall 4.1 million of the things</a> - the largest consumer
electronics recall in history (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,32zt,gax1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Techdirt</a>). But <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,11sx,lci5,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Engadget</a> figures the recall could be even bigger still since
battery manufacture was contracted out to Sony (<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,96un,gsa8,kpqm,g1qy">hi
there, Mac users!</a>). And to think the authorities worry about airline
passengers' <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,fvf3,gos0,kpqm,g1qy">too
thpaste and hemorrhoid cream</a>, writes <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,c96f,9lsb,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gizmodo</a>. 
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,ke7f,eysd,kpqm,g1qy"></a
> Meanwhile, Google's lawyers asked major media companies to stop using "google"
as a verb, despite the fact that <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,lfe3,dn5j,kpqm,g1qy">the
Oxford English Dictionary says it's okay</a>. How long before we hear <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,7i25,7s4j,kpqm,g1qy">tha
t Larry Page must only be photographed from his good side</a>, asks <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,bypj,ddp7,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Valleywag</a>-but <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,2mm7,ewj4,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Kottke</a> proves <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,csbr,al19,kpqm,g1qy">Goo
gle has worried about this for three years</a> and <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,l2n3,bxsy,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Scobleizer</a> adds that <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,jrm3,hg4o,kpqm,g1qy">Goo
gle's lawyers aren't evil</a>, the company just needs to be seen defending its
trademark, not be totally successful.
Also in this week's Google Watch, the company updated Blogger.com, and users
will soon be invited to switch from the current system to <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,5vj8,7ig5,kpqm,g1qy">a
slightly unstable beta</a>, writes <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a>. Google Maps is offering local merchants the ability
to add free, printable coupons to their listings-which is <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,25sb,gkkw,kpqm,g1qy">dea
th for small newspapers</a>, says <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,m62k,e7bi,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>BuzzMachine</a>. Google added a video button to its search page-it's
not just a response to YouTube, but a nod to a market that <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,1eju,aekt,kpqm,g1qy">wan
ts as much video advertising as it can buy</a> (via <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,73xc,b2cu,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>John Battelle</a>). And And Google also busted out <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,ke7f,eysd,kpqm,g1qy">fre
e WiFi for the public in Mountain View</a>. Next up? San Francisco.
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,25an,hpxf,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/youtubedownshot.png"
align="left" border="0" height="206" width="180" alt="Image" /></a> Meanwhile,
just as YouTube was basking in record-high Comscore numbers (it cracked to the top
50), <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,25an,hpxf,kpqm,g1qy">its
system crashed due to a database outage</a>. The biggest question on the table has
always been about YouTube's business model; this outage made <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a> wonder <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,3u47,j6ma,kpqm,g1qy">whe
ther the company can scale</a>. The blackout was only six hours long, and these
kinds of growing pains should be expected at a site that serves <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,75vo,9obd,kpqm,g1qy">100
million videos a day</a>, says <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,dyt9,1uxj,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Mashable!</a> Plus, the company is <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,ieyq,hacy,kpqm,g1qy">rak
ing it in says YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley</a> (via <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,lrry,4w81,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Lost Remote</a>). <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,dvcs,1msu,kpqm,g1qy"></a
>
Speaking of growing pains, more unwanted press for AOL: the company
successfully <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,i4hc,itmo,kpqm,g1qy">sue
d spam king and neo-nazi Davis Wolfgang last year for $12.8 million</a> but has
been unable to collect damages. So it's now digging up the family's backyard for
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,cx10,6rx0,kpqm,g1qy">gol
d and platinum bars it believes are buried there</a>. Even bloggers couldn't make
this stuff up! Other news shorts: AllPeers, <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,hnjo,53fh,kpqm,g1qy">a
Firefox extension for peer-to-peer filesharing</a> is close to ready; <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,6up,bmsz,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>Read/Write Web</a> lets the rest of us in on the <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,dvcs,1msu,kpqm,g1qy">sec
ret world of underground P2P networks</a> (aka darknets); and more signs of the
<strike>apocalypse</strike> Bubble 2.0: the <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,4gd9,7yr5,kpqm,g1qy">dom
ain name Wiki.com sold for $3 million</a>.
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,4rmv,ffr5,kpqm,g1qy"></a
> Last week's British liquids-and-gels bomb plot had <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,fv6i,k4s6,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>BoingBoing</a> wondering whether <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,3j3,9sh2,kpqm,g1qy">hair
-gel bombs could really work</a>-but why get complicated when a simple "piranha
bath" will produce a big spattering mess? Meanwhile, <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,32zt,gax1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Techdirt</a> says we need a more El Al-style approach to passenger
security and <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,iw27,ftzt,kpqm,g1qy">Tur
ing Test for terrorists</a>-tiny booths with high-tech biometric sensors that scan
for fear of getting caught. 
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,dtiw,4os9,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/allen.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="293" width="246" alt="Image" /></a>Also in
politics, despite Democratic efforts at unity following Ned Lamont's primary
victory over Joseph Lieberman, <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,jwdx,5tyg,kpqm,g1qy">som
e senators will support Lieberman no matter what</a>, including Mary Landrieu of
Louisiana, says <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,a0jx,e7f1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Huffington Post</a>. And with friends like these-Landrieu recently
threatened to <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,54vb,21g0,kpqm,g1qy">pun
ch out President Bush</a> and blamed him for the New Orleans mayor's decision to
not use school buses for evacuation during Katrina (via <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,4t0m,1ac,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>Ramblings Journal</a>). GOP candidates are also flailing: Senator and
presidential hopeful George Allen of Virginia <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,329n,3tqt,kpqm,g1qy">ins
ulted an Indian-American man</a> working for his Democratic opponent, writes <a
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,3vy2,j9m6,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Taegan Goddard</a>. Of course <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,j4ns,dlfr,kpqm,g1qy">All
en apologized</a> (via <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,bwy4,izri,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>ABC News</a>), but too late-<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,ea57,3s4k,kpqm,g1qy">thi
s was his Mel Gibson Moment</a> says <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qpz3,39mg,108l,8qxy,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Andrew Sullivan</a>.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 08/17/2006 12:57:25
STATUS: publish
BODY:
A ceasefire took hold
between Hizbullah and Israel after a month of fighting.
Negotiations continued at the UN on the size and mandate of
a peacekeeping force for south Lebanon. Lebanon began sending
troops into the south, but said they would not disarm Hizbullah fighters. As Iran
hailed a “divine victory”, Israelis criticised their government's handling of the
war. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
 At least 57 people died
in a series of blasts in Baghdad (which the Americans attributed
to an accidental gas explosion) and nine were killed in an attack on the offices
of an Iraqi Kurdish party in the northern town of Mosul. America assigned still
more troops to Baghdad to try to contain the sectarian violence. 
Islamist militiamen
extended their hold over Somalia by capturing three ports close
to the northern region of Puntland, where the administration is hostile to their
advance. The internationally recognised transitional government remains holed up
in the central town of Baidoa. 
Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, promised to increase
security in the Niger Delta region after the kidnapping of five separate groups of
foreign oil workers by militants in recent weeks. Ransoms paid by oil companies
for the release of their workers have increased the militants' boldness.

India stepped up its
competition with China for Africa's energy and commodity reserves by unveiling a
blueprint to invest $1 billion to develop oil and mining projects in Côte
d'Ivoire.
size="-1">Ethiopia appealed for international help as the death
toll from recent flooding rose to 870. Officials are concerned that after a month
of storms the country's dams are holding so much water that it could spill on to
surrounding towns and villages.
 
rel="nofollow" name="power_grab">Power grab</div> California's
legislature abandoned a plan to redraw political districts and increase term
limits for politicians in the state. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been
pushing the body to introduce changes to the electoral system after his much
wider-ranging reform package was defeated at the polls. 
released a snapshot of the United States' population at mid-decade. Among other
things, America's foreign-born population increased to 12.4% in
2005 (from 11.1% in 2000), accounting for around 40% of the population of Los
Angeles. 
 
rel="nofollow" name="provoking">Provoking</div> <table
border="0" height="160" width="160" alt="Image" /></td></tr><tr><td
valign="top"> 
size="-1">Junichiro Koizumi, the outgoing prime minister of
Japan, paid a sixth visit to the controversial Yasukuni shrine,
which counts convicted war criminals among the dead soldiers it honours. Mr
Koizumi's excursion further angered China and South Korea, especially as it came
on the anniversary of Japan's defeat in the second world war. Polls show that most
Japanese no longer favour such visits. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
An aid organisation
based in Seoul claimed that last month's floods in North Korea
left almost 55,000 people either dead or missing and 2.5m homeless. Good
Friends said the North Korean government is trying to suppress news about the
disaster for fear of stirring social unrest. 
The death toll from the
worst typhoon to hit China in 50 years reached at least 320. Wind
speeds in the storm, which was centred on the south-eastern province of Fujian,
hit 216kph (134mph). 
Fighting between
Sri Lankan troops and Tamil rebels continued in the north of the
country. Schools were closed across Sri Lanka amid fear of rebel reprisals in
revenge for an air strike on what the rebels claim was an orphanage in Tamil
territory. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
 
rel="nofollow" name="unravelling_the_plot">Unravelling the
plot</div> British police continued to question 23 suspects still held in
connection with an alleged terror plot to blow up as many as ten
planes flying from Britain to America. Pakistani authorities reportedly held
another 17 people. Flights at British airports started to return to normal,
although increased security measures, such as smaller carry-on bags, seem likely
to stay in place. Some airlines claimed Heathrow was unprepared. <a
size="-1">Ukraine's new prime minister, Viktor Yanukovich,
visited Russia for talks with his opposite number, Mikhail Fradkov, and Russia's
president, Vladimir Putin, who strongly backed Mr Yanukovich's bid for Ukraine's
presidency in 2004. Mr Yanukovich, who is seen as pro-Russian, said he had secured
a favourable deal from the Russians on the price of gas exports. <a
The United Nations chose
a new representative to run Kosovo. Joachim Rücker, a German
diplomat, will take over from Denmark's Soren Jessen-Petersen. Talks on Kosovo's
future remain deadlocked.
Republic may at last acquire a new government, with Mirek Topolanek,
leader of the right-wing Civic Democrats, as prime minister. The breakthrough came
after a deal on the election of a parliamentary speaker. But Mr Topolanek will, at
best, lead a minority government that is unlikely to last long.
size="-1">Günter Grass, a German novelist, admitted that he had
served in the Waffen-SS during the second world war. The
shock of the news was greater because Mr Grass has long acted as the conscience of
the nation over war guilt. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
 
rel="nofollow" name="holding_on">Holding on</div> In Cuba, the
authorities released photos and a video of Fidel Castro on his sick bed after an
operation for severe intestinal bleeding. The pictures suggested that Mr Castro
was recovering but that he remains seriously ill. <a target="_blank"
rel="nofollow"
A recount of 9% of the
votes in last month's presidential election in Mexico ordered by
the electoral tribunal was completed. The tribunal did not immediately release the
result, but the party of Felipe Calderón, the conservative candidate who won by
244,000 votes out of 42m, said the recount only altered 1,500 votes. Andrés Manuel
López Obrador, the leftist challenger, claimed the recount showed evidence of
massive fraud.
size="-1">Bolivia's government said it was temporarily suspending
its nationalisation of the oil and gas industry because the state oil company
lacks the funds and technical capacity to take over production from foreign firms.
Alfredo Stroessner, who
ruled Paraguay as a dictator for 35 years until 1989, died in
Brasília, the capital of Brazil. 
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 08/17/2006 12:56:56
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Amid the worries about
the security risk of business travellers bringing laptops on to aircraft,
Dell put a further dent in the device's safety credentials by
issuing a recall of 4.1m lithium-ion laptop batteries (which are made by Sony).
Such batteries, used in a variety of consumer electronics, have been responsible
for several recent safety incidents, bursting into flames on at least five
aircraft. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
The effectiveness of
Mark Hurd's strategy at Hewlett-Packard was underscored when the
company reported a quarterly net profit of almost $1.4 billion, compared with $73m
a year ago (when HP took a tax charge). Profitability at
its PC unit, long seen as a drag on HP's earnings, also continued to perk up. 
PepsiCo
appointed Indian-born Indra Nooyi as its new chief executive. In doing so, the
food and beverages firm becomes the biggest company in America (by stockmarket
value) to be led by a woman. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
LG
Card, South Korea's primary credit-card issuer, looked set to be acquired
by Shinhan Financial Group after it was chosen as the preferred
bidder in a pubic auction. LG was bailed out by creditors,
led by Korea Development Bank, after a consumer-debt crisis in 2002. With Shinhan
reportedly paying around $7.5 billion, LG's takeover is
likely to be South Korea's biggest. 
 
rel="nofollow" name="succour_punch">Succour punch</div> In a much-watched court decision
on disputed home-insurance claims arising from Hurricane Katrina,
a federal judge in Mississippi ruled that a couple's insurance policy did not
provide for damages caused by flooding, but did for damages caused by wind. The
distinction is significant for insurance firms, which do not usually pay out for
flood damage in standard homeowners' policies. The industry faces claims for
billions of dollars that stem from flooding after Katrina and has already paid out
nearly $18 billion in claims for wind damage. 
Wal-Mart
reported a drop in quarterly profit, its first decline in profit since
1996, as it accounted for charges stemming from the sale of its operations in
Germany. The retailer's net income fell by 26%, compared with a year ago, to just
under $2.1 billion for the three months ending July 31st. Excluding operations in
Germany and South Korea, where it is also selling stores, profits rose by 4.6%, to
$3 billion. 
In what could be one of
Australia's biggest takeovers, retailer Coles Myer confirmed it
had been approached by parties wishing to “discuss the company's ownership”.
Speculation mounted that the unnamed parties included Britain's Tesco.
 
rel="nofollow" name="no_option">No option</div> The FBI
said the former chief executive of Comverse was now considered a
fugitive from justice after he failed to appear at an arraignment for fraud
connected to backdated stock-options; the former head of finance and former
general counsel at the technology firm were charged at the hearing. Dozens of
firms are being investigated by regulators in various stock-options scandals.

UBS,
the world's biggest wealth manager, said it expected trading conditions in the
second half of the year to be difficult, possibly dampening its revenues. The
Swiss-based bank's caution came as it reported a second-quarter net profit of
SFr3.1 billion ($2.5 billion), a rise of 47% compared with a year earlier. <a
Standard & Poor's
downgraded Eurotunnel's credit rating after it defaulted on an
interest payment on a tranche of bank debt. The operator of the rail tunnel that
links Britain and France is taking advantage of its protection, granted earlier
this month, under a new French bankruptcy law. Negotiations are continuing between
the company and its bondholders on a debt restructuring plan.
The battle to win
control of Inco, a Canadian nickel miner, intensified when
CVRD, a big Brazilian mining company, threw its hat into the ring
with a C$19.9 billion ($17.8 billion) bid. Teck Cominco, a
compatriot of Inco's, saw its offer expire. Meanwhile, Xstrata
said it had won control of Falconbridge, which had made a deal to
merge with Inco until the Swiss-based company muscled in. 
The price of
oil, which reached nearly $77 a barrel last week, fell back after a
ceasefire was agreed in Lebanon. 
 
rel="nofollow" name="steady_as_she_goes">Steady as she goes</div>
size="-1">The euro area's GDP grew by 0.9% in the second quarter
compared with the previous quarter, its fastest rate for six years. It is the
first time since 2001 that the 12-country bloc's quarterly growth rate has
exceeded America's. Much of the impetus came from Germany, which registered a
strong performance in its domestic market, offsetting a slightly weaker demand for
exports. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow"
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: AOL Oops; Apple Magic; 50M Blogs?
DATE: 08/13/2006 11:37:36
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Top Stories for the Week of August 7 - August 11 
<a target="_blank" title="AOL Oops"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,6y4k,4xk8,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/aoliluminated.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="230" width="383" alt="Image" /></a>Oops! AOL
released three months' worth of data on the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,d75w,bvzi,kpqm,g1qy">web
searches of 658,000 paying customers</a>, and the possibilities for misuse are
endless, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,1v2g,hq7e,kpqm,g1qy">It
was a screw-up</a>, says a flack who apologized on AOL's behalf, but Web
2.0 calls it a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,36io,fyhf,kpqm,g1qy">bla
tant violation of users' privacy</a> and details an "anonymized" AOL user's
searches for everything from <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,35ds,gfnc,kpqm,g1qy">"ho
w to kill your wife" to "pictures of dead people."</a> <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,2jts,frix,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Google Blogoscoped</a> wraps up the top <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,9d6,3zag,kpqm,g1qy">"can
cel AOL" and porn searches here</a>. 
<a target="_blank" title="Steve Jobs Leopard"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,34wm,7m2m,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/pcworld_jobs.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="180" width="135" alt="Image" /></a><a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,clak,48o5,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Ars Technica</a> isn't surprised at searches for <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,b51b,8p4p,kpqm,g1qy">por
n and illegal material</a>, but the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,4sbw,2owp,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>New York Times</a> <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,97ys,736v,kpqm,g1qy">spe
nt the weekend finding user 44317749</a> who searched for "numb fingers," then
photographed her with her dog. Apparently, inside every corporate wrongdoing is <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,8hzo,fpmn,kpqm,g1qy">an
insipid human-interest story waiting to get out</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,ckte,ajmn,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Valleywag</a>.
Has Steve Jobs lost his magic? Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC)
was highly anticipated and hype about Steve Jobs' keynote abounded-but the speech
was <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,65fa,76lz,kpqm,g1qy">mos
tly a yawn by a tired-looking Jobs</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,baog,3hvf,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Slashdot</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,k6bz,863h,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Scobleizer</a> did a lot of <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,cg1c,kyyv,kpqm,g1qy">pre
-conference hyping</a>, but at least had the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,cwkr,6ac3,kpqm,g1qy">gra
ce to apologize</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,268l,ddy6,kpqm,g1qy">New
details on System 10.5</a> Leopard did emerge, though, which got <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,gakr,3mk8,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gizmodo</a> excited, and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,fly8,hfck,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>MacWorld</a> has three <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,7p1l,do25,kpqm,g1qy">vid
eo selections from Jobs' speech</a>.
The MySpace Monetization Watch continues: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,c8jt,gyuw,kpqm,g1qy">Goo
gle will pay News Corp. at least $900 million</a> for the privilege of being the
search provider for MySpace and other sites, reports the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,ef8k,ejue,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Wall Street Journal</a>. <a target="_blank" title="Google MTV"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,h1nc,aqyq,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/google-mtv.png"
align="left" border="0" height="131" width="148" alt="Image" /></a> And for those
who wonder about Google forays into content, Mountain View also <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,d66k,vzs,kpqm,g1qy">inke
d a deal with Viacom for access to MTV Video</a> and other Viacom properties,
blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,besf,jnnx,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>SiliconBeat</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,73xc,b2cu,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>John Battelle</a> gets Google's message loud and clear: <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,fn82,hq5e,kpqm,g1qy">Wor
k with us and we'll get you paid</a>. 
While Dave Sifry's quarterly state-of-the-blogosphere report might claim there
are <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,f9qy,354q,kpqm,g1qy">50
million blogs</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,37qa,lj8n,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Micro Persuasion</a>), <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,l6wd,bx4l,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Kevin Burton</a> says there are more likely <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,1f62,hw4f,kpqm,g1qy">1.6
to 6 million depending on how you define "active."</a> Still, there are still <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,ij5w,30x3,kpqm,g1qy">a
lot of Chinese yet to get online</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,6sqc,ddhw,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>/Message</a>, so <a target="_blank" title="State of the Blogosphere"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,z1i,l6h0,kpqm,g1qy"><img
alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/slide0006-7-tm.png"
align="right" border="0" height="194" width="260" alt="Image" /></a> we haven't
exactly hit the flat part of the adoption curve. In other blog news, there's one
less blogger at Microsoft this week. First Scoble left, and now <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,lrtm,8fez,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>business2blog</a> tells us <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,6w1w,a5vl,kpqm,g1qy">Nia
ll Kennedy has walked too</a>, citing internal problems with Windows Live that
have punished Redmond's stock this year. And Michael Arrington of TechCrunch got
together with startup CEOs and execs to create <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,m5z8,8h60,kpqm,g1qy">Web
2.0: The 24-Minute Documentary</a>. For those who don't have 24 minutes to watch,
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,ckte,ajmn,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Valleywag</a>, ahem, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,lum4,iuwq,kpqm,g1qy">dec
odes it</a>.
<a target="_blank" title="UK Terror Plot Foiled"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,9ms6,pzx,kpqm,g1qy"><img
alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/airportpoliceuk.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="152" width="152" alt="Image" /></a>In world
politics, British police disrupted a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,h7t3,204k,kpqm,g1qy">mas
sive terrorist plot</a> to blow up an aircraft between the U.S. and the United
Kingdom. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,4mmz,47b7,kpqm,g1qy">All
signs point to Al Qaeda</a> says the Bush administration (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,gbh7,elmv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>HuffPo</a>). <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,lahr,5a6j,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Security Watchtower</a> rounds up the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,9ms6,pzx,kpqm,g1qy">theo
ries and reports</a>. <a target="_blank" title="Lieberman Bush Kiss"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,1ete,mbfc,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/the-kiss.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="149" width="250" alt="Image" /></a> Had the plot
succeeded, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,3frz,jok3,kpqm,g1qy">the
death toll would have exceeded that of 9/11</a>. And speaking of 9/11, some even
more disturbing news: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,9ms6,pzx,kpqm,g1qy">30
percent of Americans cannot say in what year</a> the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks took place says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,75yz,k1cc,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Carpetbagger</a>. 
Tuesday's Democratic primaries were unkind to famous incumbents. Two-fisted
Rep. Cynthia McKinney lost in Georgia, while <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,hoh6,2oq3,kpqm,g1qy">the
man Jon Stewart calls Joe Loserman</a> <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,f2we,h6fd,kpqm,g1qy">los
t to Ned Lamont in Connecticut</a>, which just tickles <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,20dc,2kmo,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Riehl World View</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,9uew,a64d,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>BAGnewsNotes</a> says Lieberman's undoing was the <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,1ete,mbfc,kpqm,g1qy">God
father-style kiss from Bush</a> that symbolized his submissiveness-but Lieberman
has vowed to run <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,97gj,k9h5,kpqm,g1qy">in
the general election as an independent</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,gbh7,elmv,kpqm,g1qy">Lie
berman's defeat</a> is all about his<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,gbh7,elmv,kpqm,g1qy">
</a><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,kghc,1p3s,kpqm,g1qy">sup
port for a senseless, immoral, unwinnable war</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,fza3,j0or,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Michael Moore</a>. Actually, it's because he <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,q7m,f6dk,kpqm,g1qy">does
n't hate Republicans with every fiber of his being</a>, snarks <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,hlxr,ke5z,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Real Clear Politics</a>. <a target="_blank" title="NY Times
Photoshops Too"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,fh6l,gx4q,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/tylerhicks1.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="234" width="296" alt="Image" /></a> As if
Connecticut politics wasn't already confusing enough, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,h0ky,6i56,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Right Wing News</a>, thinks <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,dax4,iqpv,kpqm,g1qy">Rep
ublicans should support Lieberman</a> because the actual Republican candidate
won't win in such a liberal state. And sure enough, White House spokesman Tony
Snow as much as said that <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,epmv,7v24,kpqm,g1qy">a
vote for Lamont is a vote for the terrorists</a>.
Lebanese photographer Adnan Hajj apparently Photoshopped images to increase the
impression of damage from Israeli bombing. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,eun1,8vua,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Little Green Footballs</a> recognized Hajj's clumsy cloning of
smoke<a target="_blank" title="Lindsay Lohan"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,3dyd,7nz5,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/lindsayell77einside.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="307" width="216" alt="Image" /></a> and
buildings, and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,1sqx,jcdu,kpqm,g1qy">Reu
ters fired him on Saturday</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,2wn1,2p7w,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>NYT Technology</a>). <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,7a6n,cvxm,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Reuters Newsblog</a> explains what's acceptable in altering news
photos <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,mc4g,awl1,kpqm,g1qy">and
what's not</a>, but all <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,f1q9,ct8v,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>CJR</a> can do is <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,e8vm,we3,kpqm,g1qy">blea
t about the pressures of war photography</a>.
Finally in entertainment, Jay Leno grilled Tour de France champion Floyd Landis
on his flunked drug tests, and Landis floated the idea that it could've been <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,26u2,2fl5,kpqm,g1qy">som
ething he ate</a>, the latest in a line of suspects that includes whiskey,
cortisone shots and thyroid medication (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,5nat,lnxw,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Yahoo News</a>). Landis could part company with the yellow jersey-
but could it also be <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,jcf5,a3xy,kpqm,g1qy">tim
e for Brad and Angelina to split as well</a>? <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,jasn,4w9i,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Celebitchy</a> thought a fight-when Pitt proposed that Jolie stay
home rather than filming Kung Fu Panda-might signal the end, but it looks
like the kids <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,65ng,6ktv,kpqm,g1qy">kis
sed and made up</a>. Lindsay Lohan isn't staying at home; <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,lg0h,bik1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Yahoo News</a> reports the actress wants to visit troops in Iraq
a la Marilyn Monroe, maybe through the USO-but only after she <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,3dyd,7nz5,kpqm,g1qy">lea
rns how to shoot a gun</a>. Finally, there's this video: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,5rpa,2jus,kpqm,g1qy">"Gi
rl caught stripping by Mom"</a> pretty much says it all (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qnol,39mg,jmkr,mcb7,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Digg</a>).
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 08/10/2006 13:10:02
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Police in London said
they had foiled a terrorist plot on an “unimaginable scale” to
blow up a number of aeroplanes flying between Britain and the United States.
Despite many arrests, the authorities raised Britain's threat level to “critical”.
Passengers departing from Britain faced lengthy delays as security was tightened
at airports in response to the threat. <a target="_blank"
At the United Nations,
diplomatic efforts to stop the conflict in Lebanon continued. A
French and American draft resolution on a ceasefire was opposed by Lebanon and the
Arab League, which called for the text to include a demand for Israel's immediate
withdrawal from Lebanon. <a target="_blank"
size="-1">Israel's cabinet approved an army plan to push deeper
into Lebanon, up to the Litani river, to control areas used by Hizbullah to launch
its rockets into Israel. Some saw the move as a ploy to persuade the UN Security Council to propose a resolution that would not
require Israel to withdraw immediately. 
America's secretary of
state, Condoleezza Rice, said that Iraq was not sliding towards
civil war after last week's evidence to Congress by the chairman of the joint
chiefs of staff and the top United States commander in the Middle East said it
was. Sectarian violence continued in Iraq itself, showing little sign of abating.
<a target="_blank"
Despite a peace
agreement signed in May between rebels and the government, violence continued in
the Darfur region of Sudan. In July, eight aid-workers were
killed, more than in the previous two years. Many aid organisations have ceased
visiting some refugee camps, which hold about 2m people, because of the escalating
violence. 
Four more foreign oil
workers were kidnapped by militants in Nigeria's Niger Delta
region. The militants, who have managed to reduce the country's oil production by
about 25%, want a greater local share of oil revenues. 
killed and hundreds more were missing after a river overflowed near the city of
Dire Dawa in eastern Ethiopia. Thousands were also made homeless
by the flood.
 
name="the_incumbency_factor">The incumbency factor</div> <table
size="-1">In a big political upset, Joe Lieberman lost the
Democratic Senate primary in Connecticut to Ned Lamont, an anti-war candidate
backed by a “net-roots” campaign. Mr Lieberman, Al Gore's running-mate in 2000 and
a strong supporter of the war in Iraq, said he would stand as an independent
candidate in the mid-term elections, potentially splintering the state's
Democratic vote. However, Democratic leaders, including John Kerry and Ted
Kennedy, endorsed Mr Lamont's win. <a target="_blank"
As a reminder of another
big issue that could hurt sitting politicians in the mid-term elections,
Bob Ney, a congressman who has been under investigation for his
ties to Jack Abramoff, a disgraced lobbyist, declined to stand for re-election in
his Ohio district. And the saga of Tom DeLay lumbered on as the
Supreme Court rejected a Republican request to remove his name from the ballot in
Texas in November. Mr DeLay, who had resigned from Congress to fight a corruption
scandal, then formally withdrew from the race. <a target="_blank"
Another incumbent fell
by the wayside when Cynthia McKinney lost her primary run-off
election. Ms McKinney, a black congresswoman from the Atlanta suburbs, became
embroiled in a race row earlier this year after she hit a policeman on Capitol
Hill. <a target="_blank"
America's state
governors launched a bipartisan effort to remove a provision in a congressional
bill that would give the presidency more power in domestic crises over the
National Guard, which traces its history back to the colonial
militias. Federal and state governments were criticised last year for the unco-
ordinated deployment of the guard in response to Hurricane Katrina. 
 
name="keeping_a_low_profile">Keeping a low profile</div> Cuba's ailing
leader, Fidel Castro, is recuperating from emergency surgery but will take several
weeks to resume the powers he handed temporarily to his brother, Raúl, according
to the government. Neither man has been seen in public since Fidel fell ill. <a
target="_blank"
The seven-judge tribunal
charged with certifying the result of Mexico's presidential
election on July 2nd called for a recount at 9% of the polling stations. Andrés
Manuel López Obrador, who apparently lost narrowly, has said protests against the
result will continue until the tribunal calls for a full recount. <a
target="_blank"
More largesse from the
Gates Foundation. It announced that it would give $500m over five
years to the Global Fund, the main international vehicle for sponsoring projects
to tackle AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in poor countries.
The announcement came four days before the opening in Toronto of the XVI
International AIDS Conference.
 
name="a_waltz_in_vienna">A waltz in Vienna</div> A fresh round of talks in Vienna
on the political future of Kosovo was rapidly deadlocked after
Serbs from the province boycotted a session on minority rights. 
size="-1">Firefighters struggled to contain more than 100 forest fires in the
Galicia region of north-west Spain that killed at least three
people. The fires, which at one point encroached on the medieval city of Santiago
de Compostela, are thought to have been started by arsonists. 
 
name="summer_violence">Summer violence</div> Heavy fighting continued for a
second week in north-eastern Sri Lanka between government forces
and Tamil rebels. In the town of Muttur, 17 aid-workers were killed and thousands
have fled violence that threatened to destroy a four-year ceasefire pact.

Nepal's
government and Maoist rebels agreed to invite the UN to
monitor their respective arms stocks. This promised to settle an issue that had
threatened to block peace talks between them. A rebel leader had warned that the
talks could collapse over disagreement about the future of the country's monarchy.

Hundreds of people fled
fighting in Afghanistan's Faryab province between a militia loyal
to the army chief of staff and another loyal to a former adviser of President
Hamid Karzai. In southern Afghanistan, more serious fighting continued between
Taliban fighters and American and European troops. 
Close to 1.5m people
were evacuated in south-eastern China as a typhoon approached.

</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 08/10/2006 13:08:57
STATUS: publish
BODY:
BP's
reputation in North America was dealt another serious blow. A corroded pipeline
caused it to shut down its Prudhoe Bay oilfield, in Alaska, which provides 400,000
barrels of oil a day, or 8% of the American total. The British energy giant is
already under scrutiny after a series of accidents in America, including an
explosion that killed 15 people at a Texan refinery in March 2005 and an oil spill
at Prudhoe Bay earlier this year. The latest incident helped push the price of oil
close to $78 a barrel. <a target="_blank"
height="10" hspace="2" width="17" alt="Image" /> Google announced
two big deals to strengthen its position as the market leader in online
advertising. It beat its rivals to win a contract for search and advertising
features on News Corporation's internet sites, which include
MySpace, a trendy social-networking website, and also reached an
agreement with Viacom to syndicate a selection of clips from
Viacom's MTV and Nickelodeon programmes to websites that
use Google's advertising network. <a target="_blank"
Sprint
Nextel unveiled a $3 billion blueprint to create a wireless broadband
network in America. The decision gives the mobile operator an edge over its
competitors in harnessing “fourth generation” technology to deliver faster and
more reliable video-to-phone services. <a target="_blank"
target="_blank" name="connection_problems">Connection
problems</div> Telstra cancelled plans to build a high-speed internet
network in Australia after it failed to reach agreement with regulators on access
fees for its rivals. The news adds to the Australian government's concerns as it
considers a sale of its 51.8% stake, worth A$25.3 billion ($19.4 billion), in the
telecoms company. 
Charles Allen, the chief
executive of ITV, Britain's biggest commercial broadcaster,
resigned. Viewing figures and advertising revenue have declined, and critics have
savaged the quality of ITV's recent programming. <a
target="_blank"
target="_blank" name="investing_for_success">Investing for
success</div> Aramark, a company that provides food services to
schools, hospitals and sports grounds, including New York's Shea Stadium, agreed
to be bought by a consortium of private-equity firms and
investors led by its own chief executive in a deal worth $8.3 billion. It is the
latest in a series of big private-equity deals, including the recent sale by
Philips of 80% of its semiconductors business to a group led by
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. <a target="_blank"
In America, a federal
appeals court ruled that IBM had not
discriminated against its older workers when it changed its retirement plan.
Pensioners argued that a switch away from benefits based on service and final pay
favoured younger employees. The ruling could affect other suits brought against
American companies' pension plans on the ground of age discrimination. 
Martha Stewart
reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in a
civil insider-trading case related to the lifestyle guru's sale of shares in
ImClone Systems in 2001. Ms Stewart (who was jailed in a parallel criminal case
but has since made a comeback) will pay a fine of $195,000 and is banned from
holding a director's post for five years. She neither admits nor denies
wrongdoing. 
After months of pressure
exerted by a group of foreign investors led by Carl Icahn, KT&G,
South Korea's biggest producer of tobacco and ginseng, agreed to return $2.9
billion to shareholders by increasing dividends and buying back shares. The deal
represents a breakthrough for shareholder activism in Asia. 
The European Commission
said it would investigate the Italian government's decision to block a
euro14.3 billion ($18.3 billion) merger between
Autostrade and Spain's Abertis. The sale,
intended to create the world's biggest toll-road operator, is the latest in a
string of takeovers that have been hampered by the apparent economic nationalism
of some governments. <a target="_blank"
Anticipating a court
ruling in its favour, Apotex, a Canadian pharmaceutical firm,
introduced a generic version of a bestselling drug, Plavix.
Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis are in the midst of a legal fight with
Apotex to protect Plavix's patent.
Air
China reduced the value of its forthcoming public offering in Shanghai by
40% because of weak demand. The carrier's listing follows a spurt of big domestic
offerings in mainland China this year after a 12-month ban on new share sales
ended in May. 
target="_blank" name="words_of_caution">Words of caution</div>
size="-1">America's Federal Reserve left the federal funds rate
unchanged at 5.25%, ending a run of 17 meetings at which it had increased interest
rates. Economists pored over the accompanying statement, which said that although
core inflation had been “elevated” the signs were that economic growth had
“moderated”. <a target="_blank"
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: 10-Week Free AJAX Programming Online Course
DATE: 08/09/2006 07:56:31
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<h2>1. AJAX Basics & Development Tools (Aug. 4th, 2006) </h2> In this session, you are going to learn basic concepts of AJAX such
as how XMLHttpRequest JavaScript object is created and used by the browser for
performing asynchronous communication with the backend server. For the hands-on
lab, you are also going to learn how to use a few debugging tools out there,
especially FireBug debugger, for debugging client side JavaScript code. You will
also play around with various "ready to build and run" AJAX sample
applications. 

1. Presentation slides (1.5 hour) 

<div style="margin-left:40px; "> <ul><li><a
href="http://www.javapassion.com/j2ee/AJAXBasics.pdf">PDF: 1 slide per page</a>
</li><li><a
href="http://www.javapassion.com/j2ee/AJAXBasics_speakernoted.pdf">PDF: slides
with speaker notes</a> </li><li><a
href="http://www.javapassion.com/j2ee/AJAXBasics.sxi">StarOffice
file</a></li><li><a
href="http://www.javapassion.com/ajax/AJAXBasics/AJAXBasics.html">Flash</a>
 
</li><li><a
href="http://www.javapassion.com/ajax/AJAXBasics/AJAXBasics.zip">Flash</a>
(Downloadable, unzip it and access the AJAXBasics.swf file from your browser) 
</li></ul> 2. Labs and homework (3 hours) 
<ul><li><a
href="http://www.javapassion.com/handsonlabs/4257_ajaxbasics2.zip">4257_ajaxbasics
2.zip</a> (Unzip it in a directory of your choice and read lab document from
<unzip-directory>/ajaxbasics2/index.html to proceed)</li><li><a
href="http://www.javapassion.com/handsonlabs/ajaxbasics2">Online lab document</a>
(This is the same document you will find in the hands-on lab zip file)</li><li><a
href="http://www.javapassion.com/ajax/ajaxbasics2lab/ajaxbasics2lab.html">Flash</a
></li></ul> <h2>2. AJAX Frameworks and Toolkits (Aug. 11th, 2006) </h2> <div
style="margin-left:40px; "> The goal of this session is to let you get exposed to
various AJAX frameworks and toolkits that are available as of today and let you
have some sense of their capabilities so that you can make best judgment in terms
of which one suites the need of your project in hand. 
</div> 1. Presentation slides (1 hour) 

<div style="margin-left:40px; "> <ul><li><a
href="http://www.javapassion.com/j2ee/AJAXFrameworks.pdf">PDF: 1 slide per
page</a></li><li><a
href="http://www.javapassion.com/j2ee/AJAXFrameworks.sxi">StarOffice
file</a></li></ul> 2. Labs (2 hours) 
<ul><li><a
href="http://www.javapassion.com/handsonlabs/4258_ajaxframeworks.zip">4258_ajaxfra
meworks.zip</a> (Unzip it in a directory of your choice and read lab document from
<unzip-directory>/ajaxframeworks/index.html to proceed)</li><li><a
href="http://www.javapassion.com/handsonlabs/ajaxframeworks">Online lab
document</a> (This is the same document you will find in the hands-on lab zip
file)</li></ul></div></div>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: YouTube Envy; E3 RIP; Mel-o-drama
DATE: 08/04/2006 06:04:09
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Everyone's got YouTube envy: Weatherbug Video launched as <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,58kb,1ep6,kpqm,g1qy">You
Tube for weather</a>, while Singshot is <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,g5um,7snb,kpqm,g1qy">You
Tube for karaoke</a> (both via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,dyt9,1uxj,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Mashable!</a>). And now Time Warner's CNN division wants to be <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,djys,2thz,kpqm,g1qy">You
Tube for news</a> with CNN Exchange. Anyone can upload photo, video, audio or
written "I-Reports" into CNN's mix (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,lrtm,8fez,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>business2blog</a>). CNN wants material as compelling as on MySpace
Video and Google Video, but will try to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,jwtl,e8nj,kpqm,g1qy">con
trol the whole experience</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,dyt9,1uxj,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Mashable!</a> This will make the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,1sdx,b19z,kpqm,g1qy">clu
ster&^* of citizen journalism even worse</a> and just put even more crap on CNN's
site, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,c0l4,7irf,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gawker</a>. And all this happens on a video anniversary this week:
that's right, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,vje,1rsk,kpqm,g1qy">MTV
turned 25</a>. <a target="_blank" title="CNN Citizen
Journalism"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,jwtl,e8nj,kpqm,g1qy"></a
><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,d483,j4rh,kpqm,g1qy">You
Tube is now more popular than MySpace</a>, or <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,6cl4,89g1,kpqm,g1qy">is
that fuzzy reporting</a>? chimes in <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,cgmw,g3de,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Om Malik</a>. Users aren't making money from their content's
popularity on YouTube which is what makes Revver interesting, since it <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,7q8a,75n0,kpqm,g1qy">sha
res half the ad revenue</a> for videos like exploding Diet Coke and Mentos with
its creators (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,ag0q,gu29,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Publishing 2.0</a>). There's more video out there than anyone
thought, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,2mm7,ewj4,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Kottke</a>, and rounds up <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,9djg,vr7,kpqm,g1qy">all
the places you can watch video on the Web</a>.
<div style="background-color:rgb(238, 238, 238); "><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,8qd1,gfs4,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/ad-killthisblog.jpg"
align="left" border="0" width="325" alt="Image" /></a> 
</div> <a target="_blank" title="Is E3 Dead?"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,9oym,bol4,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/e3_logo_cancelled.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="138" width="117" alt="Image" /></a>
Meanwhile, AOL is making a lot of services free-but it will start charging <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,33l7,h9wg,kpqm,g1qy">$1.
99 for video downloads</a> reports <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a>. With all these projects, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,a4p4,dpcp,kpqm,g1qy">Tim
e Warner's looking a lot like Frankenstein</a>, with a patchwork of projects and
investments in Brightcove, Truveo, Veoh, Revver-the list goes on. How many years
since the AOL merger, and Time Warner still <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,e56n,bfa1,kpqm,g1qy">can
't unify or leverage its brands</a>? (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,32zt,gax1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Techdirt</a>). Elsewhere in tech, the giant entertainment and gaming
show <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,e0x0,ltly,kpqm,g1qy">E3
is dead</a> (or at least <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,9oym,bol4,kpqm,g1qy">ser
iously fragged</a>) and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,71sc,fnyi,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Next Generation</a> gives <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,e0x0,ltly,kpqm,g1qy">10
reasons why</a>. Smaller conferences like BlogHer are going strong, although <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,6sqc,ddhw,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>/Message</a> <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,52it,i7so,kpqm,g1qy">cri
nged at Dave Winer's posts</a> about female attractiveness on Day One. <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,k6bz,863h,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Scobleizer</a> also talked about female <a target="_blank"
title="Stephen Colbert Wikiality"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,721l,5fgw,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/wikiality.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="174" width="236" alt="Image" /></a> stereotypes-
and how they <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,ilpn,7uvk,kpqm,g1qy">giv
e women immense economic power</a>.
Word of the week: Wikiality. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,kxm1,66nf,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Metafilter</a> calls it <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,8tvf,i8fp,kpqm,g1qy">"th
e reality that the majority of people agree on"</a> while <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,k6dk,6tko,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Channel 9</a> calls it a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,94ug,dfms,kpqm,g1qy">sta
te of altered reality</a> that creates doubt where none existed before. Thanks,
Stephen Colbert, for being the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,721l,5fgw,kpqm,g1qy">ele
phant in Wikipedia's room</a>, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,8qi8,77uo,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gothamist</a>, and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,c1jq,j06s,kpqm,g1qy">tak
ing the whole site down</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,32zt,gax1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Techdirt</a>). 
<a target="_blank" title="Castro dead"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,j298,jcy5,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/castrodead.gif"
align="right" border="0" height="240" width="240" alt="Image" /></a>In political
theater, Cuban leader <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,j298,jcy5,kpqm,g1qy">Fid
el Castro turned over power</a> to his 75-year-old brother, Raul, because of
surgery for intestinal bleeding. The official statement is that <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,hbs5,jyjw,kpqm,g1qy">he'
s fine</a> but details are scant, leading <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,20dc,2kmo,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Riehl World View</a> to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,d2xe,kttn,kpqm,g1qy">won
der whether he's dead</a>. Just like a Communist regime to make the details of
Castro's health a state secret, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,bka4,3aj1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>National Review</a>; <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,hbns,f18h,kpqm,g1qy">bre
ak out the mojitos</a>!
<a target="_blank" title="Young Hezbollah"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,guna,ckkx,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/ricetowers.jpg" align="left"
border="0" height="315" width="200" alt="Image" /></a> Meanwhile, <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,7c0v,2uox,kpqm,g1qy">Wor
ld War III sputters along in Lebanon</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,dqn3,klqc,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Yahoo News</a> reported Hezbollah's record <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,dkq6,3990,kpqm,g1qy">160
rocket launches into Israel</a> and-<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,19lk,1o9x,kpqm,g1qy">oop
s!-the West Bank</a> on Wednesday, while Israelis commandos <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,azif,cuh2,kpqm,g1qy">pou
nded Lebanon</a>. Neither side's listening to the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,6n7f,1pu2,kpqm,g1qy">Pop
e's pleas for peace</a> or anyone else's, for that matter. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,1ms9,bize,kpqm,g1qy">No
one asks Hezbollah to show restraint</a> in a world where everyone is Mel Gibson,
writes Bill Maher at <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,a0jx,e7f1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Huffington Post</a>.
<a target="_blank" title="Mel Gibson DUI"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,cw05,9dn,kpqm,g1qy"><img
alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/mel.0.jpg" align="right"
border="0" height="235" width="215" alt="Image" /></a>Speaking of Mel, he's got
problems. For one thing, his hair is thinning as you can <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,k25m,u1m,kpqm,g1qy">see
in the photos taken a few hours before his arrest</a> for DUI in Malibu says <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,5ljt,6lq7,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>PerezHilton.com</a>. Then there's his lecture to arresting officers
about how "the Jews" are responsible for <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,9wkz,8fox,kpqm,g1qy">all
the wars in the world</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,108l,8qxy,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Andrew Sullivan</a>). <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,lza9,3wpw,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TMZ.COM</a> first broke the story and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,9i7e,4kmd,kpqm,g1qy">pos
ted Gibson's anti-semitic comments</a> (Gibson has since apologized). Gibson's
publicist is trying to sell the idea that Mel is fighting for his actual life-
against a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,k4m0,jbd8,kpqm,g1qy">dea
th wish inspired by alcoholism</a>-rather than his professional life-against
stupidity. Things are really bad when <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,4c26,a2yj,kpqm,g1qy">eve
n Michael Jackson's publicist says you're screwed</a>, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ql29,39mg,lnuv,jtbv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Defamer</a>.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 29th July - 4th August 2006
DATE: 08/03/2006 13:46:48
STATUS: publish
BODY:
AOL,
Time Warner's internet division, said it would provide free software, e-mail and
other services to broadband customers as part of its strategy to boost
advertising. Time Warner hopes people will visit AOL even when they move to other
firms' broadband. Analysts wondered if this would be enough to get AOL growing:
its advertising revenue in the second quarter was 40% higher than a year ago, but
that was more than offset by lower revenue from subscribers, whose number has
fallen by 30% since 2002. <a target="_blank"
Vonage
issued its first quarterly statement since its disastrous stockmarket debut in
May. The company reported a net loss of $74m as rivals piled into the business of
offering phone calls over the internet, in which Vonage was an innovator. It has
spent an ever-greater amount on marketing—$90m in the second quarter—to keep up.
Since flotation, its share price has fallen by more than half.
Verizon
Communications' chief executive all but ruled out buying the 45% of its
profitable subsidiary, Verizon Wireless, that is held by
Vodafone within the next few years. The admission came as Verizon
Communications reported a steep fall in net profit for the second quarter.

In Serbia's biggest
privatisation, Mobi 63, the country's second-biggest mobile-phone
operator, was sold to Telenor, a Norwegian operator, for $1.9
billion after a nifty government auction.
target="_blank" name="nothing_to_smile_about">Nothing to smile
about</div> Eastman Kodak reported poor sales of consumer digital
equipment (and its seventh straight quarterly loss) and said that it would
outsource the manufacture of its cameras, a tradition the company traces back to
1888, to Singapore's Flextronics. An icon of photography in the 20th century,
Kodak is undergoing a hard time as it switches away from film to digital media and
graphic imaging. 
Japan
Post published details of its planned privatisation, which is due to
start in October 2007 and take ten years to complete. The company will be split
into four parts: a postal-savings bank, a life insurer, a mail-delivery business
and a post-office services unit. The bank's assets alone total ¥227 trillion ($2
trillion). 
E.ON, a
German utility, received a setback to its euro27 billion ($34 billion)
offer to buy Spain's Endesa. Spanish regulators imposed
conditions on a takeover, including the sale of some assets on the ground of
energy security. German officials cried foul, insisting the conditions were
illegal under European Union competition regulations. In a further test of those
regulations, Iberdrola, a rival to Endesa, said it would appeal against the EU's
approval of E.ON's bid. 
Using a new law, a
French court granted Eurotunnel its request for protection from a
group of disgruntled bondholders unhappy with the restructuring of its £6.2
billion ($11.6 billion) debt. The ruling gives the operator of the tunnel linking
Britain and France a six-month period to push through its plan.
target="_blank" name="gone,_but_not_forgotten">Gone, but not
forgotten</div> An air of finality hung over the saga of Yukos, which
was formally declared bankrupt by a judge in Moscow. Once Russia's biggest oil
company, its fall from political grace led to the forced sales of its biggest
assets, the trial and jailing of its boss and the flight of other managers, who
still claim Yukos is solvent. 
The mining industry was
galvanised by the latest efforts at consolidation. Inco, a
Canadian miner, admitted failure in its bid to buy Falconbridge,
a compatriot, leaving the way open for a takeover of the latter by Switzerland's
Xstrata. Inco's defeat unravels Phelps Dodge's
plan to buy a combined Inco and Falconbridge and thus create one of the
world's biggest mining firms.
Amid a batch of
statistics forecasting a rise in inflationary pressures, the European
Central Bank lifted its key interest rate by one-quarter of a percentage
point to 3%. Surprisingly, the Bank of England also raised its
key rate by the same amount to 4.75%, the first change for 12 months. <a
target="_blank"
Hank Paulson
made his first speech as America's treasury secretary. He was more frank
than expected about the country's budget deficit, the reform of entitlement
programmes and the stagnation of the living standards of middle-income
Americans.
target="_blank" name="more_motown_blues">More Motown blues</div>
size="-1">America's three biggest carmakers saw a slump in sales in the United
States during July as demand fell for petrol-thirsty SUVs
and rose for fuel-efficient cars. Japan's carmakers fared rather better:
Toyota outsold Ford for the first time, putting
it in second place behind General Motors. Meanwhile, Ford reported a second-
quarter loss of $254m, twice what it had previously said, owing largely to extra
pension costs caused by job cuts.
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 29th July - 4th August 2006
DATE: 08/03/2006 13:46:10
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Western powers
struggled, and continued to fail, to bring about a ceasefire in
Lebanon, while Israel continued to hit what it
said were strongholds of the Hizbullah militia across the country. An attack on
the town of Qana, one such Hizbullah stronghold, killed at least 28 people, more
than half of them children, causing an international outcry that increased the
pressure on Israel and its American ally to agree to an unconditional ceasefire.
Israel insisted that Hizbullah should first disarm. <a target="_blank"
In a leaked memorandum,
the outgoing British ambassador to Iraq said that “the prospect
of a low-intensity civil war and a de facto division of Iraq is probably more
likely” than a stable democracy. 
More than 30 ministers
resigned from the UN-backed transitional government in
Somalia over the prime minister's refusal to talk to the Council
of Islamic Courts. For their part, the Islamists will not talk to the government
as long as Ethiopian troops remain in the country.
The first democratic
election in Congo for 46 years passed off fairly well on July
30th. The incumbent, President Joseph Kabila, is expected to win, but official
results will not be out for several weeks. <a target="_blank"
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was
removed from her post as head of Nigeria's economic-reform team.
Previously a campaigning finance minister, she was credited with leading an anti-
corruption drive and securing debt relief until unexpectedly becoming foreign
minister last month. This latest move reinforces fears that economic reforms are
faltering.
 
name="ukraine's_somersault">Ukraine's somersault</div> In an apparent resolution of a
long political crisis, Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko
agreed to nominate his pro-Russian rival, Viktor Yanukovich, as prime minister. <a
target="_blank"
named General Yasar Buyukanit as the new head of its armed forces, ending
speculation that the ruling Justice and Development Party, which traces its roots
to political Islam, would try to block his appointment. General Buyukanit is
expected to take a tough approach in maintaining Turkey's secularism. <a
target="_blank"
The unemployment rate in
the euro area fell to 7.8% in June, it lowest level in five
years. 
After weeks of protests
against the proposal, Italy's parliament voted for measures to
end protectionism in jobs ranging from taxi-drivers to lawyers. The average
Italian family is expected to save euro1,000 ($1,270) a year because of
the deregulation. <a target="_blank"
 
name="warm_words_in_california">Warm words in California</div>
size="-1">Tony Blair visited California, where he signed an
agreement with the state's governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to collaborate on
tackling global warming. Mr Schwarzenegger, a Republican, criticised the federal
government for not taking strong action on the issue, a position that will do him
no harm as he starts his re-election campaign. <a target="_blank"
Polling indicated a
close finish in Connecticut's Democratic primary for senator on August 8th.
Joe Lieberman, the incumbent, has said he will run as an
independent in November's mid-term election, potentially fracturing the Democratic
vote, if he loses the primary to an anti-war candidate, Ned Lamont.
A marine who is under
investigation for taking part in the alleged murder of civilians in the Iraqi town
of Haditha last November filed a defamation lawsuit against John
Murtha, a veteran Democratic congressman and hawk who no longer supports the Bush
administration on Iraq, for comments he made about the incident. 
Andrew von Eschenbach
was grilled by Democrats in Congress at his nomination hearing for commissioner of
the Food and Drugs Administration. Mr von Eschenbach, who is
acting head of the agency, was asked why the FDA had
suddenly announced it might approve a “morning-after” contraceptive pill, which
has been dogged by controversy since 2003. 
 
name="a_pause_for_breath">A pause for breath</div> For the first time in his 47-year
rule Cuba's Fidel Castro handed over power temporarily to his
brother Raúl, the defence minister. Fidel claimed his health was stable after
emergency surgery to halt intestinal bleeding. Although the news caused some
anxiety in Havana, Cuban exiles celebrated in Miami. Mr Castro turns 80 on August
13th. <a target="_blank"
Thousands of supporters
of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who is contesting the results of
Mexico's presidential election, occupied Mexico City's main
square and held sit-ins on main roads in the capital in support of his demand for
a full ballot recount. <a target="_blank"
Argentina's
Congress voted to grant the executive branch the right to alter the
national budget however it chooses, so long as the total amount of spending is not
changed. The decision strengthens the president's already robust powers at the
expense of the weak legislature. 
Fifteen soldiers died in
an ambush in north-eastern Colombia and a civilian was killed by
a car bomb in Bogotá, the capital. The attacks came a week before the inauguration
of Álvaro Uribe to a second term as president and are thought to be the work of
the FARC, the main rebel group. <a target="_blank"
 
name="another_war">Another war</div> Fresh fighting erupted in the
port city of Trincomalee in Sri Lanka's north-east as thousands
of people reportedly fled the area. The conflict between the army and Tamil Tiger
rebels has intensified recently and the country is sliding ever-closer to civil
war. <a target="_blank"
NATO
took command of operations in southern Afghanistan and claimed to
have killed dozens of Taliban fighters in the region. At least four troops, three
of them British, were also killed. The top diplomats of
India and Pakistan met for the first time since
seven bombs killed more than 180 people in Mumbai last month, and vowed that the
peace process would not be disrupted.
Three policemen were
killed by a bomb in Thailand's rebellious south. The explosion
came the day after suspected Muslim separatists carried out dozens of co-ordinated
bomb attacks using small devices, which injured three people. 
size="-1">Australia's prime minister, John Howard, confirmed that
he intends to campaign for a fifth term at the next general election, expected
next year. His decision ends speculation about his likely successor, but will
disappoint Peter Costello, the finance minister, who was tipped to get the job. <a
target="_blank"
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 22nd - 28th July 2006
DATE: 07/28/2006 05:50:41
STATUS: publish
BODY:
A fortnight after
Hizbullah fighters attacked Israel and nabbed two soldiers,
Israel continued to pound Lebanon in an effort
to get them back and to force Hizbullah out of the south. America's secretary of
state, Condoleezza Rice, toured the region, ending up at a conference of European
and Arab leaders in Rome, where she blocked calls for an immediate ceasefire but
proposed a UN force to help the Lebanese government assert
control of all its territory. <a target="_blank"
Four UN peacekeepers were killed by
Israeli bombs in southern Lebanon, making some governments warier of sending
peacekeeping troops.
Israeli troops continued
to fight Palestinian militants in Gaza in an effort to get back a
captured soldier; 24 Palestinians were killed there, and 57 wounded, on July
26th.
After car-bombs killed
scores more people in Baghdad, speculation grew that Iraq's
capital may have to be divided into sectarian zones, in the manner of Beirut
during Lebanon's 15-year war. Meanwhile, the trial of Saddam Hussein
on charges of genocide resumed; the former dictator was being force-fed
after spending the past two weeks on hunger strike. <a target="_blank"
The mood in the
Democratic Republic of Congo was tense in the run-up to
parliamentary and presidential elections on July 30th. Riots broke out amid
accusations of intimidation by backers of President Joseph Kabila, who is
favourite to win. <a target="_blank"
Minni Minnawi, leader of
the only rebel group in the embattled province of Darfur to sign a peace agreement
with Sudan's government, met George Bush, who urged him to co-
operate with the other two groups, which have not yet signed.
The threat of war
increased when Ethiopian troops entered Somalia to protect that
country's weak transitional government against the Council of Islamic Courts,
which now controls much of the south as well as the capital, Mogadishu. <a
target="_blank"
 
name="going_nuclear">Going nuclear</div> India declared
that it would not accept any changes to a deal struck with George Bush allowing
India access to American civilian nuclear technology. The United States Congress
may try to toughen up the agreement as it considers the details.
China reportedly froze a
number of North Korean accounts in a Macau branch of the Bank of
China, apparently following an investigation into money-laundering. Accounts at
another Macau bank were frozen last September, at America's request.
Thailand's
three election commissioners were all sentenced to four years in prison
for allowing unqualified candidates to run in a controversial election in April,
which has since been annulled. The commissioners are to appeal against their
convictions.
Three men convicted of
the 2002 Bali bombings in Indonesia, in which 202 people died,
are to be executed in August.
 
name="secession_talks">Secession talks</div> The first big meeting of leaders
from Serbia and Kosovo was held in Vienna after six months of lower-level talks on
Kosovo's future. But the meeting made little progress. Kosovo's
leaders insist on independence; Vojislav Kostunica, the Serbian prime minister,
said that there was no precedent that could be used as an argument for depriving
Serbia of 15% of its territory.
size="-1">Tensions rose between Georgia and
Russia, as Georgia sent troops into a remote gorge in Abkhazia, a rebel-
held region of the country. The Georgians are also demanding that Russian troops
get out of South Ossetia, another breakaway enclave.
A week after George Bush
cast his first veto, of a bill to permit federal funding of stem-cell
research, the European Union decided that some of its public research
budget could be used for the same end. Some central European members, supported by
the Catholic Church, were against, but they were outvoted.
Europe was gripped by a
heatwave as temperatures in Paris, London and Berlin exceeded
those in Bangkok, Delhi and Hong Kong. The French government, mindful of the many
deaths in a heatwave in August 2003, was on high alert. Many ministers and
officials will, unusually, remain at work throughout August. 
 
name="a_bad_week_for_free_trade">A bad week for free trade</div>
size="-1">Venezuela officially joined Mercosur, a South American
trade grouping whose original members are Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay,
at a summit on July 20th-21st. Cuba's Fidel Castro joined Venezuela's president,
Hugo Ch��vez, in calling for resistance to free-market policies backed by the
United States. <a target="_blank"
Donors pledged $750m in
aid for Haiti, an impoverished and strife-ridden country whose
fragile government was elected in February. That was more than the government had
asked for to stabilise its economy, but it wants billions more to build roads and
to improve health, electricity, security and institutions. 
Andr��s Manuel L��pez
Obrador, the leftist candidate defeated in Mexico's recent
presidential election, filed a complaint against the country's election authority,
claiming it allowed the illegal funding of ads by businesses opposed to his
campaign. Mr L��pez Obrador has demanded a vote-by-vote recount of the ballot,
which he says was tainted by irregularities. 
 
name="a_lot_warmer_in_january,_too">A lot warmer in January,
too</div> Implying possibly the biggest change to America's presidential
nominating process for 30 years, a Democratic committee proposed that
Nevada should hold its caucus before New Hampshire's primary, and South Carolina
shortly after it, in the 2008 contest. The decision should ensure that political
issues dear to western and southern states become more prominent in the crucial
early stages of campaigning.
In another blow to
supporters of gay marriage, Washington state's Supreme Court
ruled that a ban on same-sex nuptials was constitutional, overruling the decision
of two lower courts, which said such a ban violated statutes on equal rights. New
York state's highest court also upheld a ban on gay marriage earlier this month.

Bill Clinton attended a
rally in Connecticut in support of Joe Lieberman, a beleaguered
senator who is facing a tough primary challenge from an anti-war candidate.

</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 22nd - 28th July 2006
DATE: 07/28/2006 05:50:16
STATUS: publish
BODY:
The Doha trade
round collapsed in acrimony when Pascal Lamy, head of the World Trade
Organisation, said he was suspending negotiations because they had failed to reach
a compromise on farm trade. His decision came after the United States, the
European Union, Brazil, India, Japan and Australia held a meeting to try to save
the talks. With an early resumption of the process unlikely, advocates for the
Doha round expressed utter dismay. <a target="_blank"
A consortium of
investors and private-equity firms, including Kohlberg Kravis
Roberts, set the record for the biggest-ever buy-out in a $33 billion deal for
HCA, one of America's largest operators of hospitals. Rumours
flourished that a rival bid might be made for HCA, but with
the family of Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader, playing a big part in the
consortium (his father and brother founded HCA) the success
of a counterbid seemed doubtful. <a target="_blank"
In a busy week for
KKR, it also agreed to buy France
Telecom's majority stake in PagesJaunes, a telephone-directory
business operating in several European countries, for euro3.3 billion
($4.2 billion). 
 
name="oil_and_trouble">Oil and trouble</div> BP said it would
increase spending on safety at its North American operations, which has attracted
the ire of activists in the United States. The announcement came shortly before BP
unveiled a quarterly profit of $7.27 billion. Separately, Lord Browne, the
company's chief executive, confirmed he would retire at the end of
2008.
Oji Paper
said it wanted to buy Hokuetsu Paper, which is committed
instead to selling a 24% stake to Mitsubishi Corporation. It is thought to be the
first time a Japanese blue-chip company has made a hostile bid for a domestic
competitor and may be a sign that Japan's corporate culture is opening up to
Western-style business practices.
 
name="gm's_seeds_bear_fruit">GM's seeds bear fruit</div> General Motors
pleased the market with its second-quarter earnings. The carmaker
recorded a net loss of $3.2 billion, but the figure included charges relating to
the early-retirement deal it struck with workers. Without the charges, GM made an adjusted profit of $1.2 billion. The company also
exuded optimism about its cost-cutting targets, leaving analysts to ponder if all
the good news would affect GM's potential alliance with
Renault and Nissan.
Boeing
reported its first quarterly loss (of $160m) in three years, as it booked more
than $1 billion in charges, mostly stemming from its settlement with the Justice
Department over an investigation into the aerospace company's defence-contracting.
<a target="_blank"
The parent company of
United Airlines said it expects to make its first profit in six
years in the second quarter. The airline emerged from 38 months of bankruptcy
protection last February, after a restructuring plan that cut jobs and pension
benefits. 
Hewlett-Packard
announced its biggest acquisition since Mark Hurd took over last year,
agreeing to buy Mercury Interactive, a provider of software
systems to business. HP's share price fell on news of the
deal, as investors feared that the $4.5 billion it will pay overvalues Mercury
(which saw a number of executives leave last year amid a stock-option scandal).

size="-1">Amazon's share price fell to a three-year low after it
reported a 58% drop in second-quarter net profit, compared with a year ago, to
$22m and lowered its earnings outlook. The profitability of the online retailer is
in doubt because of its heavy spending on new technology, including a widely
anticipated digital-download service. 
Advanced Micro
Devices fed its rivalry with Intel by agreeing to buy ATI
Technologies for $5.4 billion. The substantial
deal marks AMD's entry into high-resolution graphics chips,
used in computers, hand-held devices and gaming consoles.
At
Vodafone's annual general meeting, Arun Sarin suffered an
embarrassment when investors holding almost 15% of the shares failed to back his
re-appointment as chief executive. Sir John Bond, Vodafone's new chairman, said he
��subscribed�� to statements of support for Mr Sarin, who is under increasing
pressure to improve performance at the world's biggest mobile-phone operator. <a
target="_blank"
 
name="down_home">Down home</div> <table align="right" border="0"
valign="top"> 
size="-1">Existing-home sales in the United States continued to
soften in June, according to the National Association of Realtors. Further
evidence of a slowdown in the housing market was reflected in the median home-
price of $231,000, up just 0.9% on a year ago, and the number of unsold homes. At
3.7m, this represents 6.8 months' of supply (at June's rate of sales), the highest
level since July 1997. 
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Sorry AOL; iPod Killer; MySpace Beast
DATE: 07/28/2006 05:48:42
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Top Stories for the Week of July 24 - July 28 
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,1tdg,4tc2,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g title="sorry AOL" alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/aol%20case.jpg" align="right"
border="0" height="380" width="288" alt="Image" /></a>How do you pay for your sins
from Bubble 1.0? Steve Case, co-founder of AOL, apologized this week for
the company's merger with <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,8me8,mfg8,kpqm,g1qy">Tim
e Warner</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,kmur,itpx,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Yahoo</a>). "Sorry" doesn't cut it, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,ckte,ajmn,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Valleywag</a> considering <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,iiub,hc4f,kpqm,g1qy">the
deal snuffed roughly $200 billion in shareholder value</a> (Case's newest business
venture is in healthcare-insert your joke <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,1tdg,4tc2,kpqm,g1qy">her
e</a>). But Case is once again <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,3zny,i73h,kpqm,g1qy">jus
t apologizing for the deal's execution</a>, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,jml9,6hcb,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Techdirt</a>, while insisting it could have succeeded if the
delivery and creative sides had cooperated.
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,dxwn,3csj,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g title="zune" alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/zune_player_big.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="141" width="244" alt="Image" /></a>Microsoft is
working it's own delivery angle with its <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,eud4,hzch,kpqm,g1qy">new
iPod killer called Zune</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,ciza,5ueg,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Ubergizmo</a>. But <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,79zy,flds,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Om Malik</a> wonders why create another closed media player system?
Wouldn't it make more sense to let in Real Networks, MTV, Napster and others for
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,5b7b,3ssx,kpqm,g1qy">bra
nd differentiation</a>? Meanwhile, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a> found two places where creative and delivery are
humming along nicely. Three Rhode Island college students created Amie Street,
which combines ease of uploading and listening to music with <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,iogs,f5le,kpqm,g1qy">pow
erful social tools for recommending songs</a>. Then there's the inevitable <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,5kky,mdt0,kpqm,g1qy">por
n version of YouTube</a>-PornoTube Beta-with all videos tagged and browsable via
tag cloud or by straight or gay content. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,5kky,mdt0,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g title="pornotube" alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/pornotubelogo.jpg" align="left"
border="0" height="118" width="210" alt="Image" /></a>
In other tech news, Amazon is getting into the video download service, Amazon
DV, which will offer a download-to-burn option but also <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,lge4,ca5d,kpqm,g1qy">req
uires a software download for DRM</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,71qt,afwa,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Red Herring</a> figures pricey new services like this-which Amazon
needs to compete with everyone from Toys R Us to Best Buy-are why Amazon's revenue
took that <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,lnhv,7im1,kpqm,g1qy">58
percent hit last quarter</a>. Technorati also relaunched and got a <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,eg5u,g5po,kpqm,g1qy">fre
sh round of financing</a>, including a new Discover feature that puts Technorati
in competition with Techmeme to be the blogosphere's newspaper. And Web 2.0 isn't
just companies that do cool things; it's also become a highly recognizable
graphical vocabulary. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,73xc,b2cu,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>John Battelle</a> links to a site where people are <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,5x4f,8s7a,kpqm,g1qy">"We
b 2.0"-ing well-known corporate logos</a>, from Quaker Oats to Alaska Airlines.<a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,5x4f,8s7a,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g title="web 2.0 logos" alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/web20%20logos.jpg" align="left"
News Corp.'s quest to make money from the MySpace beast continues. A giddy Fox
Interactive Media president Ross Levinsohn sees MySpace as a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,14xr,l09u,kpqm,g1qy">"pe
er recommendations framework for leads on everything and anything"</a> including
children's playgrounds in L.A., while a calmer Washington Post article
touts the harder road of getting MySpacers to watch ads, subscribe and buy (via <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,6up,bmsz,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>Read/Write Web</a>). Speaking of revenue models, several blogs report
on a $1 billion YouTube valuation-<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,9j16,52e,kpqm,g1qy">what
are the founders smoking</a>, considering that much of YouTube's core content is
copyrighted? And don't forget the lack of revenue and those <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,2ara,8873,kpqm,g1qy">hug
e bandwidth bills</a>. Still, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,1vsd,6kob,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Lifehacker</a> passes on <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,8m2s,b3dj,kpqm,g1qy">an
easy way to subscribe to your favorite YouTube video tags</a>: try
"http://www.youtube.com/rss/tag/elvis+presley.rss" for "Elvis Presley". And if
you're missing music videos and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,14xr,l09u,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g title="myspace beast" alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/myspace%20value.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="173" width="173" alt="Image" /></a> sports clips
on YouTube, try Gotuit, which just launched with <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,arx2,b76y,kpqm,g1qy">a
deep library of premium content and near-instantaneous video play</a>.
Political bloggers had plenty to cover this week too: Iraq's president Noori
al-Maliki visited the White House and President Bush pledged to move <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,asdz,bv1s,kpqm,g1qy">mor
e U.S. troops into Baghdad</a> in an attempt to restore order there (via <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,a0jx,e7f1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Huffington Post</a> ). Maliki's visit is touchy because, as <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,ixt5,f04h,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Think Progress</a> writes, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,5c5y,2u37,kpqm,g1qy">he
hasn't joined many Arab leaders and condemned Hezbollah</a> for starting the
current round of fighting with Israel. But at least President Bush is admitting <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,kf1n,3owo,kpqm,g1qy">the
Baghdad situation is "terrible,"</a> writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,108l,8qxy,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Andrew Sullivan</a>. It's not so hot in northern Iraq, either, where
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,b57y,5fr7,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Talking Points Memo</a> says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,l1md,jewj,kpqm,g1qy">Tur
key is running out of patience</a> with deadly attacks by Kurdish separatists
within Iraq.<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,asdz,bv1s,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g title="conde lebanon" alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/conde2.jpg" align="right"
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,asdz,bv1s,kpqm,g1qy">con
tinues to ignore calls for a cease-fire in Lebanon</a> in favor of more enduring
solutions (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,a0jx,e7f1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Huffington Post</a>). <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,agqz,egu8,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/colbert.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="110" width="200" alt="Image" /></a> The only
silver lining for the U.S. now is that <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,8bfu,28ts,kpqm,g1qy">jih
adis may shift their resources from Iraq to Lebanon</a>, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,fx32,arlw,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Blogs of War</a>. Back in D.C., <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,9v2d,gjnx,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Scotusblog</a> covers the controversy over "signing statements"
President Bush has attached to certain legislation. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,48z9,dxos,kpqm,g1qy">The
American Bar Association opposes the statements</a>, in which the president
specifies his objections to laws and even an intent to not enforce certain parts
of them. On the lighter side of politics, Stephen Colbert asks NAACP chair Julian
Bond for <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,agqz,egu8,kpqm,g1qy">hel
p in picking a new-black-friend</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,bgb8,846d,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Comedy Central</a>).
In sports, despite needing a hip replacement, American <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,1ii8,cf2u,kpqm,g1qy">Flo
yd Landis pedaled to glory</a> and won the 2006 Tour de<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,ggwe,coqg,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g title="floyd tour" alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/tx_landis.jpg" align="right"
border="0" height="278" width="204" alt="Image" /></a> France. Other peloton
racers couldn't believe that Landis' breakaway ride-the day after his disastrous
mountain stage-was anything but suicide. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,egu9,ftgy,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Tour de France 2006</a> rounds up reaction to the <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,is5n,ggsk,kpqm,g1qy">mos
t exciting Tour in years</a>. But was it too good to be true? <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,ggwe,coqg,kpqm,g1qy">Flo
yd tested positive for high levels of testosterone</a> after his Stage 17
triumph, and may be stripped of his victory. Say it ain't so.
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,81iq,ba5y,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g title="paris" alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/parisblonde.jpg" align="left"
border="0" height="215" width="258" alt="Image" /></a>Finally in entertainment,
Ken Jennings, who won 74 times on Jeopardy!, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,4h6h,puc,kpqm,g1qy">blas
ted show host Alex Trebek as a robot</a>-and then as merely a cyborg with some
Canadian organic parts-on his Web site, according to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,6p7c,mg1a,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Yahoo News</a>. The NY Post and AP also picked up the story but <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,chr5,6mr4,kpqm,g1qy"> it
turned out to be all satire</a>. Brad and Angelina's kid <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,c5b4,lsh4,kpqm,g1qy">Shi
loh is synthetic now</a>, courtesy of Madame Tussaud's wax museum (via <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,cau,88co,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>Just Jared</a>). Speaking of synthetic, Paris Hilton <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,81iq,ba5y,kpqm,g1qy">imm
ortalized herself again</a> saying: "Every decade has an iconic blond like Marilyn
Monroe or Princess Diana, and right now I'm that icon." And Britney Spears �� who
is 7 months pregnant-was ordered by doctors to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qido,39mg,3jd,ioeg,kpqm,g1qy">cut
down on the Cheetos</a>. Seriously. 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: YouTube Economics; Frat-House Politics
DATE: 07/21/2006 18:12:40
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Top Stories for the Week of July 17 - July 21 
<a target="_blank" title="YouTube"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,cim1,jazv,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt="YouTube"
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/youtubefounders.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="247" width="370" alt="Image" /></a>It's all
YouTube all the time: The online video service not only gets phenomenal
participation--about <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,3eoc,jtza,kpqm,g1qy">65,
000 video uploads a day</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,dyt9,1uxj,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Mashable!</a>), it serves 100 million videos a day--<a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,cim1,jazv,kpqm,g1qy">60
percent </a> of all videos watched online in the U.S. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a> credits the success to social features, a catchy
URL, and early movement into MySpace. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,4fmt,lcue,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Lost Remote</a> agrees, quoting a MySpace stat that <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,kpd2,2hod,kpqm,g1qy">40
percent of YouTube video plays come off MySpace pages</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,mgi,10gs,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>No Man's Blog</a> analyzes the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,lkre,1fqi,kpqm,g1qy">all
-time top 100 videos on YouTube</a>. The breakdown: 58 user-generated videos, 31
music videos, four commercials, three commercial "virals," two movie trailers and
two Asian "candid camera" bits. But can YouTube make money <a target="_blank"
title="Wal-Mart The Hub"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,ggns,6t7f,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/hub.jpg" align="left"
border="0" height="229" width="300" alt="Image" /></a>against Mojoflix, Grouper,
Vimeo, eefoof and others? Maybe with the help of old media like CBS, whose CEO Les
Moonves met with YouTube founder Chad Hurley to explore putting <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,54ol,57uu,kpqm,g1qy">CBS
clips on YouTube</a> for greater exposure. 
Speaking of MySpace, Wal-Mart's MySpace clone is getting universal pans from
bloggers. Wal-Mart launched TheHub as a kid-friendly "safe" alternative to
MySpace's racy free-for-all, but it's prepopulated with thinly disguised video
ads, screens all incoming videos, and e-mails kids' parents to let them know a kid
has joined--<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,ggns,6t7f,kpqm,g1qy">without letting kids e-mail each other</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,dyt9,1uxj,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Mashable!</a>). Calling users "hubsters" is painfully uncool, as is
luring them to post video content by <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,6m1n,35cd,kpqm,g1qy">dan
gling a spot in a Wal-Mart commercial</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,gbh7,elmv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Huffington Post</a>. One <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,kxm1,66nf,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>MetaFilter</a> reader wonders whether the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,cetx,egj9,kpqm,g1qy">12-
year-old Cambodian sweatshop workers get to have a page</a>. At the same time as
it courts video on TheHub, Wal-Mart is also trying to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,a5d1,8ji5,kpqm,g1qy">slo
w the video download market</a> by pressuring Hollywood studios--but look what
happened to the music-recording industry when it tried to resist, writes
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,32zt,gax1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechDirt</a>. 
The new Yahoo home page is up, and <a target="_blank"
rong>TechCrunch</a> describes the fresh look and a bigger deal: This may
be millions of people's <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,lcrm,1kkl,kpqm,g1qy">fir
st exposure to Ajax</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,7t81,6xvx,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Read/Write Web</a> says Yahoo did the transition the right way--
gradually, in tweaks--and is also inviting its 500 million users to participate in
a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,7c13,2hqz,kpqm,g1qy">hom
emade video competition</a>.
<a target="_blank" title="ipod cars"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,e3u8,4jgz,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/ipod_cars.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="168" width="225" alt="Image" /></a>Of course,
Apple's getting into the video business too--or so says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,hwp4,l0mf,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>ThinkSecret</a>, which claims CEO Steve Jobs will announce <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,fr5n,glw,kpqm,g1qy">movi
e rentals for iTunes</a> at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in three
weeks. That's movie rental not purchase, blogs <a
target="_blank"
rong>TechCrunch</a>, which says the big studios may try purchase schemes
with smaller vendors but are <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,b1gn,1xjq,kpqm,g1qy">cau
tious with iTunes</a> for now. Regardless, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,32zt,gax1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Techdirt</a> thinks an iTunes deal will limit the movie studios'
audience to the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,h5xa,9qg9,kpqm,g1qy">sma
ll group who already have video iPods</a>. Apple is also lobbying Detroit and
Tokyo for tighter iPod integration into cars--but <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,c96f,9lsb,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gizmodo</a> would rather spend the extra sticker price on <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,e3u8,4jgz,kpqm,g1qy">Tai
wanese hookers</a>.
<a target="_blank" title="NY Times Cuts"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,b6lj,40i6,kpqm,g1qy"></a
>Meanwhile, The New York Times will shrink in April 2008, going to a
smaller paper format to save $42 million a year. This eliminates hundreds of
production jobs while saving newsroom jobs--but also <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,b6lj,40i6,kpqm,g1qy">cut
s news space by 5 percent</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,gbh7,elmv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Huffington Post</a>). <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,m62k,e7bi,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>BuzzMachine</a> thinks it's not enough; NYT should <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,675w,lpd7,kpqm,g1qy">jus
t go tabloid</a> like other successful papers in London and New York. They're not
the only ones looking for revenue: the Wall Street Journal will soon put
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,6su,iquu,kpqm,g1qy">ads
on its formerly sacred front page</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,hz4t,ctgd,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>The New York Times</a>).
<a target="_blank" title="Bush Merkel Backrub"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,l685,2eq5,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/bush%20merkel.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="285" width="250" alt="Image" /></a>Poltical
bloggers were busy this week as President Bush's trip to the G8 summit in St.
Petersburg featured multiple gaffes, including frat-house banter with Tony Blair
that culminated in <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,hzii,1oxd,kpqm,g1qy">the
president cursing into a live microphone</a>. You'd think the president would have
learned from <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,4p7k,9ne7,kpqm,g1qy">the
last time a mic was left on</a>, but not so, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,dhao,dezv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Wonkette</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,fj6v,gq4p,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>BuzzMachine</a> wondered whether the Prez should be fined for
indecency--<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,g664,ktkr,kpqm,g1qy">tha
t'll be $325,000, please</a>! <a target="_blank" title="Pamela Anderson Kid Rock"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,77mw,2bo,kpqm,g1qy"></a>
Much, much worse was the unsolicited back massage Bush gave to German Chancellor
Angela Merkel at the summit. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,2yfy,69tb,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Truthdig</a> rounds up <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,l685,2eq5,kpqm,g1qy">blo
gger reactions</a>, complete with <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,8tia,2pcm,kpqm,g1qy">vid
eo</a> links. Put this together with the president's fixation on <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,ccym,18my,kpqm,g1qy">a
barbecuing pig in the former East Germany</a> and his urging Russian President
Vladimir Putin to adopt a democracy "like Iraq's," and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,75yz,k1cc,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Carpetbagger Report</a> thinks you've got a real diplomatic coup.
Amazingly, Jon Stewart <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,5xwm,9aqy,kpqm,g1qy">pre
dicted the Merkel grope</a> the night before it happened, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,2yfy,69tb,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Truthdig</a>.
Finally, in this week's most embarrassing blog post, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,cf9f,g886,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>The Superficial</a> records Pamela Anderson's plans ... to marry
... her beloved ... Kid Rock ... <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,77mw,2bo,kpqm,g1qy">agai
n</a>. Runner-up is Justin Timberlake, who told a British magazine that while he's
done drugs and been caught with his pants down, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qft2,39mg,23ts,2x78,kpqm,g1qy">he'
s no Courtney Love</a>. 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 15th - 21st July 2006
DATE: 07/20/2006 12:57:28
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
size="-2"><div>Jul 20th 2006 
 
size="-1">Israel continued to batter Lebanon in
response to an attack on July 12th by the militant group Hizbullah, which still
holds two Israeli soldiers captive. Israel hit targets across the country, causing
some 300 deaths in the past week for the loss of at least 25 Israeli soldiers and
civilians, many killed by Hizbullah rockets reaching as far south as Haifa,
Israel's third city. Israel also continued to attack Hamas militants in
Gaza in an effort to get them to free another recently captured
Israeli soldier. <a target="_blank"
Sectarian mayhem
continued apace in Iraq, with two suicide-bombings alone (one in
the holy city of Kufa) killing more than 120 people, mostly Shia Arabs. An Iraqi
group swearing loyalty to al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the Kufa
attack.
In the
Democratic Republic of Congo, several people were shot dead at an
election rally in Rutshuru, in the eastern province of Kivu. Separately, the UN-backed committee overseeing the elections called for the army
to be confined to barracks until the poll on July 30th. 
The Ugandan government
and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army started talks in the
southern Sudanese town of Juba. They had yet to agree the terms for a ceasefire.
<a target="_blank"
At a conference in
Brussels, Western governments agreed to increase aid to the African Union
peacekeeping force in the region of Darfur, in Sudan. The force
will now have to stay there until at least the end of the year, when the UN may take over.
 
name="protest_vote">Protest vote</div> Several hundred thousand
supporters of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the defeated candidate in
Mexico's presidential election, took part in a rally in Mexico
City to support his demand for a vote-by-vote recount. Mr López Obrador has called
for a campaign of civil resistance. <a target="_blank"
Panama's government
announced that a referendum on a $5.3 billion project to widen the Panama
Canal will be held on October 22nd. Opinion polls suggest that the scheme
will be approved. 
Chile's
president, Michelle Bachelet, whose four-month old government has been rocked by
protests over education policy, sacked three of her ministers. 
 
name="return_of_the_killer_waves">Return of the killer waves</div>
size="-1">A tsunami struck southern Java, in Indonesia, killing
more than 500 people. An early-warning system, proposed after the 2004
catastrophe, is not yet operational, but might not have helped much. <a
target="_blank"
American-led coalition
forces said they and Afghan troops retook two Taliban-held towns
in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand.
halted family reunions with the South, following the latter's
cancellation of food aid last week. That, in turn, had followed North Korea's
testing of seven missiles.
Authorities in
India blocked access to several websites, including some of those
that host the country's 40,000 blog sites, apparently as a security measure in the
wake of the bombings in Mumbai. Free-speech advocates in India criticised the
decision. 
Australia started to
withdraw its troops from Timor-Leste as the security situation
there began to improve.
 
name="the_bully_pulpit">The bully pulpit</div> George Bush used the first veto
of his presidency to overturn a decision by Congress to lift restrictions on
federal funding for research using embryonic stem cells. Mr Bush
ordered the ban in 2001 on ethical grounds, but scientists and public opinion are
against him. Democrats think the issue will resonate in November's mid-term
elections. <a target="_blank"
Georgia's primary elections, Cynthia McKinney, a black
congresswoman who became embroiled in a race row after she hit a policeman, faces
a run-off after failing to win a majority in her solidly Democratic district. And
Ralph Reed, the former leader of the Christian Coalition and once the darling of
the right, lost the Republican primary for lieutenant-governor. His campaign was
dogged by his former ties to Jack Abramoff, a disgraced lobbyist. <a
target="_blank"
The space
shuttle Discovery returned safely from its trip to the
international space station. Relieved NASA officials hailed
the mission's success. 
Valerie Plame
and her husband, Joseph Wilson, filed a lawsuit against Dick Cheney, the
vice-president, Karl Rove, the president's chief adviser, and Lewis “Scooter”
Libby, Mr Cheney's former chief of staff, claiming the trio had sought to
discredit them after Mr Wilson, a former ambassador, criticised the White House
over Iraq. 
Fresh from its success
in persuading Warren Buffett to give it most of his money, the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation announced its latest spending plan. Over the
next five years, $287m will be available for research leading to the creation of a
vaccine against HIV. So far, the search for such a vaccine
has been a dismal failure.
 
name="talking_the_talk">Talking the talk</div> <table
size="-1">World leaders met in St Petersburg for the G8 summit.
The agenda was inconsequential and the talk was dominated by the Middle East. But
the host, Russia's Vladimir Putin, was in triumphant mood since he avoided serious
criticism for his slide away from democracy. George Bush and Britain's Tony Blair
were embarrassed after being caught by a rogue microphone in an unscripted
exchange, which included the memorable greeting, “Yo, Blair!”. <a target="_blank"
size="-1">Serbia's prime minister, Vojislav Kostunica, offered
European foreign ministers a plan to capture Ratko Mladic, a Bosnian Serb general
wanted by The Hague war-crimes tribunal. The country's talks with the European
Union on possible membership will remain frozen until Mr Mladic is handed
over.
proposed the creation of a “rapid-reaction” team of border guards to help member
governments that are struggling with waves of illegal immigrants.
Spain's Canary Islands were overwhelmed in May; in the past two weeks, it has been
the turn of Malta.
A Dutch court
rejected a request to ban a paedophile political party that wants to run
in November's election on a platform of lowering the age of consent and legalising
sex with animals. With only three known members, it is unlikely to win any
seats.
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 15th - 21st July 2006
DATE: 07/20/2006 12:56:10
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
 
Online gambling
companies suffered heavy stockmarket losses after America's Department of
Justice signalled a crackdown on the industry by arresting the British boss of a
Costa Rica-based gambling firm on racketeering charges. The indictment maintained
that gambling online is illegal in the United States, an issue Congress is
addressing with legislation that aims to prohibit the popular activity. <a
target="_blank"
The scandal surrounding
backdated stock options intensified as civil, and possibly
criminal, charges were readied in the United States. Scores of companies are being
investigated by regulators. <a target="_blank"
Amid the usual spree of
announcements for aircraft orders at the Farnborough air show near London,
Airbus unveiled its redesigned A350XWB.
The $10 billion revamp of the mid-size aeroplane, which Airbus hopes will win it
more customers than Boeing's 787 Dreamliner, comes in
response to a demand for more cabin space and greater fuel efficiency. <a
target="_blank"
target="_blank" name="nyet,_or_just_not_yet">Nyet, or just not
yet?</div> Russia's accession to the World Trade
Organisation was delayed for at least three months after a row with the
United States over meat exports to Russia prevented a much-heralded “breakthrough”
at the G8 summit in St Petersburg. Trade officials tried to
get the negotiations back on track after Russia also grumbled about negative
Western attitudes towards Russian firms. After the falling out, Gazprom, the
country's state-controlled natural-gas monopoly, announced a further delay in
naming foreign partners for the lucrative $12 billion Shtokman project in the
Barents Sea. 
Shares in
Rosneft began trading in London after a last-minute attempt by
Yukos, a rival to the state-controlled Russian oil firm, to halt the partial
flotation was rejected by a British court. Rosneft's public offering raised $10.4
billion when it was priced last week (making it one of the world's biggest), but
Yukos claims the offering is based on the value of assets that were illegally
seized from it and sold at state auction. <a target="_blank"
Phelps
Dodge, an Arizonan copper miner, sweetened its offer to buy
Inco and Falconbridge, two Canadian nickel and
copper mining companies. Amid high metal prices, Phelps Dodge plans to create one
of the world's biggest mining concerns, but some of its investors have voiced
doubts. In response, Xstrata, a Swiss-based mining firm, again
raised its offer for Falconbridge in a bid to woo shareholders' support for a
separate merger. 
The share price of
Yahoo! fell to its lowest level in two years after it announced a
delay to improvements in the technology that marries searches on its website with
online advertisers, seen as vital to the firm's competitive strategy.
size="-1">Microsoft and Nortel Networks formed
an alliance to develop an internet-based communications system for businesses that
will incorporate a range of e-mail and video technologies. The tie-up follows
other recent pacts in the telecoms and network-equipment industry. 
target="_blank" name="there's_no_pleasing_some">There's no pleasing
some</div> Citigroup's second-quarter profit and revenue rose,
compared with a year ago, boosted by the performance of its investment and
corporate-banking business. But despite the solid results the firm's share price
fell, apparently because its earnings per share came in one cent short of most
analysts' predictions. 
The parent company of
the New York Mercantile Exchange, which trades in energy and
commodity futures, filed preliminary plans for a public offering. Nymex's decision
mimics a host of other American exchanges that have decided to end their
membership-based ownership structure by launching themselves on the stockmarket.

As Japan exits the
deflationary era, its government published an economic report that cautioned the
Bank of Japan to be “prudent” about the pace of further interest-rate
rises because of the fragility of the economic recovery. Last week, the
central bank ended its policy of zero interest rates, lifting its key rate to
0.25%. <a target="_blank"
Ben Bernanke's testimony
before Congress was interpreted positively by stockmarkets—the
Dow Jones Industrial Average closed more than 200 points higher—providing some
welcome relief. Events in the Middle East caused global markets to fall sharply
last week; the price of oil, which had surged past $78 a barrel,
fell back somewhat. <a target="_blank"
target="_blank" name="good_for_commodities">Good for
commodities</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
size="-1">China's economy grew by 11.3% in the second quarter
compared with a year earlier, the fastest rate of growth in a decade. With a
bonanza in exports, economists warned that Beijing needs to do more to ensure
against an overcapacity in manufacturing. <a target="_blank"
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Screen writing
DATE: 07/19/2006 07:40:58
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<h1><a name="trade">Trade Publications</a><a
name="trade"> (</a><a href="http://www.su-city-pictures.com/resources/#top"><img
src="http://www.su-city-pictures.com/images/arrow-up.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="9" width="10" alt="Image" /></a> <a href="http://www.su-city-
pictures.com/resources/#top">top</a>)</h1> 
Absolute Write: <a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.absolutewrite.com/">
www.absolutewrite.com</a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.absolutewrite.com/"> (online
publication lists industry articles, agent listings, links, competitions, and
message boards)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.absolutewrite.com/"> 
</a><a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.absolutewrite.com/">Authorlink:
</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.authorlink.com/">
www.authorlink.com</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.authorlink.com/"> (online publication lists
industry articles and agents)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.authorlink.com/"> 
href="http://www.authorlink.com/">
Bigscreenbiz.com:
www.</a><a target="_blank"
style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.bigscreenbiz.com/">bigscreenbiz.com</a><a target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.bigscreenbiz.com/"> (online publication lists links and
directories </a>
<a target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.bigscreenbiz.com/"> </a><a target="_blank"
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.bigscreenbiz.com/">Creative Screenwriting: </a><a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.creativescreenwriting.com/">
www.creativescreenwriting.com</a><a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.creativescreenwriting.com/"> (industry articles, links, and
contest information)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.creativescreenwriting.com/">
 </a><a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.creativescreenwriting.com/">Done
Deal: </a><a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.scriptsales.com/">
www.scriptsales.com</a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.scriptsales.com/"> (online
publication: resource for screenplay, pitch, treatment, and book sales in the
film industry; agency, attorney, and production company listings, industry
articles; and contests)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.scriptsales.com/"> 
href="http://www.scriptsales.com/">Exposure: </a> www.exposure.co.uk</a> (online resource for low-budget independent
filmmaking)</a>
href="http://www.exposure.co.uk/"> </a><a target="_blank"
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.exposure.co.uk/">Fade In magazine: </a> www.fadeinmag.com</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.fadeinmag.com/"> (lists script competitions,
industry articles, and links)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.fadeinmag.com/"> 
href="http://www.fadeinmag.com/">Film Comment
 magazine: </a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.filmlinc.com/"> www.filmlinc.com</a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.filmlinc.com/"> (this is the Film
Society of Lincoln Centerâs Web site: click on Film Comment icon; industry
articles)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.filmlinc.com/"> 
href="http://www.filmlinc.com/">Film Threat www.filmthreat.com</a> (industry articles)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.filmthreat.com/"> 
href="http://www.filmthreat.com/">Filmmaker
Magazine: 
</a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/">
www.filmmakermagazine.com</a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/"> (industry
articles; lists script competitions, events, and resources)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/">
href="http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/">Filmmaking.net:
decoration:none; " href="http://www.filmmaking.net/">
www.filmmaking.net</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.filmmaking.net/"> (online publication lists
links, message boards, and industry articles)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.filmmaking.net/"> 
href="http://www.filmmaking.net/">FilmStew.com www.filmstew.com</a> (online publication: industry articles,
resources, and subscription film tracking service)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.filmstew.com/"> 
href="http://www.filmstew.com/">HollywoodLitSales.com:
decoration:none; " href="http://www.hollywoodlitsales.com/">
www.hollywoodlitsales.com</a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.hollywoodlitsales.com/"> (online
publication: industry articles, resources, links, contests, and message
boards)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.hollywoodlitsales.com/">
href="http://www.hollywoodlitsales.com/">The
Hollywood Reporter: </a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/">
www.hollywoodreporter.com</a><a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/"> (industry articles)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/">
href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/">Hollywood Scriptwriter
www.hollywoodscriptwriter.com</a><a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.hollywoodscriptwriter.com/"> (industry articles) </a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.hollywoodscriptwriter.com/">
href="http://www.hollywoodscriptwriter.com/">The Independent www.aivf.org</a><a style="text-decoration:none;
" href="http://www.aivf.org/"> (this is the Association of Video and Filmmakersâ
Web site: click on The Independent icon; lists competitions, seminars, resources
and opportunities, links, and industry articles)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.aivf.org/"> 
href="http://www.aivf.org/">IndieClub.com www.indieclub.com</a> (online publication lists film festivals,
networking, and industry articles)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.indieclub.com/"> 
href="http://www.indieclub.com/">Indiefilmpage
www.indiefilmpage.com</a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.indiefilmpage.com/"> (online
publication lists film festivals, networking, and industry
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.indiefilmpage.com/"> 
href="http://www.indiefilmpage.com/">indieWIRE www.indiewire.com</a> (online publication: industry
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.indiewire.com/"> 
href="http://www.indiewire.com/">Inside Film
Magazine Online: </a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.insidefilm.com/">
www.insidefilm.com</a><a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.insidefilm.com/"> (lists conferences, script competitions, and
industry articles)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.insidefilm.com/"> 
href="http://www.insidefilm.com/">Movie
Magazine International
www.shoestring.org</a><a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.shoestring.org/"> (this is the Shoestring Radio Theaterâs Web
site: click on Movie Magazine International icon; radio program archives:
interviews with talent, and more)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.shoestring.org/"> 
href="http://www.shoestring.org/">Moviebytes www.moviebytes.com</a> (online publication lists screenwriting
competitions, contest report cards, resources, links, industry articles, and a
subscription service: Whoâs Buying What)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.moviebytes.com/"> 
href="http://www.moviebytes.com/">MovieMaker
Magazine
www.moviemaker.com</a><a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.moviemaker.com/"> (available online and on newsstands: industry
articles, links, jobs, and festivals)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.moviemaker.com/"> 
href="http://www.moviemaker.com/">NewEnglandFilm.com:
decoration:none; " href="http://www.newenglandfilm.com/">
www.newenglandfilm.com</a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.newenglandfilm.com/"> (online
publication lists screenplay competitions, resources, events, links, and
industry articles) </a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.newenglandfilm.com/"> 
href="http://www.newenglandfilm.com/">Premiere Magazine:
 </a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.premieremag.com/">
www.premieremag.com</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.premieremag.com/"> (industry
articles)</a><a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.premieremag.com/"></a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.premieremag.com/"> 
href="http://www.premieremag.com/">Screentalk www.screentalk.biz</a> (online international screenwriting
publication: industry articles, resources, and published
scripts)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.screentalk.biz/"> 
href="http://www.screentalk.biz/">Screenwriter
Magazine
www.screenwritermag.com</a><a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.screenwritermag.com/"> (lists agents and companies seeking
material, screenplay competitions, conferences, seminars, links, and industry
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.screenwritermag.com/"> 
href="http://www.screenwritermag.com/">Screenwriters Online Insider Report: </a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.screenwriter.com/">
www.screenwriter.com</a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.screenwriter.com/"> (this is the
Screenwriters Onlineâs Web site: click on Insider Report icon; industry
articles, links and resources)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.screenwriter.com/"> 
href="http://www.screenwriter.com/">Screenwriterâs Utopia:
decoration:none; " href="http://www.screenwritersutopia.com/">
www.screenwritersutopia.com</a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.screenwritersutopia.com/"> (online
screenwriting magazine lists competitions, seminars, and industry
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.screenwritersutopia.com/">
href="http://www.screenwritersutopia.com/">Scr(i)pt Magazine www.scriptmag.com</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.scriptmag.com/"> (industry articles, links,
screenwriting contests, and resources)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.scriptmag.com/"> 
href="http://www.scriptmag.com/">Shooting
People: </a>
www.shootingpeople.org</a><a
target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.shootingpeople.org/"> (online U.K and N.Y. publication: industry
articles, networking, links, and resources)</a>
href="http://www.shootingpeople.org/"> </a><a target="_blank"
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.shootingpeople.org/">UGO Screenwriterâs Voice:
decoration:none; " href="http://www.screenwriting.ugo.com/">
www.screenwriting.ugo.com</a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.screenwriting.ugo.com/"> (online
screenwriting publication lists competitions, seminars, links, and industry
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.screenwriting.ugo.com/">
href="http://www.screenwriting.ugo.com/">Underground Online:
decoration:none; " href="http://www.ugo.com/">
www.ugo.com</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.ugo.com/"> (online publication lists
resources, contests, and industry articles)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.ugo.com/"> 
href="http://www.ugo.com/">Variety: </a> www.variety.com</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.variety.com/"> (daily, weekly, and online
version: (industry articles) </a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.variety.com/"> 
href="http://www.variety.com/">When Teens
Write: </a>
www.teenwriters.net</a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.teenwriters.net/"> (online
publication lists industry articles and resources)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.teenwriters.net/"> 
href="http://www.teenwriters.net/">Wordplay www.wordplayer.com</a> (online screenwriting publication: industry
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.wordplayer.com/"> 
href="http://www.wordplayer.com/">Writerâs
Digest
www.writersdigest.com</a><a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.writersdigest.com/"> (lists script competitions, seminars,
industry articles, and links)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.writersdigest.com/"> 
href="http://www.writersdigest.com/">Written
By: </a>
www.wga.org/writtenby/writtenby.aspx</a> (monthly publication of the
WGA West: industry articles)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.wga.org/writtenby/writtenby.aspx"> 
</a><h1><a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.wga.org/writtenby/writtenby.aspx"></a><a
name="org">Organizations</a><a name="org"> (</a><a
href="http://www.su-city-pictures.com/resources/#top"><img src="http://www.su-
city-pictures.com/images/arrow-up.gif" alt="Image" border="0" height="9"
width="10" alt="Image" /></a> <a href="http://www.su-city-
pictures.com/resources/#top">top</a>)</h1> 
Academy of Motion Picture Arts &
Sciences: (Beverly Hills) <a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.oscars.org/">
www.oscars.org</a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.oscars.org/"> (sponsors the
Academy Awards, educational programs, seminars, and Nicholl
fellowships)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.oscars.org/"> 
href="http://www.oscars.org/">Academy of Television
Arts & Sciences: (North Hollywood)
decoration:none; " href="http://www.emmys.org/">
www.emmys.org</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.emmys.org/"> (education
programs)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.emmys.org/"> 
href="http://www.emmys.org/">American Film
Institute: (Los Angeles)
decoration:none; " href="http://www.afi.com/">
www.afi.com</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.afi.com/"> (school and
seminars </a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.afi.com/"> 
href="http://www.afi.com/">American Screenwriters
Association: (Cincinnati-based)
decoration:none; " href="http://www.asascreenwriters.com/">
www.asascreenwriters.com</a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.asascreenwriters.com/">
(nationwide chapters and affiliates: newsletter, conferences, resources, and
competitions) </a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.asascreenwriters.com/">
href="http://www.asascreenwriters.com/">Association
of Independent Video and Filmmakers: (New York
City-based) </a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.aivf.org/">
www.aivf.org</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.aivf.org/"> (workshops, publications,
resources, facilities, and regional salons) </a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.aivf.org/"> 
href="http://www.aivf.org/">Cinestory: (Chicago-based)
decoration:none; " href="http://www.cinestory.com/">
www.cinestory.com</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.cinestory.com/"> (sponsors Cinestory
Screenwriting Awards, workshops, and seminars) </a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.cinestory.com/"> 
href="http://www.cinestory.com/">Directors Guild of
America East and Directors Guild of America West: (New York City and Los Angeles) </a><a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.dga.org/">
www.dga.org</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.dga.org/"> (publishes DGA Magazine: industry
articles and online membership directory) </a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.dga.org/"> 
href="http://www.dga.org/">Dramatists Guild of
America: (New York City-based)
decoration:none; " href="http://www.dramaguild.com/">
www.dramaguild.com</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.dramaguild.com/"> (seminars) </a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.dramaguild.com/"> 
href="http://www.dramaguild.com/">Film Arts
Foundation: (New York City-based)
decoration:none; " href="http://www.filmarts.org/">
www.filmarts.org</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.filmarts.org/"> (seminars, screenings, and
resources for independent filmmakers) </a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.filmarts.org/"> 
href="http://www.filmarts.org/">Film
Independent: (Los Angeles-based)
decoration:none; " href="http://www.filmindependent.org/">
www.filmindependent.org</a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.filmindependent.org/"> (produces
the Independent Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival; seminars,
screenings, producer series, Filmmaker Labs, cameras and casting rooms rentals,
resource library with sample budgets and business plans, and other
resources) </a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.filmindependent.org/"> 
href="http://www.filmindependent.org/">Filmmakers
Collaborative: (New York City-based)
decoration:none; " href="http://www.filmmakers.org/">
www.filmmakers.org</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.filmmakers.org/"> (facilities for independent
filmmakers, seminars, and resources) </a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.filmmakers.org/"> 
href="http://www.filmmakers.org/">Film/Video
Arts: (New York City-based):
decoration:none; " href="http://www.fva.com/">
www.fva.com</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.fva.com/"> (equipment rental, seminars, and
workshops) </a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.fva.com/"> 
href="http://www.fva.com/">The Foundation
Center: (locations in New York City, Atlanta,
Cleveland, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.)
decoration:none; " href="http://www.fdncenter.org/">
www.fdncenter.org</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.fdncenter.org/"> (resource center and online
information for grants and workshops) </a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.fdncenter.org/"> 
href="http://www.fdncenter.org/">Grub Street: (Boston-based)
decoration:none; " href="http://www.grubstreet.org/">
www.grubstreet.org</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.grubstreet.org/"> (seminars and
workshops) </a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.grubstreet.org/"> 
href="http://www.grubstreet.org/">Independent
Feature Project: (New York City-based) Web
site: </a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.ifp.org/">
www.ifp.org</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.ifp.org/"> (sponsors the Independent Feature
Film Market, seminars, screenings, and other resources; check their Web site
for additional nationwide chapters) </a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.ifp.org/"> 
href="http://www.ifp.org/">New York Women in Film
and Television: (New York City-based)
decoration:none; " href="http://www.nywift.org/">
www.nywift.org</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.nywift.org/"> (seminars and screenings)
</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.nywift.org/"> 
href="http://www.nywift.org/">Northwest
Screenwriters Guild: (Seattle-based)
decoration:none; " href="http://www.nwsg.org/">
www.nwsg.org</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.nwsg.org/"> (workshops, readings, and events)
</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.nwsg.org/"> 
href="http://www.nwsg.org/">The Organization of
Black Screenwriters, Inc.: (Los Angeles-
based) Web site: </a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.obswriter.com/">
www.obswriter.com</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.obswriter.com/"> (script competitions, script
development, agent outreach, and events) </a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.obswriter.com/"> 
href="http://www.obswriter.com/">Producers Guild of
America: (Los Angeles-based)
decoration:none; " href="http://www.producersguild.org./">
www.producersguild.org.</a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.producersguild.org./"> (resources
and seminars)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.producersguild.org./"> 
href="http://www.producersguild.org./">Screen
Actors Guild: (offices in New York City and
Los Angeles) </a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.sag.org/">
www.sag.org</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.sag.org/">. (resources and links)
</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.sag.org/"> 
href="http://www.sag.org/">The Sundance
Institute: (Beverly Hills office)
decoration:none; " href="http://www.sundance.org/">
www.sundance.org</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.sundance.org/"> (sponsors Sundance Film
Festival, writers fellowship program, and events) </a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.sundance.org/"> 
href="http://www.sundance.org/">U.S. Copyright
Office: (Washington, D.C.-based)
</a><a
href="http://www.copyright.gov/"> www.copyright.gov</a><a
href="http://www.copyright.gov/"> (for application forms) </a>
<a href="http://www.copyright.gov/"> </a><a
href="http://www.copyright.gov/">Volunteer Lawyers
for the Arts: (nationwide locations) Web site:
decoration:none; " href="http://www.vlany.org/">
www.vlany.org</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.vlany.org/"> (assists artists in need, and
seminars) </a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.vlany.org/"> 
href="http://www.vlany.org/"> Women in Film: (Hollywood-
based; nationwide and international chapters)
decoration:none; " href="http://www.wif.org/">
www.wif.org</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.wif.org/"> (seminars and
screenings)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.wif.org/"> 
href="http://www.wif.org/">Women in Film &
Video/New England: (Boston-based)
decoration:none; "
href="http://www.wifvne.org/">www.wifvne.org</a><a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.wifvne.org/">
(seminars and screenings)
 </a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.wifvne.org/"> 
href="http://www.wifvne.org/">Writers Guild of
America, East: (New York City-based)
decoration:none; " href="http://www.wgaeast.org/">
www.wgaeast.org</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.wgaeast.org/"> (writersâ union, script
registration, resources, seminars, links, and more) </a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.wgaeast.org/"> 
href="http://www.wgaeast.org/">Writers Guild of
America, West: (Los Angeles-based)
decoration:none; " href="http://www.wga.org/">
www.wga.org</a><a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.wga.org/"> (writersâ union, script
registration, resources, seminars, links, and more. This site also provides
extensive resources for researching information about your script, including
Ask the Experts: organizations that provide free research information such as
government departments, medical authorities, psychological references, and
religious information.</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.wga.org/"> 
href="http://www.wga.org/">Writers Guild of Canada
(WGC): </a>
www.writersguildofcanada.com</a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.writersguildofcanada.com/">
(script registration, links, resources, and more)</a>
<a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.writersguildofcanada.com/">
 </a><h1><a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.writersguildofcanada.com/"></a><a
name="mkt">Marketing Guidess</a><a name="mkt">
(</a><a href="http://www.su-city-pictures.com/resources/#top"><img
src="http://www.su-city-pictures.com/images/arrow-up.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="9" width="10" alt="Image" /></a> <a href="http://www.su-city-
pictures.com/resources/#top">top</a>)</h1> The
following publications can be purchased through the Web sites listed below.
The Hollywood Creative Directory: <a style="text-
decoration:none; font-weight:400; " href="http://www.hcdonline.com/">
www.hcdonline.com</a> (lists studios, networks,
production companies, and executives with phone, fax, addresses, selected
produced credits, staff and titles)
The Hollywood Representation Directory: <a style="text-
">www.hcdonline.com</a> (lists agents and managers
nationwide)
Blu-Book Film Production Directory: <a style="text-
">www.hcdonline.com</a> (lists contact information
for TV, commercials and music video production)
 <h1><a name="screen">Where to Buy Published
Screenplays</a><a name="screen"> (</a><a
pictures.com/resources/#top">top</a>)</h1> Look under
âScreenplaysâ on the Internet and you will find links to assist you in your
search. Also, major bookstores carry published scripts.
Hollywood Book City: <a style="text-decoration:none; font-
weight:400; " href="http://www.hollywoodbookcity.com/"> 
www.hollywoodbookcity.com</a> (also lists additional
store locations)
Script City: <a style="text-decoration:none; font-
weight:400; " href="http://www.scriptcity.net/"> www.scriptcity.net</a> 
The Script Shack: <a style="text-decoration:none; font-
weight:400; " href="http://www.scriptshack.com/"> www.scriptshack.com</a>
Writers Store: <a style="text-decoration:none; font-
weight:400; " href="http://www.writersstore.com/"> 
www.writersstore.com</a> (also free biweekly e-zine
featuring articles and writing tips)
 <h1><a name="free">Where to Download Free Pulished
Screenplays</a><a name="free"> (</a><a
pictures.com/resources/#top">top</a>)</h1> The Daily
Script: <a style="text-decoration:none; font-weight:400; "
href="http://www.dailyscript.com/"> www.dailyscript.com</a>
Drewâs Script-O-Rama: <a style="text-decoration:none;
font-weight:400; " href="http://www.script-o-rama.com/"> www.script-o-
rama.com</a>
iScriptdb: <a style="text-decoration:none; font-
weight:400; " href="http://www.iscriptdb.com/"> www.iscriptdb.com</a> 
ScriptCrawler: <a target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none;
" href="http://www.scriptcrawler.net/"> www.scri</a><a target="_blank"
style="text-decoration:none; font-weight:400; "
href="http://www.scriptcrawler.net/">p</a><a target="_blank" style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.scriptcrawler.net/">tcrawler.net</a> 
Simply Scripts: <a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.simplyscripts.com/"> www.simplyscripts.com</a>
Twiz TV.Com: <a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.twiztv.com/scripts"> www.twiztv.com/scripts</a>
UGO: <a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.movie-page.com/movie_scripts.htm"> www.movie-
page.com/movie_scripts.htm</a>
 <h1><a name="add">Additional
Resources</a><a name="add"> (</a><a
pictures.com/resources/#top">top</a>)</h1> Contact your state arts council and local film commissions
for grants and other opportunities. 
filmtracker.com: <a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.filmtracker.com/"> www.filmtracker.com</a>
(database of films in development)
IMDbPro.com: <a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.imdbpro.com/"> www.imdbpro.com</a>
(representation listings, company directory, and production charts)
IndieFilms: <a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.indiefilms.com/"> www.indiefilms.com</a>
(Hollywood-based network that helps independent filmmakers find investors,
grants, funds, and distributors for their features, shorts, and
documentaries) 
The Internet Movie Database: <a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.imdb.com/"> www.imdb.com</a>
(online publication: information on thousands of films, biographies of actors,
and directors)
Mandyâs Film and TV Production
Directory: <a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://www.mandy.com/"> www.mandy.com</a> (online resource and
directory)
MoviePartners.com:: <a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.moviepartners.com/">
www.moviepartners.com</a> (resources, industry links, and online directory
of talent and who represents them) 
whoRepresents.com: <a style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.whorepresents.com/">www.whorepresents.com</a>
(online directory of talent and who represents them)
If you live in Canada, visit The Canadian
Authors Association for helpful links at: <a target="new" style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.canauthors.org/pubs.html">
www.canauthors.org/pubs.html</a>.
If you live in the United Kingdom and are
researching agents and other helpful links, visit: <a target="new" style="text-
decoration:none; " href="http://www.author-network.com/agents.html"> www.author-
network.com/agents.html</a>. 
If you live in Australia or New Zealand and are
researching agents and other helpful links, visit: <a target="new"
style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://home.vicnet.net.au/%7Eozlit/agents.html">
home.vicnet.net.au/~ozlit/agents.html</a>. 
If you live outside of the United States, the
International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG) an international body
representing guilds of professional screenwriters has guilds in the
countries listed below. 
Australian Writersâ Guild: <a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.awg.com.au/"> www.awg.com.au</a>

Irish Playwrights and Screenwritersâ
Guild: <a style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.script.ie/">
www.script.ie</a>
New Zealand Writers Guild: <a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.nzwritersguild.org.nz/">
www.nzwritersguild.org.nz</a>
 <a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://soci%c3%a9t%c3%a9%20des%20auteurs%20de%20radio,%20t%c3%a9l%c3%a9visio
n%20et%20cin%c3%a9ma/"> SociÃ©tÃ© des auteurs de radio, tÃ©lÃ©vision et
cinÃ©ma</a><a style="text-decoration:none; "
href="http://soci%c3%a9t%c3%a9%20des%20auteurs%20de%20radio,%20t%c3%a9l%c3%a9visio
n%20et%20cin%c3%a9ma/"> (SARTEC): </a><a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.sartec.qc.ca/">
www.sartec.qc.ca</a> (French-language
Canada)
Writers Guild of Great Britain: <a
style="text-decoration:none; " href="http://www.writersguild.org.uk/">
www.writersguild.org.uk</a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Israel Iran Palestine Syria
DATE: 07/15/2006 08:21:01
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<div><a
href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/middle_east/2001/israel_and_the_palestin
ians/default.stm"><img
src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41887000/gif/_41887546_middle_east1_hyp
203.gif" alt="Middle East crisis" border="0" height="40" width="203" alt="Image"
/></a></div>
<img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" alt="" border="0"
height="5" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="1" alt="Image" /> <div class="nlp">
LATEST NEWS </div>
<div class="arr"> <a

href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5182564.stm">
Israel kills Lebanese
civilians </a> </div>

'Israeli bomb hits house' in
Gaza </a> </div>

Crisis fires Mid-East press
</a> </div>

href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/5183172.stm">
Middle East crisis: Key maps
</a> </div>

Day-by-day: Lebanon crisis
</a> </div>
href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/5183382.stm">
In pictures: Lebanon Israel crisis
</a> </div>
<img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/cccccc.gif" alt=""
border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="3" width="203" alt="Image" /> <div
class="nlp"> BACKGROUND &
ANALYSIS </div>
<a
href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5180202.stm"><img
src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41887000/jpg/_41887382_lebsoldier6666.j
pg" alt="Lebanese soldier near Beirut's international airport" align="left"
border="0" height="66" hspace="0" vspace="3" width="66" alt="Image" /></a>
<img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" alt="" align="left"
border="0" height="66" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="5" alt="Image" />
<a
 Crisis Q&A
 </a> 
<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5180202.stm">
The key questions behind the escalating conflict in the Middle
East region 
</a>

US faces dilemma in crisis
</a> </div>

Early test of Olmert's mettle
</a> </div>

Hostility envelops wider
region </a> </div>

Beirut under pressure
</a> </div>

Who are Hezbollah?
</a> </div>
class="nlp"> FEATURES
</div>

Beirut turns to ghost town
</a> </div>
Fear on Israel's volatile
border </a> </div>

Anger and grief in Gaza
</a> </div>

Ashkelon defiant after
rockets </a> </div>
<a
href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/middle_east_israeli_views_o
n_crisis_with_lebanon/html/1.stm"><img
src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/opennews_rb.gif" alt=""
align="left" border="0" height="13" hspace="0" vspace="2" width="54" alt="Image"
/>Israeli voices</a> 
<img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/cccccc.gif" alt="" border="0"
VIDEO AND AUDIO </div>
<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5182416.stm#"><img
src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/videonews.gif" alt="" align="left"
border="0" height="13" hspace="0" vspace="2" width="60" alt="Image" />Reports and
analysis</a> 
 
<div><a
href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/middle_east/2001/israel_and_the_palestin
ians/default.stm"><img
src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41365000/gif/_41365187_israel_palestini
ans_hyp203.gif" alt="Israel and the Palestinians" border="0" height="40"
width="203" alt="Image" /></a></div>
KEY STORIES </div>
height="5" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="1" alt="Image" /> <div class="arr">
Abbas 'held secret
Israel talks' </a> </div>

Israel hits Palestinian
ministry </a> </div>

Deaths mount in attacks on
Gaza </a> </div>
Israel pressed to allow Gaza
aid </a> </div>
class="nlp"> FEATURES &
ANALYSIS </div>
height="5" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="1" alt="Image" /> <a
href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5161820.stm"><img
src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41865000/gif/_41865164_patiencegaza66.g
if" alt="" align="left" border="0" height="66" hspace="0" vspace="3" width="66"
alt="Image" /></a> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif"
alt="" align="left" border="0" height="66" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="5"
alt="Image" /> <a
 Anger and grief
 </a> 
Beit Lahiya residents express anger in the aftermath of Israel's
incursion 
</a>

Cost of peace
</a> </div>

UN's crisis warning
</a> </div>

Israel warned on exit
strategy </a> </div>

Focus on the Gaza Strip
</a> </div> 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: AOL Free-for-All; Rocketboom Lives
DATE: 07/14/2006 06:42:07
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Top Stories for the Week of July 10-14 
Can AOL stop the freefall by <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,frkd,j839,kpqm,g1qy">goi
ng free</a>? CEO Frank Miller proposed dropping AOL's longtime cash cow-it's for-
pay Internet access services-and moving to an <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,dtoc,kcg7,kpqm,g1qy">ad-
supported model</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,4sbw,2owp,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>NYT Technology</a>). This may help compete with Yahoo, blogs <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,i3ye,6eac,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Somewhat Frank</a>, but still-walk away from $2 billion in revenue?
Plus, AOL predicts a drop from today's 18.6 million subscribers to around <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,30kv,imhw,kpqm,g1qy">six
million by 2009</a>, lessening AOL's appeal to advertisers (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,ilyw,dq2y,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Paidcontent.org</a>). Time's stock slumped on the news, <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,6e6s,ajjw,kpqm,g1qy">dro
pping 2 percent on Tuesday</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,lfka,hwhu,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>CNET News.com</a> rounds up more blogger reactions <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,5y15,3ec4,kpqm,g1qy">her
e</a>.
Another old media surprise: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,1qw7,cz44,kpqm,g1qy">Wir
ed bought Wired News</a>. The magazine paid $25 million to reunite with it's
online brand after an <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,fdaw,337,kpqm,g1qy">8-
year separation</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,313x,hq5s,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Boing Boing</a>). The meeting of the magazine staff and the Wired
News team was <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,jlp7,8e9,kpqm,g1qy">not
unlike the episode of LOST</a> where the bedraggled tail-end passengers appear out
of the jungle to meet the rest of the passengers reports one tipster. Meanwhile,
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,6sja,6fmj,kpqm,g1qy">Lyc
os still owns the search engine Hotwired</a>.
<a target="_blank" title="amanda unboomed"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,k94q,dr8u,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/amanda-unboomed.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="144" width="239" alt="Image" /></a>Elsewhere, the
Rocketboom/Amanda Congdon dirty laundry kept coming courtesy of Congdon's <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,aqz9,7jsp,kpqm,g1qy">acc
usation-filled blog post</a>, but <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,37qa,lj8n,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Micro Persuasion</a> figures Congdon has already landed on her
feet, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,4l75,bzgz,kpqm,g1qy">sig
ning with the Endeavor talent agency</a> and picking up a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,j6wb,4875,kpqm,g1qy">vlo
g gig with 88slide</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,ckte,ajmn,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Valleywag</a>). Andrew Baron replaced Congdon with former MTV veejay
Joanne Colan, who <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,f0on,26uj,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>J-Walk</a> thinks looks like Congdon's <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,blu2,hyyq,kpqm,g1qy">twi
n sister</a>. After some minor delays, Colan had her Rocketboom debut which <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,c0l4,7irf,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gawker</a> summed up as the usual routine: take an Internet joke
and re-enact it in real life-which works just as tepidly well regardless of <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,k94q,dr8u,kpqm,g1qy">the
chick doing the tittering</a>. For direct dirt, see both Congdon's <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,7k6z,92qg,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Unboomed</a> blog or even Colan's <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,hnw3,i740,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>The Official Site of Joanne Colan</a>.
MySpace is now the most-visited Internet site, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,a78e,f188,kpqm,g1qy">pas
sing even Yahoo Mail and Google</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,ag0q,gu29,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Publishing 2.0</a>. Looks like <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,k510,cjc0,kpqm,g1qy">New
s Corp. got a bargain</a> when it bought MySpace for a hefty $580 million, blogs
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,dyt9,1uxj,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Mashable!</a>. With all the MySpace news, doesn't anyone talk about
Google anymore? Well, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,2jts,frix,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Google Blogoscoped</a> has found a few traces of GDrive, Google's
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,3fha,fhfm,kpqm,g1qy">onl
ine storage product</a>, but it's only being used internally right now. Google
quickly <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,epzn,gqd4,kpqm,g1qy">too
k the page down</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a>, but bloggers stay transfixed by GDrive's goal of
storing <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,epu0,l2vl,kpqm,g1qy">100
percent of everything</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,4bkb,gtkr,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Microsoft Watch</a> figures an announcement for <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,hsc8,guyu,kpqm,g1qy">Red
mond's LiveDrive can't be far behind</a>. And speaking of Microsoft, the software
giant says to Windows 98 users: you're dead to me, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,lfka,hwhu,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>CNET</a> podcasts. No more support, no security updates-<a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,9wfa,5gba,kpqm,g1qy">50
million users must upgrade to XP</a> or figure out their own fixes. 
 
In politics, following the Supreme Court's rebuke of Bush administration policy,
the Pentagon announced it<a target="_blank" title="guantanamo prisoners"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,dezn,fkj6,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/gitmo-prisoner-1.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="179" width="198" alt="Image" /></a> would give <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,96z2,gif8,kpqm,g1qy">Gen
eva Convention rights to military detainees</a>, (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,ezmv,2c7q,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Wizbang</a>) leading <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,497o,3mbr,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Blogs for Bush</a> to suggest <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,gyrb,7r9e,kpqm,g1qy">wit
hdrawing from the Geneva Convention</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,ixt5,f04h,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Think Progress</a> identifies a different tack in the war on terror,
quoting a Justice Dept. lawyer testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee as
saying <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,2n07,dejp,kpqm,g1qy">"th
e President is always right."</a> Meanwhile, with special prosecutor Patrick
Fitzgerald wrapping up his investigation of the Valerie Wilson leak case,
columnist Robert Novak writes that he told Fitzgerald all three of his Plamegate
sources-including Karl Rove and the CIA's Bill Harlow-but <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,4537,6exs,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Volokh Conspiracy</a> gripes that <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,bcqy,hzu9,kpqm,g1qy">Nov
ak still won't tell us who his primary source was</a>. What's the big deal,
grumbles <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,ezmv,2c7q,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Wizbang</a>-we knew practically everything Novak wrote <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,1p13,la00,kpqm,g1qy">yea
rs ago</a>.<a target="_blank" title="zidane head butt"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,gpby,5gzt,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/zidanesmash.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="273" width="217" alt="Image" /></a> 
 
In sports, bloggers are still buzzing about the head-butt seen round the world.
Italy won the World Cup on penalty kicks, but France's Zinedine Zidane ended the
last match of his career by head-butting an Italian player, earning an instant red
card. It's <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,gpby,5gzt,kpqm,g1qy">Mor
tal Kombat Tournament Edition</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,8efq,fmma,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Deadspin</a>. What could Marco Materazzi have said that <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,eg1k,2ax5,kpqm,g1qy">set
Zidane off</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,guyc,e4x3,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Yahoo Sports</a>)? Materazzi wouldn't specify, but lip-readers
speculate something like "son of a terrorist whore," a particularly incendiary
comment to Zidane, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,7emk,6i0b,kpqm,g1qy">who
se mother is extremely ill</a>. Perhaps Zidane laughs last, since his brilliant
performance throughout the World Cup earned him the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,etxp,5vo5,kpqm,g1qy">bes
t player title</a> (from <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,c9l,gvtd,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>USA Today.com</a>). 
And in entertainment, AOL has hired Donna<a target="_blank" title="paris hilton "
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,aryk,7bt4,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/sltddup.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="175" width="241" alt="Image" /></a> Hanover-the
former Mrs. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani-to be its <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,b0in,blfi,kpqm,g1qy">lov
e-and-sex coach</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,a0jx,e7f1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Huffington Post</a>. Is this what made <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,aryk,7bt4,kpqm,g1qy">Par
is Hilton swear off sex for a year</a>? At least Hilton will have something to do
with all that time on her hands: The Simple Life was renewed for its <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,b0ze,f01s,kpqm,g1qy">fif
th season</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,dceh,lf54,kpqm,g1qy">Dli
sted</a>). Other celebs have a lower profile this week. Suri Cruise, the Tom
Cruise/Katie Holmes offspring hasn't been photographed in public since her birth
three months ago, but <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,cf9f,g886,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>The Superficial</a> broadcast her birth certificate so <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,grog,ax5c,kpqm,g1qy">at
least we know she's real</a>. Geeks with too much time on their hands have already
pointed out <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,a94w,96g,kpqm,g1qy">disc
repancies on the certificate</a> to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,cl9a,fjjq,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Defamer</a>, and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,4bbh,mchb,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Celebrity Hijinx</a> is already collating all the conspiracy
theories that "explain" Suri's low profile. Hijinx's theory? They're just <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qcxe,39mg,lv17,8j8b,kpqm,g1qy">two
weird people with a baby at home</a>.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 07/13/2006 14:18:14
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
 
size="-1">Israel's conflict with Palestinian
militants in Gaza spread to Lebanon after the Lebanese Hizbullah
party attacked an Israeli patrol on Israel's northern border, captured two
soldiers and killed five more. In response, Israel bombed Beirut airport, blew up
bridges and imposed an air and sea blockade on Lebanon. On the same day as the
Hizbullah attack, Israel killed nine members of one family in an air strike that
destroyed a house in Gaza where senior Hamas militants were said to be meeting.
The Gaza militants continued to hold an Israeli corporal captured a fortnight ago.
<a target="_blank"
Sectarian violence in
Iraq reached new depths when gunmen reportedly loyal to a
firebrand Shia clergyman, Muqtada al-Sadr, killed some 40 Sunni civilians in a
Baghdad district on July 9th purely because of their religious affiliation. Scores
of civilians were killed in other sectarian atrocities. The prime minister, Nuri
al-Maliki, told Iraqis they had a “last chance” for peace if they pursued his
recent reconciliation initiative; as a token of his intent, Iraqi soldiers fought
several battles with Shia militias suspected of sectarian killings. <a
target="_blank"
Russia and China agreed
to resume discussions at the UN Security Council on
Iran's nuclear defiance after it refused to respond until late
August to an offer of incentives put together by America and the Europeans if it
suspended uranium enrichment. A new resolution is expected, with sanctions to be
discussed at a later date. 
Somali Islamists crushed
the last pockets of opposition from warlords in Somalia's
capital, Mogadishu, while the internationally recognised but feeble
transitional government, in the western town of Baidoa, was said to have asked
neighbouring Ethiopia to help prop it up. <a target="_blank"
The start of peace talks
in the southern Sudanese capital, Juba, between the Ugandan
government and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army, which has ravaged
northern Uganda for two decades, was delayed; no one knew for how long.
target="_blank" name="savagery_unbound">Savagery unbound</div>
size="-1">A series of seven bombs exploded on Mumbai's railway
network, killing close to 200 people and injuring more than 700. Though many
people suspected Pakistan-linked Kashmiri separatist groups (no one claimed
responsibility), the Indian government declined to point a finger at its
neighbour. About 350 people were detained by the police for questioning. <a
target="_blank"
A week after
North Korea test-fired seven missiles, the UN Security Council was still debating what steps to take. Japan
and America are pushing for sanctions, while China and Russia are opposing them.
<a target="_blank"
target="_blank" name="counts_and_courts">Counts and courts</div>
size="-1">Mexico's electoral authorities confirmed the results of
July 2nd's presidential election. Felipe Calderón, the centre-right candidate, won
with 35.89% of the vote. But Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who trailed by only
0.58%, or 244,000 votes, is challenging the results in court. A final resolution
is unlikely to come before September. <a target="_blank"
Genocide charges against
Luis Echeverria, Mexico's president from 1970 to 1976, were dropped after a court
ruled that the case fell outside the statute of limitations. The charges related
to the killing by government troops of up to 300 student protesters in
Mexico City in 1968, when Mr Echeverria was interior minister.
Hundreds more Mexicans died or disappeared during the “dirty war” against leftists
under his presidency.
A month before Fidel
Castro turns 80, the White House approved a transition plan for
Cuba with an eye to his eventual demise. It is intended to
increase support for democracy on the island.
target="_blank" name="oh_do_try_and_keep_up">Oh do try and keep
up</div> In a change to its previous stance, the Bush administration accepted
that prisoners held at Guantánamo Bay have rights under
international law. A Pentagon memo, written after the Supreme Court's recent
ruling on the matter, conceded that all military detainees held by the United
States are subject to the Geneva Conventions. <a target="_blank"
The House of
Representatives passed a bill restricting the ability of Americans to
gamble online. Critics argued that the measure would be hard to
enforce if it eventually became law, as most online gaming businesses are based
outside the United States.
size="-1">Colorado's legislature, in a special session, approved
11 measures aimed at curbing illegal immigration, including the withholding of
non-emergency state services. With Congress divided, the legislation is the latest
to come from states that are pressing ahead with the issue. <a target="_blank"
target="_blank" name="gotcha">Gotcha</div> Russia's most
wanted Chechen terrorist, Shamil Basayev, who masterminded the Beslan school siege
in September 2004, was killed in Ingushetia. The Russians claimed they did it;
Chechen rebels said it was an accident. <a target="_blank"
Lord Levy, Tony
Blair's chief fundraiser, was arrested as part of a police investigation
into whether people who lent money to the Labour Party were promised seats in the
House of Lords. He was released on bail and has not been charged, but the affair
could damage the prime minister and hasten his departure. <a target="_blank"
Poland
acquired a new prime minister: Jaroslaw Kaczynksi, leader of the Law and
Justice party and twin brother of the president, Lech. The party had suggested
that it would be odd to have twins in the top jobs; but the previous prime
minister, Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, quit partly because of interference by the two
brothers. <a target="_blank"
size="-1">The orange coalition collapsed again in Ukraine, even
before its would-be prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, was sworn in. Her rival,
Viktor Yanukovich, who lost the 2004 presidential election to Viktor Yushchenko,
may now become prime minister. But amid the fisticuffs in the Ukrainian
parliament, nothing is certain. <a target="_blank"
Italy
won the football World Cup in Berlin after a penalty shoot-out against France. Joy
in Rome, gloom in Paris—especially as the French captain and hero, Zinédine
Zidane, was sent off for head-butting an opponent in the chest. <a target="_blank"
Holidays in orbit came a
step closer with the launch of Genesis 1, an experimental inflatable
spacecraft. The craft, paid for by Robert Bigelow, an American hotelier,
took off from Siberia on a converted ballistic missile. If the test is successful,
it will pave the way for cheap, habitable structures in space. 
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 07/13/2006 14:17:39
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
 
handed down another big fine to Microsoft. The commission said it
was charging the software company euro280.5m ($357m) for failing to
comply with a 2004 antitrust ruling requiring it to share information that enables
rivals' applications to run on Windows operating systems. Microsoft said it would
appeal against the latest fine. 
Plans to reduce the cost
of mobile-phone calls between European countries were also
unveiled by the European Commission. “Roaming” charges have attracted the ire of
business and consumer groups. In the face of intense opposition from mobile
companies (which make up to 15% of their profits from roaming), the commission
proposed retail and wholesale price caps, to lower charges. <a target="_blank"
The 2004 merger that
created Sony BMG was thrown into confusion as a European court
threw out the deal. The case was brought by smaller music companies claiming the
merger hurt competition, but the ruling also cast doubt on recent merger soundings
between EMI and Warner Music. 
size="-1">Lucent's share price fell after it issued a profit
warning on the back of weak sales. The share price of Alcatel
also dropped as investors speculated that this would scupper the pair's agreement
to create one of the world's biggest makers of networking equipment. 
target="_blank" name="a_way_out_for_li">A way out for Li</div>
Richard Li,
PCCW's chairman and biggest shareholder, agreed to sell a stake
of 23% in the Hong Kong telecoms firm to Francis Leung, a local financier, for
HK$9.2 billion ($1.2 billion). In an unusual deal, Mr Li is allowing Mr Leung to
pay 70% of the total price later, but his decision should avert an incipient
bidding war that brought rumblings from Beijing about foreigners buying up
strategic communications assets. TPG-Newbridge, a private-
equity firm, and Australia's Macquarie Bank were said to have offered over $7
billion for PCCW's core assets. <a target="_blank"
Real-estate investment
trusts that specialise in shopping malls were swept up in two deals. Kimco
Realty bought Pan Pacific Retail Properties for $2.9
billion. And Australia's Centro Properties continued its spending
spree in America by acquiring Heritage Property Investment Trust,
which Centro valued at $3.2 billion. 
Kraft
Foods agreed to buy the Spanish and Portuguese operations of Britain's
United Biscuits. The deal should boost Kraft's international
presence ahead of its expected spin-off by its parent company, Altria
Group. That demerger came closer last week when Florida's top court
broadly sided with Altria and other tobacco companies in rejecting a $145 billion
award made to smokers in 2000. 
target="_blank" name="flying_low">Flying low</div> Beset by management and
production problems, Airbus's summer of woes continued when it
reported that aircraft orders had fallen by more than half in the first six months
of 2006 compared with a year earlier. Airbus took 117 orders;
Boeing took 480, an increase. However, some analysts said Airbus
still has a chance of pulling ahead of Boeing in sales (again) by the end of the
year. Both companies are expected to announce more orders at next week's
Farnborough air show. 
size="-1">Eurotunnel asked a French court to protect it against
creditors after talks broke down with a group of bondholders that are disgruntled
with the company's debt restructuring plan. The operator of the tunnel that links
Britain with France singled out Deutsche Bank, which is leading the dissident
group, for criticism. 
One of Britain's biggest
insurers, Aviva, expanded its American operations by agreeing to
buy AmerUs, a life-insurance firm based in Iowa, for $2.9
billion. 
Banks in Russia extended
their opening hours to cope with a surge of last-minute investors hoping to get a
slice of Rosneft's public offering. The state oil firm's
flotation is attracting a lot of interest, not least from international oil
companies hoping to acquire strategic stakes.
The takeover battle
intensified for Falconbridge, a Canadian miner of nickel and
copper, when Xstrata, a Swiss-based mining group, raised its bid
in an effort to entice Falconbridge's shareholders away from a merger deal with
Falconbridge's compatriot, Inco. The Inco-Falconbridge
combination is itself the target of a takeover by Phelps Dodge,
an Arizonan copper miner. 
target="_blank" name="going_mental_for_metal">Going mental for
metal</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
size="-1">Underlining the metal industry's desire to consolidate, the
price of nickel reached a record high for delivery in three
months. With stockpiles of the metal falling to a reported two days' supply in
some warehouses, nickel's scarcity is one factor that has led to its price almost
doubling since the beginning of the year. 
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Top 50 Science Blogs
DATE: 07/11/2006 11:21:18
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4"><tbody><tr valign="top"><td
bgcolor="#999999" height="32">BLOG</td> <td bgcolor="#999999">TECHNORATI
RANK</td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td
height="30"><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/"
target="_blank">Pharyngula</a></td> <td valign="top"> <div
align="left">179 </div></td> </tr> <tr>
<td> </td> <td><a href="http://www.pandasthumb.org/" target="_blank">The
Pandaâ€™s thumb</a></td> <td valign="top"> <div align="left">1647
</div></td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td><a
href="http://www.realclimate.org/" target="_blank">RealClimate</a></td>
<td valign="top">1884</td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td>
<td><a href="http://cosmicvariance.com/" target="_blank">Cosmic
Variance</a></td> <td valign="top">2174</td> </tr> <tr>
<td> </td> <td><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/scientificactivist/"
target="_blank">The Scientific Activist</a></td> <td
valign="top">3429</td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td>
<td><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/" target="_blank">Respectful
Insolence</a></td> <td>3639</td> </tr> <tr>
<td> </td> <td><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/aetiology/"
target="_blank">Aetiology</a></td> <td>4989</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> </td> <td><a
href="http://scienceblogs.com/cognitivedaily/" target="_blank">Cognitive
Daily</a></td> <td valign="top">5820</td> </tr> <tr>
<td> </td> <td><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/effectmeasure/"
target="_blank">Effect Measure</a></td> <td
<td><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/ethicsandscience/" target="_blank">Adventures
in Ethics and Science</a></td> <td valign="top">7844</td> </tr>
href="http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/" target="_blank">Deltoid</a></td>
<td><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/principles/" target="_blank">Uncertain
Principles</a></td> <td valign="top">8635</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> </td> <td><a href="http://jgrr.blogspot.com/"
target="_blank">Thoughts from Kansas</a></td> <td
<td><a href="http://johnhawks.net/weblog" target="_blank">John Hawks
Anthropology Weblog</a></td> <td valign="top">10234</td> </tr>
<tr> <td> </td> <td><a href="http://jgrr.blogspot.com/"
target="_blank">blog.bioethics.net</a></td> <td valign="top">11423</td>
</tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td><a
href="http://pipeline.corante.com/" target="_blank">In the
pipeline</a></td> <td valign="top">12353</td> </tr> <tr>
<td> </td> <td><a href="http://savageminds.org/" target="_blank">Savage
Minds: Notes and Queries in Anthropology A Group Blog</a></td> <td
<td><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/strangerfruit/" target="_blank">Stranger
Fruit</a></td> <td valign="top">12729</td> </tr> <tr>
<td> </td> <td><a href="http://thedisgruntled.blogspot.com/"
target="_blank">The Disgruntled Chemist</a></td> <td
<td><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/clock/" target="_blank">A Blog
Around the Clock</a></td> <td valign="top">14858</td> </tr>
href="http://www.scienceblogs.com/evolutionblog/"
target="_blank">Evolutionblog</a></td> <td valign="top">14858</td>
</tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td><a
href="http://scienceblogs.com/gnxp/" target="_blank">Gene
Expression</a></td> <td>15102</td> </tr> <tr>
<td> </td> <td><a href="http://mikethemadbiologist.blogspot.com/"
target="_blank">Mike the Mad Biologist</a></td>
<td>15258</td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td><a
href="http://scienceblogs.com/mixingmemory/" target="_blank">Mixing
Memory</a></td> <td valign="top">16383</td> </tr> <tr>
<td> </td> <td><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/thecheerfuloncologist/"
target="_blank">Archives of The Cheerful Oncologist Volume 2</a></td>
<td><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/authority/" target="_blank">The
Questionable Authority Archive</a></td> <td valign="top">17403</td>
</tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td><a
href="http://biosingularity.wordpress.com/"
target="_blank">Biosingularity</a></td> <td valign="top">19236</td>
</tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td><a
href="http://scienceblogs.com/evolgen/" target="_blank">Evolgen</a>
</td> <td valign="top">22859 </td> </tr> <tr>
<td> </td> <td><a href="http://nuthatch.typepad.com/ba/"
target="_blank">bootstrap analysis</a> </td> <td
valign="top">24095 </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td>
<td><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/evolvingthoughts/" target="_blank">Evolving
Thoughts</a> </td> <td valign="top">24405 </td> </tr>
href="http://scienceblogs.com/terrasig/" target="_blank">Terra
Sigillata</a></td> <td valign="top">25174 </td> </tr>
href="http://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/prometheus/" target="_blank">Prometheus
(Roger Pielke Jnr)</a></td> <td valign="top">26411 </td> </tr>
href="http://illconsidered.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">A Few
Things Ill Considered</a></td> <td valign="top">27774 </td>
</tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td><a
href="http://simonc.f2o.org/south/" target="_blank">75 Degrees
South</a></td> <td valign="top">29544 </td> </tr> <tr>
<td> </td> <td><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/digitalbio/"
target="_blank">Discovering biology in a digital world</a> </td>
<td valign="top">33296 </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td>
<td><a href="http://danielrhoads.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">A
Concerned Scientist</a> </td> <td valign="top">35121 </td> </tr>
href="http://invasivespecies.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Invasive
Species Weblog</a> </td> <td valign="top">39698 </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> </td> <td><a href="http://develintel.blogspot.com/"
target="_blank">Developing Intelligence</a> </td> <td
valign="top">40444 </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td>
<td><a href="http://scienceblogs.com/transcript/" target="_blank">The
Daily Transcript</a> </td> <td valign="top">40444 </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> </td> <td><a href="http://www.biopeer.com/"
target="_blank">Biopeer</a> </td> <td valign="top">40444
</td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td><a
href="http://healthvsmedicine.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Stayin'
Alive</a> </td> <td valign="top">41239 </td> </tr> <tr>
<td> </td> <td><a href="http://sciencewoman.blogspot.com/"
target="_blank">On being a scientist and a woman</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://www.ghastlyfop.com/blog/" target="_blank">Flags
and Lollipops - Bioinformatics Blog</a> </td> <td valign="top">43778
</td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td><a
href="http://dabacon.org/pontiff" target="_blank">The Quantum
Pontiff</a> </td> <td valign="top">44796 </td> </tr>
href="http://scienceblogs.com/goodmath/" target="_blank">Good Math,
Bad Math</a> </td> <td valign="top">45603 </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> </td> <td><a href="http://www.nodalpoint.org/"
target="_blank">nodalpoint.org - A bioinformatics weblog</a> </td>
<td><a href="http://climatesci.atmos.colostate.edu/" target="_blank">Climate
Science</a> </td> <td valign="top">50909 </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> </td> <td><a href="http://lancelet.blogspot.com/"
target="_blank">The
Lancelet</a> </td> <td valign="top">50909 </td>
</tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td><a
href="http://scienceblogs.com/afarensis/" target="_blank">Afarensis</a>
</td> <td valign="top">50909 </td> </tr> <tr>
<td> </td> <td><a href="http://www.cscs.umich.edu/%7Ecrshalizi/weblog"
target="_blank">Three-Toed Sloth</a> </td> <td
valign="top">51100</td></tr></tbody></table>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Gawker Whacker; Amanda Unboomed
DATE: 07/07/2006 06:15:53
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Top stories for the week of July 3 - July 7, 2006<a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,4ys0,1jud,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/200606-
jessewhacked.jpg" align="right" border="0" height="208" width="235" alt="Image"
/></a> 
Talk about fireworks. Nick Denton kicked some off this week by whacking Gawker
Media properties in anticipation of the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,db0q,gotu,kpqm,g1qy">Med
ia 2.0 bubble bursting</a>. Denton is focusing on profitable properties-<a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,d3dw,ht5g,kpqm,g1qy">por
n, gossip, sports and games</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,ag0q,gu29,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Publishing 2.0</a>)-while selling off Sploid (tabloids) and
Screenhead (for the BoingBoing crowd). Denton explains himself <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,i8zi,bcc3,kpqm,g1qy">her
e</a>, and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,jqft,jqpv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Jossip</a> details where some of the laid-off, including
Mediabistro's Jesse Oxfeld, wound up <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,4ys0,1jud,kpqm,g1qy">boo
zing on Friday night</a>. 

<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,70mj,k5,kpqm,g1qy">
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,70mj,k5,kpqm,g1qy"> </a>
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,8cao,2vkq,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/182588668_a12d6ce872_m.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="194" width="203" alt="Image" /></a><a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,70mj,k5,kpqm,g1qy">Bette
r to sober up now than at the end of the party</a>, Denton told the New York
Times, which also misinterpreted Denton as <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,dkk3,kfhl,kpqm,g1qy">"be
arish"</a> on blogs. Really, the layoffs are just Denton's <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,ein3,8ihh,kpqm,g1qy">sta
ndard-issue contrarianism</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,de7f,2r51,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>BuzzMachine</a> and demonstrate blogging's flexibility: It's easier
to build a blog and easier to kill it. 

Another blogger shakeup: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,5rb2,bb6n,kpqm,g1qy">Ama
nda is unboomed</a>. Video-blogging celebrity Amanda Congdon was ousted over a <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,2ndv,8zxj,kpqm,g1qy">dis
agreement with her partner</a>. Other bloggers lost no time in
<strike>wondering</strike> <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,8cao,2vkq,kpqm,g1qy">hop
ing where she'll go next</a>.
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,k6bz,863h,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Scobleizer</a> took the long weeked to read The Long Tail-
and applies Chris Anderson's principles to a possible, profitable <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,ad9l,eq4,kpqm,g1qy">Pari
s-travel wiki</a>. Of course the New Yorker reviewed the book, blogs <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,2mm7,ewj4,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Kottke.org</a> -Anderson works for Wired, which like the
New Yorker is <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,jkng,3ise,kpqm,g1qy">own
ed by CondïŸ© Nast</a>. Speaking of business, Enron founder <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,bx8i,m5oz,kpqm,g1qy">Ken
Lay died</a> at age 64 of a heart attack at his vacation home in Colorado. He
thus ducks any penalties stemming from his recent conviction on fraud and
conspiracy charges (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,a0jx,e7f1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Huffington Post</a>). Get ready for all the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,lz4o,8ncl,kpqm,g1qy">"yo
u killed Kenny" headlines</a>, snarks <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,c0l4,7irf,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gawker</a>. 

<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,dyt9,1uxj,kpqm,g1qy">
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,dyt9,1uxj,kpqm,g1qy">
</a> <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,dyt9,1uxj,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Mashable</a> reports that MySpace Video is <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,aodz,84jw,kpqm,g1qy">tak
ing off</a>: Now that more user-generated content is being put up, it's grown even
faster than YouTube in the past few weeks. Japan also crossed a growth threshold:
As of 2005, it now has <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,28tk,hk0o,kpqm,g1qy">mor
e mobile Internet users than wired</a> ones, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,6ixc,gycu,kpqm,g1qy">Sma
rt Mobs</a>. All those users are gonna need apps, and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a> lists the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,jzo2,idw0,kpqm,g1qy">12
companies</a> it selected at last week's Supernova conference, including Sharpcast
(sync application data across devices), Webaroo (access cached Web content while
offline) and PostApp (pull Web services directly into a blog or other Web site).
 

href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,i7y1,iblt,kpqm,g1qy"></a
> In politics, North Korea celebrated the 230th anniversary of America's
independence late but in spectacular style, test-firing seven missiles including
one that can allegedly <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,5xx9,ljp6,kpqm,g1qy">rea
ch the U.S. West Coast</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,7kd1,dckc,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Daily Kos</a>). International reaction was predictably <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,8kwc,ip9p,kpqm,g1qy">sev
ere</a>, writes the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,e6xe,rtt,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>BBC</a>, with Japan requesting (and getting) an emergency UN Security
Council meeting. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,jma8,cqpd,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Captain's Quarters</a> notes the missiles <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,74nv,bw9g,kpqm,g1qy">fel
l into the Sea of Japan</a>-<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,h2q0,d7xr,kpqm,g1qy">Pyo
ngyang, meet Monty Python</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,cub6,cm6r,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>A Blog for All</a> notes that the missile launches were <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,avsz,1pyn,kpqm,g1qy">sus
piciously close in time</a> to the Florida launch of space shuttle Discovery.
Maybe North Korea's leaders think even <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,l3ms,7ktf,kpqm,g1qy">neg
ative attention</a> is still attention, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,ipp3,9j9w,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Liberty and Justice</a>. But the whole thing could just be a
marketing ploy, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,9d6c,jatz,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Glittering Eye</a>; any launch improves North Korea's ability to
sell missile technology, which is <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,fhfd,2f8n,kpqm,g1qy">its
only real export</a>. 

href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,9hdx,xci,kpqm,g1qy"><img
alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/franceportugal.jpg"
align="left" border="0" width="180" alt="Image" /></a> In World Cup news, Italy
beat Germany 2-0 in overtime in the World Cup semifinal, ending the host country's
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,6m2f,1q5b,kpqm,g1qy">sur
prising advance</a>. That's right: Italy won, and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,ap1k,8903,kpqm,g1qy">the
match wasn't even fixed</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,6k32,eb38,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Deadspin</a>, which just couldn't handle Germany beating yet another
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,lgat,9i6i,kpqm,g1qy">tec
hnically superior and more-stylish team</a>. Meanwhile France trounced Portugal 1-
0 which sends the two unlikely finalists to the<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,gpte,lhck,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/tour.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="107" width="161" alt="Image" /></a> <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,4g90,ay3y,kpqm,g1qy">cha
mpionship match</a> in Berlin on Sunday. Another monster international sports
event also got underway: the Tour de France without Lance. With 9 riders suspended
for a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,eiu1,in90,kpqm,g1qy">blo
od-doping scandal</a> in Spain and some <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,ll2v,9whc,kpqm,g1qy">top
riders injured</a>-the Tour de France field is <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,gpte,lhck,kpqm,g1qy">wid
e open</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,a3su,hlnf,kpqm,g1qy"></a
> Catch daily updates of the grueling race from the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,egu9,ftgy,kpqm,g1qy">Tou
r de France 2006</a> blog and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,5069,ampg,kpqm,g1qy">Tou
r de France 2006 Pro Cycling Blog</a>. 

And finally in entertainment news, Li'l Kim finally got out of jail after doing 10
months for lying about a shooting-and unlike Martha Stewart, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,g6ku,bnnu,kpqm,g1qy">Kim
put on a few pounds</a> in the slammer (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,c0l4,7irf,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gawker</a>). Britney Spears has also gained, blogs <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,jqft,jqpv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Jossip</a>, but that's because she's pregnant and somehow on the
cover of Harper's Bazaar, in a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,a3su,hlnf,kpqm,g1qy">wat
ered-down rip-off of Demi Moore's Vanity Fair cover</a>. It could be
worse: Keith Richards will soon be on magazine covers everywhere since he's <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,fw4i,c0pm,kpqm,g1qy">pla
ying Johnny Depp's father</a> in the next Pirates of the Caribbean
flick, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,qa8y,39mg,anb8,fj5z,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>The Gossipist</a>.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 1st - 7th July 2006
DATE: 07/06/2006 13:50:11
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
 
test-fired a series of seven missiles, despite concerted international
pressure not to do so. Most of the missiles were shortish-range. One was a
Taepodong-2, with a possible range of up to 10,000km (6,210 miles), though it
exploded after 40 seconds into its flight. The UN Security
Council was meeting to discuss the problem, but sanctions looked unlikely. <a
target="_blank"
A South Korean
survey vessel prompted Japanese anger by entering disputed waters near a
group of islands that the South Koreans call Dokdo and the Japanese Takeshima. The
waters may contain deposits of natural gas.
A series of three
explosions killed one person and injured more than 40 in Afghanistan's
capital, Kabul. In the south-east of the country, American troops killed
a reported 35 militants in a battle. <a target="_blank"
size="-1">China inaugurated a railway link to Lhasa, the capital of
Tibet. It is the world's highest-altitude railway. China also
opened a border-crossing between Tibet and India, closed for 44 years. <a
target="_blank"
 
name="on_a_mission">On a mission</div> NASA launched
its space shuttle Discovery for the first time since last July. As was
the case then, officials remain concerned about potential damage to the craft
caused by debris breaking away.
Joe Lieberman
confirmed that he would run as an independent if he loses the Democratic
primary in Connecticut on August 8th. The senator, a supporter of the Iraq war, is
facing a challenge from an anti-war candidate whose campaign has received a boost
from online activists. 
valign="top"> 
size="-1">New Jersey's state government began shutting down non-
essential services after the legislature missed a deadline to pass a budget.
Atlantic City's casinos had to stop their gambling operations as state casino
inspectors were told to stay at home. <a target="_blank"
 
name="the_politics_of_intolerance">The politics of
intolerance</div> An election was called for November 22nd in the
Netherlands after the coalition government collapsed. The small D66 party withdrew its support in protest over the retention as
interior minister of the hardline Rita Verdonk, who had tried to withdraw the
passport of Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali Muslim turned Dutch politician.
The German
government adopted new health-care reforms, including setting up a new
central fund to supplement payroll-tax revenues for health. The reforms, agreed by
Angela Merkel's grand coalition after all-night talks, were promptly criticised by
both the left and the right.
size="-1">Slovakia acquired a new government, with Robert Fico,
leader of the socialists, as prime minister. Mr Fico was criticised abroad for
forming a coalition with two nationalist parties, including one led by Vladimir
Meciar, who took Slovakia into isolation after it split with its Czech neighbour.
<a target="_blank"
Macedonia
held its fourth general election since it broke away from the former
Yugoslavia in 1991. After preliminary results, the prime minister, Vlado
Buckovski, conceded defeat to the nationalist opposition, led by Nikola
Gruevski.
A train crash on the
underground in the Spanish city of Valencia killed 41 people.
Early indications were that the train was speeding, causing it to leave the
tracks.
 
name="piling_on_the_pressure">Piling on the pressure</div>
By sending its forces to
attack militants and arrest many leaders of the Palestinian government in Gaza and
the West Bank, Israel's government continued to try to force the
return of an Israeli soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit, who was abducted nearly a
fortnight ago in a raid in Israel and taken to the Gaza Strip. Mediation got
nowhere. <a target="_blank"
Iraq's
government issued a new list of most wanted insurgents and fugitives from Saddam
Hussein's regime, with the former dictator's intelligence head, Izzat Ibrahim al-
Douri, at the top, and also including Mr Hussein's wife and eldest daughter.
Meanwhile, at least 66 people, mostly Shias, were killed in a
Baghdad slum in the country's bloodiest suicide-bombing for three
months; another bomb killed at least 13 people, many of them Iranian pilgrims, in
the holy city of Kufa.
In a general election in
Kuwait, women for the first time were able to vote and run for
national office. In the event, none was elected. Islamists and reformers both made
gains at the expense of loyalists of the still-ruling royal family. <a
target="_blank"
At an African Union
summit in the Gambia, UN secretary-general Kofi Annan
failed to persuade Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir to allow UN peacekeepers into the embattled Darfur region
of the country. The AU did, however, promise to keep its
own troops there, at least until the end of the year. <a target="_blank"
Joseph Kony, leader of
Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army rebels, was offered an amnesty by
President Yoweri Museveni if peace talks to be held next week are successful. The
International Criminal Court, however, still insists that Mr Museveni is bound to
hand over Mr Kony to the court for trial. <a target="_blank"
Somalia, Islamist gunmen opened fire to disperse a crowd
protesting against a ban on watching the World Cup, killing two people.

 
name="a_challenging_vote">A challenging vote</div> <table
size="-1">Felipe Calder��n, the conservative candidate, narrowly won
Mexico's presidential election, according to an official count.
His main rival, Andr��s Manuel L��pez Obrador, called for a vote-by-vote recount.
The result may be challenged in the electoral court. Mexican shares and the peso
yo-yoed on fears of political tension. <a target="_blank"
Bolivia, the party of Evo Morales, the socialist president, won
50% of the vote in an election for a constituent assembly, meaning that it fell
well short of the two-thirds majority of seats required to rewrite the
constitution at will. In a parallel vote, Santa Cruz and three other departments
backed a call for more regional autonomy. <a target="_blank"
The campaign for
Nicaragua's presidential election, due in November, was
complicated by the death of Herty Lewites, a former Sandinista standing for a
moderate centre-left group. His death may help the electoral prospects of Daniel
Ortega, the Sandinista leader. <a target="_blank"
Venezuela became the
fifth full member of Mercosur, the trade group made up of
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 1st - 7th July 2006
DATE: 07/06/2006 13:49:36
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
 
All eyes were on the
board of General Motors to see how it would respond to a proposed
three-way alliance with Renault and Nissan. The
tie-up was recommended by Kirk Kerkorian, an investor who owns a stake of almost
10% in GM, and prompted a speedy offer from France's
Renault and Nissan, its Japanese affiliate, to hold talks with the troubled
Detroit company. Analysts urged caution on all sides and pointed to previous
alliances in the car industry that have gone awry, including GM's fraught (and ultimately expensive) relationship with Fiat.
<a target="_blank"
Kenneth
Lay died following a heart attack. He was 64. The former boss of Enron
had said he would appeal against his recent conviction (along with Jeffrey
Skilling) for his part in the collapse of the energy trader in 2001. Once a friend
of George Bush and widely praised during Enron's meteoric rise, Mr Lay had been
due to be sentenced in September. <a target="_blank"
 
name="franco-german_co-operation">Franco-German co-operation</div>
Noël Forgeard was ousted
as co-chief executive of EADS (which owns 80% of Airbus)
following three weeks of turmoil for the aerospace and defence company. Mr
Forgeard's difficulties began with a profit warning caused by delays to the A380 super-jumbo and were compounded by an investigation into his
sale of EADS shares. Airbus's chief
executive, Gustav Humbert, was also sacked. <a target="_blank"
Meanwhile, BAE
Systems revealed that the 20% stake it owns in Airbus,
and which it wants to sell to EADS, had been independently
valued at €2.75 billion ($3.5 billion), much less than markets had expected. The
reasoning behind the low value was not divulged, but the British-based defence
contractor ordered an audit of Airbus (which is not publicly listed), delaying a
decision on the sale until at least September.
Markets reacted
sceptically to Japan Airlines' plan to raise ¥222.7 billion ($1.9
billion) from issuing new shares, which it announced last week. With JAL recording big losses, investors fear the shares will be sold
at rock-bottom prices, diluting the company's value. 
Following its recent
listing in Hong Kong, Bank of China floated its shares on the
Shanghai stock exchange. The state-run bank's share price was up by 23% on its
first day, raising 20 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) and making it China's biggest
domestic public offering. 
Crédit
Agricole confirmed that it was no longer interested in acquiring
Alliance & Leicester, causing the British lender's share price to
fall sharply. A deal had been mooted since May, when France's biggest retail bank
expressed its interest in A&L. Since then, Crédit Agricole
has made an offer for Emporiki, a Greek bank that is being privatised and for
which Bank of Cyprus is also bidding. 
Two former foreign-
exchange dealers at National Australia Bank received prison terms
for a scandal involving rogue trading that led to the resignations of both the
chairman and chief executive of Australia's biggest bank. The dealers, along with
two colleagues who were sentenced earlier, had tried to conceal losses after the
Australian dollar appreciated in 2003.
 
name="ill_winds">Ill winds</div> The Doha round
of trade talks seemed close to collapse as the latest meeting held to
iron out differences over farming and services failed to make progress and ended
early. <a target="_blank"
Britain's
Wellcome Trust, the world's second-largest biomedical-research
funding foundation, said it planned to raise funds by issuing a bond in the coming
weeks. The bond has received both Moody's and Standard & Poor's highest credit-
rating and will be the first to be issued by a European charity.
size="-1">Qualcomm's conduct came under the spotlight again as
two American competitors, Texas Instruments and Broadcom, filed an antitrust
complaint in South Korea alleging the chipmaker was levying unfair patent
royalties. 
The company that owns
Hard Rock Cafe said it was considering a sale of the chain, which
operates in 43 countries. Such a decision would leave Rank to
concentrate on its core gambling businesses. The news comes amid a lively debate
in Britain, where Rank is based, about the merits of Las Vegas-style
casinos.
size="-1">An employee at Coca-Cola and two accomplices were
arrested for trying to pass trade secrets, including a sample of a new drink, to
arch-rival PepsiCo (which tipped Coca-Cola off about the theft).

 
name="ever_upwards">Ever upwards?</div> The price of oil
reached new highs, pushing above $75 a barrel. Markets remain skittish
about the perceived threat to oil supplies from the stand-off with Iran over its
nuclear ambitions and North Korea's missile tests only added to the nervy mood.

</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: "No More Tears Sister" :: Sri Lanka & Eezham vs LTTE
DATE: 06/30/2006 16:27:43
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Jump to:
 <a
href="http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2006/nomoretears/resources.html#tag1">Explore the
conflict between Tamils and Sinhalese</a> <a
href="http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2006/nomoretears/resources.html#tag2">Find out
more about human rights violations</a> <a
href="http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2006/nomoretears/resources.html#tag3">Hear from
Rajani's family</a> <a
href="http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2006/nomoretears/resources.html#tag4">Discuss
online with other viewers</a> 
<a name="tag1"></a> Explore the conflict between Tamils and Sinhalese. 
 <a
href="http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2006/nomoretears/special_timeline.html">Timeline:
History of the Conflict in Sri Lanka</a> After 500 years of colonial rule, Sri
Lanka became an independent state in 1948. Trace the history of the conflict
between the Tamils and the Sinhalese since then. 
<a name="tag2"></a> Find out more about human rights violations. 
 <a
href="http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2006/nomoretears/special_uthr.html">University
Teachers for Human Rights</a> Since Rajani's death in 1989, University Teachers
for Human Rights has continued her work of documenting human rights abuses. Learn
more about the current situation in Sri Lanka in this interview with members of
the organization. 
 <a href="http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2006/nomoretears/special_hrw.html">The
Tamil Diaspora</a> Jo Becker, the children's rights advocacy director for Human
Rights Watch, talks about the Tamil Tigers' recruitment of child soldiers, and
about the role that expatriate Sri Lankans play in the ongoing conflict.
<a name="tag3"></a> Hear from Rajani's family
 <a href="http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2006/nomoretears/update.html">Film
Update</a> Rajani's daughters and sisters talk about their reactions to "No More
Tears Sister" and share their thoughts on Rajani's legacy. 
<a name="tag4"></a> Discuss online with other viewers.
 <a href="http://discussions.pbs.org/viewforum.pbs?f=153">Talking Back
Discussion Board</a> Did Rajani's story resonate with you? How should a minority
group fight back when they are being oppressed? What is the role of women in
warfare? Talk with other viewers of "No More Tears Sister."
 
 
<h2>Tamil Tigers <img
src="http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2006/nomoretears/i/g/linkpopupicon.gif" alt="Opens
in a new window" border="0" height="8" width="10" alt="Image" /></h2> <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.cfr.org/publication/9242/liberation_tigers_of_tamil_eelam_sri_lan
ka_separatists.htmlk">Council on Foreign Relations: Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam Backgrounder</a> This short document from the American think tank provides
concise background on the LTTE in a Q&A format, and addresses whether the LTTE has
ties to other terrorist groups. 
 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eelam.com/">Tamil Eelam Homepage </a> The
official website of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) advocates self-
governed sovereignty for the northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. Messages
from Velupillai Pirapahara, the leader of the LTTE, as well as the Tiger
perspective on the ongoing peace talks, are articulated in press releases from the
past ten years. 
 <a target="_blank" href="http://www.peaceinsrilanka.com/Default.asp">Sri
Lankan Government's Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process: Peace in Sri
Lanka Website </a> Peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE
occurred in Oslo on June 8 and 9 of 2006. The official website of the Sri Lankan
government's Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process offers an anti-LTTE
perspective, and is dense with updated information from the Oslo talks, as well as
press releases from previous peace talks. A timeline (link on the lower left-hand
corner of the site's homepage) provides month-by-month information on the
negotiations from 2001 to 2006 from the government's perspective. Extensive
documentation of the LTTE's ceasefire violations is also included on the site.
 <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1193862,00.html/">TIME.com:
How Sri Lanka's Rebels Build a Suicide Bomber</a> The Tamil Tigers have been
called "the most successful terrorist organization in the world." In 1987, the
Tigers established a unit of volunteer members responsible for conducting suicide
attacks called "Black Tiger." Among the political figures they assassinated were a
former prime minister of India and the president of Sri Lanka. In July 2002,
Time magazine spent a few days with a female Tamil Tiger suicide squad to
find out what motivates young Tamils to volunteer to be suicide bombers. 
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1732080,00.html">The
Guardian Newspaper: Tigers at the Door</a> The Tigers continue to have
influence over the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, even those who have been abroad for
more than a decade. This article by Jo Becker, the children's rights advocacy
director for Human Rights Watch, (<a
href="http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2006/nomoretears/special_hrw.html">see our
interview with Ms. Becker</a>) investigates the Tigers' use of intimidation to
collect funds from Tamil immigrants in Britain. (March 16, 2006) 

 
 
href="http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/050801fa_fact1">The New
Yorker: Tides of War: After the tsunami, the fighting continues</a> This
extensive article by Philip Gourevitch explores the history of the conflict
between the Tamils and the Sinhalese in Sri Lanka, and takes a look at what is
happening to the peace process in the aftermath of 2004's devastating tsunami.
(August 1, 2005)
 
 
 <a target="_blank" href="http://hrw.org/doc/?t=asia&c=slanka">Human Rights
Watch: Sri Lanka</a> In the ongoing civil war, both government forces and the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have committed atrocities and violated
international human rights standards.� Human Rights Watch, an international non-
governmental organization (NGO), has done extensive work documenting these human
rights abuses on both sides, and their extensive reports, the full texts of which
are available on their website, detail issues such as the LTTE's use of child
soldiers, the killing of civilians by both sides and the Tigers' intimidation of
the Tamil diaspora.� 
 <a target="_blank" href="http://web.amnesty.org/report2005/lka-summary-
eng">Amnesty International Report: Sri Lanka</a> This 2005 report summarizes the
2004 elections, strife and attempts at peace talks. Human rights violations such
as politically motivated killings, the use of child soldiers and tortures by the
police are highlighted. Links to the exhaustive Amnesty International reports,
actions and news items on Sri Lanka (139 in all) are provided in a sidebar.��

-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Blogger Love Fest; Best of YouTube
DATE: 06/30/2006 07:03:12
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Top stories for the week of June 26 - June 30, 2006
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,c9l8,eou6,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/bloggercon.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="277" width="253" alt="Image" /></a>
Call it the Summer of Love for bloggers. Plenty of big names gathered at
BloggerCon IV for an (un)conference on <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,c9l8,eou6,kpqm,g1qy">the
art and science of blogs</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,bae7,dji3,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Nick Bradbury</a> loved the whole thing but the highlight was Lisa
Williams� talk on the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,6pwg,a7d,kpqm,g1qy">Emot
ional Life of Weblogs</a>. She talked about most bloggers being desert islands,
while several bloggers responded that blogging <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,hlc6,b652,kpqm,g1qy">got
them off their desert islands</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,34ip,2vf8,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Chris Pirillo</a> talked up users��<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,ixvo,dvzb,kpqm,g1qy">the
inmates running the asylum</a>��even before leading a BloggerCon discussion,
causing <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,djdm,lp7e,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Platform Wars</a> to pooh-pooh the idea that mere users have much
useful to say. Blogher�s Elisa Camahort discussed <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,6je3,bomq,kpqm,g1qy">und
er-representation of women in blogging</a> <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,m6r5,jg16,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/calcanis.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="163" width="163" alt="Image" /></a>and everything
else; and John Palfrey wondered about <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,qom,20l5,kpqm,g1qy">maki
ng money from blogging</a> (all via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,ijv2,fkrq,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Between the Lines</a>). Next up on June 29: Chris Pirillo�s <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,4hzx,cr59,kpqm,g1qy">Gno
medex 6.0</a> complete with keynote by Senator John Edwards. See <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,5azp,immm,kpqm,g1qy">her
e</a> for audio feeds for the sold out event. 

 Not all bloggers were feeling the love: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,m62k,e7bi,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>BuzzMachine</a> blogs that PaidContent.org�s Rafat Ali has taken
around <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,81ry,jsov,kpqm,g1qy">$1
million in VC funding</a>, joining Om Malik and Sharesleuth.com. But Ali�s not
getting skewered like Jason Calacanis; <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,ckte,ajmn,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Valleywag</a> blogs about �Suit 2.0,� New York magazine�s
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,m6r5,jg16,kpqm,g1qy">unf
lattering profile</a> of the newly minted AOL exec. On the other hand, Calacanis
may be skewering himself with quotes like, �I don't see why I can't be the next
Michael Eisner or Barry Diller ... someone has to be.� Blink author
Malcolm Gladwell also made friends by calling bloggers <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,7ku5,fqq7,kpqm,g1qy">par
asites who feed on newspapers</a> to survive.
 In product news, Digg 3.0 launched this week, with <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a> calling it <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,40gu,bm9z,kpqm,g1qy">bea
utiful but not yet stable</a>, with cool features like an �upcoming� page, a tag
cloud and an �agreed on� feature. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,e4ug,2p5z,kpqm,g1qy"></a
> Mix this with John C. Dvorak�s <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,fygm,2nxu,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>PC Magazine</a> article on <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,j54o,m971,kpqm,g1qy">dig
g�s utopian idealism</a>: digg�s a brain-dead Slashdot�and that�s (mostly) a good
thing. Also out of beta is the eagerly-awaited Farecast, which predicts whether
airline ticket prices are about to go up or down so you can <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,e4ug,2p5z,kpqm,g1qy">nab
the best prices</a>. And Google now wants to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,l2ir,8cto,kpqm,g1qy">tra
ck your credit card number and where you live</a>. The company introduced Google
Checkout, a service that acts like <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,5498,yvu,kpqm,g1qy">a
wallet for shopping online</a>. 

NBC finally recognized that YouTube can be a friend, not a foe, and will run
promos on it for <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,mdhk,62u6,kpqm,g1qy">new
and returning series</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,37qa,lj8n,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Micro Persuasion</a>) plus a contest centered on The Office
encouraging YouTube users to create short-form promos for the show. Not to be left
out, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,besf,jnnx,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>SiliconBeat</a> has Warner Brothers in bed with Guba.com to
distribute <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,lfkc,hsxc,kpqm,g1qy">War
ner�s vintage and new movies through the site</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,h50a,7w34,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/poster033.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="237" width="172" alt="Image" /></a>But are people
really watching shows like Lost or Desperate Housewives online?
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,hgyw,kfhx,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>New Media Musings</a> says it�s more like <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,5qsl,3y5f,kpqm,g1qy">com
mercial parodies, how-tos and snowboarding gnarliness</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,72hq,1vgk,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TV Squad</a> does link to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,3ws3,jzqp,kpqm,g1qy">Bil
l Simmons� list of best YouTube videos</a>, which have a traditional-TV-and-media
focus: the Vanilla Ice meltdown on MTV, David Letterman�s first post-9/11
monologue, and Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley �kissing.� 

 Climate scientists who saw Al Gore�s An Inconvenient Truth gave it
five<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,4brm,jnlf,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/scarlett.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="274" width="219" alt="Image" /></a> stars for
accuracy, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,ay4u,ijet,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>SF Gate</a>; except for little errors like <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,fdu1,l6d5,kpqm,g1qy">swi
tching the Antarctic and Greenland ice caps</a>, even warming-theory opponents
like the ex-veep�s attention to scientific detail. If you can�t make it to the
theater, watch Al Gore�s <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,5rej,kmgy,kpqm,g1qy">fam
ous speech at TED</a> (featured in An Inconvenient Truth) courtesy of <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,itaz,f14z,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TED Blog</a>. And just as global warming is bad for beach-front
property, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,2rmb,dqg3,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>ScienceBlogs</a> covers the Washington Post story about
how <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,bz5o,9t0w,kpqm,g1qy">Jon
Stewart is bad for democracy</a>; and so are the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,h50a,7w34,kpqm,g1qy">bla
bbermouths at the NY Times</a>, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,hgii,lz6d,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Michelle Malkin</a>, and their traitorous, leaking sources are <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,chfl,i0wc,kpqm,g1qy">bro
adcasting classified information on troop levels</a>. Let�s call those attacking
the Times (but uh, not the Wall Street Journal, which reported
it too) what they are, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,gbh7,elmv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>HuffPo</a>: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,hncc,f0ho,kpqm,g1qy">lia
rs</a>. 
In entertainment, Superman Returns opened Wednesday and critics were <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,a5v1,1jyr,kpqm,g1qy">alr
eady wowed before the release</a>, reports the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,e6xe,rtt,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>BBC</a>. Is Superman <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,b2m0,a1mk,kpqm,g1qy">Chr
ist</a>? (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,ilvm,816o,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>CNN</a>) Is he <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,iwh6,l69l,kpqm,g1qy">gay
</a>? (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,a0jx,e7f1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Huffington Post</a>) <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,1k5n,gtvm,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Glitterati Gossip</a> captures this week�s other shameless
speculation: Scarlett Johansson and Woody Allen share the cover of New
York magazine, and Allen refers to Johannson in an interview as �<a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,4brm,jnlf,kpqm,g1qy">sex
ually overwhelming</a>.� And finally, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,dceh,lf54,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Dlisted</a> quotes J.K. Rowling as saying that two Harry Potter <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q8k8,39mg,duab,140e,kpqm,g1qy">cha
racters will die</a> in the series� final book�and they�re not extras.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 24th - 30th June 2006
DATE: 06/29/2006 13:03:47
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
size="-2"><div>Jun 29th 2006 
 
Israel
launched its first big incursion with tanks and ground troops into the
Gaza Strip since vacating it last summer, in the hope of forcing Palestinian
militants to release an Israeli soldier they had abducted and to stop firing
rockets into southern Israel. The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, then raised
the stakes by having a clutch of Palestinian ministers in the Hamas government
arrested, along with some 60 Hamas MPs. <a target="_blank"
Iraq's
prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, spelt out a “national reconciliation
initiative”, including a conditional amnesty for insurgents. At the same time,
General George Casey, who commands the American forces in Iraq, is said to have
mapped out, at George Bush's request, a timetable for drawing combat units down to
a third of their present size by the end of next year. <a target="_blank"
The special Iraqi
tribunal trying Saddam Hussein said that his second trial, for
mass killings of Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s, would start on August 21st. His current
trial, for killing 148 Shias in a village north of Baghdad, is expected to end
within weeks. 
A radical Islamist,
Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, became head of the legislative council that now
controls most of southern Somalia. His appointment was criticised
by the country's weak transitional government, as well as by America and Ethiopia:
Sheikh Aweys led a Somali outfit that has been accused of links with al-Qaeda and
terrorism in east Africa. <a target="_blank"
In what he described as
his first meeting with journalists for more than 20 years, Joseph Kony,
the fugitive leader of the Ugandan rebel group, the
Lord's Resistance Army, said he was not guilty of the war crimes of which he is
accused by the International Criminal Court at The Hague, and called for peace
talks with Uganda's government.
 
name="a_referendum_on_the_state">A referendum on the state</div>
Italy's
voters overwhelmingly rejected a set of constitutional changes, including more
devolution to regions, that had been passed by the previous government of Silvio
Berlusconi. The centre-left government led by Romano Prodi was cock-a-hoop; Mr
Berlusconi's centre-right opposition was in disarray. <a target="_blank"
size="-1">The French president, Jacques Chirac, made a rare
television appearance in which he tried to shore up the authority of Dominique de
Villepin, his prime minister. Few French voters were impressed: the popularity
ratings of the two men are near record lows.
Joschka Fischer,
erstwhile leader of Germany's Green Party and foreign minister
from 1998 to 2005, is to stand down from the German parliament. Mr Fischer plans
to take up an appointment in international politics at America's Princeton
University.
The European
Commission proposed some new measures in the field of crime and policing,
including abolition of the national veto over some legislation, and giving the
European Court of Justice a role in policing cases. Britain and Germany are likely
to oppose the plans.
The European Court of
Human Rights turned down an appeal against extradition by three
British bankers wanted by the United States on Enron-related fraud charges. The
so-called “NatWest Three” will now be deported under a controversial treaty with
Britain to stand trial in Texas. 
 
name="press-ganged">Press-ganged</div> George Bush criticised as
“disgraceful” the disclosure of a secret surveillance programme
that tracks international banking transfers. Set up soon after the attacks of
September 11th 2001, the programme was revealed by several newspapers last week.
<a target="_blank"
America's surgeon-
general called for a ban on smoking in public places after releasing a report on
passive smoking. The study said there was “no risk-free level of
exposure” to secondhand smoke, which can increase the risk of heart disease and
lung cancer to non-smokers by up to 30%. 
Norman
Mineta said he was stepping down as transportation secretary. Mr Mineta
is the only Democrat in the cabinet and his appointment in 2001 was viewed as an
attempt by Mr Bush to reach out across the political divide—a strategy that seems
to have been long since abandoned. 
 
name="fait_accompli">Fait accompli?</div> Peru's Congress
ratified a free-trade agreement with the United States. But the vote drew protests
from new opposition deputies, who will be sworn in with the recently elected
president, Alan García, later this month. <a target="_blank"
Final polling in
Mexico's presidential election predicted a tight contest on July
2nd, but nevertheless gave a slim lead to Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the left-
of-centre former mayor of Mexico City. <a target="_blank"
size="-1">Canada's Conservative government announced a series of
military procurements, including new navy vessels and army helicopters, as part of
its new defence strategy. <a target="_blank"
 
name="a_friend_in_need">A friend in need</div> <table
size="-1">Condoleezza Rice, the American secretary of state, made a brief visit to
Afghanistan and vowed that the gains made by democracy there
would not be wiped out. It was viewed as a show of support for the embattled
president, Hamid Karzai.
Vietnam
appointed a new prime minister, Nguyen Tan Dung, and a new president, Nguyen Minh
Triet. The most powerful position, that of Communist Party secretary-general, is
still filled by Nong Duc Manh.
Prosecutors in
Thailand called for the break-up of the country's two main
parties, the Thai Rak Thai party and the Democrats. The country's Constitutional
Court will have the final say. <a target="_blank"
size="-1">Taiwan's president, Chen Shui-bian, survived an attempt
to remove him by the country's parliament. More than half, but less than the
required two-thirds, of MPs voted to dismiss him
Opposition parties in
Japan put more pressure on the governor of the central bank to
resign for investing in a fund that has seen its manager arrested on charges of
insider trading. Although he has not broken any of the Bank of Japan's rules,
Toshihiko Fukui nevertheless disclosed his personal assets to parliament in an
effort to halt the furore.
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 24th - 30th June 2006
DATE: 06/29/2006 13:03:01
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
 
After months of vigorous
resistance, Arcelor's board finally succumbed to Mittal
Steel's €25.6 billion ($32.2 billion) takeover offer. Mittal's bid for
Arcelor, which operates steel plants in several European countries, had inflamed
French economic nationalist sentiment, but Arcelor's shareholders became
increasingly drawn to the deal; Guy Dollé, the firm's combative chief executive,
is to step down. Severstal, a Russian steelmaker that acted as Arcelor's white
knight by offering a separate merger, said it was exploring its options. <a
target="_blank"
As metal prices
continued to recover from their recent falls, the mining industry announced a huge
deal. Phelps Dodge wants to buy Inco and
Falconbridge, two Canadian-based nickel producers, for $40
billion (Inco must first complete its acquisition of Falconbridge). A copper miner
in Arizona since the late 19th century, Phelps Dodge will become one of the
world's biggest mining groups. <a target="_blank"
Not to be outdone by
metals, the energy industry saw further big deals when Anadarko
Petroleum made separate bids to buy Kerr-McGee (for
$16.4 billion) and Western Gas Resources ($4.7 billion), two gas
producers.
 
name="what_a_guy">What a guy</div> Warren Buffett
made the world's biggest-ever philanthropic donation by pledging to give
away $37 billion, the bulk of which will go to the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation. The investor said he hoped his generosity would spur other wealthy
people to donate more to foundations. <a target="_blank"
After an auction that
saw more twists and turns than one of its soaps, Univision, the
United States' biggest Spanish-language broadcaster, accepted a $12.3 billion buy-
out from a group of private-equity investors that includes Haim Saban, a media
mogul. <a target="_blank"
Johnson &
Johnson agreed to buy Pfizer's consumer-products
division for $16.6 billion. The outfit, which includes brands such as Sudafed, is
attractive because of the rising profits to be had from over-the-counter
medicines. 
General Motors
and Delphi, which supplies the carmaker with parts,
revealed that around one-third of both their blue-collar workers had chosen early
retirement and severance packages. The take up in redundancies, higher than
expected, will help each firm to restructure.
 
name="born_to_be_wild">Born to be wild</div> DaimlerChrysler
said it would start selling its minuscule two-seater cars in the United States
from 2008. Smart cars are already established in many European
urban markets and Daimler is betting that America's fading infatuation with gas-
guzzling SUVs will be succeeded by fuel economy.

Investigators searched
the Paris office of EADS, Airbus's parent company, as regulators
looked into the sale of shares in March, before a further delay in the A380 was divulged, by a co-chief executive, Noël Forgeard. Mr
Forgeard used an appearance before a French parliamentary committee to defend his
position, but investors in EADS continued to call for his
removal.
In another blow to the
image of big oil, American regulators said they were investigating whether a unit
of BP manipulated the price of propane in
2004 by buying and hoarding vast quantities of the fuel. <a target="_blank"
Consolidation in
Europe's insurance industry continued apace, as Italy's Generali
agreed to buy Toro, its smaller compatriot, for €3.9 billion
($4.8 billion).
size="-1">Eurotunnel rejected an alternative plan, put forward by
some of its bondholders, to the debt-restructuring agreement it signed in May. The
group of creditors, led by Deutsche Bank, says the agreement fails to recognise
the worth of their holdings. 
Intel
made two steps designed to claw back ground it has lost to Advanced Micro Devices,
its arch-rival, unveiling a new chip for servers, which it said was more than
twice as fast as previous models, and selling a unit that makes chips for mobile
phones to Marvell for $600m.
size="-1">The reliability of the computing systems used in
Japan's financial markets was further called into question when a
technical glitch caused trading in Japanese bonds to be briefly suspended.
Problems with computers earlier this year disrupted trading on the Tokyo Stock
Exchange.
 
name="summery_findings">Summery findings</div> Business confidence
in Germany rose in June to its highest level since just after the
country's reunification in 1991. With a separate survey showing that consumer
confidence was at a five-year high, and the government reporting an increase in
core inflation for June, markets speculated that the recovery in the euro area's
biggest economy would hasten a rise in interest rates by the European Central
Bank. 
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Utne Independent Press Awards Nominees -- 2004
DATE: 06/28/2006 10:05:29
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Utne Independent Press Awards Nominees --
2004 
—By Staff, Utne magazine 
 November / December 2004 Issue
<table align="right" border="0"><tbody><tr><td> </td></tr></tbody></table>
<img src="http://www.utne.com/images/transparent.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="8" width="100" alt="Image" /><table align="right" border="0"
cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2"> <tbody><tr> <td align="center"><img
src="http://www.utne.com/images/transparent.gif" alt="" border="0" height="6"
width="1" alt="Image" /> <img src="http://www.utne.com/newspics/uipa-nominee-
2004.gif" alt="Utne Indpendent Press Awards 2004" height="165" width="184"
alt="Image" /> </td> </tr> <tr> </tr> </tbody></table>
To learn more about the nominees, see <a
href="http://www.utne.com/uipa/">www.utne.com/uipa</a>. 

 
General Excellence: Magazines
 
<a href="http://www.ascentmagazine.com/">Ascent</a> <a
href="http://www.thebark.com/">The Bark</a> <a
href="http://www.believermag.com/">The Believer</a> <a
href="http://www.clamormagazine.org/">Clamor</a> <a
href="http://www.cjr.org/">Columbia Journalism Review</a> <a
href="http://governing.com/">Governing</a> <a href="http://www.kampo.co.jp/kyoto-
journal/">Kyoto Journal</a> <a href="http://www.leftturn.org/Magazine.aspx">Left
Turn</a> <a href="http://www.newint.org/">New Internationalist</a> <a
href="http://www.oriononline.org/">Orion</a> <a href="http://www.prospect-
magazine.co.uk/">Prospect</a> <a href="http://www.punkplanet.com/">Punk
Planet</a> <a href="http://www.thismagazine.ca/">This</a> <a
href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/">The Washington Monthly</a>
 
General Excellence: Newsletters
 
<a href="http://www.nceaonline.org/resources.htm">Action for Better Schools</a>
<a href="http://www.au.org/">Church and State</a> <a
href="http://www.commercialalert.org/">The Commercial Alert</a> <a
href="http://www.americas.org/">Connection to the Americas</a> <a
href="http://www.counterpunch.org/">CounterPunch</a> <a
href="http://www.newdream.org/newsletter/index.php">Enough!</a> <a
href="http://www.frugalgreen.com/">The Frugal Environmentalist</a> <a
href="http://www.mlui.org/publications.asp#glb">Great Lakes Bulletin</a> <a
href="http://www.jimhightower.com/">The Hightower Lowdown</a> The Human
Ecologist 
Lesbian Herstory Archives Newsletter 
<a href="http://www.newurbannews.com/">New Urban News</a> <a
href="http://www.ciin.org/pages/05-news.asp">Our Toxic Times</a> <a
href="http://prorev.com/">Progressive Review</a> <a
href="http://www.rachel.org/bulletin/">Rachel's Environment & Health News</a> <a
href="http://www.religionwatch.com/">Religion Watch</a> <a
href="http://www.towardfreedom.com/">Toward Freedom</a> <a
href="http://www.wedge.coop/newsletter/index.php">The Wedge Co-op
Newsletter</a>
 
General Excellence: Zines
 
<a href="http://westbynorthwest.org/artman/publish/cat_index_22.shtml">Bummers
& Gummers</a> <a href="http://www.constantrider.com/">The Constant Rider</a>
Cryptozoa 
<a href="http://www.ayunhalliday.com/inky/">East Village Inky</a> <a
href="http://www.craftycards.net/projects/">Ker-bloom!</a> The Match 
<a href="http://www.moonlight-chronicles.com/">Moonlight Chronicles</a> <a
href="http://stopandsmellthebutter.com/">Stop and Smell the Butter</a> Time is
the Problem 
True Story
<table border="0"><tbody><tr><td valign="middle"><img
src="http://www.utne.com/images/transparent.gif" alt=" " border="0" height="1"
width="1" alt="Image" /> </td> <td align="center"> 
</td></tr></tbody></table> 
<table align="right" border="0"><tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr></tbody></table>Best New Title
 
<a href="http://www.daylightmagazine.org/">Daylight Magazine</a> <a
href="http://peacecenter.berkeley.edu/greatergood.html">Greater Good</a> <a
href="http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/">Hyphen</a> <a
href="http://www.lipmagazine.org/">Lip</a> <a
href="http://www.nplusonemag.com/">n+1</a> <a
href="http://www.neoindependent.com/">The Neo-Independent</a> <a
href="http://www.pistilmag.com/">Pistil</a> <a
href="http://www.shamelessmag.com/">Shameless</a> <a
href="http://www.spacing.ca/">Spacing</a> <a
href="http://www.worldpulsemagazine.com/">World Pulse</a> <a
href="http://www.youngpioneers.com/">Young Pioneers</a> <a
href="http://www.walrusmagazine.com/">The Walrus</a>
 
Best Essays
 
<a href="http://www.pbk.org/american.htm">American Scholar</a> Autodafe 
<a href="http://www.believermag.com/">The Believer</a> <a
href="http://www.brickmag.com/">Brick</a> <a
href="http://www.geist.com/">Geist</a> <a href="http://www.uga.edu/garev/">The
Georgia Review</a> <a
href="http://www.gettysburg.edu/academics/gettysburg_review/">Gettysburg
Review</a> <a href="http://www.granta.com/">Granta</a> <a
href="http://hcl.harvard.edu/houghton/departments/harvardreview/HRhome.html">Harva
rd Review</a> <a href="http://www.nd.edu/%7Endmag/">Notre Dame Magazine</a> <a
href="http://www.orionsociety.org/pages/om/index_om.html">Orion</a>
 
Arts/Creativity Coverage
 
<a href="http://www.vsw.org/afterimage/">Afterimage</a> <a
href="http://www.artichoke.ca/">Artichoke</a> <a
href="http://www.bookforum.net/">Bookforum</a> <a
href="http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/">Cabinet</a> <a
href="http://www.musicworks.ca/">Musicworks</a> <a
href="http://www.nodepression.net/">No Depression</a> <a
href="http://www.raintaxi.com/">Rain Taxi</a> <a
href="http://www.afterimagegallery.com/shots.htm">Shots</a> <a
href="http://signaltonoisemagazine.org/">Signal to Noise</a> <a
href="http://www.somamagazine.com/">SOMA</a> <a
href="http://www.stopsmilingonline.com/">Stop Smiling</a> <a
href="http://www.takeonemagazine.ca/">Take One</a> <a
href="http://www.yale.edu/drama/publications/theater/">Theater</a>
 
Cultural/Social Coverage
 
<a href="http://www.bitchmagazine.com/">Bitch</a> <a
href="http://www.blackbookmag.com/">BlackBook</a> <a
href="http://www.clamormagazine.org/">Clamor</a> <a
href="http://www.cjr.org/">Columbia Journalism Review</a> <a
href="http://www.kitchensinkmag.com/index.php">Kitchen Sink</a> <a
href="http://www.kampo.co.jp/kyoto-journal/">Kyoto Journal</a> <a
href="http://www.maisonneuve.org/">Maisonneuve</a> <a
href="http://www.thenation.com/">The Nation</a> <a
href="http://www.punkplanet.com/">Punk Planet</a> <a
href="http://www.thismagazine.ca/">This</a> <a
href="http://www.walrusmagazine.com/">The Walrus</a> <a
href="http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/">The Washington Monthly</a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Nominees for UTNE
DATE: 06/28/2006 10:02:08
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Utne Independent Press Awards Nominees --
2004 
<table align="right" border="0"><tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr></tbody></table>Design
 
<a href="http://www.adbusters.org/">Adbusters</a> <a
href="http://www.believermag.com/">The Believer</a> <a
href="http://www.bust.com/">Bust</a> <a href="http://www.kampo.co.jp/kyoto-
journal/">Kyoto Journal</a> <a href="http://www.legalaffairs.org/">Legal
Affairs</a> <a href="http://www.magnetmagazine.com/">Magnet</a> <a
href="http://www.odemagazine.com/">Ode</a> <a
href="http://www.shamelessmag.com/">Shameless</a> <a
href="http://www.topicmag.com/">Topic</a> <a
href="http://www.vegnews.com/">VegNews</a>
 
Environmental Coverage
 
<a href="http://www.alternativesjournal.ca/">Alternatives Journal</a> <a
href="http://magazine.audubon.org/">Audubon</a> <a
href="http://www.emagazine.com/">E: The Environmental Magazine</a> <a
href="http://earthfirstjournal.org/efj/">EarthFirst!</a> <a
href="http://www.earthisland.org/eijournal/journal.cfm">Earth Island Journal</a>
<a href="http://www.theecologist.org/">The Ecologist</a> <a
href="http://www.nrdc.org/onearth/">OnEarth</a> <a
href="http://www.oriononline.org/">Orion</a>
 
International Coverage
 
<a href="http://www.agrnews.org/">Asheville Global Report</a> <a
href="http://www.colorsmagazine.com/">Colors</a> <a
href="http://www.theecologist.org/">The Ecologist</a> <a
href="http://www.globaloutlook.ca/">Global Outlook</a> <a
href="http://www.indiacurrents.com/">India Currents</a> <a
href="http://www.leftturn.org/">Left Turn</a> <a
href="http://www.nacla.org/">NACLA Report on the Americas</a> <a
href="http://www.newint.org/">New Internationalist</a> <a
href="http://www.newstatesman.com/">New Statesman</a> <a
href="http://www.wrmea.com/">Washington Report on Middle East Affairs</a> <a
href="http://www.worldpulsemagazine.com/">World Pulse</a>
 
Local/Regional Coverage
 
<a href="http://www.auschron.com/">Austin Chronicle</a> <a
href="http://www.brooklynrail.org/">The Brooklyn Rail</a> <a
href="http://www.canyoncountryzephyr.com/">Canyon Country Zephyr</a> <a
href="http://www.chireader.com/">Chicago Reader</a> <a
href="http://www.chicagoreporter.com/">The Chicago Reporter</a> <a
href="http://www.citylimits.org/">City Limits (New York)</a> <a
href="http://www.hcn.org/">High Country News</a> <a
href="http://www.lacitybeat.com/">Los Angeles City Beat</a> <a
href="http://www.mountaingazette.com/">Mountain Gazette</a> <a
href="http://www.northernskynews.com/">Northern Sky News</a> <a
href="http://www.philadelphiaindependent.net/">The Philadelphia Independent</a>
<a href="http://www.thestranger.com/">The Stranger (Seattle)</a> <a
href="http://www.texasobserver.org/">The Texas Observer</a> <a
href="http://www.westword.com/">Westword</a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: UTNE Awards
DATE: 06/28/2006 09:58:38
STATUS: publish
BODY:
 
 
<a href="http://www.artitudezine.com/">ARTitude</a> <a
href="http://www.thebark.com/">The Bark</a> <a
href="http://www.brainchildmag.com/">Brain, Child</a> <a
href="http://www.bust.com/">Bust</a> <a
href="http://www.motherearthnews.com/">Mother Earth News</a> <a
href="http://www.naturalhomemagazine.com/">Natural Home</a> <a
href="http://www.newwitch.com/">New Witch</a> <a
href="http://www.readymademag.com/">ReadyMade</a> <a
href="http://www.organicgardening.com/">Organic Gardening</a>
 
Political Coverage
 
<a href="http://www.prospect.org/">The American Prospect</a> <a
href="http://www.governing.com/">Governing</a> <a
href="http://www.motherjones.com/">Mother Jones</a> <a
href="http://www.thenation.com/">The Nation</a> <a
href="http://www.newint.org/">New Internationalist</a> <a
href="http://www.punkplanet.com/">Punk Planet</a> <a
href="http://www.tikkun.org/">Tikkun</a>
 
Science/Technology Coverage
 
<a href="http://www.archaeology.org/">Archaeology</a> <a
href="http://www.pesticide.org/JPR.html">Journal of Pesticide Reform</a> <a
href="http://www.newscientist.com/">New Scientist</a> 
<a href="http://www.seedmagazine.com/">Seed</a> 
<a href="http://www.sciencenews.org/">Science News</a> 
<a href="http%3C/body"></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: MySpace Gorilla, Viral Videos
DATE: 06/23/2006 06:44:40
STATUS: publish
BODY:
 MySpace is growing into a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,dkpv,2ng8,kpqm,g1qy">27.
4 billion page-view gorilla</a> blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,2k47,lgb7,kpqm,g1qy"></a
>Watch helplessly as <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,ex03,g8qq,kpqm,g1qy">MyS
pace moves into 11 more countries</a>, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,lg0h,bik1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Yahoo! Entertainment News</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,ckte,ajmn,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Valleywag</a> chronicles some MySpace embarrassments: <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,hqpt,kb9,kpqm,g1qy">a
14-year-old girl and her mom sued</a> MySpace after a �boy� she met there turned
out to be a 19-year-old guy who assaulted her when they met. But most of the so-
called MySpace horror stories lately are nothing more than <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,bpd6,c3na,kpqm,g1qy">kid
s embarrassing themselves for life</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,de7f,2r51,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>BuzzMachine</a>. Still, MySpace this week announced moves to <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,7eex,hcgw,kpqm,g1qy">pro
tect its youngest users</a> � and some big new <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,lxbq,fy9l,kpqm,g1qy">adv
ertisers</a>. 
 
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,22q7,1cji,kpqm,g1qy"></a
> Web 2.0 shorts: Markaboo may lure many away from del.icio.us because of its <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,22q7,1cji,kpqm,g1qy">eas
y-to-use, open-source social bookmarking service</a>. <a target="_blank"
rong>TechCrunch</a> is also watching Wetpaint, which lets you <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,l8dy,8ill,kpqm,g1qy">cre
ate a wiki on any subject in just a few minutes</a>. Tell that to A-List blogger
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,cn57,8mbh,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>A VC</a> who was <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,kqrw,6m5h,kpqm,g1qy">del
eted from Wikipedia</a> for being �not notable.� Damn, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,l2n3,bxsy,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Scobleizer</a>, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,1ipe,fsa,kpqm,g1qy">ever
yone should have a Wikipedia page</a>. Like wikis, RSS has endless uses, and <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,37qa,lj8n,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Micro Persuasion</a> features <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,1f70,jdpp,kpqm,g1qy">35
of the less obvious ones</a>: you can track drunk athletes, read the Bible verse
by verse, or even read the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci one day at a time. 
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,g4bb,8ipj,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/operalogo.gif"
align="left" border="0" height="100" width="100" alt="Image" /></a> Opera version
9.0 is out with a built-in BitTorrent downloader and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,g4bb,8ipj,kpqm,g1qy">ass
orted useful widgets</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,9rww,6w76,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>A Zulu in Silicon Valley</a> likes it because it�s fast and has the
best address bar; see a comparison to IE 7, Firefox and Flock <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,551c,23ur,kpqm,g1qy">her
e</a>. If some of the sites you surf with these browsers demand ID, <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,kz5e,2ehz,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Lifehacker</a> points to a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,azn,f4d5,kpqm,g1qy">Fals
e Identity Generator</a> that creates a random first and last name, valid address
with matching phone number, and a few other details for those times when you�d
like a little anonymity. 
 
Steve Jobs is leaning on Hollywood moviemakers to let him offer <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,3b7r,87n1,kpqm,g1qy">$9.
99 movie downloads for iTunes</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,lrtm,8fez,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>business2blog</a>), which is much more likely now that Jobs is
Disney�s biggest shareholder. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,81sf,9xzk,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/connie2.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="117" width="173" alt="Image" /></a>But NetFlix
isn�t exactly sitting still; <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,c96f,9lsb,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gizmodo</a> reports that the movies-by-mail company is developing a
set-top box to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,hksn,buup,kpqm,g1qy">dow
nload the movies on subscribers� queues for one monthly fee</a>. Until it gets
here you can download a TV pilot that the WB network passed on: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,g99t,6hbv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TV Squad</a> says Nobody�s Watching, a comedy about two
guys who get their own sitcom on the WB, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,2ov4,a057,kpqm,g1qy">is
up on YouTube</a>. The sitcom pilot is better than Connie Chung, who became a
viral video phenom on YouTube by singing a parody of �Thanks for the Memories� for
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,1010,hp8d,kpqm,g1qy">thr
ee hilarious (and horrifying) minutes</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,lg0h,bik1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Yahoo News</a>). 
 
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,m4s4,hgzm,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt="" src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/rather2.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="136" width="182" alt="Image" /></a>But Chung
still has a job; fellow ex-anchor <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,9bz9,4qc5,kpqm,g1qy">Dan
Rather got shoved out the door by CBS after 44 years</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,jqft,jqpv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Jossip</a>). <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,7ymn,ao9b,kpqm,g1qy">It
was tacky</a>, says fellow CBS News alum Meredith Vieira (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,a0jx,e7f1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Huffington Post</a>), but Rather may <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,7dry,encb,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/cubanstack.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="171" width="138" alt="Image" /></a>get a soft
landing with Mark Cuban. Everybody could win, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,lrtm,8fez,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>business2blog</a>: Cuban gets instant mainstream acceptance for
HDNet, and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,m4s4,hgzm,kpqm,g1qy">Rat
her gets a better gig</a> than he had at CBS. 
 
That is, if Cuban can keep from treating Rather like the NBA commissioner, who he
at one point accused of <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,7dry,encb,kpqm,g1qy">rig
ging the NBA Finals against his Dallas Mavericks</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,6k32,eb38,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Deadspin</a>. Cuban headed into Game 6 about $250,000 lighter after
running onto the court, screaming<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,a6ah,jr0o,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/soldier%20story.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="363" width="197" alt="Image" /></a> at an
official and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,cbk5,5u4c,kpqm,g1qy">sim
ilar nouveau mogul-type behavior</a> in Game 5. It didn�t matter; the <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,8998,ho69,kpqm,g1qy">Mia
mi Heat won the series in six</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,jacb,gr41,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>New York Times</a>). 
 
Political bloggers had plenty to say when the bodies of two kidnapped U.S.
soldiers were recovered in Iraq, mutilated and booby-trapped. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,11zf,7lxv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gay Patriot</a> pushes through his outrage to explain how <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,dtwd,jo4p,kpqm,g1qy">thi
s atrocity fits the insurgents� media strategy</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,108l,8qxy,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Daily Dish</a> worries that <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,glo8,dfjt,kpqm,g1qy">acc
usations of U.S. torture of prisoners</a> made this episode worse. It still took
something like <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,ehng,digm,kpqm,g1qy">30
attackers to take these two down</a>, reports <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,ci0c,az8p,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Reuters</a>. Elsewhere, and despite the early date, <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,3vy2,j9m6,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Taegan Goddard</a> blogs that there may be <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,4ouy,enit,kpqm,g1qy">jus
t three Democrats in the running for 2008</a>: ex-Virginia governor Mark Warner
(the mainstream guy) and senators Hillary Clinton (the elephant in the room) and
Russ Feingold (the progressive�s progressive). These candidates may start spouting
the same old Democratic lines, but retiring <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,pvk,klgo,kpqm,g1qy">Pres
ident Bush is singing a new song</a>: �Sunday, Bloody Sunday� (via <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,641l,6beo,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>I-Am-Bored.com</a>). 
 
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,f7gg,8l8e,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/pretty-nicole-
keith.jpg" align="left" border="0" height="116" width="209" alt="Image" /></a>
Finally in entertainment, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,jqft,jqpv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Jossip</a> excerpts Anderson Cooper�s blog on his interview with <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,6exk,36r6,kpqm,g1qy">the
most gorgeous woman on the planet, Angelina Jolie</a>. Jolie says her next child
will be adopted, and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,lnuv,jtbv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Defamer</a> snarks about where the child will have to come from to
achieve the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,4ha3,ahv7,kpqm,g1qy">pro
per national, race and gender balances</a> in the Jolie-Pitt family. <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,f7gg,8l8e,kpqm,g1qy">Nic
ole Kidman and Keith Urban will marry this weekend</a> in Sydney, blogs <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,g2u2,kv1m,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>The Bosh</a>, and they�re <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,f63o,dsny,kpqm,g1qy">wil
ling to bribe the paparazzi with a case of Victoria Bitter beer</a>, says <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q617,39mg,4jix,240h,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Style-Spotlight</a> � but that creates the additional problem of
drunk paparazzi.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 17th - 23rd June 2006
DATE: 06/22/2006 13:49:12
STATUS: publish
BODY:
George Bush attended a
summit with European Union leaders in Vienna, where he won strong
backing for his reproach of Iran and North Korea over their respective nuclear
programmes. Mr Bush also listened to EU calls to close
Guantánamo Bay, and agreed he would “like it to be over with” but gave no
timeframe for either releasing or trying the camp's detainees. <a target="_blank"
More than 74% of voters
in Catalonia gave their approval to a plan that gives greater
autonomy to the region. The Spanish government also supports the proposal, which
gives the Catalans greater powers over law and taxation.
Three pro-Western
parties in Ukraine, all supporters of the 2004 “orange
revolution”, said they had formed a coalition after months of haggling.
size="-1">Turkmenistan threatened to cut gas supplies to Russia
unless Gazprom, Russia's gas monopoly, paid more for its gas. Any potential
disruption also threatens Ukraine, as most of the gas supplied to it by Gazprom
comes from the Central Asian country.
 
name="falling_out">Falling out</div> The president of Timor-
Leste (former East Timor), Xanana Gusmão, said he would resign if the
country's prime minister, Mari Alkatiri, did not do so. The feud between the two
men, which has led to clashes within the army, has plunged the infant nation into
chaos. 
America, Japan, South
Korea and many other countries strongly urged North Korea not to
test a long-range missile, which it is thought to have been fuelling ready for
launch. Though not illegal, such a test would have big diplomatic consequences. <a
target="_blank"
prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, said that Japan's contingent of 600
troops are to be withdrawn from southern Iraq, though no date has yet been given.
The troops were performing non-combat humanitarian duties.
Nepal's
Maoists and the democratic political parties agreed to form a joint interim
government, which will run the country until a new constitution can be approved
that strips the king of his powers. <a target="_blank"
 
name="real_power_incentives">Real power incentives</div> Robert Zoellick
is resigning from his post as America's deputy secretary of state to join Goldman
Sachs. A former trade representative, he is said to have been unhappy with his
position as number two at the State Department and had been considering a move to
Wall Street for several months.
Plans to overhaul
immigration law this year receded when Republican leaders
announced a series of “field hearings” in congressional districts later this
year.
The Episcopal
church chose Katharine Jefferts Schori as its presiding bishop; she
becomes the first woman to hold the leadership post. The church also passed a
compromise resolution calling for “restraint” in appointing gay bishops after an
earlier proposal to institute a temporary ban was rejected, which risked a schism
with conservatives in the worldwide Anglican church. 
Louisiana's governor
ordered the National Guard back into New Orleans for the first
time since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The guard will patrol areas of the
city that are relatively deserted, freeing the police there to concentrate on a
rise in violence in more populated areas. 
David
Safavian, the former head of procurement policy in the White House, was
found guilty of trying to obstruct an investigation into his dealings with Jack
Abramoff, a disgraced lobbyist who has pleaded guilty to corruption charges. The
trial is the first to stem from the Abramoff scandal; more are
expected.
 
name="wings_clipped">Wings clipped</div> <table align="right"
size="-1">The embattled Brazilian airline Varig was forced to
cancel a third of its 180 daily flights amidst mounting fears of a financial
collapse. The move came the day after a bankruptcy judge agreed to sell the
airline to a consortium of Varig workers and two foreign investors.
Juan Carlos Robinson,
once a high-flying member of Cuba's government, was sentenced to
12 years' imprisonment for corruption, the Cuban Communist Party announced. Mr
Robinson, one of the few Afro-Cuban political figures on the island, had earlier
been acclaimed by the ruling Politburo as an example of Cuba's young black
leadership.
The trial began in
Argentina of a former police commissioner accused of murder,
torture and illegal arrest during the “dirty war” under the country's 1976-83
military dictatorship. The trial marks the end of 20 years of impunity for
hundreds of officials under amnesty laws, which were annulled by the Supreme Court
last year.
 
name="going_dutch">Going Dutch</div> Charles Taylor,
a former Liberian president accused of overseeing the killing of thousands of
civilians, was flown from Sierra Leone to the Netherlands, where he is to be tried
for war crimes at a UN-backed Special Court at The Hague.
<img src="http://www.economist.com/images/dingbats/e5.gif" alt="E+" height="10"
hspace="2" width="17" alt="Image" /> <a target="_blank"
Both Israel, which had
been trying to join since the 1930s, and Palestine have been admitted as members
of the Red Cross. The breakthrough was helped by a change of
symbol from the traditional red cross to a more neutral red square.
International donors
approved, in principle, emergency aid payments for three months to the
Palestinians to keep vital services going. Whether they approve
more, in particular for Palestinian Authority salaries, may depend on whether
Hamas, the Islamist group that runs the government, agrees to a “prisoners'
document” that takes some steps towards recognising Israel. 
The same day that one
lot of Iraqi gunmen (probably Shia militiamen) murdered one of
Saddam Hussein's defence lawyers, others (probably Sunni insurgents) abducted
about a hundred factory workers on their way home in buses just north of Baghdad,
raising fears of yet another sectarian massacre.
After capturing
Mogadishu, Somalia's capital, Islamist militias continued to advance to the north
and west. Somalia's interim president, Abdullahi Yusuf, claimed
that they were being helped by thousands of foreign extremists. <a target="_blank"
size="-1">China's prime minister, Wen Jiabao, visited seven
African countries, including South Africa and Angola, looking for deals to buy oil
and commodities that would cement China's position as Africa's biggest trading
partner. 
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 17th - 23rd June 2006
DATE: 06/22/2006 13:42:05
STATUS: publish
BODY:
The management of
EADS, Airbus's parent company, met to consider the aeronautics
and defence company's difficulties. An announcement of more delays to the A380 super-jumbo had sent its share price into a spin. Regulators
in France started an investigation into the timing of a sale of shares in March by
Noël Forgeard, EADS co-chief executive. As French
politicians held an uproarious parliamentary debate on EADS's troubles, ILFC, the world's biggest
aircraft-leasing company, said it was considering cancelling its order for the
A380. <a target="_blank"
An investigation has
been launched in America and Britain into an alleged cartel operated by
several airlines. British Airways confirmed it was one of them
and had placed its commercial director and head of communications on a leave of
absence. <a target="_blank"
 
name="down_to_the_wire">Down to the wire</div> More shareholders in
Arcelor expressed unease about its planned merger with Russia's
Severstal. Alexey Mordashov, Severstal's boss, dealt with some of
the investors' misgivings by agreeing to take a reduced stake of 25% in the new
company. Meanwhile, regulators suspended trading in Arcelor's shares until the
Luxembourg-based steelmaker clarifies its position on Mittal Steel's
takeover bid.
size="-1">Sinopec, a Chinese oil company, agreed to buy an oil-
production unit from TNK-BP, BP's Russian
venture, in a deal that marks China's first step into Russia's oil market.
However, Sinopec immediately sold a 51% stake in the unit to
Rosneft, the Russian state oil company, further consolidating the
government's hold on the country's energy industry.
Roman
Abramovich, Russia's richest man (who lives in Britain), agreed to buy a
41% stake, estimated to be worth $3 billion, in Evraz, a big Russian steel group.

 
name="engaged_tone">Engaged tone</div> Nokia and
Siemens agreed to merge their telecoms-equipment businesses. The
deal comes less than three months after Alcatel and Lucent said they were merging.
Like that combination, Nokia Siemens Networks will become a leading supplier of
fixed-line and mobile apparatus as well as competing to provide internet, video
and telephone services. <a target="_blank"
A bidding war began for
the core media and telecoms business of PCCW. The Hong Kong firm
has received two offers, one from Macquarie Bank, a ubiquitous
Australian institution, and one from Texas Pacific Group, a
private-equity firm. However, China Netcom, a firm controlled by the Chinese
government which owns a 20% stake in PCCW, gave warning
that it did not want to see any change to PCCW's ownership.

The governor of
Japan's central bank, Toshihiko Fukui, offered to take a pay cut
to atone for making a hefty profit from his investment in a fund managed by
Yoshiaki Murakami, who was arrested recently on insider-trading charges. Mr Fukui
has not broken any of the Bank of Japan's rules, but has come under pressure to
resign.
Deutsche
Börse made another attempt to woo Euronext, a rival
European financial-exchange company, away from its planned merger with NYSE Group. Euronext promptly rejected the offer. Meanwhile, it
continued its takeover talks with Borsa Italiana, a smaller exchange. <a
target="_blank"
Allianz
is to cut 7,500 jobs as it restructures its insurance and banking operations.
About 5,000 jobs will go in the German firm's insurance business. The rest will go
at Dresdner Bank, which has already shed thousands of jobs since Allianz bought it
in 2001.
Deutsche Bank
outbid Citibank and others to buy Berliner Bank, a
retail bank. This is the first foray by Deutsche, Germany's biggest bank, into
domestic consolidation. The seller, Bankgesellschaft Berlin, must itself be sold
to a different buyer along with another subsidiary, Berliner Sparkasse, the local
savings bank, by the end of 2007, under an agreement with the EU.
Morgan
Stanley more than doubled its profit for the quarter ending May 31st
compared with a year ago, to nearly $2 billion. This came after other big American
investment banks had reported impressive earnings. Even so, Wall Street firms have
seen their share prices dip as investors worry about the effects of a possible
slowdown on bankers' fees from big mergers. 
 
name="filthy_rich">Filthy rich</div> <table align="right"
align="right" valign="top"> 
size="-1">There were 8.7m people with liquid financial assets of more than $1m in
2005 and whose total wealth reached $33.3 trillion, according to a report by
Merrill Lynch and Capgemini. Two-thirds of these “high net-worth
individuals” are in North America (2.9m) and Europe (2.8m); most of the
rest (2.4m) live in the Asia-Pacific region. But the report warned against
breaking out the Clos du Mesnil just yet: it expects the growth in the number of
super-rich to continue slowing over the next few years. 
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Information Protection, Securing Content, and Terminal Services
DATE: 06/22/2006 10:01:31
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<table align="center" bgcolor="#ffffff" border="0" cellpadding="7"
cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td valign="top">New Chapter: Protecting
Information During Transmission
href="http://nexus.realtimepublishers.com/links/newsletter/dgitp.asp"><img
src="http://nexus.realtimepublishers.com/covers/dgitp.gif" alt="The Definitive
Guide to Information Theft Prevention" align="left" border="0" height="121"
hspace="5" width="95" alt="Image" /></a> 
Download the newest chapter from
The Definitive Guide® to Information Theft Prevention! 
 
Data can be well protected within a controlled
infrastructure but is especially vulnerable to theft or tampering when it is
transmitted. Chapter 4 will examine the technologies
used to secure data during transmission along with management issues that arise
when these technologies are deployed. The discussion begins with encryption, a
technology essential to protecting the confidentiality of information during
transmission. 
Chapter 4: Protecting Information During Transmission, written by Dan Sullivan,
is available at: <a target="_blank"
href="http://nexus.realtimepublishers.com/links/newsletter/dgitp.asp">http://nexus
.realtimepublishers.com/links/newsletter/dgitp.asp</a>
<img src="http://www.realtimepublishers.com/images/rr_grndotline2.gif"
alt="Image" align="absbottom" height="1" width="350" alt="Image" />
</td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td>
<a target="_blank" name="RR2"></a>New Chapter: Managing
PKI Infrastructures
href="http://nexus.realtimepublishers.com/links/newsletter/sgmcl.asp"><img
src="http://nexus.realtimepublishers.com/covers/sgmcl.gif" alt="The Shortcut
Guide™ to Managing Certificate Lifecycles" align="left" border="0" height="121"
hspace="5" width="95" alt="Image" /></a> 
Download the newest chapter from
The Shortcut Guide™ to Managing Certificate Lifecycles! 
 
 The previous chapters have
discussed the components used in a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). Chapter 4 will
address the key decisions that IT professionals need to make in planning and
implementing the infrastructure that will best support their security needs—while
addressing the demands of their budgets. The chapter will focus on defining the
requirements and challenges of the infrastructure, identifying the key components
of the infrastructure, and choosing the best means to provide the
infrastructure.
Chapter 4: Managing PKI Infrastructures, written by Kevin
Behr, is available at: <a target="_blank"
href="http://nexus.realtimepublishers.com/links/newsletter/sgmcl.asp">http://nexus
.realtimepublishers.com/links/newsletter/sgmcl.asp</a>
</td> </tr> <tr valign="top">
<td><a target="_blank" name="RR3"></a>New Chapter: Implementation
Issues in Securing Internet Content
href="http://nexus.realtimepublishers.com/links/newsletter/dgcmsps.asp"><img
src="http://nexus.realtimepublishers.com/covers/dgcmsps.gif" alt="The Definitive
Guide® to Controlling Malware, Spyware, Phishing, and Spam" align="left"
border="0" height="123" hspace="5" width="95" alt="Image" /></a>

Download the newest chapter from
The Definitive Guide® to Controlling Malware, Spyware, Phishing, and
S*pam! 
 
Securing Internet content in an enterprise is now a
basic element of the broader information security practices of organizations. T
his guide has examined the responsibilities of
organizations to protect the integrity of their information and infrastructure,
specific threats to that mission, and technologies for combating those threats.
Chapter 8 continues the discussion started in Chapter 7 about technologies for
securing Internet content with an examination of the implementation issues
associated with applying those technologies.
Chapter 8: Implementation Issues in Securing Internet
Content, written by Dan Sullivan, is available at: <a target="_blank"
href="http://nexus.realtimepublishers.com/links/newsletter/dgcmsps.asp">http://nex
us.realtimepublishers.com/links/newsletter/dgcmsps.asp</a>
</td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2"><a
target="_blank" name="RR4"></a>Complete eBook: The Definitive Guide® to
Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services Updated Edition
href="http://nexus.realtimepublishers.com/links/newsletter/dgws2k3tsue.asp"><img
src="http://nexus.realtimepublishers.com/covers/dgws2k3tsue.gif" alt="The
Definitive Guide® to Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services Updated Edition"
align="left" border="0" height="121" hspace="5" width="95" alt="Image" /></a>

Download the complete eBook! 
 
This book covers the new features and enhancements
in WS2K3 Terminal Services and the new features included in Service Pack 1. It
also includes best practices for configuring and managing Terminal Services with
an eye to the new techniques available to systems administrators in WS2K3. Because
of Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) 5.2, Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI)
access to Terminal Services attributes of user objects, new Group Policy Object
(GPO) controls, and Session Directory, there exists the ability to use native
Terminal Services as an enterprise-class solution for providing users with
Terminal Services–based desktops.
The Definitive Guide® to Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services Updated
Edition, written by Greyson Mitchem, is available at: <a target="_blank"
href="http://nexus.realtimepublishers.com/links/newsletter/dgws2k3tsue.asp">http:/
/nexus.realtimepublishers.com/links/newsletter/dgws2k3tsue.asp</a>
</td></tr></tbody></table>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Thenkoodu contest
DATE: 06/20/2006 10:00:25
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<table bgcolor="gray" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"><tbody><tr><td
bgcolor="white">34</td><td bgcolor="white"><a
href="http://forusdear.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-post_20.html">வாலிபேே வா!
வா!!</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">தாணு</td></tr><tr><td

href="http://ezuthovian.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-post.html">ேனேுதிர் பருவே்</a>
</td><td bgcolor="white">இப்னு ஹே்துன் (பரங்கிப்ேபட்ைட
ஹ.பஃக்ருத்தீன்)</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">32</td><td bgcolor="white"><a
href="http://oagaisblog.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-post_19.html">விடைலப் பருவே்
விைடெபறுே் தருணே்</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">நடராஜன்
ஸ்ரீனிவாசன்</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">31</td><td bgcolor="white"><a
href="http://selvaraj.weblogs.us/archives/207">ெதாட்ட இடே் ேலருே்</a> </td><td
bgcolor="white">ெசல்வராஜ்</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">30</td><td
bgcolor="white"><a href="http://kaniyaru-kaniyaru.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-
post_20.html">ேதன்க
ூ ூ டு-ேபாட்டி: வளர் சிைத ோற்றே்.</a> </td><td
bgcolor="white">கைல அரசன்</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">29</td><td

bgcolor="white"><a href="http://pranni.blogspot.com/2006/06/he-she-bye-bye-
adolescence.html"> He-She: bye-bye adolescence</a> </td><td
bgcolor="white">Pranni</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">28</td><td
bgcolor="white"><a href="http://arul76.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-
post_19.html">ெபரிய ேனுஷன் - ேதன்க
ூ ூ டு ேபாட்டி</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">அருள்
குோர்</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">27</td><td bgcolor="white"><a
href="http://balablooms.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-post_18.html">நிைனெவல்லாே்
நான்</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">balamukundhan</td></tr><tr><td

href="http://manimalar.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-post_18.html">நான் அப்பாவாகப்
ேபாகிேறனா ? ேதன்க
ூ ூ டு ேபாட்டி</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">ேணியன்</td></tr><tr><td
href="http://umakathir.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-post_17.html">ெகாப்பைரத்தாத்தா</a>
</td><td bgcolor="white">உோ கதிர்</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">24</td><td

bgcolor="white"><a href="http://nizhalkal.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-
post_17.html">இரவு (சிறுகைத)</a> </td><td
bgcolor="white">ஹரன்பிரசன்னா</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">23</td><td
bgcolor="white"><a href="http://sethukal.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-
post.html">சிற்பிேய உன்ைனச் ெசதுக்குகிேறன்.</a> </td><td
bgcolor="white">ேதவ்</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">22</td><td
bgcolor="white"><a href="http://nilaraj.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-
post_16.html">பிே்பே்</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">நிலா</td></tr><tr><td
href="http://odetolunacy.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-post.html">ஜன்னேலார
கவிைதகள்</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">ெபான். சிதே்பரகுோரி</td></tr><tr><td

href="http://pitchaipathiram.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-post_16.html">ஒரு ேுன்னாள்
விடைலயின் நிைனவுக் குறிப்புகள்</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">Suresh

Kannan</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">19</td><td bgcolor="white"><a
href="http://ukumar.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-post_16.html">ராஜாக்கா பாவா! </a>
</td><td bgcolor="white">ெவளிகண்ட நாதர்</td></tr><tr><td

href="http://poonspakkangkal.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-post_16.html">"ெபரிய ேனுஷி"
</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">ெபான்ஸ்</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">17</td><td

bgcolor="white"><a href="http://nilaraj.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-
post_15.html">ேனேுதிர் காலே்</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">நிலா</td></tr><tr><td
href="http://ennam.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-post_15.html">வளர்சிைத ோற்றே் -
"ெபாடிப்ைபயா"</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">ஆசாத்</td></tr><tr><td

href="http://manamumninavum.blogspot.com/2006/06/20.html">வளர்சிைத ோற்றே்</a>
</td><td bgcolor="white">நாேக்கல் சிபி</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">14</td><td

bgcolor="white"><a href="http://ilavanji.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-
post.html">விட்டில்
ூ பூ ச்சிகள்</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">ilavanji</td></tr><tr><td
href="http://govikannan.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-post_14.html">வளர்சிைத ோற்றே் -
உணர்ந்து ெகாண்ேடன் </a> </td><td bgcolor="white">govikannan</td></tr><tr><td

href="http://madippakkam.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-
post_115027240193624381.html">எனக்கு ேநர்ந்த வளர்சிைத ோற்றங்கள்! </a> </td><td
bgcolor="white">லக்கிலுக்</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">11</td><td
bgcolor="white"><a href="http://aaththigam.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-
post_13.html">"விைடெகாடு விடைலப் பருவேே" </a> </td><td
bgcolor="white">SK</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">10</td><td bgcolor="white"><a
href="http://dubukku.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-post_13.html">அன்புள்ள ைடரி </a>
</td><td bgcolor="white">Dubukku</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">9</td><td
bgcolor="white"><a href="http://nunippul.blogspot.com/2006/06/25-50-75-00-
25.html">..25, ..50, ..75, ..00, ..25 </a> </td><td
bgcolor="white">ramachandranusha</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">8</td><td
bgcolor="white"><a href="http://vinmathi.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-
post_12.html">தகிக்குே் ேதகே்</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">ெநல்ைல
சிவா</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">7</td><td bgcolor="white"><a
href="http://raasaa.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-post_12.html">ோறித்தான் ஆகனுோ?</a>
</td><td bgcolor="white">ெகாங்கு ராசா</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">6</td><td
bgcolor="white"><a href="http://icarus1972us.blogspot.com/2006/06/bye-bye-
adolesence-for-thenkoodu.html">Bye-Bye Adolescence</a> </td><td
bgcolor="white">Prakash</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">5</td><td
bgcolor="white"><a href="http://imohandoss.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-
post.html">வளர்சிைதோற்றே் - ேுற்றுப்புள்ளியில் இருந்து ெதாடங்குே் கைதகள்</a>
</td><td bgcolor="white">குந்தைவ வந்தியத்ேதவன்</td></tr><tr><td

href="http://tamiltheni.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-
post_115001822528711020.html">வளரிளைேக் காலே்</a> </td><td
bgcolor="white">chameleon</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">3</td><td
bgcolor="white"><a
href="http://padhu.wordpress.com/2006/06/10/%E0%AE%B5%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%9F%E0%AE%B2%E
0%AF%88%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8D-%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%BE%E0%AE%B2%E0%AE%A4%E0%AF%8D-
%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%B3%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%B3%E0%AF%8D/">விடைலக் காலத் தைளகேள
ேபா ேபா ேபா</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">குலவுசனப்பிரியன்</td></tr><tr><td

href="http://vovalpaarvai.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-post_10.html">காதல் வளர்சிைத
ோற்றே்! </a> </td><td bgcolor="white">வவ்வால்</td></tr><tr><td

href="http://konjamkonjam.blogspot.com/2006/06/blog-post_10.html">கனா காணுே்
காலங்கள் - ேதன்க
ூ ூ டு ேபாட்டி </a> </td><td
bgcolor="white">சுதர்சன்.ேகாபால்</td></tr></tbody></table>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: RELATIONSHIPS
DATE: 06/19/2006 21:33:05
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<div> <div> <blockquote style=""> <a target="_blank"
href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail_us/taglines/postman8/*http:/us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=
39663/*http:/voice.yahoo.com"
title="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail_us/taglines/postman8/*http://us.rd.yahoo.com/ev
t=39663/*http://voice.yahoo.com">R ELATIONSHIPS 
( INDIA vs OVERSEAS) </a>
<a target="_blank"
t=39663/*http://voice.yahoo.com"> </a><div><a target="_blank"
t=39663/*http://voice.yahoo.com"> </a><a target="_blank"
t=39663/*http://voice.yahoo.com"> </a>
<a target="_blank"
t=39663/*http://voice.yahoo.com"> </a><table border="1" cellpadding="0">
<tbody><tr> <td style="background:rgb(255, 153, 102) none repeat scroll 0% 50%;
" bgcolor="#ff9966"> Relation

</td> <td style="background:rgb(153, 153, 153) none repeat scroll 0% 50%; "
bgcolor="#999999"> In
India 
bgcolor="#00cc33"> Outside
India

</td> </tr> <tr> <td style="background:rgb(255, 219, 202) none repeat scroll
0% 50%; " bgcolor="#ffdbca"> Mother-in-law 
</td> <td> A woman capable of making
your life miserable. 
bgcolor="#d7ffd7"> A woman you
never fight with, because where else you will find such a dedicated baby sitter
for free ? 
">Husband 
size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">A boring human species,
who listens more to his mother than you, and orders you around to serve him, his
parents and siblings. 
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">Still boring,
but now a useful human species that comes in handy when the house needs to be
vacuumed. 
">Friend 
size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">A person whose house you
can drop into any time of the day or night and you'll always be
welcome. 
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">A person whom
you have to call first to check and make sure he is not busy. 
">Wife 
size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">A woman who gives you
your underwear and towel when you go to take a shower. 
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">A woman who
yells at you not to leave tub dirty when you go to take bath. 
">Son 
size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">A teenager, who without
asking will carry your grocery bags from the market. 
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">A teenager, who
suddenly remembers he has lot of homework when you start mowing the lawn.

">Daughter 
size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">A lovely doll, who brings
tears to your eyes during her marriage. 
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">A lovely doll,
who brings you to tears long before her marriage. 
">Father 
size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">A person you are afraid
of, and who is never to be disobeyed . 
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">A person to
whom you pretend to obey, after all he is the one paying your college tuition.

">Indian Engineer 
size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">A person with a
respectable job and earning lots. 
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">A person
without a secure job, who always dreams one day he will be rich.

">Doctor 
size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">A respectable person with
OK income. 
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">A money making
machine, who has a money spending machine at home called "doctor's wife".

">Bhangra 
size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">A vigorous Punjabi
festival dance. 
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">A dance you do,
when you don't know how to dance. 
">Software Engineer 
size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">A high-tech guy, always
speaks in American accent, always anxious to queue in the consulate visa line.

style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">The same hi-
tech guy, who does Ganapati Puja everyday, and says 'This is my last year in the
US (or wherever)'every year. 
">A Green Card holder bachelor 
size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">the guy can't speak
Hindi, parents of good looking girls are dying to hook him, wears jacket in
summer, says he has a BMW back there. 
style="font-size:10pt; font-family:Arial; color:rgb(51, 51, 51); ">the guy can't
speak proper English, wears jacket all the time, works in a Candy store at
Manhattan, dreams of owning a BMW
</td> </tr> </tbody></table><a target="_blank"
t=39663/*http://voice.yahoo.com"> </a></div><a target="_blank"
t=39663/*http://voice.yahoo.com"> </a></blockquote><a target="_blank"
t=39663/*http://voice.yahoo.com"> </a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Windows Vista Beta 2; 2007 Microsoft Office System Beta; More Free Training
DATE: 06/17/2006 11:52:04
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<a target="_blank" href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=4970700">Windows Vista
Beta 2</a> is now available to MSDN subscribers. Developers who are not
subscribers can obtain Windows Vista Beta 2 in the coming weeks via the Windows
Vista Customer Preview Program (CPP). Get more information, and learn all of the
cool new things you can do with Vista, when you check out <a target="_blank"
href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=4970701">the redesigned Windows Vista
Developer Center</a>. 
 
The new beta of 2007 Microsoft Office System has also shipped. You can get the
bits to try out from the <a target="_blank"
href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=4970702">Office Web site</a>. 
 
In this month's MSDN Magazine, Ken Getz shows you how to set Word document
properties the Office 2007 way. You can read this excellent article at the <a
target="_blank" href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=4970703">MSDN Magazine
site</a>. 
 
AppDev ... you remember them? They are the training partner that keeps giving away
all of those great training CDs. They're doing it again. They have just released a
<a target="_blank" href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=4970704">new ASP.NET 2.0
"Atlas" training CD</a>. You can download the CD (or get one shipped to you) and
work through 3 hours of training to get you up to speed on the latest Web
technology from Microsoft. 
 
If you are interested in learning about Web technology, but were not able to make
it to Mix06 in Vegas a few months back, you can now get <a target="_blank"
href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=4970705">all 52 MIX06 session online</a> for
your education and enjoyment. These include Bill Gates' keynote, 2 general
session, 43 breakouts, and 6 discussions. This might very well set a new bar in
the post-conference experience - all of the content and knowledge without having
to lose a penny at the Blackjack table. 
 
Another of our partners, IdeaBlade, has just released a new reference application.
The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ideablade.com/funhouse/">"Funhouse"</a>
sample is a Smart Client application that includes functionality from the <a
target="_blank" href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=4970706">Composite UI
Application Block</a> from the Microsoft patterns & practices group. You can
download all of the source code and tutorials and learn to leverage some of these
technologies in your applications. 
 
<div style="font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:11px; font-
weight:bold; "> <a target="_blank"
href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=4970529">Netting C++ in MSDN Magazine</a>
</div> <div style="font-
family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:11px; ">This month, Stanley
Lippman reinvents his column to focus on .NET programming using Visual C++. 
 
href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=4970531">The .NET Show: IIS 7.0</a>
family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:11px; ">The latest version of
Internet Information Services (IIS), which ships with Windows Vista, includes a
broad collection of features and capabilities that have been anxiously awaited by
both developers and IT Pros. Scott Guthrie and Bill Staples describe and demo the
new features. 
 
href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=4970533">MSDN TV: Developing Solutions Using
the Consolidated Outlook 2007 Object Model</a>
family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:11px; ">Randy Byrne and Ryan
Gregg give an overview of the unification, security, performance, and forms
improvements in this release. Watch a code demo of three sample add-ins that
leverage the new platform capabilities. 
 
weight:bold; ">Security for Developers</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr><td style=""
valign="top"> 
</td> <td valign="top"> <div
style="font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:11px; font-
href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=4970534">A Brief Introduction to the
Standard Annotation Language (SAL)</a> </div>
<div style="font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:11px; ">SAL
is a meta-language that can help static analysis tools, such as the /analyze
switch in Visual Studio 2005 Team System and Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for
Developers, find bugs-including security bugs-in your C or C++ code at compile
time. Any bugs found in SAL annotated functions tend to be real bugs, not false
positives, which has the benefit of speedier bug triage and code
fixes.</div></td></tr></tbody> </table> 
weight:bold; ">Training</div>
</td> <td valign="top"> <div
style="font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:11px; font-
href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=4970559">Free E-Reference Book on the New
Office 2007 System</a> </div>
<div style="font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:11px; ">
7 Development Projects with the 2007 Microsoft Office System and Windows
SharePoint Services 2007 is now available for
download.</div></td></tr></tbody> </table> 
href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=4970561">Test Your Visual Studio 2005
Knowledge</a> </div>
<div style="font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:11px; ">Get
a free skills assessment and learning plan on the latest Visual Studio 2005
topics.</div> <div style="font-
family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:11px; ">
</div>
</td> <td valign="top">
href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=4970562">Free .NET Development Training</a>
family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:11px; ">Live Virtual
Classroom deliveries are on a summer hiatus, but please take advantage of the
recorded sessions, which cover a variety of topics, including Visual Studio 2005,
ASP.NET 2.0, SQL Server 2005, and Developing Applications for Mobile
Devices.</div></td></tr></tbody> </table> </div> 
</div> 
 
</div> 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: et Hands-On Experience with Java & Ajax, .NET, SOA, or PHP
DATE: 06/17/2006 11:47:24
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr><td colspan="2"
bgcolor="#f6f6f6" height="20">NEW TECHNICAL ARTICLES <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/syndication/rss_otn_articles.xml"></a></spa
n></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"
bgcolor="#dddddd"><img src="http://oracleimg.com/admin/images/ocom/hp_spacer.gif"
alt="" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt="Image" /></td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2"><img
src="http://oracleimg.com/admin/images/ocom/hp_spacer.gif" alt="" border="0"
height="3" width="1" alt="Image" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td
colspan="2"> <a target="_blank" name="lockdown"></a><a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/pub/articles/project_lockdown/index.html?ms
gid=4836604">Project Lockdown: Database Security Best Practices for DBAs</a>
posted on May 22, 2006 10:19:50 am 
Learn a practical, phased approach to securing your database infrastructure using
built-in Oracle Database security features?over one day, week, month, and quarter.
 
 
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/pub/articles/spendolini-
tree.html?msgid=4836604">Building an Ajax Memory Tree in Oracle Application
Express</a> posted on May 22, 2006 10:19:39 am 
Learn how to create an Ajax-based memory tree in Oracle Application Express, step
by step. 
 
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/pub/articles/vohra-
ajax.html?msgid=4836604">Validating Forms with Ajax</a> posted on May 10, 2006
02:00:11 pm 
Learn how to build a Web application using Ajax in Oracle JDeveloper 10g (10.1.3).
 
 
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/pub/articles/oracle_php_cookbook/bollweg-
google.html?msgid=4836604">Adding Google-like Search Operators to Simple Search
Boxes</a> posted on May 09, 2006 10:40:58 am 
Give your users instant access to your most important information. 
 
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/pub/articles/nimphius-
ajax.html?msgid=4836604">"Hello Ajax"! How to Do the Ajax Thing with Oracle
JDeveloper</a> posted on May 02, 2006 09:00:33 am 
Get a quick-start introduction to Ajax programming from Oracle ACE Frank Nimphius
by creating a simple "Hello World". </td> </tr> <tr> <td
colspan="2"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"
bgcolor="#f6f6f6" height="20"><a target="_blank" name="blogs"></a><img
height="3" width="3" alt="Image" />FEATURED BLOGGERS</td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2" bgcolor="#dddddd"><img
colspan="2"><img src="http://oracleimg.com/admin/images/ocom/hp_spacer.gif" alt=""
border="0" height="3" width="1" alt="Image" /></td> </tr> <tr>
<td colspan="2"><a target="_blank" href="http://blogs.oracle.com/schan/">Steven
Chan</a> Voluminous blog concerning Oracle E-Business Suite integration
technology. 
 
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.susanduncan.blogspot.com/">Susan Duncan</a>
Interested in Web Services, SOA, or Oracle ADF? This blog's for you.
 
 
<a target="_blank" href="http://blogs.oracle.com/Didier/">Didier Laurent</a> This
Oracle JDeveloper support engineer has all the Java IDE bases covered.
 
 
<a target="_blank" href="http://kayneteo.blogspot.com/">Kian Hui Teo</a> Tips and
tricks for better Oracle+PHP development. </td> </tr> <tr> <td
bgcolor="#f6f6f6" height="20"><a target="_blank" name="techcasts"></a><img
height="3" width="3" alt="Image" />NEW ORACLE TECHCASTS <a target="_blank"
href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/OTN_TechCasts"></a></td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2" bgcolor="#dddddd"><img
height="1" width="1" alt="Image" /></td> </tr>
colspan="2"><a target="_blank" name="podcast"></a>Subscribe at <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/techcasts/index.html">oracle.com/techcasts</a>.
 
</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"><img
height="3" width="1" alt="Image" /></td> </tr> <tr> <td>
<a target="_blank" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/OTN_TechCasts?m=27">SOA Best
Practices Roundtable Series, Part 2: The SOA Life Cycle</a> 
Oracle VP of Java Platform Development Steven Harris provides a short tour
of the Oracle SOA stack and explains why its focus on security and standards is so
important. 
 
 <a target="_blank"
href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/OTN_TechCasts?m=28">SOA Best Practices
Roundtable Series, Part 1: Meet the Experts</a> In the first installment of
this Roundtable Series, meet the Oracle customers on the panel who have
successfully deployed SOA at their respective organizations. 
 
href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/OTN_TechCasts?m=26">The Developer's Guide to
Oracle Fusion Middleware and Microsoft Office</a> Oracle Fusion Middleware
product strategy director Frank Knifsend chats with Peter Lubbers, author of the
Oracle Fusion Middleware and Microsoft Interoperability Developer's Guide, about
the various ways developers can integrate Oracle Fusion Middleware functionality
with Office functionality, and the technologies that make it
possible.</td></tr></tbody> </table>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Entry for June 17, 2006
DATE: 06/17/2006 11:45:35
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<table background="http://mail.yahoo.com/config/login?/images/hi_lt_bg.gif"
border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="3"> <tbody><tr><td colspan="2"
bgcolor="#f6f6f6" height="20">TECHNICAL ARTICLES <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/syndication/rss_otn_articles.xml"></a></spa
n></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"
colspan="2"> <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/pub/articles/schalk-
ajax.html?msgid=4776962">A Hype-Free Introduction to AJAX</a> April 11, 2006 03:40:06 pm 
Get an overview of the core fundamentals of AJAX (as well as its relationship to
JavaServer Faces) from Oracle's Chris Schalk, without the usual hype. 
 
 <a target="_blank" name="rac"></a><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/pub/articles/haskins-rac-project-
guide.html?msgid=4776962">Project Guide for Oracle RAC Implementation</a> posted on April 11, 2006 03:40:02 pm 
Get a step-by-step guide for defining, designing, and delivering a successful
Oracle RAC project in your organization. 
 
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/pub/articles/haefel-oracle-
ruby.html?msgid=4776962">Ruby on Rails on Oracle: A Simple Tutorial</a> April 11, 2006 03:39:56 pm 
Learn the basics of Ruby on Railsâ€”the dynamic framework taking the Web
development community by stormâ€”with Oracle on the back end. 
 
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/php/htdocs/php-oracle-
tutorial.html?msgid=4776962">Installing Oracle Database 10g Express
Edition and Zend Core for Oracle</a> posted on March 31,
2006 12:25:44 pm 
A step-by-step guide to installing Oracle Database XE and Zend Core for Oracle, as
well as using the PHP OCI8 extension. 
 
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/pub/articles/garg-netapp-
simulator.html?msgid=4776962">Learning Oracle RAC with the NetApp Simulator</a>
posted on March 30, 2006 01:45:03 pm 
With the help of Net Appliance's NetApp Simulator, any DBA and/or Linux enthusiast
can evaluate Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) on Linux with no up-front
hardware investment. 
 
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/pub/articles/nimphius-mills-swing-
jsf.html?msgid=4776962">Swing or JavaServer Faces: Which to Choose?</a> posted on March 10, 2006 01:09:50 pm 
Are AJAX and JSF the only future for UI development, or will Swing survive the
Rich Internet Application hype? </td>
</tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td
bgcolor="#f6f6f6" height="20"><a target="_blank" name="blogs"></a><img
height="3" width="3" alt="Image" />FEATURED
BLOGGERS</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2"
colspan="2"><a target="_blank" href="http://blogs.oracle.com/xmlpublisher/">Oracle
XML Publisher Team</a> Get product tips, tricks, and advice straight from the
Oracle XML Publisher team. 
 
<a target="_blank" href="http://blogs.oracle.com/security/">Oracle Security
Team</a> The official blog for Oracle Global Security Products.
 
 
<a target="_blank" href="http://db360.blogspot.com/">Kuassi Mensah</a> Thoughts
on database programming from a Java perspective. 
 
<a target="_blank" href="http://blogs.oracle.com/alison/">Alison Holloway</a>
Tidbits about working with Oracle and PHP.</td></tr></tbody> </table> 
 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Oracle at Microsoft Tech Ed 2006
DATE: 06/16/2006 17:11:36
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr>
<td valign="top">New .NET Articles 
In this <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/oramag/oracle/06-
winsupp/index.html?msgid=4841005">special issue of Oracle
Magazine</a> devoted solely to Windwows and .NET topics, readers can learn
about the latest Oracle database technologies for Windows and .NET.
Find out how customers, such as Unisys, Ohio Savings Bank, and Ziraat
Bank, are using these technologies together. This issue includes two
new .NET articles on Oracle integration with ADO.NET 2.0 and Visual Studio 2005.
<ul><li><a target="_blank"
winsupp/win06odp.html?msgid=4841005">Oracle Data Provider for .NET (ODP.NET)
Integration with ADO.NET 2.0 and Database Change
Notification</a></li><li><a target="_blank"
winsupp/win06odt.html?msgid=4841005">Oracle Developer Tools (ODT) for Visual
Studio 2005 and Integrated PL/SQL Debugging</a></li></ul></td>
</tr> <tr> <td colspan="1"> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top">Listen to These iSeminars to Get
Acquainted 
 <ul><li><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/pls/ebn/live_viewer.main?p_shows_id=3468104">
Oracle: Best for Windows and .NET</a> - Introduction to and customer testimonials
for the Oracle database on Windows and .NET </li><li><a
target="_blank"
Oracle and .NET: Integrated for Easy Application Development</a> - Introduction to
using Oracle and .NET together </li><li><a target="_blank"
Oracle Enterprise Manager Plug-ins for Microsoft Products</a> - Learn how to use
Oracle Enterprise Manager to centralize management of Oracle and Microsoft server
products, such as .NET Framework, Active Directory, SQL Server, and Internet
Information Services. </li></ul> </td>
</tr> <tr> <td colspan="1"> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="top">New Blog</td> </tr>
<tr> <td height="72" valign="top">Oracle on .NET
Blog 
 Christian Shay, product manager at Oracle, blogs about tips,
tricks, and the latest news regarding Oracle on .NET. <ul><li><a
target="_blank" href="http://cshay.blogspot.com/"> Oracle on .NET
Blog</a> </li></ul> </td></tr></tbody> </table>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: CardSpace/.NET Framework 3.0; a Deluge of Office Dev Docs
DATE: 06/16/2006 17:09:28
STATUS: publish
BODY:
weight:normal; color:rgb(0, 0, 0); ">From the Editor </div>
weight:normal; "> </div>
Name change department: InfoCard is now <a target="_blank"
href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=5033108">CardSpace</a>, and WinFX is now the
<a target="_blank" href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=5033109">.NET Framework
3.0</a>. You'll be seeing the old names for a while, but now you know what's
coming down the pike. Speaking of which... 
 
The release of the beta of the 2007 Microsoft Office System means the Office devs
get a wee bit of a break, and that you can get busy. On the front end, get an <a
target="_blank" href="http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-
us/ms406052%28office.12%29.aspx">overview of the user interface</a>, <a
us/ms406046%28office.12%29.aspx">customizing the Ribbon</a> (and <a
us/ms406047%28office.12%29.aspx">part 2</a>), and see the <a target="_blank"
href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=5033110">control IDs for all applications
that use the Ribbon</a>. On the back end, you can <a target="_blank"
href="http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/ms406049%28office.12%29.aspx">meet the
Office XML file formats</a> and <a target="_blank"
href="http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/ms406051%28office.12%29.aspx">extend the
fixed-format export feature</a>. 
 
There's tons of info on the new Office apps as well, including <a target="_blank"
href="http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/ms406041%28office.12%29.aspx">InfoPath</a>,
<a target="_blank" href="http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-
us/ms772422%28office.12%29.aspx">Outlook</a> (and <a target="_blank"
href="http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/ms772423%28office.12%29.aspx">part 2</a>),
<a target="_blank" href="http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-
us/ms406042%28office.12%29.aspx">OneNote</a> (and <a target="_blank"
href="http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/ms406044%28office.12%29.aspx">part 2</a>),
and <a target="_blank" href="http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-
us/ms406055%28office.12%29.aspx">Word</a>. On the collaborative side, there's <a
us/ms406039%28office.12%29.aspx">Project Server 2007</a>, <a target="_blank"
href="http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/ms406057%28office.12%29.aspx">Workflows for
Windows SharePoint Services V3 and SharePoint Server 2007</a>, and <a
us/ms406043%28office.12%29.aspx">SharePoint Server 2007 for MCMS 2002
Developers</a>. 
 
</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody><tr> <td style="" valign="top">
 
href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=5032903">Get a Sneak Peek at the July MSDN
Magazine</a> </div>
<div style="font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:11px;
">Windows Desktop Search indexes all of your documents, files, and e-mail
messages, and it's extensible. Read all about it in the July issue.</div>
</div> </td> </tr>
</tbody> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr>
<td style="" valign="top"> 
href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=5032904">www.iis.net</a>
family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:11px; ">We are pleased to
announce the launch of www.iis.net, the premier community site for IIS. Check it
out today.</div> <div style="font-
family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:11px; ">
</div> </td> </tr>
</tbody> </table>
valign="top"> <table align="left" border="0"
cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr>
<td> 
</td> <td>
<a target="_blank" href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=5032906">
<img
src="http://www.microsoft.com/library/media/1033/technet/images/abouttn/subscripti
ons/flash/TechNet-Cust-Icon_20x23-Tra.gif" alt="Your personalized MSDN Flash is
showing this item because you chose to receive "ASP.NET" news. Click the icon to
customize your profile" border="0" height="23" width="20" alt="Image" />
</a> </td>
<td style="width:12px; ">��</td> </tr>
</tbody></table> </td>
<td valign="top"> <div style="font-
family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:11px; font-weight:bold; ">
<a target="_blank" href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=5032905">Localizing
ASP.NET 2.0 Applications</a> </div>
<div style="font-family:Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:11px;
">ASP.NET 2.0 and Visual Studio 2005 add features that simplify localizing ASP.NET
applications. Download the video to learn more.</div>
</td></tr></tbody> </table> 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Letters from Boston -- Teched 2006
DATE: 06/16/2006 17:06:40
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<h4>Editor's Note</h4>
<a target="_blank"
href="http://newsletters.sdmediagroup.com/cgi-
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8d0ES">Letters from Boston</a><a
target="_blank" href="http://newsletters.sdmediagroup.com/cgi-
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8d0ES"> 
</a>
<a target="_blank" href="http://newsletters.sdmediagroup.com/cgi-
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8d0ES"> </a><a target="_blank"
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8d0ES">DDJ Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Erickson is providing lots of
interesting news from TechEd 2006, including the </a><a target="_blank"
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8e0ET">Q&A style keynote</a> with Microsoft Chief
Technical Officer Ray Ozzie, and coverage of Microsoft's various <a
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8D0Eu">Community Technology Preview software
releases</a> including SQL Server Everywhere, the Visual Studio Team Edition for
Database Professionals and the Visual Studio Tools for Office Cypress plug-in. Jon
will have updates throughout the show.
<h4>New Dotnet Junkies
Blogs</h4> <a target="_blank" href="http://newsletters.sdmediagroup.com/cgi-
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8f0EU">ATLAS: Update panel not updating</a><a
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8f0EU"> 
</a>
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8f0EU"> </a><a target="_blank"
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8f0EU"></a>Treating IsInRole as an Operation Check, not a
Role check?</a><a target="_blank"
href="http://newsletters.sdmediagroup.com/cgi-bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8g0EV">
 
</a>
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8g0EV"> Atlas Control Toolkit</a><a
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8h0EW"> 
 
</a><a target="_blank" href="http://newsletters.sdmediagroup.com/cgi-
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8h0EW"> </a><h4><a target="_blank"
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8h0EW">New Features</a></h4><a target="_blank"
href="http://newsletters.sdmediagroup.com/cgi-bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8h0EW">
</a><a target="_blank" href="http://newsletters.sdmediagroup.com/cgi-
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8h0EW">Profiling Windows C++ Applications with
Microsoft Excel</a><a target="_blank"
href="http://newsletters.sdmediagroup.com/cgi-bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8l0Ea">
 
Profiling an application is necessary when you want to learn more about how it
runs and where its bottlenecks are. </a>
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8l0Ea"> </a><a target="_blank"
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8l0Ea">ASP.NET 2.0's Membership API</a><a
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0EZ4D0Ej"> 
Forms authentication in ASP.NET 2.0 benefited from the introduction of the
membership API, which provides a set of classes to let you manage users and
roles</a>
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0EZ4D0Ej"> </a><a target="_blank"
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0EZ4D0Ej">New & Noteworthy</a><a target="_blank"
href="http://newsletters.sdmediagroup.com/cgi-bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0EZ4E0Ek">
 
The latest news and developments.</a>
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0EZ4E0Ek"> </a><a target="_blank"
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0EZ4E0Ek">Drive Salvage</a><a target="_blank"
href="http://newsletters.sdmediagroup.com/cgi-bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0EZ4F0El">
 
Triple-boot systems and memory-stick errors are the least of Ed's
problems.</a>
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0EZ4F0El"> </a><a target="_blank"
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0EZ4F0El">Threading & .NET</a><a target="_blank"
href="http://newsletters.sdmediagroup.com/cgi-bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8m0Eb">
 
Even with recent advances in .NET, multithreading issues can be a struggle for
developers.</a>
bin4/DM/y/hxJe0Fk2Vr0JIB0Ea8m0Eb"> 
</a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Java for 4GL Developers
DATE: 06/16/2006 17:03:59
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<ul> <li><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/obe/ADFBC_tutorial_1013/index.htm?msgid=486
1271">Oracle ADF Tutorial for 4GL Developers</a></li><li><a target="_blank"
href="http://download.oracle.com/docs/pdf/B25947_01.pdf">
Free Book - ADF Developer Guide for 4GL Developers</a></li><li><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/jdev/samples/srdemoadfbc.html?msgi
d=4861271">Sample SRDemo Application</a></li><li><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/adf/learnadf.html?msgid=4861271">
ADF Learning Center</a></li><li> <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/adf/index.html?msgid=4861271">
Oracle ADF Home Page</a></li> </ul> <table border="0" cellpadding="1"
cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr><td colspan="2">
Oracle at JavaOne 2006 Recap </td>
</tr> <tr> <td align="center"
valign="top">¥</td> <td valign="top"><a target="_blank"
href="http://webcast-west.sun.com/ramgen/archives/06D00627/06D00627_03_300.rm">
Watch the Replay</a> - Thomas Kurian explains�and�shows the
development stack for SOA 2.0 and announces donations of <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/ias/toplink/jpa/index.html?msgid=4
861271">JPA</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-
bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-16-2006/0004363006&EDATE=">rich JSF
components</a>. </td> </tr>
<tr> <td colspan="2">�</td> </tr>
<tr> <td height="2" valign="top"><img
src="http://oracleimg.com/admin/images/otn/r_arrow.gif" alt="Image" height="10"
width="10" alt="Image" /></td> <td colspan="2">New Technical Resources This
Month</td> </tr> <tr>
<td align="center" valign="top">¥</td> <td valign="top"><a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/ias/toplink/jpa/index.html?msgid=4
861271"> Get Started with TopLink JPA
</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/pub/articles/grall-
grails.html?msgid=4861271"> Grails on Oracle for Java
Developers </a></td> </tr> <tr> <td
align="center" valign="top">¥</td> <td valign="top"><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/jdev/howtos/1013/wssecure/10gwssec
urity_howto.html?msgid=4861271">Securing and Testing Web Services with
JDeveloper</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" valign="top">¥</td> <td
valign="top"><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/jdev/viewlets/1013/bpelfromadf_vie
wlet_swf.html?msgid=4861271">Using BPEL Process in Oracle
ADF</a></td></tr></tbody> </table> 
<table bgcolor="#eeeeee" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr><td>�</td>
<td colspan="3" valign="top"> 
Java Resources </td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center" valign="middle">·</td> <td
valign="top"> <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/jdev/index.html?msgid=4861271">
JDeveloper homepage </a>
</td> </tr> <tr>
<td align="center" valign="middle">·</td> <td
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/java/oc4j/index.html?msgid=4861271">
OC4J homepage </a> </td>
</tr> <tr> <td
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/ias/toplink/index.html?msgid=48612
71"> TopLink homepage
</a> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td align="center" valign="middle">·</td>
<td valign="top"> <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/ias/bpel/index.html?msgid=4861271"
> BPEL homepage </a>
</td> </tr> <tr>
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/java/ejb30.html?msgid=4861271">
EJB 3.0 homepage </a>
</td> </tr> <tr>
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/java/jsf.html?msgid=4861271">
JSF homepage </a> </td>
</tr> <tr> <td
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/java/ajax.html?msgid=4861271">
Ajax homepage </a> </td>
</tr> <tr> <td
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/jdev/collateral/4gl/formsdesignerj
2ee.html?msgid=4861271"> J2EE for Forms Developers
</a> </td> </tr>
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/java/sqlj_jdbc/index.html?msgid=486127
1"> JDBC homepage
</a> </td> </tr>
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/ias/joc/index.html?msgid=4861271">
JOC homepage </a> </td>
</tr> <tr> <td
href="http://forums.oracle.com/forums/index.jsp?cat=1">
Discussion Forum </a>
</td> </tr> <tr>
href="http://www.orablogs.com/"> Orablogs -
Weblogs </a> </td>
</tr> <tr> <td
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/java/index.html?msgid=4861271">
OTN Java Center</a></td></tr></tbody> </table> 
<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr><td colspan="2"
height="19">From the Oracle
Blog Community</td> </tr> <tr>
target="_blank" href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0135826/2006/06/08.html#a205">
Using EJB3 JPA to Map Multi-level Entity Inheritance to a Single Table</a></td>
valign="top">¥</td> <td valign="top"> <a
target="_blank" href="http://www.orablogs.com/fnimphius/archives/001733.html">ADF
Faces: Accessing a JSF Component on the Client Using _JavaScript </a>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td
align="center" valign="top">¥</td> <td valign="top"><a
target="_blank" href="http://technology.amis.nl/blog/?p=1211">
ADF Faces for Zero-code Rich User Experience</a></td> </tr>
<tr> <td align="center" valign="top">¥</td>
<td valign="top"><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.groundside.com/blog/content/GrantRonald/Forms_in_SOA/2006/06/05/I
gnoring-data-the-user-enters-Implementing-a-Cancel-button.html">
Ignoring Data the User Enters - Implementing a Cancel Button</a></td>
href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0118231/stories/2004/09/23/notYetDocumentedAdfSampl
eApplications.html#64"> Recalculating Sum of Salary at the View Object
Level</a></td> </tr> <tr>
target="_blank" href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0123729/2006/05/24.html">
How Does View Link/Entity Association Consistency Exactly Work?</a></td>
valign="top">¥</td> <td
valign="top"><a target="_blank" href="http://susanduncan.blogspot.com/2006/05/rpc-
document-bare-wrapped-literal-get.html#links"> RPC,
Document, Bare, Wrapped, Literal- Get It Straight</a></td>
valign="top"><a target="_blank" href="http://susanduncan.blogspot.com/2006/06/so-
you-need-keystore.html"> So, You Need a
Keystore?</a></td> </tr> <tr>
<td align="center" valign="top">¥</td>
href="http://www.groundside.com/blog/content/GrantRonald/Forms_in_SOA/2006/05/02/B
log-Interview-Real-world-experiences-from-and-Oracle-Tools-customer.html">
Blog Interview: Real World Experiences from an Oracle Tools Customer</a></td>
href="http://blogs.oracle.com/duffblog/2006/04/21#a315?msgid=4861271">
JDeveloper Tip of the Week #1: Bring in the extras</a></td></tr></tbody> </table>
 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Bloggerati Roundup; World Cup Fever
DATE: 06/16/2006 17:00:49
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Top stories for the week of June 12 - June 16, 2006<a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,jw38,6xjx,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/roboscoble.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="150" width="141" alt="Image" /></a> 
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,cft,6jn6,kpqm,g1qy">Scob
le dumps Microsoft</a>! Bloggers buzzed about little else early this week as <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,l2n3,bxsy,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Scobleizer</a>, the Web�s most famous corporate blogger, announced
he�s ditching Microsoft for PodTech (scooped by <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,34ip,2vf8,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Chris Pirillo</a>) but not because of anything wrong; he <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,dbkl,li3k,kpqm,g1qy">def
ends Redmond and his job</a> there at great length. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,3b90,erg9,kpqm,g1qy"></a
><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,1nou,e68b,kpqm,g1qy">Peo
ple at Microsoft threw chairs</a>, but <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,dm7u,gue8,kpqm,g1qy">the
news broke while Scoble was at dinner with vloggers</a>, making everyone at the
table scramble for their geek gadgets. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,dzp7,m1lv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Scripting News</a> isn�t so sure about <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,21cg,eizx,kpqm,g1qy">Mic
rosoft�s future in the Web 2.0 world</a>, and welcomes Scoble back to the Bay
Area. Ironically, Scoble's departure was bigger deal for bloggers than the other
big Microsoft news this week: Bill Gates also announced he is <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,j430,6vnt,kpqm,g1qy">sca
ling back his role at Microsoft</a> over the next 2 years to focus on on his
charity work. 
Another A-list blogger also jumped ship. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,79zy,flds,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>GigaOm</a> left Business 2.0 to start his own venture, <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,k3l7,8s42,kpqm,g1qy">aka
Om 2.0</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,jcu0,eihu,kpqm,g1qy">Tru
e Ventures filled Om�s yurt with cash</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,k5i9,ki6v,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Susan Mernit</a>, and it�s <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,md1k,gucs,kpqm,g1qy">eno
ugh for a couple of years</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,ckte,ajmn,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Valleywag</a> actually broke the story before Malik did, blogging
that he will <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,3sr1,k4mm,kpqm,g1qy">sti
ll write a column for B2</a>. Luckily these guys don�t need to interview for their
jobs or <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,kqr,7bef,kpqm,g1qy">thei
r MySpace profiles might get them in trouble</a>.<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,b0c7,4b05,kpqm,g1qy"></a
> 
In product news, Netscape launched a Digg clone (we like to think of it as a <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,esat,4d0r,kpqm,g1qy">Noo
Z</a> clone)<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,esat,4d0r,kpqm,g1qy">
</a>this week. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,b0c7,4b05,kpqm,g1qy">Get
ready for site outages all over the Web</a> says TechCrunch as the site funnels
its massive traffic to community-rated stories on the Web. Digg is also readying
Digg 3.0 which should release next week�<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,5sdh,wxz,kpqm,g1qy">chec
k out screenshots here</a>. 
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,kxn2,db6n,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/carlweaver-
vloggerconpreviewcommunitymedia434.jpg" align="left" border="0" height="148"
width="148" alt="Image" /></a> Meanwhile at this week�s VloggerCon, <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,g5cl,9gbk,kpqm,g1qy">vid
eobloggers are as self-absorbed and deluded about their place in media</a> as
regular bloggers says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,c0l4,7irf,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gawker</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,dzp7,m1lv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Scripting News</a> griped that it�s <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,1kwy,3yed,kpqm,g1qy">not
enough of an �unconference�</a> when speakers ask people in the audience if they
have any questions. Still, it didn�t keep Dave Winer, who was at the back of the
VloggerCon ballroom, from writing about it <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,k3t2,1rem,kpqm,g1qy">aga
in</a> and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,jhmf,8vc4,kpqm,g1qy">aga
in</a> and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,fgax,rub,kpqm,g1qy">agai
n</a>. 

href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,e1u0,azae,kpqm,g1qy">Lib
eral bloggers flocked to YearlyKos</a> in Vega$ (named after popular political
blogger <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,7kd1,dckc,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Daily Kos</a>) and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,a0jx,e7f1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Huffington Post</a> applauds their willingness to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,ljc3,5zoj,kpqm,g1qy">ske
wer the mainstream media�s idea of balance</a>�and write a great little Thomas
Friedman parody to boot. Senate minority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) might not have
known how the lib�uh, progressive�crowd would treat him, but his speech attacking
the Bush administration earned some <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,1y4i,2c17,kpqm,g1qy">roc
k-star treatment</a>. 

<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,a8wx,4n28,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/i-want-you-border-
1.jpg" align="left" border="0" height="292" width="260" alt="Image" /></a> While
bloggers were flying home from Vegas, President Bush was on a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,75ar,5gt7,kpqm,g1qy">sec
ret visit to Baghdad</a>, which was so hush-hush that Iraqi prime minister Nouri
al-Maliki had just five minutes� notice to freshen up before Bush dropped by (via
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,e6xe,rtt,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>BBC</a>). The administration has rare cause for optimism in Iraq with
last week�s killing of Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and a new
poll shows Zarqawi�s death sparked <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,15wv,362j,kpqm,g1qy">hig
her public confidence in the war</a>, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,497o,3mbr,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Blogs for Bush</a>. The Zarqawi killing has almost no downside for
the U.S.�but <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,a0jx,e7f1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Huffington Post</a> still criticized <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,h64f,bt46,kpqm,g1qy">Time magazine�s dead-or-alive cover</a> as pro-administration rather than
simply tasteless. At least Iraqi journalists had <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,fatr,btbh,kpqm,g1qy">the
proper reaction when Zarqawi�s death was announced</a>�cheers and applause, blogs
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,m7gg,1ugu,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>WorldwideStandard.com</a>.� 
 
On the Today show, Ann Coulter defended her attacks on 9/11 widows who
speak out against the Iraq war as <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,iwop,9j7u,kpqm,g1qy">mil
lionaire �broads� who are enjoying their husbands� deaths</a> (via <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,eu2i,2m2z,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Crooks and Liars</a>). But Coulter <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,dff4,eaoo,kpqm,g1qy">may
have been plagiarizing</a>�ahem, borrowing�in her new book, writes <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,c0l4,7irf,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gawker</a>, from former colleague Michael Chapman. Apparently Chris
Matthews <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,a5ru,9lbh,kpqm,g1qy">doe
s not have a thing for Coulter</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,ixt5,f04h,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Think Progress</a>. 
 
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,ci8d,7c5q,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/crazydutchbastards.jpg"
align="left" border="0" height="165" width="194" alt="Image" /></a> For World Cup
fans, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,8efq,fmma,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Deadspin</a> is liveblogging every World Cup game. <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,8x2o,gzio,kpqm,g1qy">Rel
ive host Germany�s opening win over Costa Rica</a>, the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,1ptr,fav1,kpqm,g1qy">ago
ny of the U.S.-Czech Republic match</a>, or just decide that <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,8pqt,l2k,kpqm,g1qy">socc
er is an affront to God</a>, as one Saudi cleric says. At least <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,ci8d,7c5q,kpqm,g1qy">Yah
oo is running FIFA�s World Cup site</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,7t81,6xvx,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Read/Write Web</a>. See <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,2jts,frix,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Google Blogscoped</a> for the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,j7kk,i100,kpqm,g1qy">bes
t videos of Ronaldinho in action</a>. 
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,gj9e,ikkr,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/britneydiaperheader.jpg"
align="right" border="0" height="137" width="189" alt="Image" /></a> 
Finally in entertainment, People magazine has finally admitted that <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,eu4m,dpr,kpqm,g1qy">all
the blog attention</a> and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,5jec,lhdg,kpqm,g1qy">sco
ops of the photos</a> of the world�s most important child was <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,8fk0,3or2,kpqm,g1qy">pro
bably good for sales</a> (duh). Elsewhere, Britney Spears says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,45u3,immn,kpqm,g1qy">her
marriage to K-Fed is �awesome,�</a> despite their not having been photographed in
public together for two months. The pregnant pop tart also told Today�s
Matt Lauer she drove with her infant in her lap because <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,e0n1,fv3m,kpqm,g1qy">she
�s �country,� rather than reckless</a>. (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q3xx,39mg,cau,88co,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>Just Jared</a>).
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 10th - 16th June 2006
DATE: 06/16/2006 16:59:15
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
After a “strategic
assessment” at Camp David on the future of Iraq, President George
Bush flew to Baghdad for a surprise meeting with the new prime minister, Nuri al-
Maliki, to whom he promised America's continuing support. <a target="_blank"
The successor to the
self-proclaimed leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed
by American forces last week, was named on an Islamist website as Abu
Hamza al-Muhajir, a nom de guerre, perhaps of an Egyptian
jihadist, Abu al-Masri. 
Strife in the West Bank
and the Gaza Strip increased between the two main Palestinian
movements, with Fatah loyalists shooting up the Palestinians' parliament
and the prime minister's office, which are run by Hamas, while Hamas militants
besieged the headquarters of a Fatah-run security force. <a target="_blank"
 
In separate incidents,
an Israeli missile attack on a van in Gaza killed two militants
and nine civilians; seven Palestinians in one family had earlier been killed by a
beach explosion, for which Israel denied responsibility. <a target="_blank"
 While
Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, attended a meeting in
Shanghai of six countries (China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan), other governments waited for Iran's response to a package of
incentives and penalties offered by several countries, now including America,
aimed at persuading it to stop enriching uranium. <a target="_blank"
Islamists who last week
captured Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, tightened their grip on
the southern half of the fragmented country by taking Jowhar, which had served as
a temporary capital 90km (55 miles) north of Mogadishu. They now threaten the weak
interim government's current seat, north-west at Baidoa. 
Britain agreed to hold
Charles Taylor in prison if the former Liberian leader is
convicted of war crimes at his trial in The Hague. The announcement, from Margaret
Beckett, Britain's foreign secretary, clears the way for Mr Taylor's trial to
begin after several countries refused to host him.
 
name="free_again">Free again</div> Abu Bakar Basyir, convicted in
March 2005 of conspiracy in connection with the Bali bombing in
2002 that killed 202 people, including many Australians, was released from prison.
John Howard, Australia's prime minister, said Australians would be “distressed” at
the news.
More than 60 people were
killed after their bus hit a mine in northern Sri Lanka. It was
the worst single attack in the country since a “ceasefire” between the government
and rebels was agreed in 2002. The armed forces carried out air strikes on
suspected Tamil Tiger bases after the incident. Two people were killed and many
injured in a synchronised explosion of 40 small bombs in three Muslim-majority
provinces in southern Thailand.
and Taiwan agreed to allow non-stop charter flights
between their cities, but only during holiday periods.
Amid allegations of
corruption against members of his family and officials, Taiwan's
parliament started hearings aimed at removing President Chen Shui-bian
from power. <a target="_blank"
 
name="hoping_to_join_the_club">Hoping to join the club</div>
Union opened the first chapter in formal negotiations over
Turkey's putative membership. The talks were almost derailed by a
veto threat from (Greek) Cyprus. A fudged formula was found to avoid this, but
Cyprus could still choose to exercise a veto at any time during the lengthy
negotiations that lie ahead. 
Commission gave warning that countries were failing to use the current
cyclical upturn to cut their budget deficits. The average deficit in the euro area
is still 2.4% of GDP, and several countries are well over
the 3% ceiling set by the stability pact.
A senior Russian
minister proposed tougher restrictions on foreign exploitation of Russian
oilfields. Over the past few years the Kremlin has moved steadily to take greater
control of Russia's natural resources, especially in energy.
The international boss
of the UN-administered province of Kosovo,
Soren Jessen-Petersen, is resigning early for personal reasons. Sensitive talks on
the future status of Kosovo are going on in Vienna. After Montenegro's decision to
become independent of Serbia, most Balkan-watchers expect Kosovo to go the same
way.
 
name="tie_broken">Tie broken</div> Opinion polls taken after the
final campaign debate before Mexico's presidential election on
July 2nd suggested that Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the left-of-centre former
mayor of Mexico City, had edged ahead of his conservative rival, Felipe Calderón.

Chile, hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren ended a three-week
boycott of classes after the government agreed to spend nearly $200m on repairing
schools, free school lunches and scrapping fees for the university entrance exam.

 
name="suicides_at_guantánamo">Suicides at Guantánamo</div> More pressure was put on the
United States to close Guantánamo Bay after three prisoners
hanged themselves. The three, of Middle Eastern origin, were the first detainees
at the camp to commit suicide, although there have been dozens of previous
attempts. <a target="_blank"
article</a> A
cloud lifted from the Bush administration when it emerged that Karl
Rove, George Bush's closest political adviser, will not face charges
stemming from the investigation into the leaking of a CIA
officer's name. Mr Rove had appeared five times before a grand jury on the matter.
<a target="_blank"
Preliminary statistics
released by the FBI recorded a 2.5% rise in violent
crime in 2005, the sharpest since 1991 and a reversal of the annual trend
of falling crime rates in the United States. Murders were up in Houston, Las Vegas
and Philadelphia, but were down in New York and Los Angeles. <a target="_blank"
Robert Byrd
became the longest-serving senator in American history. He was first
elected to his West Virginia seat in 1958 and is now campaigning for his ninth
term. 
The Government
Accountability Office estimated that $1 billion (or 16%) of FEMA's disaster relief payments doled out after Hurricane
Katrina were “improper and potentially fraudulent”. The report also
detailed some misuse of debit cards given to displaced persons, including $200
spent on a bottle of Dom Perignon and $600 at a gentlemen's club. 
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 10th - 16th June 2006
DATE: 06/16/2006 16:58:10
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
 
Arcelor
formally rejected Mittal Steel's hostile bid, but held talks to
discuss the matter further. Meanwhile, a growing shareholder rebellion at Arcelor
threatened to put a spoke in the wheels of its proposed merger with
Severstal. Alexey Mordashov, the Russian steelmaker's boss,
insisted the deal was good for investors and that he would uphold Arcelor's
principles of corporate governance. <a target="_blank"
Airbus
announced that production “bottlenecks” will result in further delays to
deliveries of its A380 super-jumbo. The share price of
EADS, its parent company, fell by 26% as investors took on board
the billions of euros the mess will cost in delay and compensation to dissatisfied
airlines. It is the second embarrassing delay to A380
deliveries from the European aeroplane-maker in recent months. <a target="_blank"
The bidding war for
Associated British Ports began in earnest. A consortium led by
Goldman Sachs, which had seen its initial bid recommended by
ABP's board on June 14th, raised its offer to fend off a
rival bid from a consortium led by Macquarie Bank (which appealed
to ABP's shareholders to ignore Goldman's offer). Both
value Britain's biggest port-operator at £2.6 billion ($4.8 billion). 
 
name="insuring_its_future">Insuring its future</div> Credit Suisse
agreed to sell Winterthur, the insurance business it has
been wanting to divest since 2004, to AXA for SFr12.3 billion
($10 billion) in cash. AXA will also refinance SFr1.6
billion-worth of Winterthur's debt. <a target="_blank"
Crédit
Agricole, France's biggest retail bank, offered to buy
Emporiki, a Greek bank that is being privatised by the
government. The deal, valued at €3.1 billion ($3.9 billion), is a vote of
confidence in Greece's rapidly growing economy. But the share price of Alliance &
Leicester, a British bank, fell sharply on fears that Crédit Agricole's Greek
acquisition may stymie a rumoured merger between the two. 
Banco Bilbao
Vizcaya Argentaria expanded its retail-banking operations in Texas by
buying two more banks in the state. The Spanish bank's acquisitions of
Texas Regional, which is based in the Rio Grande valley, for
which it will pay $2.16 billion, and State National ($480m)
underscores the growth of remittances from Mexican migrant workers. BBVA, which bought its first Texan bank last year, also owns
Bancomer, one of Mexico's largest banks.
 
name="turbo_capitalism">Turbo capitalism</div> After a spate of frenetic share
buying that saw it compared to a hedge fund, Merck revealed that
it had massed a 21.8% stake in Schering and was selling it to
Bayer for €3.7 billion. Bayer, which has offered to buy Schering
for €17 billion, so acting as a white knight to fend off a hostile rival bid from
Merck, also engaged in some vigorous buying of Schering's shares. The tactics of
both firms took watchers of Germany's normally phlegmatic pharmaceuticals sector
by surprise. <a target="_blank"
Mirant,
a power generator, withdrew its nearly $8 billion bid to buy NRG
Energy. The offer had been promptly rejected by NRG when it was made in late May, but since then some of Mirant's
larger investors, including Pirate Capital, a hedge fund, had also voiced strong
opposition to the deal. 
A trade commission in
the United States is to investigate whether Apple Computer's iPod
infringes a patent held by Creative Technology, which makes a rival music-player.
The news comes shortly after three Nordic countries said they would investigate
complaints that the pricing policy of Apple's iTunes online music
store is anti-competitive.
size="-1">LG.Philips, the world's biggest maker
of large LCD panels, saw its share price fall by 13% on
June 13th after it cut its earnings forecast by half for the quarter. Its profits,
like those of other flat-panel manufacturers, are being hurt by a sharp decline in
the price of big-screen TVs, but the company also said that
sales in the run-up to the World Cup were much lower than expected.
</td></tr></tbody> </table> More concern from economists that China's economy is
overheating. Despite official efforts to cool expansion, industrial production
rose by 17.9% in the year to May. Meanwhile, China's central bank reported rapid
growth in money supply and told banks to “pay close attention” to the risks of
lending too much. 
 
name="all_come_tumbling_down">All come tumbling down</div>
size="-1">Stockmarkets around the world fell, primarily over
concerns about inflation in America, which increased more sharply than expected in
May, and more uncertainty over interest-rate rises. Asian stockmarkets saw some of
the biggest losses, as investors worried about the effect of a potential slowdown
on exports. As nervousness spread, the price of gold, silver and other commodities
also continued their steep declines. <a target="_blank"
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Entry for June 14, 2006
DATE: 06/14/2006 06:30:13
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td bgcolor="#ddf1cc"
height="18">A 
<img src="http://image.guardian.co.uk/ws.gif" alt="" height="1" width="120"
alt="Image" /> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/costarica/0,,1751024,00.html">Costa Rica</a> <img
src="http://image.guardian.co.uk/ws.gif" alt="" height="1" width="120" alt="Image"
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/ecuador/0,,1751025,00.html"><img
src="http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/Ecuador.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Ecuador</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/germany/0,,1751021,00.html"><img
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/Germany.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Germany</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/poland/0,,1751026,00.html"><img
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/Poland.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Poland</a> <img
/> 
alt="Image" /> B 
alt="Image" /> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/england/0,,1751027,00.html"><img
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/England.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />England</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/paraguay/0,,1751029,00.html"><im
g src="http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/Paraguay.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Paraguay</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/sweden/0,,1751032,00.html"><img
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/Sweden.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Sweden</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/trinidadtobago/0,,1751031,00.htm
l"><img src="http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/Trinidad_and_tobago.gif" alt="Image"
border="0" height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Trinidad and Tobago</a>
alt="Image" /> 
size="2">C 
alt="Image" /> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/argentina/0,,1751036,00.html">Argentina</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/holland/0,,1751040,00.html"><img
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/Holland.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Holland</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/ivorycoast/0,,1751037,00.html"><
img src="http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/IvoryCoast.gif" alt="Image"
border="0" height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Ivory Coast</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/serbiamontenegro/0,,1751038,00.h
tml"><img src="http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/Serbia_and_montenegro.gif"
alt="Image" border="0" height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Serbia and
Montenegro</a> <img src="http://image.guardian.co.uk/ws.gif" alt=""
height="1" width="120" alt="Image" /> 
size="2">D 
alt="Image" /> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/iran/0,,1751049,00.html"><img
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/Iran.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Iran</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/mexico/0,,1751041,00.html"><img
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/mexico.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Mexico</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/portugal/0,,1751056,00.html"><im
g src="http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/Portugal.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Portugal</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/angola/0,,1751055,00.html"><img
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/Angola.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Angola</a> <img
/> 
size="2">E 
alt="Image" /> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/usa/0,,1751065,00.html"><img
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/USA.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />USA</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/czechrepublic/0,,1751066,00.html
"><img src="http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/CzechRepublic.gif" alt="Image"
border="0" height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Czech Republic</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/ghana/0,,1751062,00.html"><img
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/Ghana.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Ghana</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/italy/0,,1751061,00.html"><img
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/Italy.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Italy</a> <img
/> 
size="2">F 
alt="Image" /> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/australia/0,,1751069,00.html">Australia</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/brazil/0,,1751067,00.html"><img
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/Brazil.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Brazil</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/croatia/0,,1751068,00.html"><img
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/Croatia.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Croatia</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/japan/0,,1751070,00.html"><img
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/Japan.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Japan</a> <img
/> 
size="2">G 
alt="Image" /> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/france/0,,1751071,00.html"><img
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/France.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />France</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/southkorea/0,,1751074,00.html"><
img src="http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/SouthKorea.gif" alt="Image"
border="0" height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />South Korea</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/switzerland/0,,1751073,00.html">
<img src="http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/Switzerland.gif" alt="Image"
border="0" height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Switzerland</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/togo/0,,1751075,00.html"><img
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/Togo.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Togo</a> <img
/> 
size="2">H 
alt="Image" /> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/saudiarabia/0,,1751079,00.html">
<img src="http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/SaudiArabia.gif" alt="Image"
border="0" height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Saudi Arabia</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/spain/0,,1751076,00.html"><img
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/Spain.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Spain</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/tunisia/0,,1751078,00.html"><img
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/Tunisia.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Tunisia</a> <img
/> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/ukraine/0,,1751077,00.html"><img
images/Football/Pix/site_furniture/2006/05/15/Ukraine.gif" alt="Image" border="0"
height="12" width="20" alt="Image" />Ukraine</a></td><td
bgcolor="#ddf1cc"><img src="http://image.guardian.co.uk/sp.gif" alt="" height="1"
width="4" alt="Image" /></td></tr></tbody></table> 
<a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/story/0,,1795224,00.html">All
the reports ... as they happened</a> 
 
Rewind through the World Cup with our minute-by-minute reports of each match (and
the proper reports from Big Paper). 
<a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/comment/story/0,,1792238,00.html
">World Cup Knowledge: part two</a> 
Special: The official all-time champions of the world; and the
unofficial world champs and much, much more. 
<a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/theknowledge/story/0,,1785937,00.html">World
Cup Knowledge: part on</a>
Past
tournaments remembered<hr /> <a
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/flash/0,,1768701,00.html">Intera
ctive history of the World Cup</a> 
 
Every tournament, every story, every great goal... it's all in our brilliant
interactive World Cup guide. 
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/classicmatches/0,,1751664,00.htm
l">Classic matches</a> 
All the great games from World Cup history, as reported at the time by the
Guardian. 
href="http://football.guardian.co.uk/gallery/0,,720957,00.html">The worst World
Cup haircuts ever</a> 
Christian Ziege's mohican, Chris Waddle's mullet, even Bobby Charlton's combover
... they're all here. 

-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: How to Monitor Your Brand Online
DATE: 06/13/2006 09:51:46
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<h2><a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://fluido.wordpress.com/2006/05/30/
mini-guida-al-monitoraggio-dei-cgm/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: minium-
guide to the monitoring of the CGM">minium-guide to the monitoring of the
CGM</a></h2> <img
src="http://fluido.wordpress.com/files/2006/05/Immagine%2015.png" alt="Immagine
15.png" height="254" width="356" alt="Image" /> I preput “not reasoned” and
“landscaped”! and sure it fails to fulfill! if you have suggestions, councils,
indications not hesitated!!! 
Search engines dedicate to you (with feed the RSS it
personalizes to you based on the keyword of search wished can always be and
automatically it dawns to you):
_ <a href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.feedster.com/"
target="_blank">feedster</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.technorati.com/"
target="_blank">technorati</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.icerocket.com/"
target="_blank">IceRocket</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://blogsearch.google.com/"
target="_blank">google.com/blogsearch</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.blogpulse.com/"
target="_blank">blogpulse</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://it.news.yahoo.com/"
target="_blank">yahoo news</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://news.google.it/nwshp%3Fhl%3Dit%2
6gl%3Dit" target="_blank">google news</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.msn.it/default.asp"
target="_blank">msn news</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.pubsub.com/"
target="_blank">pubsub</a>
Email Alert Warnings personalize to you created from the
customer ad hoc. 
The alert they come sendes to you through e-mail automatically when online appear
of articles/post/comments that correspond to the arguments specify to you from the
customer.
_ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.google.it/alerts%3Fhl%3Dit"
target="_blank">google alert</a> _ <a
href="https://login.yahoo.com/config/login_verify2?.intl=us&.src=ntfy&.done=http%3
A%2F%2Falerts.yahoo.com%2Fmain.php%3F" target="_blank">yahoo alert</a>
Message Board & Forum Tracking search engines dedicate to you
to forum and message board
_ <a href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://boardreader.com/"
target="_blank">boardreader</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://forumfind.com/"
target="_blank">forumfind</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.big-boards.com/"
target="_blank">big-boards</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://boardtracker.com/"
target="_blank">boardtracker</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.ivillage.com/messageboards%3
Fice%3Div,mp,rn,mb" target="_blank">ivillage</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://messages.yahoo.com/index.html"
target="_blank">yahoo message board</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://messages.yahoo.com/index.html"
target="_blank">msn money</a>
Message Groups Tracking 
search engines dedicate to you to message group
_ <a href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://groups.yahoo.com/"
target="_blank">yahoo groups</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://groups.aol.com/"
target="_blank">AOL groups</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://groups.msn.com/"
target="_blank">msn groups</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://groups.google.com/"
target="_blank">google groups</a>
Competitor web pages tracking search engines dedicate you to
the monitoring of the changes that happen 
inside of the situated ones of competitor (included the keywords)
_ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.copernic.com/en/products/tra
cker/index.html" target="_blank">copernic tracker</a> 
_ <a href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.aignes.com/"
target="_blank">website watcher</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://watchthatpage.com/"
target="_blank">watch that page</a>
“Trend Analysis Tools” () Tool “special” (of some search
engines) that they allow to graphically visualize the popolarità of the inserted
terms of search from the customer
_ <a href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.blogpulse.com/"
target="_blank">blogpulse</a> _ <a
target="_blank">technorati</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.google.com/trends"
target="_blank">google trends</a>
ulterior suggestions 
….for having an idea of the history that they generate “buzz” in the
blogosfera: 
_ <a href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://memeorandum.com/"
target="_blank">memeorandum</a> <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://memeorandum.com/"
target="_blank"> _ </a><a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://blogniscient.com/"
target="_blank">blogniscient</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.digg.com/"
target="_blank">digg</a>
….for having an idea of the opinions of the blogger it is positive that
negative: <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://opinmind.com/"
target="_blank">_opinmind
….in order to verify the number of visitors of a blog, its credibility
and its popolarità: _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.pubsub.com/"
target="_blank">pubsub _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.alexa.com/"
target="_blank">alexa</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.icerocket.com/"
target="_blank">IceRocket</a> _ <a
target="_blank">technorati</a> 
….for searches on the identity of the blogger, editori of particular forum and
newsgroup: 
_ <a href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.whois.com/"
target="_blank">WHOIS</a> <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.whois.com/" target="_blank">
_ </a><a href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.betterwhois.com/"
target="_blank">betterwhois</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.ajaxwhois.com/"
target="_blank">ajaxwhois</a> 
….to monitorare constantly social network like:
 _ <a href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.youtube.com/"
target="_blank">youtube _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.myspace.com/"
target="_blank">myspace</a> _ <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.msn.it/spaces/v7/"
target="_blank">msn spaces</a>
update <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://uckan.info/depot/monitorthis/"
target="_blank">monitor this <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://uckan.info/depot/monitorthis/"
target="_blank"> <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.keotag.com/"
target="_blank">keotag</a> <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.bloginfluence.net/en/"
target="_blank">bloginfluence</a> <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.oodle.com/"
target="_blank">oodle</a> <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.planetfeedback.com/"
target="_blank">planetfeedback</a> <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://video.yahoo.com/"
target="_blank">yahoo video</a> <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://video.google.com/">google
video</a> <a href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://blog.ask.com/"
target="_blank">blogsearch.ask.com</a> <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://www.techmeme.com/"
target="_blank">techmeme</a> 
 
This entry was posted on Tuesday, <a
href="http://64.233.179.104/translate_c?&u=http://wordpress.com/tag/consumer-
generated-media/" title="View all posts in consumer generated medium"
rel="category tag">medium<a
rel="category tag"> May 30th, 2006 at 10:08 am <a
rel="category tag"></a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Top stories for the week of June 5 - June 9, 2006
DATE: 06/10/2006 23:12:50
STATUS: publish
BODY:
One more reason not to pay for Microsoft Office anymore: Google launched a beta
of its <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,kvy0,b2s4,kpqm,g1qy">Web
-based spreadsheet</a>, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,besf,jnnx,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>SiliconBeat</a>. Google Spreadsheets doesn’t have all of Excel’s
bells and whistles, but allows up to 10 people to collaborate and chat, says <a
target="_blank"
rong>TechCrunch</a>, which points out <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,86ag,csgh,kpqm,g1qy">sev
eral other Ajax-based spreadsheets</a> including ZohoSheet, iRows and numsum.
It’s <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,jjiz,bqdh,kpqm,g1qy">FU
MSFT</a> says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,73xc,b2cu,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>John Batelle’s Searchblog</a>. 
 
But is GOOG’s spreadsheet really a threat? <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,4qp0,4dvq,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Barron’s</a> interviews analysts who say Google can’t touch Excel’s
advanced features, so <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,9ono,ilfu,kpqm,g1qy">it’
s really competing with OpenOffice rather than Microsoft</a>. Even so, the search
giant is already asking for <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,78be,ho3o,kpqm,g1qy">sug
gestions for future revs</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,2jts,frix,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Google Blogoscoped</a>). <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,k6bz,863h,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Scobleizer</a> predicts more sleepless nights for Microsoft product
managers—and that’s <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,iaal,m3ih,kpqm,g1qy">a
good thing for competition</a>. If Google has an Achilles heel right now, it’s <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,jyz8,b2ki,kpqm,g1qy">Tec
hnorati</a>, which is eating its lunch in blog search while Google is out trying
to slay Microsoft. 

 Elsewhere, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,bjre,4cnh,kpqm,g1qy">Yah
oo MyWeb relaunched</a>, incorporating some of the best features of del.icio.us,
which Yahoo bought last year: “top tags” and “interesting today” lists, search by
tag, and more Ajax bells and whistles, says <a target="_blank"
rong>TechCrunch</a>. Meanwhile, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,6up,bmsz,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>Read/Write Web</a> looks at personalized start pages and while
they’re not yet ready to fly, it only takes a powerhouse like Yahoo, MySpace, or
LiveJournal to get in the game, and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,ilfr,2wmx,kpqm,g1qy">tha
t market will take off</a>. And your, ahem, favorite feed reader <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,6353,j5mh,kpqm,g1qy">Roj
o launched NooZ, an interactive news service</a> that gives MySpace users a
widget for their profile to display blog entries and feeds they’re reading and
rating (via <a target="_blank"
rong>TechCrunch</a>). Check out NooZ <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,esat,4d0r,kpqm,g1qy">her
e</a>. 
 
Speaking of home pages, then there’s <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,6tu8,8zqh,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Josh Kornbluth</a>’s <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,eeyi,71so,kpqm,g1qy">MyS
pace nightmare</a>. Someone created a fake profile for the comedian and radio
host, packed it with porn, and left Kornbluth with the painful task of contacting
a human being at MySpace <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,cowk,3r3n,kpqm,g1qy">bef
ore KQED radio fired him</a> reports <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,emf2,27n4,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Scott Rosenberg</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,k84o,5x0i,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Consumerist</a> also tried to delete its profile, found it <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,7a3x,df40,kpqm,g1qy">har
d to do officially</a>, and took the quick way out by stuffing the site with porn.
p.s.: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,60fm,6h6f,kpqm,g1qy">It
worked</a>. For those who want to find profiles, not delete them, SingleStat.us
notifies you if someone changes their MySpace status <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,dhco,j2y2,kpqm,g1qy">bac
k to single</a> and Stalkerati searches Facebook, Friendster, blogs, Flickr and
other sites for <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,djli,2do4,kpqm,g1qy">peo
ple you want to track</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,e7wn,jpvv,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/billbennettjonstewart.jpg"
border="0" height="181" width="259" alt="Image" /></a>For extra fun, <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,ckte,ajmn,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Valleywag</a> suggests tracking two friends who are dating to see
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,9c9n,edkx,kpqm,g1qy">whi
ch one races to MySpace</a> with the breakup news first.
Back in the real world, the presidentially inspired <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,gb56,63ph,kpqm,g1qy">ame
ndment banning gay marriage failed</a> in the Senate. But <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,68qz,facc,kpqm,g1qy">Jon
Stewart still took conservative ideologue Bill Bennett to the woodshed</a> on the
subject. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,eu2i,2m2z,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Crooks and Liars</a> has the video. Meanwhile, Fed chairman Ben
Bernanke scared the bejesus out of Wall Street this week by even discussing <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,bj96,afpn,kpqm,g1qy">inf
lation</a> and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,jj7y,cqvr,kpqm,g1qy">ris
ing unemployment</a> claims (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,c3db,8yns,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Calculated Risk</a>). The Dow reacted by shedding plenty of points—
but <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,3uxi,8ozq,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Econobrowser</a> says Bernanke’s one of the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,37c6,ea92,kpqm,g1qy">sma
rtest guys around and just tells it like it is</a>. Well, that depends on whether
he’s trying <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,1a3m,9wxu,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/nonoshiloh.jpg"
border="0" height="231" width="170" alt="Image" /></a> to get confirmed as Fed
chairman or not, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,ekcz,cu8j,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>The Big Picture</a>, which details some of <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,c146,apfw,kpqm,g1qy">bou
ncing Bernanke’s flip-flops</a> from his November confirmation hearings to today.
 
 
Finally in entertainment, People paid $4.1 million for exclusive US rights to
photos of Brangelina offspring Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt and her sexy baby lips.
But plenty of <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,92cx,lz68,kpqm,g1qy">blo
ggers</a> got the scoop instead. Of course, that price tag means Time Inc. sent
its lawyers out to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,exx1,1ou2,kpqm,g1qy">att
ack the inboxes of bloggers everywhere</a> who tried to publish photos of
America’s First Trio. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,c0l4,7irf,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gawker</a> was one of the few that <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,1a3m,9wxu,kpqm,g1qy">did
n’t stand down</a> during the Battle of Shiloh…but plenty of <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,q155,39mg,j2wc,g3pc,kpqm,g1qy">oth
ers weren’t taking any chances</a>.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 3rd - 9th June 2006
DATE: 06/10/2006 23:10:36
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Reversing its course of
four months, BAA, a British airports-operator, accepted a
takeover bid from a consortium led by Grupo Ferrovial, which the
Spanish construction firm raised (again) to £10.3 billion ($19.3 billion). BAA's board supported the deal over a rival, and higher, offer
from a consortium led by Goldman Sachs. Both bids underscored the
attractiveness of BAA, which operates some of the world's
busiest airports. <a target="_blank"
height="10" width="17" alt="Image" /> 
size="-1">Ryanair, Europe's biggest low-cost carrier, reported an
increase of almost 10% in net profit, to €306.7m ($373m) for the year ending March
31st. Michael O'Leary, the airline's chief executive, welcomed the sale of BAA, but said he still wants the company to be broken up to
stimulate competition among Britain's airports.
target="_blank" name="the_beginning,_not_the_end">The beginning, not the
end</div> In the biggest move yet toward consolidation in the world's financial
markets, NYSE Group announced plans to merge
with Euronext and so create the first transatlantic exchange. The
agreed €7.9 billion ($10.2 billion) deal came after months of conjecture that
Euronext would merge with either the London Stock Exchange or Deutsche Börse. The
New York exchange emerged as a serious suitor at the last moment, edging out the
Germans, who have vowed not to give up. Comments by Jacques Chirac, France's
president, that he would prefer Euronext to merge with Deutsche Börse, raised
further questions about the deal.
In another blow to
Japan's reputation for financial probity, Yoshiaki Murakami, a
top fund manager and shareholder activist, told a televised press conference that
he may have broken securities laws. Mr Murakami said he had not intended to commit
a crime when buying shares in a radio-station operator in the knowledge that a
takeover offer could be made on it by livedoor, an internet firm that was
subsequently investigated in a separate inquiry. He was promptly arrested. <a
target="_blank"
target="_blank" name="building_on_success">Building on
success</div> Blackstone, a private-equity group, added to its
expanding commercial-property portfolio by joining Brookfield, a
Toronto-based property firm that owns the World Financial Centre in New York, to
buy Trizec Properties and its Canadian holding company. The offer
is worth $8.9 billion, one of the biggest ever for a real-estate investment trust.
Trizec has several city-centre properties, including Bank of America Plaza in Los
Angeles. 
For the first time in
the company's history, shareholders at General Motors' annual
meeting ignored a recommendation from the board and voted for two proposals that
change the way board members are elected (the current directors easily won re-
election). Although non-binding, the decision is viewed as a missive from
investors to register their discontent at the carmaker's poor
performance.
In one of the biggest
outsourcing investments in India, IBM said it plans to spend $6
billion over three years in the country developing its software-services business.

Federal prosecutors in
America reached a deal with BAWAG in which the Austrian bank will
pay at least $675m to settle charges stemming from last October's bankruptcy of
Refco, a broker based in New York. BAWAG,
which is owned by Austria's trade unions, admitted it had lent Refco's former
chief executive millions of dollars to hide a bad debt, but will not face
prosecution as it is co- operating with investigators. 
Consolidation in
Britain's life-insurance market continued apace as Resolution
agreed to buy the life-insurance business of Abbey, a bank, for
£3.6 billion ($6.7 billion).
size="-1">Chevron's $8 billion liquefied-natural-gas project off
the coast of Western Australia was thrown into doubt when the state's environment
agency said it would block the scheme because of the potential damage to marine
life. The decision, on one of Australia's biggest energy projects, paves the way
for a battle with those state and federal politicians who have lent the Gorgon
development strong support. 
target="_blank" name="testing_times">Testing times</div> <table
align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="4"> <tbody><tr><td
size="-1">The European Central Bank raised its main interest rate
by one-quarter of a percentage point to 2.75%. The decision came after speculation
about interest-rate policy in Europe and America, and worries about inflation and
a slowdown, had upset stockmarkets around the world. Japan's
Nikkei 225 suffered its biggest one-day percentage loss in a year; markets in
China, India, and other emerging economies also fell sharply. In America, the Dow
Jones Industrial Average dropped below the mercurial barrier of 11,000. Investors
focused on comments by Ben Bernanke that there were recent “unwelcome”
inflationary pressures, suggesting the Fed will raise rates at its next meeting.
<a target="_blank"
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 3rd - 9th June 2006
DATE: 06/10/2006 23:10:05
STATUS: publish
BODY:
The leader of al-Qaeda
in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was responsible for countless
mass killings and beheadings, was killed by an American airstrike in Baquba, north
of Baghdad. The news boosted Iraq's new government and its jubilant prime
minister, Nuri al-Maliki. <a target="_blank"
After the Americans said
they would join direct talks with Iran if it agreed to suspend
its enrichment of uranium, the Iranians said that a new package of incentives
presented to them with American approval by Javier Solana, the European Union's
foreign-policy chief, “contained positive steps”. Russia's foreign minister said
Iran might give its full response by the end of June. <a target="_blank"
An Islamist front
suspected of harbouring al-Qaeda members captured the whole of Mogadishu, capital
of fragmented Somalia, defeating secular warlords who are said to
have been backed by American cash and arms. <a target="_blank"
The Palestinian
president, Mahmoud Abbas, set a new deadline for Hamas, the Islamist
rival party to his own Fatah which now runs the Palestinian government, to accept
a clutch of propositions, including the implicit recognition of Israel. If Hamas
refuses to do so, Mr Abbas says, he will hold a referendum on that score. <a
target="_blank"
 
name="flights_to_somewhere">Flights to somewhere</div> The Council of Europe, an inter-
governmental human-rights organisation, concluded that many European governments
knew of the extraordinary rendition (questioning, perhaps
torture, contracted out to foreigners) of terrorist suspects in CIA aircraft. It also said there was strong evidence of special
CIA prisons in Poland and Romania. Both countries deny it.
<a target="_blank"
Iceland's
prime minister, Halldor Asgrimsson, resigned after his party did badly in
local elections and in response to the country's financial troubles. The new prime
minister, Geir Haarde, comes from a different party and is less interested than
his predecessor in applying for membership of the European Union.
election produced a virtual dead heat between opposing centre-right and
centre-left blocks. There will now be several weeks of manoeuvring before any new
government can be formed. <a target="_blank"
A left-wing terrorist
group, Revolutionary Struggle, claimed responsibility for last week's bomb attack
on the Greek culture minister, George Voulgarakis, who was
previously public-order minister (no one was hurt in the attack). Greece has a
history of terrorism: in the 27 years up to 2002, the November 17 terrorist group
killed 23 people. 
American reservists
arriving in Crimea, a mostly Russian-speaking part of Ukraine,
ran into fierce demonstrations. The protesters strongly oppose the idea of Ukraine
joining NATO, which President Viktor Yushchenko has made
into a top priority.
 
name="staying_power">Staying power</div> Taiwan's
parliament voted to consider a motion recalling (ie, sacking) the
country's president, Chen Shui-bian. But since such a motion needs a two-thirds
majority, it is unlikely to succeed. The president has been damaged by a
corruption scandal, and has handed over some of his powers to his prime
minister.
Representatives of the
Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels met in Norway in an
effort to stop the island slipping back into civil war after a recent bout of
fighting.
India
increased fuel prices in a bid to cut the huge cost of the subsidies it
pays on oil, gas and petrol products. It exempted kerosene, the heating fuel of
the poor. But a big political row is expected. <a target="_blank"
Violence continued to
worsen in Timor-Leste, the former East Timor,
even though 2,500 foreign peacekeepers have been stationed there after an army
mutiny.
fertility rate was announced to have fallen to a record low level in
2005. Japanese women now bear, on average, only 1.25 children in their lifetimes,
with 2.1 needed to maintain the population level. <a target="_blank"
 
name="diversionary_tactics">Diversionary tactics</div> <table
size="-1">The American Senate took up the issue of a constitutional ban on
gay marriage again. With 49 senators voting in favour of a
procedural measure, support for the ban fell well short of the two-thirds majority
it would eventually need to pass. George Bush threw his full weight behind the
proposal and conservatives vowed to return to the issue. Polls, however, show
Americans do not want the constitution changed in this way. 
The Republicans just
held the congressional district in southern California left vacant by the
conviction of Randy “Duke” Cunningham on corruption charges. The special
election, in a Republican stronghold, was watched closely as a possible
harbinger for the mid-term elections later this year.
After a somewhat sour
race, Phil Angelides, California's treasurer, won the state's
Democratic primary for governor. He now faces Arnold Schwarzenegger (who met
little opposition in the Republican primary) in November. <a target="_blank"
reported that New Orleans's population had fallen by 64%, to
158,353, between July 2005 and the beginning of this year, and that the proportion
of blacks residing in the city had fallen to 22% from 37%. 
 
name="foiled_plot">Foiled plot</div> Police in Canada
arrested 17 suspected Islamist terrorists after they took delivery of three tonnes
of ammonium nitrate, a fertiliser that can be used for bomb-making. The
authorities claimed that the men were planning terrorist attacks on targets in
Toronto and Ottawa, including storming the Canadian Parliament and beheading the
prime minister, Stephen Harper.<a target="_blank"
Hundreds of thousands of
schoolchildren in Chile continued their protests against
education policies, despite a promise by Michelle Bachelet, the country's new
president, to spend $135m more per year on poorer schools.
More than 1,000 landless
would-be farmers briefly occupied part of Brazil's Congress
building, destroying computers, before being ejected by police.
size="-1">Alan García, a moderately populist former president, won
Peru's presidential run-off by five percentage points, defeating
Ollanta Humala, a nationalist former army officer and friend of Venezuela's Hugo
Chávez. <a target="_blank"
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Top stories for the week of May 29 - June 2, 2006
DATE: 06/02/2006 05:53:53
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Another week, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,e8b5,6onl,kpqm,g1qy">ano
ther exclusive tech conference</a>. The Wall Street Journal’s D: All
Things Digital conference (aka D4) is in Carlsbad, California this week and <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,f68z,hcl2,kpqm,g1qy">the
blogroll is all A-List</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,emf2,27n4,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Scott Rosenberg</a> watched Bill Gates duck the question of whether
Vista would be the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,lmo7,1m2t,kpqm,g1qy">las
t monster version of Windows</a>, admit Google was dusting Microsoft in search,
and finished with a cool preview of MS Office 2007. (At least now <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,k6bz,863h,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Scobleizer</a> knows why the MS network has been wonky lately: <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,bfk7,gopx,kpqm,g1qy">200
,000 Office 2007 downloads in 24 hours</a>.) Microsoft is definitely building an
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,kpx7,drjo,kpqm,g1qy">iPo
d-killer</a> into the Xbox, isn’t big on the Web-based Office idea, and will
eventually offer free and paid storage in the sky, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,gvdz,5btn,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Jason Calacanis</a>. The after-hours gossip around the hotel bar:
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,d5o9,75d7,kpqm,g1qy">Gat
es will drop his role at Microsoft within a year</a> to pursue philanthropy
instead (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,a0jx,e7f1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>HuffPo</a>). Get the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,hrzg,ktv6,kpqm,g1qy">amu
sing annotated photo version</a> of the conference from <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,ckte,ajmn,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Valleywag</a> and the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,kh65,8asd,kpqm,g1qy">off
icial conference blog here</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,bke8,dgx4,kpqm,g1qy"></a
> Was O’Reilly Media really just defending its Web 2.0 Conference service mark
when it sent a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,gccq,gip2,kpqm,g1qy">con
troversial cease-and-desist letter to IT@cork</a> about its use of Web
2.0 in a trade show name (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,4sbw,2owp,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>NYT > Technology</a> and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,lfka,hwhu,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>CNET</a>)? Blogosphere reaction was as quick and thick as you’d
expect. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,bix6,dbll,kpqm,g1qy">Web
2.0®</a>, snarks <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,m0jv,cjlm,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Rexblog</a>. A blog <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,6umh,hgvb,kpqm,g1qy">fee
ding frenzy</a>, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,bios,14be,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Blog Herald</a> as it adds to that frenzy. It’s the <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,5hzj,36c2,kpqm,g1qy">law
yers’ fault</a> says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,68il,kmb,kpqm,g1qy">Thin
gs That Make You Go Hmm</a>—and every entrepreneur should read O’Reilly’s post to
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,5cep,6ubb,kpqm,g1qy">und
erstand trademark law</a> writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,eo8z,582a,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Ross Mayfield</a>. See Tim O’Reilly’s own <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,j63i,2fas,kpqm,g1qy">exc
ruciatingly long post</a> on the matter at <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,1yry,fayc,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>O’Reilly Radar</a>. 

 Meanwhile, CNET’s busy with <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,4lrp,fobr,kpqm,g1qy">All
YouCanUpload, a photo-uploading service</a> that pulls the rug out from under<a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,4lrp,fobr,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/allyoucanupload.gif"
border="0" height="114" width="175" alt="Image" /></a> photobucket and imageshack
because it requires no user account, is free and nearly unlimited, writes <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a>. Some services are just easy to duplicate, and digg
is one of them. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,dn9e,ace2,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Social Software Weblog</a> looks at four memediggers (<a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,3eyv,kuvq,kpqm,g1qy">dig
g clones</a>)—Reddit, Hugg, Menéame and digg itself. In the same vein, YouTube and
competitors are changing the entertainment conversation, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,hgyw,kfhx,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>New Media Musings</a> citing YouTube’s 12.5 million monthly
visitors. But <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,8wgy,kslo,kpqm,g1qy">Yah
oo launched its own video product this week</a> too, and we could see
vids.myspace.com hit <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,3whm,ebd4,kpqm,g1qy">num
ber one in six months</a>. 

<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,krtf,d02t,kpqm,g1qy">
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,krtf,d02t,kpqm,g1qy">
</a> <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,dmpb,i4ru,kpqm,g1qy">Goo
gle hates America</a>, says the right, since it comes up with <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,doi0,2m8v,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/googlemoney.jpg"
border="0" height="114" width="164" alt="Image" /></a>cute little icons for Arthur
Conan Doyle’s birthday and even the Persian New Year—<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,krtf,d02t,kpqm,g1qy">but
none for Memorial Day</a>. Like what, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,l9c3,i2q7,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>SFist</a>, the president standing on a flight deck? But something
the U.S. isn’t likely to create a holiday for: U.S. marines allegedly participated
in <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,csfb,4p72,kpqm,g1qy">kil
lings of two dozen civilians</a> including women and children last November in <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,h3jg,k7gm,kpqm,g1qy">Had
itha, Iraq</a>. Congress is fuming at the prospect of a cover-up, and the Bush
administration is <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,imwv,cc8p,kpqm,g1qy">pro
mising full disclosure</a> of the investigation, according to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,6p7c,mg1a,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Yahoo! News</a>. Just like Democrat John Murtha to start shouting
“cover-up,” blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,h0ky,6i56,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Right Wing News</a>, when <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,dg4,iai2,kpqm,g1qy">no
one knows what happened yet</a>. Particularly the president, who didn’t find out
until a Time reporter <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,m0lg,9ea5,kpqm,g1qy">cal
led about it</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,ixt5,f04h,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Think Progress</a>. Meanwhile, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,a2c0,gqup,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>RCP Blog</a> thinks the marines deserve the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,1h9f,icse,kpqm,g1qy">ben
efit of the doubt</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,c3yu,4n4v,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/cbsbombingtvscreen-
1.jpg" border="0" height="182" width="225" alt="Image" /></a> 

The U.S. has offered to join European allies in <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,kn0t,3bf3,kpqm,g1qy">dir
ect talks with Iran</a> if the Islamic Republic suspends its uranium-enrichment
program (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,ci0c,az8p,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Reuters</a>). Not a moment too soon: The Iranians just announced
plans to build <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,5q1v,79fp,kpqm,g1qy">two
new nuclear reactors</a>, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,6p7c,mg1a,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Yahoo! News</a>, and just a day before the UN Security Council was
to start discussing its <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,4f4j,6qme,kpqm,g1qy">enr
ichment activities</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,m7gg,1ugu,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Worldwide Standard</a>). And President Bush nominated Henry A.
“Hank” Paulson of Goldman Sachs to take John Snow’s place as Secretary of the
Treasury. Paulson would take a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,a6cc,45n3,kpqm,g1qy">pay
cut of $29.8 million</a> to join the Bush administration, writes <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,jacb,gr41,kpqm,g1qy">The New York Times</a>. Paulson is <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,hfvd,dn65,kpqm,g1qy">coo
l during crises</a> says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,9eh5,lsu4,kpqm,g1qy">The Washington Post</a>—and he <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,dis2,trr,kpqm,g1qy">like
s snakes</a> blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,f1tq,39m,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>Wonkette</a>.<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,dzkm,2d7k,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/angelina-jolie-
05290601.jpg" border="0" height="234" width="117" alt="Image" /></a> 

In entertainment news, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,cf9f,g886,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>The Superficial</a> got up on Memorial Day to blog about Brad Pitt
and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,dzkm,2d7k,kpqm,g1qy">Ang
elina Jolie’s new child, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt</a>, born in Namibia for
reasons no one but the Jolie-Pitts can fathom. Jolie’s doc flew in from L.A. to
do a C-section—and Angelina’s already talking about adopting <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,6v9h,5vbw,kpqm,g1qy">mor
e kids</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,5ljt,6lq7,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Perezhilton.com</a>. At least Brad’s no snitch, which is more than
Britney Spears can say about her husband. Spears is apparently keeping
some personal info from hubby Kevin Federline, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,kzto,kiij,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Salon</a>, because of his propensity for leaks to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,kf94,av1u,kpqm,g1qy">fri
ends who blab to the media</a>. Finally, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,c0l4,7irf,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gawker</a> liveblogs Katie Couric’s endless final appearance on the
Today show, during which the anchoress-in-waiting had Joan Rivers catalog
the 3,421 outfits she’s worn over the years. Couric herself hit the nail on the
head, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,gbh7,elmv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Huffington Post</a>: a "<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pykj,39mg,bewu,g9fl,kpqm,g1qy">cel
ebration of moi</a>."
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 27th May - 2nd June 2006
DATE: 06/01/2006 13:32:55
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
size="-2"><div>Jun 1st 2006 
The United States said
it would join Britain, France and Germany in direct talks with Iran
if the Iranians verifiably suspended nuclear enrichment and reprocessing.
The Iranians agreed to meet, but would not discuss uranium enrichment. America and
the Islamic republic have not talked officially for 27 years. <a target="_blank"
Violence flared on
Israel's borders. Israel and the Lebanese militia, Hizbullah,
fought their fiercest border duel for years. And Israel sent special forces back
into the Gaza Strip to kill Palestinians firing rockets into southern
Israel.
Violence and mayhem
continued unabated in Iraq. The country's new prime minister,
Nuri al-Maliki, declared a one-month state of emergency in the southern city of
Basra to counter a rise in violence there. Meanwhile, a roadside bomb in
Baghdad killed two British members of a CBS news crew. Kimberly Dozier, CBS's
correspondent in the city, was critically injured and flown to a military hospital
in Germany. A
rebel militia killed one and captured seven Nepalese UN
peacekeepers in the unstable Ituri region of the Democratic
Republic of Congo. The UN troops were trying to
help the Congolese army track down the remaining 2,000 or so rebels in the
area.
size="-1">Zimbabwe was due to issue a note worth 100,000
Zimbabwean dollars in an attempt to keep abreast of inflation, now running at over
1,000%. The new note will barely buy a loaf of bread.
This month marks the
25th anniversary of the identification of AIDS (though it was not
then called that) and the fifth of a United Nations meeting on the disease. To
mark the occasion, the UN met again to discuss the
prospects of dealing with it. <a target="_blank"
 
name="no_confidence">No confidence</div> The Netherlands'
immigration minister, Rita Verdonk, lost her bid to lead the Liberal Party, which
is part of the centre-right governing coalition. Last month, Ms Verdonk told Ayaan
Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born Dutch MP and critic of Islam's
treatment of women, that she should no longer consider herself a Dutch citizen,
having lied to the authorities on her asylum application. 
The European Court of
Justice gave the European Union four months to reach a new agreement with American
authorities to provide personal data on airline passengers flying
to the United States. The court ruled that the EU did not
have authority to release the commercial data, which America requests on security
grounds. <a target="_blank"
The report into the
death of the former Yugoslav president, Slobodan Milosevic, found
in his cell at The Hague war-crimes tribunal in March, concluded that he died from
a heart attack. The UN investigation, carried out by Dutch
officials, said he received proper care and that no evidence was found to support
allegations of murder. 
Rioting broke out in two
Paris suburbs following the arrest of a youth on assault charges.
They were the worst disturbances in France since last autumn's wave of riots in
the banlieues that resulted in the arrests of 3,000 people. 
 
name="drive_with_care">Drive with care</div> At least seven people were killed
in a riot in Kabul after an accident involving an American military vehicle and
Afghan civilian cars. The anti-American protests were the biggest
since the toppling of the Taliban regime in 2001.
An earthquake killed some
6,200 people in Indonesia, the third big tremor to strike the
country in the past 17 months. <a target="_blank"
height="10" width="17" alt="Image" /> President Chen Shui-bian of
Taiwan relinquished some of his executive powers in an attempt to
deflect a scandal caused by his son-in-law's involvement in a corruption scandal.

An international force
dispatched at the end of last week to Timor-Leste and led by
Australia reached a strength of 2,500. Half of the Timorese army has mutinied, and
the president and prime minister have badly fallen out. <a target="_blank"
South Korea's
opposition soundly trounced the ruling party in elections for a clutch of
local and regional jobs. The ruling party chairman quit.
The United States and
Vietnam signed a trade pact that reduces tariffs and quotas and
paves the way for Vietnam to join the World Trade Organisation. Bilateral trade
between the two countries rose by 22% to $7.8 billion last year. 
 
name="in_the_court_of_public_opinion">In the court of public
opinion</div> George Bush made his first public comments on allegations that American
marines may have killed a score of unarmed civilians in a revenge
attack in the Iraqi town of Haditha last November. He said if laws were broken
��there will be punishment��. A military investigation is expected to present
its findings soon. <a target="_blank"
After a year of rumours
that he was about to go, John Snow resigned as America's treasury
secretary. Mr Bush nominated Hank Paulson, chairman of Goldman Sachs, a Wall
Street investment bank, as his replacement. <a target="_blank"
The Senate approved
General Michael Hayden as the next head of the CIA by a 78-15
vote. His confirmation was expedited after the White House co-operated with
senators by providing more information on the eavesdropping programme that General
Hayden oversaw while head of the National Security Agency. 
size="-1">FBI called off a new search for the remains of Jimmy
Hoffa, a former boss of the Teamsters union whose disappearance in 1975
sparked numerous conspiracy theories. The latest search, at a farm near Detroit,
was prompted by what the FBI deemed a ��fairly credible��
tip-off.
 
name="a_man_for_the_people">A man for the people</div>In an electoral landslide,
��lvaro Uribe, Colombia's conservative president, won a second
four-year term. He collected 62% of the vote, almost three times more than his
nearest rival. His victory indicated popular approval for his tough security
policies. <a target="_blank"
face="verdana,geneva,arial,sans serif" size="-1">In Chile, some
600,000 secondary school pupils staged a strike to demand a new curriculum, more
education spending and free bus fares. More than 700 were arrested in clashes with
the police. <a target="_blank"
size="-1">Canada's Conservative minority government published
bills that would set a fixed date every four years for federal elections, and
restrict the tenure of new members of the appointed Senate to eight years. At
present they serve until they are 75. <a target="_blank"
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 27th May - 2nd June 2006
DATE: 06/01/2006 13:31:57
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
size="-2"><div>Jun 1st 2006 
 
Arcelor
made a surprise announcement that it intends to merge with
Severstal, a Russian steel firm, so creating the world's largest
steelmaker. The €13 billion ($16.6 billion) deal is seen as an attempt by the
Luxembourg-based company to quash Mittal Steel's hostile takeover
bid. But Arcelor's shareholders forced an extraordinary meeting to change the
terms of the deal. <a target="_blank"
size="-1">Engelhard succumbed to
BASF's latest takeover offer (its third),
concluding a five-month effort by the German chemicals company to buy the New
Jersey-based maker of catalytic converters. At $5 billion, the deal is BASF's biggest-ever and puts it in a position to take advantage
of an expected boom in car-emission products caused by new vehicle-
standards.
 
name="high_nrg">High NRG</div> Mirant revealed
it had made an $8 billion offer to merge with NRG
Energy, but had been spurned by the company's managers
(NRG's share price soared on the news). A combination of
the two companies, which both collapsed following the Enron scandal in 2001 but
have since emerged from bankruptcy protection, would create the largest
independent power-generator in the United States.
The board of directors
at Kinder Morgan, an energy distributor and pipeline operator
based in Houston, will consider a proposed buy-out from a consortium of private-
equity firms and senior management led by its chief executive, Richard Kinder. If
successful, the deal would be worth $13.5 billion, one of the biggest-ever
management buy-outs.
size="-1">Eurotunnel unveiled a debt-restructuring plan, giving
warning that it faced bankruptcy if shareholders did not back it at July's annual
general meeting. The operator of the tunnel linking Britain and France wants to
set up a new company, listed in both countries, and reduce its £6.2 billion ($11.6
billion) debt by half. 
BAA
rejected an increased offer from Grupo Ferrovial, which valued
the operator of Heathrow and six other British airports at £9.7 billion ($18.2
billion). The Spanish construction firm ratcheted up its four-month campaign to
buy BAA by lobbying institutional investors and taking the
company's management to task over its performance. 
 
name="corporate_legacy">Corporate legacy</div> Business pundits picked over the
lessons of the Enron trial after a jury in Houston delivered
guilty verdicts on May 25th against former chief executives Kenneth Lay and
Jeffrey Skilling on a range of fraud charges. Both men, who are to appeal, will be
sentenced in September. <a target="_blank"
A court in Seoul
sentenced Kim Woo-choong, the former boss of Daewoo Group, to ten
years in prison and ordered him to forfeit 21 trillion won ($22 billion) for his
part in South Korea's biggest corporate scandal. Mr Kim, who founded the
chaebol in 1967, was found guilty of fraud and embezzlement. Daewoo
collapsed in 1999 with debts of $80 billion.
Motors appointed Troy Clarke to head its troubled North American unit,
which accounted for the bulk of the carmaker's $10.6 billion loss last year. Mr
Clarke, who has run GM's profitable Asia Pacific operations
for the past two years, takes over day-to-day control of the unit from chief
executive Rick Wagoner ahead of union negotiations.
size="-1">Vodafone's share price rallied when it said it would
return an extra £3 billion and increase dividends to investors as part of its new
business strategy. The mobile-phone company lost £22 billion ($41.2 billion) for
the year ending March 31st after writing down the value of Mannesmann, which it
acquired in 2000. It was the biggest annual loss in European corporate history. <a
target="_blank"
Europe's biggest mutual
insurer, Standard Life, said its plan to go public in July had
been approved by 98% of voting members. The firm expects to be valued at up to
£5.5 billion ($10.3 billion) on its stockmarket debut, which would make it
Britain's biggest listing in five years. 
size="-1">Stockmarkets in the United States and Europe had
another volatile week, falling sharply on May 30th before recovering somewhat.
Investors pored over the minutes of May's meeting of the Federal Open Market
Committee to read the runes on future interest-rate decisions. 
 
name="a_healthy_benefit_of_sport">A healthy benefit of sport</div>
size="-1">Germany's unemployment rate fell to 11% in May, the
lowest level since January 2005. The drop was apparently helped by a jump in
demand for labour to service the World Cup, which the country is hosting this
month. The news came after the OECD published a generally
positive report on Germany's economic prospects, but which also pointed to the
need for further labour-market reform. 
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Earned Value Analysis
DATE: 05/31/2006 06:05:28
STATUS: publish
BODY:
 Taken from <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.transcender.com/product.aspx?product%5Fid=Cert%2DCAPM">Cert-
CAPM</a> 
Related Exam: PMI Cert-CAPM PMCert: Certified Associate in Project Management 
 
<div>A status review of all the projects being managed by you shows
the figures in the exhibit (Click the Exhibit(s) button.). Which of these projects
are performing the best on schedule and cost, respectively?</div> 
<table><tbody><tr><td valign="top"></td><td> Project
A</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><tr><td
valign="top"></td><td> Project
C</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><tr><td
valign="top"></td><td> Project A and Project C,
respectively</td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><tr><td
valign="top"></td><td style="background-color:yellow; font-weight:bold; "> Project C and Project A, respectively</td></tr></tbody></table>
Exhibits: 
<table><tbody><tr><td><table><tbody><tr><td>
</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> 
<div>Project C and Project A are performing the best on schedule and cost,
respectively. We can use the following Earned Value Analysis calculations for all
four projects:</div> <div>CV or Cost Variance = EV - AC</div><div>SV or Schedule
Variance = EV - PV</div><div>CPI or Cost Performance Index = EV / AC</div><div>SPI
or Schedule Performance Index = EV / PV</div> <div>The values can be summarized
in the table provided in the tutorial graphic. The project with the highest values
of CPI and SPI is performing the best on both cost and schedule factors. From the
information in the given table, Project C has the best schedule performance
because its SPI has the highest value of 0.93. Project A has the best cost
performance because its CPI has the highest value of 0.96.</div> <div>Note that
all projects have identical values for CV and SV, but they are not performing
equally on both cost and schedule factors.</div> 
<table><tbody><tr><td></td></tr></tbody></table> References:
 
<div>1. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge - PMBOK Guide 2000
Edition - Project Communications Management</div><div> - 10.3.2.4 Tools and
Techniques for Performance Reporting - Earned Value Analysis</div>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: New & Notable Books by Kizhakku Publishers
DATE: 05/26/2006 13:46:10
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<table style="border-collapse:collapse; " align="left" border="1" cellpadding="1"
cellspacing="1"><tbody><tr><td align="center">பின் கைதச் சுருக்கே் <a
href="http://www.kamadenu.com/cgi-
bin/store_view.cgi?catid=art&itemid=514"></a></td> <td
align="center"><a href="http://www.kamadenu.com/cgi-
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=Pa.Raghavan">பா.ராகவன்</a></td>
<td align="center">50</td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ேிட்டாய் கைதகள் 
<a href="http://www.kamadenu.com/cgi-
bin/store_view.cgi?catid=sho&itemid=516"></a></td> <td
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=N.Chokkan">என்.ெசாக்கன்</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">கிருஷ்ணா கிருஷ்ணா 
bin/store_view.cgi?catid=nov&itemid=519"></a></td> <td
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=Indira%20Parthasarathy">இந்திரா
பார்த்தசாரதி</a></td> <td align="center">90</td>

</tr> <tr>
<td align="center">கைரந்த நிழல்கள் 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=Ashokamithiran">அேசாகேித்திரன்</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">கிச்சு கிச்சு 
bin/store_view.cgi?catid=hum&itemid=521"></a></td> <td
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=J.%20S.%20Raghavan">ேஜ. எஸ்.
ராகவன்</a></td> <td align="center">60</td>

</tr> <tr>
<td align="center">பரேஹே்ஸர்: ெபாழியுே் கருைண ேைழ 
bin/store_view.cgi?catid=bio&itemid=522"></a></td> <td
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=P.Deenadhayalan">பா.தீனதயாளன்</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ேதகே் யாவுே் 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=G.S.S">ஜி.எஸ்.எஸ்.</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ேவதபுரத்து வியாபாரிகள் 

</tr> <tr>
<td align="center">தண்ணீர் 
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ோர்க்ஸ் எனுே் ேனிதர் 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=N.%20Ramakrishnan">என்.
ராேகிருஷ்ணன்</a></td> <td
align="center">60</td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ஆல்ஃபா 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=Malayalam:%20T.D.%20Ramakrishnan,Translated%20by:%
20Kurinjivelan">ூேைலயாள ேூ லே்: டி.டி. ராேகிருஷ்ணன், தேிழில்:
குறிஞ்சிேவலன்</a></td> <td
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">அேசாகேித்திரனின் கட்டுைரகள் - 1 
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">அேசாகேித்திரனின் கட்டுைரகள் - 2 
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">நிலெேல்லாே் ரத்தே் 
bin/store_view.cgi?catid=pol&itemid=529"></a></td> <td
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ஆதவன் சிறுகைதகள் 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=Adhavan">ஆதவன்</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ஹஜ் 
bin/store_view.cgi?catid=rel&itemid=533"></a></td> <td
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=Abul%20Kalam%20Azad">அபுல் கலாே்
ஆசாத்</a></td> <td align="center">35</td>

</tr> <tr>
<td align="center">அேயாத்தி - ேநற்றுவைர 
bin/store_view.cgi?catid=mis&itemid=534"></a></td> <td
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ஆப்கனிஸ்தான் : அழிவிலிருந்து வாழ்வுக்கு 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=GSS">ஜி.எஸ்.எஸ்</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">கண்ணீருே் புன்னைகயுே் 
bin/store_view.cgi?catid=cin&itemid=537"></a></td> <td
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=Mukil">ேுகில்</a></td> <td
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">புத்தே் சரணே் 
bin/store_view.cgi?catid=psy&itemid=539"></a></td> <td
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=Madhurabharathi">ேதுரபாரதி</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ஓப்பன் டிக்ெகட் 
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">அல் காயிதா 
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ஹோஸ் 
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ஜப்பான்-ஒரு ஃபீனிக்சின் கைத 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=Chandramouli">சந்திரெேௌலி</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ோர்க்ெகட்டிங் ோயாஜாலே் 
bin/store_view.cgi?catid=mis&itemid=542"></a></td> <td
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=Satish%20Krishnamoorthy">சதீஷ்
ூகிருஷ்ணேூ ர்த்தி</a></td> <td

</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ஹாலிவுட் அைழக்கிறது! 
bin/store_view.cgi?catid=cin&itemid=538"></a></td> <td
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=Los%20Angeles%20Ram">லாஸ் ஏஞ்சல்ஸ்
ராே்</a></td> <td align="center">60</td>

</tr> <tr>
<td align="center">18 வது அட்சக்ேகாடு 
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ோனசேராவர் 
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ஏசுவின் ேதாழர்கள் 

</tr> <tr>
<td align="center">சல்ோன் ரஷ்டி: ஃபத்வா ேுதல் பத்ோ
வைர 
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">காபிரிேயல் கார்ஸியா ோர்குேவஸ்: ோயேில்ேல, ேந்திரேில்ேல 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=R.Venkatesh">ஆர். ெவங்கேடஷ்</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">அடுத்த விநாடி 
bin/store_view.cgi?catid=sel&itemid=39"></a></td> <td
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=Nagore%20Rumi">நாகூ ர் ரூ ூேி</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ேதங்கா ோங்கா பட்டாணி கிண்டல் 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=Jae.Es.Raakavan">ேஜ.எஸ்.ராகவன்</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ேதடு:க
ூ ூ குளின் ெவற்றிக் கைத 
bin/store_view.cgi?catid=bus&itemid=3321"></a></td> <td
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">லாலு 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=R.Muthukumar">ஆர்.ேுத்துக்குோர்</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">அெேரிக்காவில் கிச்சா 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=Crazy%20Mohan">கிேரஸி ேோகன்</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">சிரிப்பு டாக்டர் 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=Muthuraman">ேுத்துராேன்</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ூசூ ஃபி ெசான்ன கைத 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=K.P.Raman%20Unni,%20in%20Tamil%20Kurinji%20Velan">
ூேைலயாள ேூ லே்: ேக.பி.ராேனுண்ணி, தேிழில்: குறிஞ்சிேவலன்</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">பாண்டவபுரே் 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=Sethu,%20in%20Tamil%20Kurinji%20Velan">ேைலயாள
ூேூ லே்: ேசது, தேிழில்: குறிஞ்சிேவலன்</a></td> <td

</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ேருேகள் 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=ajithan">அஜிதன்</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">குதி 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=S.N.Kannan">ச.ந.கண்ணன்</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">தாவ
ூ ூ த் 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=D.Ee.Raveenthiran">D.ஈ.ரவீந்திரன்</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">கி.ேு.கி.பி 
bin/store_view.cgi?catid=his&itemid=3338"></a></td> <td
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=Mathan">ேதன்</a></td> <td
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">சிவாஜி: நடிகர் ேுதல் திலகே் வைர 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=P.Deenadhayalan">பா.தீனதயாளன்</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">இன்று 
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">வால்கள் 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=Rajendrakumar">ராேஜந்திரகுோர்</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ூசுதந்தர பூ ேி 

</tr> <tr>
<td align="center">புத்தகே் வாங்கினால் புன்னைக
இலவசே் 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=vasudev">வாசுேதவ்</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ஃபிடல் காஸ்ட்ேரா: சிே்ே ெசாப்பனே் 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=Marudhan">ேருதன்</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">நாடு கட்டிய நாயகன் 
bin/store_view.cgi?catid=his&itemid=3346"></a></td> <td
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=Mukil">ேுகில்</a></td> <td
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">24 ேகரட் 
</tr> <tr> <td
align="center">ைவக்கே் ேுகேது பஷீர் 
bin/authour_search.cgi?authname=E.M.Ashraf%20In%20tamil%20Kurinji%20velan">ேைலயாள
ூேூ லே்: ஈ.எே்.அஷ்ரஃப், தேிழில்: குறிஞ்சிேவலன்</a></td> <td

</tr> </tbody></table> 
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE: 06/01/2006 19:26:09
அருைேயான பட்டியல். ெதாடரந்து இது ேபால பட்டியல்கைள ெவளியிடுங்கள். பாலிடிக்ஸ் திஸ்
வீக் என்று எழுதுவது ேபால புத்தகங்கள் இந்த ோதே் என்று நீங்கள் ெதாடர்ந்து ஒரு
பட்டியைல ெவளியிடலாே்.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 05/26/2006 06:42:03
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
size="-2"><div>May 25th 2006 
 
size="-1">After six months of negotiation, Iraq's parliament
endorsed a united government of Shias, Sunni Arabs and Kurds, led by Nuri al-
Maliki, an Islamist from the dominant Shia alliance. The main Sunni Arab party has
a clutch of ministries, raising hopes that it will persuade at least some of the
insurgents to negotiate. The crucial defence and interior ministries are still
waiting to be filled. <a target="_blank"
Ehud Olmert,
Israel's prime minister, met President George Bush in Washington,
where they agreed that Iran should be prevented from getting nuclear weapons. Mr
Bush said America would “come to Israel's aid” if Iran attacked, and he praised Mr
Olmert's “bold” plan to adjust Israel's borders unilaterally if attempts to agree
them with the Palestinians failed. <a target="_blank"
Mahmoud Abbas, the
Palestinian president, said he would call a referendum unless
Hamas agreed to accept the pre-1967 borders of Israel. This came after violence
between his Fatah faction and Hamas cost several lives in the Gaza
Strip.
Lakhdar Brahimi, a
UN official, went to Sudan to try to
persuade the government in Khartoum to let a UN
peacekeeping force into its western Darfur region. Violence has persisted there
since a peace deal between the main rebel group and the government was signed
three weeks ago.
 In a tense run-up to
elections due on July 30th, the government has told politicians in the
Democratic Republic of Congo that they should not have more than
25 bodyguards each. 
size="-1">Zimbabwe's inflation rate exceeded 1,000%. When Robert
Mugabe came to power in 1980, Zimbabwe's dollar was worth $1.60; an American
dollar is now officially worth 100,000 Zimbabwean dollars. <a target="_blank"
 
name="fears_over_bird_flu">Fears over bird flu</div> The World Health Organisation
expressed concern about a cluster of recent human deaths from the H5N1 strain of bird flu. Seven people from the
same Indonesian family have died from the disease with no apparent sign of animal
infection, raising the possibility of human-to-human transmission. <a
target="_blank"
Australia is deploying
troops to calm Timor-Leste, where violence has erupted in the
capital, Dili. The unrest started with the sacking of soldiers, who had gone on
strike. The president, Xanana Gusmao, said that security was now his personal
responsibility. 
Thaksin Shinawatra,
chaired his first cabinet meeting since stepping aside as prime minister of
Thailand seven weeks ago. Fresh elections have been ordered since
a poll on April 2nd was annulled, but no date has yet been set. It is unclear who
exactly is running the country at present.
Afghanistan's
government claimed to have killed up to 60 Taliban militants in a battle
in the central province of Uruzgan. Fighting has intensified recently in many
parts of the country, reaching levels not seen since the American-led invasion of
2001.
completed work on the main wall of the Three Gorges dam. A vast feat of
engineering, the dam has caused much environmental controversy. <a target="_blank"
 
name="friendly_fire">Friendly fire</div> In Colombia, an
army patrol killed ten members of an elite police drug squad and their civilian
informant in what officials said was an accident. The incident was a blow to the
government of Álvaro Uribe, who was expected to win a second term in a
presidential election on May 28th. <a target="_blank"
Vladimiro Montesinos,
Peru's jailed former spy chief, told a court that Ollanta Humala,
a candidate in next month's presidential run-off, helped him escape from the
country six years ago by staging a fake military rebellion. Opinion polls give
Alan García, a former president, a 15-point lead over Mr Humala. 
René Préval,
Haiti's new president, appointed Jacques Edouard Alexis as his
prime minister. Mr Alexis, formerly a university rector, held the same post from
1999 to 2001 during Mr Préval's previous presidency.
 
name="nagin_in_again">Nagin in again</div> <table align="right"
size="-1">Despite strong criticism of his handling of the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina, Ray Nagin was narrowly re-elected as mayor of New
Orleans. He won 80% of the black vote. 
American congressmen
bridled over an FBI search—the first in history—of the
office of a sitting congressman, who had been taped accepting a $100,000 bribe.
They claimed it was a breach of separation of powers and of congressional
prerogatives. William Jefferson, a Democrat from Louisiana, had
stored most of the cash in his freezer. <a target="_blank"
America's
Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal against the combination
of drugs used to execute criminals by injection, thereby allowing the practice to
continue. A prisoner in Tennessee had claimed that one of the drugs caused such
intense pain that it amounted to “cruel and unusual punishment”, which is banned
by the constitution. 
 
name="balkanisation">Balkanisation</div> <table align="right"
serif" size="-2">AFP</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td
size="-1">In Montenegro, 55.4% of those who voted supported
independence from Serbia. Theirs will be the first new country in Europe since
Slovakia in 1993. Both Montenegro and Serbia want to join the European Union as
soon as they can. <a target="_blank"
Spain's
prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, declared that he was preparing for
talks with ETA, a Basque separatist group. ETA, which has killed more than 800 people in the past three
decades, declared a permanent ceasefire in March.
In a parliamentary
election in (Greek) Cyprus, voters strongly backed parties
hostile to the idea of reviving the UN unification plan
that was rejected in 2004. A solution to the Cyprus problem looks as far off as
ever.
Italy's
new government said that the country's budget deficit was worse than it
had feared. A deputy economics minister suggested that it might be over 4.5% of
GDP this year. The chances of getting it below 3% by 2007,
as promised, now look remote.
In two unrelated but
worrying accidents in the Aegean region, a Turkish and a Greek
fighter plane collided in mid-air, killing the Greek pilot, and a huge fire
engulfed the cargo terminal at Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport, injuring
three workers. 
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 05/26/2006 06:41:25
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
 
size="-1">Stockmarkets endured another uneasy week. Shares in
Britain and mainland Europe were volatile, and fell heavily in emerging markets
such as Russia, India, Turkey and Indonesia. Investors sought refuge in American
Treasury bonds, which strengthened over the week, not least because figures
showing weak April orders for durable goods raised the chances that the Federal
Reserve will pause before lifting interest rates again. <a target="_blank"
size="-1">Euronext's managers and shareholders weighed rival bids
for the company, which runs stockmarkets across Europe and a derivatives exchange
in London. The managers endorsed an offer from the New York Stock Exchange in
preference to the Deutsche Börse, another big European exchange. The shareholders
remained non-committal, hoping for sweetened offers. <a target="_blank"
After a three-year
investigation, regulators concluded that Fannie Mae, which
underwrites American mortgages, had indulged in “fraudulent accounting”. It will
pay $400m to settle the case, but its former executives may still face charges for
misreporting profits so as to fatten their bonuses. These ill-gotten gains should
be reclaimed by the company, its federal regulator said. Its mortgage holdings
will also be frozen at $727 billion, their December 2005 level, until it cleans up
its act. <a target="_blank"
Sir Ken Morrison
agreed to step aside as chairman of Wm Morrison, ending a boardroom
battle that followed the British retailer's purchase of Safeway in
2004.
target="_blank" name="aid_or_ipo">Aid or IPO?</div> Bank of China,
China's second-largest bank, raised $9.7 billion from its initial public offering,
the biggest in the country's short experience of financial markets. If demand is
strong enough, the bank may offer more shares, to raise another $1.5 billion. In
London, however, two other listings were postponed amid the markets' jitters.

size="-1">Bertelsmann agreed to pay €4.5 billion ($5.75 billion)
for a 25.1% stake owned by Groupe Bruxelles Lambert. The Belgian investment house
had threatened to list its holding in the German media group. <a target="_blank"
The World
Bank decided it still has a role to play in China, a country with dollars
aplenty, but also with more impoverished people than any other country except
India. The bank will lend up to $1.5 billion a year over the next five
years.
size="-1">Rosneft, an oil company the Russian government wants to
sell, reported profits of $4.2 billion for 2005. Its revenues flowed largely from
its Yuganskneftegaz production arm, which belonged to Yukos, a private company
dismembered by the tax authorities. <a target="_blank"
OMV, central Europe's
biggest oil and gas company, caved in to political resistance over its proposed
merger with Verbund, Austria's largest electricity supplier. The
sale of the company, controlled by the government, would not have been “meaningful
and just” (ie, politically palatable), said Austria's economics
minister.
A Dutch court passed
verdict on “Europe's Enron”, the 2003 accounting scandal at
Ahold, a huge food retailer. Its former boss, Cees van der
Hoeven, and his finance director were convicted of fraud. Each now faces a fine of
€225,000 ($287,400) and a nine-month suspended sentence.
Babcock &
Brown, an Australian investment company, agreed to buy
Eircom, Ireland's biggest telecoms company, for $3.1 billion. The
Australians will be the former state monopoly's fifth owner since it was
privatised in 1999.
Valcon
Acquisition, a group of six private-equity companies, triumphed at last
in its three-month campaign to buy VNU, a Dutch market-research
company. Valcon said it now has 78.7% of the company's shares, and gave remaining
shareholders until June 9th to sell the rest. 
Vonage,
an internet-based phone company, raised $531m in its initial public offering,
charging $17 a share, only to see its stock end the first day of trading worth
only $14.85. <a target="_blank"
target="_blank" name="free_speech">Free speech</div> In testimony to the Senate
Banking Committee, Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve,
admitted that he had suffered a “lapse of judgment” when he told a journalist at
the White House correspondents' dinner last month that he was not as doveish on
inflation as financial markets thought.
size="-1">In its twice-yearly economic outlook, the OECD forecast
that growth this year would be 3.6% in America, 2.2% in the euro area and 2.8% in
Japan. Growth in all three areas is expected to slow slightly in 2007. Remaining
slack in the American and Japanese economies is forecast to disappear by the end
of next year, but “ample excess supply” will remain in Europe.
</a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Google Video Ads; 63.4M Votes
DATE: 05/26/2006 06:19:46
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Get ready for a noisier Web. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,3qn2,55so,kpqm,g1qy">Goo
gle’s adding video ads</a>, and they’ll work like text ads: Advertisers get
charged when someone watches the ad and clicks through to their site (via
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,2jts,frix,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Google Blogoscoped</a>). TV advertisers may test different cuts of a
commercial to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,c16p,bfnw,kpqm,g1qy">dec
ide which to air</a>, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,4fmt,lcue,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Lost Remote</a>, but <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,ag0q,gu29,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Publishing 2.0</a> thinks all Google video ads do is spotlight the
fact that most ads have no value—in fact, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,l96w,l1a9,kpqm,g1qy">the
y suck</a>. Maybe a Google music service will perk things up; rumor has it Google
is <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,1grn,m45w,kpqm,g1qy">set
to battle iTunes</a>, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,lfka,hwhu,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>CNET</a>. Meanwhile, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,dqi8,74d9,kpqm,g1qy">Yah
oo and eBay are teaming up</a> on ecommerce to fight back. 
� 
Are we witnessing the final days of Microsoft employee #24? That’s right: Redmond
may oust CEO Steve Ballmer as part of its new Google-centric strategy—and because
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,aymz,8a0b,kpqm,g1qy">MSF
T stock has been shaky</a> says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,hxkv,oqa,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>M-Dollar</a>. That and Vista may slip—<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,6hl9,89v8,kpqm,g1qy">yet
again</a>. 
 
 In Web 2.0 news, the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,bagi,1n15,kpqm,g1qy">onl
ine map wars</a> continue, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a>, who thought Yahoo Maps was the best—until Microsoft
sneaked in upgrades to its Live.com Local maps product, including “Bird’s Eye”
views from low-flying aircraft and on-the-ground “Street Side” views. Speaking of
street level, Apple and Nike have <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,gjzu,347o,kpqm,g1qy">tea
med up</a> to create tools for your feet: Nike+iPod, a line of products starting
with <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,803g,ldrt,kpqm,g1qy">a
kit that will transmit</a> pace, calories burned, and time and distance from Nike
running <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,g9qp,3p8q,kpqm,g1qy"></a
> shoes to an iPod Nano (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,akp7,khij,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>iPod Hacks</a>). <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,313x,hq5s,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Boing Boing</a>’s just waiting to see <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,k0y1,4sjm,kpqm,g1qy">wha
t hackers can do </a> with a wireless sensor that attaches to the most popular
player on the market. Another popular new startup: WineLog which offers <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,g9qp,3p8q,kpqm,g1qy">use
r-generated information on wines</a>, including tags, ratings and comments.
And in the shameless self-promotion dept: the Wall Street Journal
revisited RSS readers and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,bnv6,8zq9,kpqm,g1qy">sin
gled out Rojo for the way it recommends stories</a>. After using it for a week, <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,gvdz,5btn,kpqm,g1qy">Jas
on Calcanis</a> posts that he’s <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,2ict,70jb,kpqm,g1qy">fal
ling in love with Rojo</a>. Aw, shucks.
�Martha Stewart wants to start a MySpace for <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,aem2,fgzc,kpqm,g1qy">old
er women</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,jdx5,m7di,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>FishBowlNY</a>), but it won’t launch until the end of next year—and
by then the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,iue9,fsxi,kpqm,g1qy">gam
e will have changed</a> says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,h88k,j86l,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>MicroPersuasion</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,cgmw,g3de,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Om Malik</a> says there are too many social networks already—
they’re the new black—and mentions other new ones like <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,f80g,566d,kpqm,g1qy">Beb
o and aSmallworld.net</a>, a Harvey Weinstein-funded, invite-only network for the
rich. Bebo, which is huge in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand, just bagged $15
million from Benchmark Capital partly so it can, ah, open an <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,chaq,46r3,kpqm,g1qy">off
ice in the UK</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,ilyw,dq2y,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>PaidContent.org</a>). And <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,lrtm,8fez,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>business2blog</a> reports that <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,mbze,evia,kpqm,g1qy">eve
n Friendster is making a comeback</a>—at least in the Philippines, Brunei,
Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,szt,1sld,kpqm,g1qy"><img
alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/ipod_sport.jpg"
border="0" height="277" width="177" alt="Image" /></a> 
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,gvi2,m7t4,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/gore.jpg" border="0"
height="142" width="105" alt="Image" /></a>
In politics, Al Gore flogged his new movie, An Inconvenient Truth, which
comes out this week. He exposed himself to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,cdbb,5tt2,kpqm,g1qy">Kat
ie Couric’s megawatt smile</a> on the Today show and Couric proceeded
to agree with his alarmist views on global warming, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,kji7,lmmd,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>NewsBusters</a>. Gore may be a tree-hugger, but it was shameless for
an opponent to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,gvi2,m7t4,kpqm,g1qy">com
pare him with Joseph Goebbels</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,eu2i,2m2z,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Crooks and Liars</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,cro3,gn0x,kpqm,g1qy">Wat
ch Gore’s appearance</a> on YouTube, courtesy of <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,eibd,9ti6,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Eschaton</a>.
Finally, 63.4 million votes were cast in this season of American Idol--more
than any US president in history <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,jmvw,hthv,kpqm,g1qy">has
ever received</a> says the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,gbh7,elmv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Huffington Post</a>. But two hours, a night of a thousand Crest
WhiteStrips, and a hundred costume-changes to declare <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,c4tp,954o,kpqm,g1qy">Tay
lor Hicks the official winner</a> made for a supersize letdown says the <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pwj6,39mg,fmu0,igo1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>NY Times</a>.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: May 15 - May 19, 2006
DATE: 05/19/2006 05:49:56
STATUS: publish
BODY:
The patent system got <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,7jg8,gf92,kpqm,g1qy">a
little less evil</a> this week as the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,5sjr,6ts5,kpqm,g1qy">US
Supreme Court ruled in favor of eBay</a>. It said a lower court was wrong to
prevent the online auctioneer from providing the “Buy It Now” button simply
because MercExchange LLC alleged it violated its patent. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,kfn5,6iqd,kpqm,g1qy">It’
s a TKO for eBay</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,ilyw,dq2y,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Paidcontent.org</a>. eBay is using the breathing space to crack down
on a potential competitor: It has <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,cba1,5y7y,kpqm,g1qy">ban
ned links to Rapleaf</a>, an open version of eBay’s <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,kooc,jgvc,kpqm,g1qy">fee
dback-and-reputation</a> feature. 
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,cfxv,iy7y,kpqm,g1qy"
style=""></a> New products: Google launched Google Notebook, a
place to put anything you find on the Web—but it’s <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,849y,g2um,kpqm,g1qy">a
lot like the Scrapbook extension for Firefox</a>, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,1vsd,6kob,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Lifehacker</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a> calls it ho-hum and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,j5bo,dry0,kpqm,g1qy">it
doesn’t do tagging</a>. AOL Released a YouTube clone called <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,6l39,9iuu,kpqm,g1qy">UnC
ut Video</a> but <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,66ho,hmtt,kpqm,g1qy">it’
s a long shot</a>, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,besf,jnnx,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>SiliconBeat</a>. Apple announced the MacBook, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,j5w6,1ssx,kpqm,g1qy">an
iBook replacment</a> will come in iPod colors, black and white, and start at
$1,099. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,k2dh,dh30,kpqm,g1qy">Yah
oo redesigned it’s home page</a> and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,de7f,2r51,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>BuzzMachine</a> says it’s no longer the last old-media company—it’s
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,gpfm,ispp,kpqm,g1qy">the
last portal</a>. While Skype says its calls will be 100 percent free through the
end of the year in the U.S. and Canada, though <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,cgmw,g3de,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Om Malik</a> says it’s basically <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,3dlg,47oz,kpqm,g1qy">a
stunt to penetrate the North American market</a>. 
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,aenu,a5uq,kpqm,g1qy"
style=""></a> In Web 2.0 news, Michael Arrington has problems—
mostly that he’s <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,hm5,hjb,kpqm,g1qy">this
week’s Silicon Valley Whipping Boy</a>. Bad enough that insider-y public squabbles
over the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a> redesign were aired (<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,ckte,ajmn,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Valleywag</a> has a timeline <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,79zu,lpu5,kpqm,g1qy">her
e</a>), but now the site has become a Silicon Valley <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,aenu,a5uq,kpqm,g1qy">Gee
k Echo Chamber</a>. Philly-based <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,5af5,en54,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Redeye VC</a> writes too many companies are targeting an <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,97xx,gv8t,kpqm,g1qy">aud
ience of 53,651</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,cgmw,g3de,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Om Malik</a> rounds up
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,3mw9,21md,kpqm,g1qy">ass
orted harrumphing</a> from several of the 53,651. Of course the number’s already
a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,2j6w,1m2k,kpqm,g1qy">tri
via question</a> on <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,citw,46m8,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Supr.c.ilio.us</a>.

<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,kms3,8ofz,kpqm,g1qy"></a
> In politics, one of the most linked to posts this week was
the hilarious SNL Video: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,b8e2,d36x,kpqm,g1qy">If
Al Gore Were President</a>. Gore let it rip in this satirical state of the union
from <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,kms3,8ofz,kpqm,g1qy">the
presidency-that-wasn't</a> and completed his transformation, says <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,itaz,f14z,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Ted Blog</a>. The real president hasn’t gotten such enthusiastic
reviews. A lot of Bush-supporting bloggers are going silent and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,108l,8qxy,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Andrew Sullivan</a> speculates it’s because the classic
conservatives (small-government, anti-corruption, anti-budget deficit types) have
figured out he’s <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,a84n,8meg,kpqm,g1qy">not
one of them</a>. But <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,497o,3mbr,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Blogs for Bush</a> is still in business and passes on <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,4byf,iubm,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Iraq the Model</a>’s report that <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,9f9,m2kv,kpqm,g1qy">Iran
is selling high-end anti-aircraft missiles to Al-Qa’ida in Iraq</a>, plus machine
guns and new, improved IEDs.
Bloggers are also still ticked about the NSA spying on
Americans and the telcos are denying they turned over phone records to the NSA,
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,ixt5,f04h,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Think Progress</a> sees just three possibilities: USA
Today was inaccurate, the telcos gave out statements with wiggle room in
them, or the telco statements are inaccurate—because Director of National
Intelligence John Negroponte told them it was <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,ltk,eiu8,kpqm,g1qy">lega
l to lie</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,b57y,5fr7,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Talking Points Memo</a> thinks it might have been a <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,hlpo,9im0,kpqm,g1qy">ven
dor or subcontractor</a> that turned the records over, while <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,3nrz,kwc8,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Eric Umansky</a> speculates <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,iwso,f5jr,kpqm,g1qy">may
be it was tight-lipped AT&T</a>.
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,7ej,d1le,kpqm,g1qy"
style=""><img alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/economist-
feeble.jpg" border="0" height="258" width="195" alt="Image" /></a>There was also
Tony Snow’s first formal press briefing—and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,7ej,d1le,kpqm,g1qy">he
cried</a>. Not everyone bought the crying jag, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,dhao,dezv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Wonkette</a>, but it was the only bit of <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,hkrp,292q,kpqm,g1qy">ent
ertainment</a> at the whole thing. 
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,b4uj,1ir3,kpqm,g1qy"
style=""><img src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/dilbert%20google-
tm.jpg" border="0" height="128" width="154" alt="Image" /></a>And finally, the secret’s out: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,dyhv,ihk1,kpqm,g1qy">Cri
tics hate the The Da Vinci Code</a>. The controversial movie hits
theaters everywhere May 19 but critics are already <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,8ayj,g79x,kpqm,g1qy">sni
ckering</a>. British Catholics published a survey claiming <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,ltfn,jbq1,kpqm,g1qy">Code undermines the faith</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,fo7b,jang,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>MSNBC.com</a>). <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,crc5,93gl,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>BBC News</a> reports that Christians and allies in India, Thailand
and South Korea are calling for a ban on the film or engaging in <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,1ndt,affj,kpqm,g1qy">hun
ger strikes</a> against it. Worst of all, anyone with a crush on France’s Audrey
Tautou will have to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,b6kb,g9r6,kpqm,g1qy">jus
t deal with her speaking English</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,2hqd,9evr,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Syntax of Things</a>. The silver lining: Some Hollywood celebs could
be lured from Scientology to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pubp,39mg,cmj7,dkwu,kpqm,g1qy">Opu
s Dei</a>.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 05/18/2006 13:20:06
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
 
size="-1">The sectarian carnage in Iraq continued, especially in
Baghdad. The prime minister-designate, Nouri al-Maliki, promised to unveil a
national unity government, with top jobs shared out among the country's three main
groups, before the constitutional deadline of May 22nd.
Clashes between Islamist
gunmen and the warlords' Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter-
Terrorism continued in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, despite a
ceasefire that was signed on May 14th.
size="-1">Israel's Supreme Court narrowly rejected petitions from
two human-rights groups to overturn a law that stops Arab residents of the West
Bank and Gaza who marry Israelis from getting Israeli citizenship, residency or
entry permits. <a target="_blank"
Mahmoud Abbas, the
Palestinian president, sent thousands of police to the Gaza Strip
after the new Hamas government challenged his authority by deploying its own armed
militias.
The United States
resumed full diplomatic relations with Libya, once one of its
most virulent critics, as a reward for helping America in its war against
terrorism and for abandoning plans to acquire weapons of mass destruction. <a
target="_blank"
The UN
Security Council endorsed a peace accord in Sudan's troubled western
province, Darfur, and called for a UN
peacekeeping force to replace the struggling African Union force as fast as
possible.
size="-1">Nigeria's president, Olusegun Obasanjo, accepted the
verdict of the Senate after it defeated a bill that would have let him run for a
third term of office. <a target="_blank"
 
name="crime_spree">Crime spree</div> Some 150 people were killed, a
quarter of them policemen, after a criminal gang, based in the prison system,
launched attacks on police stations, buses and bank branches in and around
São Paulo, Brazil's largest city. The gang's leaders opposed
their imminent transfer to a maximum-security jail, and wanted televisions to
watch the soccer World Cup. <a target="_blank"
size="-1">Ecuador's government joined the wave of oil nationalism
sweeping Latin America, ending a contract with Occidental, an American oil company
that is the largest foreign investor in the country. The government said it would
not pay any compensation. <a target="_blank"
size="-1">Bolivia's leftist government outlined plans to
redistribute idle agricultural land. Officials said this would not involve
expropriation, but landowners expressed concern. The government also said that it
would take control of private pension funds' shares in the state-owned oil company
and review the contracts under which private firms run the country's airports. <a
target="_blank"
size="-1">The United States' government said that it would ban arms sales to
Venezuela. It said that Hugo Chávez's government was not co-
operating in fighting terrorism. Mr Chávez brushed off the announcement, saying:
“it's the empire”.
The Dominican Liberation
Party of Leonel Fernández, the reforming president of the Dominican
Republic, seemed to have won a majority in a congressional election.
Officials said that turnout was low. <a target="_blank"
 
name="huddled_masses">Huddled masses</div> President George Bush announced a
plan to send up to 6,000 members of the National Guard to the Mexican
border for at least a year. At the same time he repeated his desire for a
guest-worker programme to allow illegal immigrants to work legally and,
eventually, become citizens. <a target="_blank"
Anxious to energise the
Republican base before November's mid-term elections, Mr Bush signed into law $70
billion in tax cuts. They included a two-year extension of the
reduced 15% tax rate for capital gains and dividends, which Democrats had
condemned as a sop to the rich.
The Republican governor
of Kentucky, Ernie Fletcher, was indicted on charges of handing
out government jobs as political favours. He is the third governor to be indicted
in the state's history. <a target="_blank"
 
name="all_in_good_time">All in good time</div> The European Commission
recommended that a decision on whether Bulgaria and Romania
should join the European Union on January 1st 2007 should be postponed
until the autumn. It also recommended that Slovenia, but not Lithuania, should be
allowed to join the euro. <a target="_blank"
The new Italian
prime minister, Romano Prodi, announced his government. The finance
minister will be Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, a former central banker; the foreign
minister will be Massimo D'Alema, who was prime minister in the late 1990s. <a
target="_blank"
A prominent Somali-
turned-Dutch critic of Islam, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, said she was
leaving the Netherlands for America after she was found to have falsified her
asylum application. She was also stripped of her Dutch citizenship. Ms Hirsi Ali
wrote the script for a controversial film attacking Islam made by Theo van Gogh,
who was murdered two years ago by a radical Islamist. She has since been living
under police protection. <a target="_blank"
A gunman shot dead one
judge and wounded four others in a senior court in Turkey. The
motives for the attack were unclear, but one of the wounded judges had ruled last
year against teachers wearing the Muslim headscarf. Some reports said the gunman
shouted “I am the soldier of God” as he fired.
 
name="typhoon_troubles">Typhoon troubles</div> <table
size="-1">Almost a million people were evacuated as Typhoon Chanchu hit
southern China. At least eight people were killed and dozens of
Vietnamese fishermen were reported missing at sea.
About 60 people were
reported killed in a clash between Taliban fighters and the police in the Helmand
province of southern Afghanistan where thousands of British
troops are currently deployed.
Five people died of bird
flu in Indonesia, bringing the death toll there to 30. The
government said there was no evidence of transmission between humans.
Vietnam's
prime minister, Phan Van Khai, announced that he is to step down after
serving two five-year terms. He nominated Nguyen Tan Dung, his 56-year-old deputy,
to succeed him.
The chairman of Hyundai
Motor was indicted in South Korea for his alleged role in a
bribery and embezzlement scandal. Chung Mong-koo is accused of creating funds that
were used to bribe politicians and officials. 
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 05/18/2006 13:19:30
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
 
Financial
markets had a nervous week. Higher-than-expected inflation numbers in
America, released on May 17th, led to expectations that the Federal Reserve would
continue raising interest rates. Soaring petrol prices contributed to consumer-
price inflation of 0.6% in April. Equities and government bonds fell in turn. The
dollar wobbled amid expectations that it may need to fall further
because of global economic imbalances. Gold and oil prices tumbled. Metals prices,
hit earlier in the week, later recovered. <a target="_blank"
Vivendi
rejected an informal bid approach of more than euro40 billion ($51.4
billion) from Sebastian Holdings, a private-equity group. Vivendi denied that an
actual approach was made, but it has voiced concerns that a takeover of the
company would possibly mean breaking it up.
target="_blank" name="undermining">Undermining</div> Xstrata bid C$16.1 billion ($14.5
billion) for Falconbridge, a Canadian mining company, in an
effort to thwart a merger between two rivals. The Swiss firm offered C$52.50 a
share in cash for the 80% of Falconbridge it does not already own. The bid tops an
earlier offer from Inco, another Canadian mining firm. The deal would create one
of the world's biggest mining companies. Analysts predicted that Inco would raise
its offer, potentially leading to a takeover battle.
Amid a flurry of
speculation about consolidation among financial exchanges,
shareholders at Borsa Italiana met in Milan to consider the prospect of going
public, a move its chief executive favours. Shareholders at the Spanish markets
operator, BME, will consider a similar move on June 5th.
Meanwhile, the London Metal Exchange is planning a review that could lead to a
change in its ownership structure and, potentially, a future listing. <a
target="_blank"
Standard &
Poor's, a rating agency, downgraded NASDAQ, a big American financial exchange, to junk-bond
status. The agency cited NASDAQ's debt, part of which is
due to its 24% stake in the London Stock Exchange. 
Some of Europe's biggest
energy groups were raided by EU
competition regulators. Brussels is intensifying an antitrust investigation into
alleged competition abuses in the electricity and gas industries. Co-ordinated
raids were held at more than 20 sites in six countries. The raids targeted offices
of e.ON, RWE, Gaz de France, Eni and
OMV.
target="_blank" name="results_in_store">Results in store</div>
said its profit rose by 6.3% in the first quarter, driven by the biggest
sales gain in two years. The result exceeded analysts' expectations, with same-
store sales rising by 3.8%. But the big retailer's chief executive, Lee Scott,
gave warning that rising petrol prices could affect this quarter's sales. Wal-
Mart's international sales rose by 23%, but profit and same sales fell at Asda,
its supermarket chain.
Target,
another big retailer, said first-quarter earnings rose by 12%, to $554m. Despite
this, it reported the first decline in profit in the past two years. Home Depot, a
big home-improvement retailer, said first-quarter profit rose by 19% from a year
earlier. The result failed to meet analysts' expectations, and Home Depot's shares
fell. <a target="_blank"
The Securities and
Exchange Commission said it will not exempt small companies from investor-
protection rules in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. It will, however,
postpone implementation for them. The decision was a disappointment for business
groups.
size="-1">Eurotunnel, the Anglo-French group that operates the
cross-channel rail tunnel, held talks with creditors and banks about restructuring
its ��6.2 billion ($11.7 billion) debt to avoid bankruptcy. In April Eurotunnel
said it could not guarantee its survival beyond the end of 2006.
Hewlett-
Packard said sales grew by 5%, to $22.6 billion, in its second quarter
from a year earlier, meeting most analysts' projections. The printer and computer
maker said operating profit was $1.7 billion, on a general accounting basis. The
firm plans to consolidate 85 data centres around the world into six large
facilities in America, which it projects will save about $1 billion in costs per
year in future.
Economic growth in
Africa should reach 5.8% this year, and 5.5% in 2007, according
to a report from the OECD. Oil-exporting nations are
leading growth in the region. Strong global demand for other raw materials is
another factor in the economic growth. But other nations in the region continue to
struggle.
Global share
prices tumbled. Leading share indices have sunk in America, Britain and
Japan. India's stock index had its biggest drop ever.
width="205" alt="Image" /></td></tr></tbody></table></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: List of Ministers and their portfolios
DATE: 05/15/2006 10:52:03
STATUS: publish
BODY:
 M.
Karunanidhi, Chief Minister: Public, General Administration, Indian
Administrative Service, Indian Police Service, Other All India Services,
Prevention of Corruption, District Revenue Officers, Home, Police, Industries,
Information Technology, Mines and Minerals, Prohibition and Excise, Molasses,
Minorities Welfare, Tamil Official Language and Tamil Culture and Passports. 
 K.
Anbazhagan, Finance Minister: Finance, Planning, Legislature and
Elections. 
 Arcot N.
Veerasamy, Electricity and Rural Industries Minister: Electricity, Non-
Conventional Energy Development, Rural Industries including Cottage Industries,
Small Scale Industries. 
 M.K.
Stalin, Local Administration Minister: Municipal Administration, Rural
Development, Panchayats and Panchayat Unions, Poverty Alleviation Programmes,
Rural Indebtedness, Urban and Rural Water Supply. 
 Ko.Si.
Mani, Cooperation Minister: Cooperation and Statistics. 
 Veerapandi
S. Arumugam, Agriculture Minister: Agriculture, Agriculture Engineering,
Agro Service Cooperatives, Horticulture, Sugarcane cess and Sugarcane Development.

 Durai
Murugan, PWD Minister: Public Works, Irrigation including Minor
Irrigation and Programme Works. 
 P.T.R.
Palanivel Rajan, HR&CE Minister: Hindu Religious and Charitable
Endowments. 
 K. Ponmudi,
Higher Education Minister: Higher Education including Technical
Education, Electronics, Science and Technology and Ex-Servicemen Welfare. 
 K.N. Nehru,
Transport Minister: Transport, Nationalised Transport, Motor Vehicles
Act. 
 M.R.K.
Panneerselvam, Backward Classes Minister: Backward Classes, Most Backward
Classes and Denotified Communities, Overseas Indians, Refugees and Evacuees,
Registration, Stamp Act. 
 I.
Periasami, Revenue and Law Minister: Revenue, Revenue Establishment,
Deputy Collectors. Law and Courts, Prisons, Legislation on Weights and Measures,
Registration of Companies, Debt Relief including legislation of Money lending and
Legislation on Chits. 
 N. Suresh
Rajan, Tourism Minister: Tourism and Tourism Development Corporation 
 Parithi
Ilamvazhuthi, Information and Publicity Minister: Information and
Publicity, Film Technology and Cinematography Act, Stationery and Printing and
Government Press, Urban Development, Town Planning and CMDA. 
 E.V. Velu,
Food Minister: Food, Civil Supplies, Consumer Protection and Price
Control. 
 Suba
Thangavelan, Housing Minister: Housing, Housing Development, and Rural
Housing Development 
 K.K.S.S.R.
Ramachandran, Health Minister: Health, Medical Education and Family
Welfare. 
 T.M.
Anbarasan, Labour Minister: Labour, Census, Employment and Training, Iron
and Steel Control, Newsprint Control and Urban Employment schemes. 
 K.R.
Periakaruppan, Slum Clearance Board Minister: Slum Clearance Board,
Accommodation Control and Waste Land Development. 
 N.K.K.P.
Raja, Handlooms Minister: Handlooms and Textiles. 
 Thangam
Thennarasu, School Education Minister: School Education, Archaeology.

 S.N.M.
Ubayadullah, Commercial Taxes Minister: Commercial Taxes. 
 T.P.M.
Mohideen Khan, Environment Minister: Sports and Youth Welfare,
Environment and Pollution Control and Wakfs. 
 N.
Selvaraj, Forests Minister: Forests and Cinchona. 
 M.P.
Saminathan, Highways Minister: Highways and Ports. 
 Poongothai,
Social Welfare Minister: Social Welfare including Women's and Children's
Welfare, Nutritious Noon Meal, Welfare of the Disabled, Orphanages and
Correctional Administration, ICDS and Beggar Homes. 
 Geetha
Jeevan, Animal Husbandry Minister: Animal Husbandry. 
 Tamilarasi,
Adi Dravidar Welfare Minister: Adi Dravidar Welfare, Hill Tribes, Bonded
Labour. 
 K.P.P.
Sami, Fisheries Minister: Fisheries and Fisheries Development
Corporation. 
 U.
Mathivanan, Dairy Development Minister: Milk and Dairy Development.
K. Ramachandran, Khadi Board Minister: Khadi Board, Bhoodan and
Gramdhan.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Direct Web Remoting
DATE: 05/12/2006 11:40:14
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<h1>Introduction to Ajax and DWR</h1> There are a number of documents to help
you get started with DWR. If you are new to Ajax, you can start with the <a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/overview/ajax">introduction to Ajax</a> and then
the <a href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/overview/dwr">overview of DWR</a>.
There is a basic <a href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/getstarted">getting
started</a> guide which shows how to install DWR and to view your first page.
There is then a series of <a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/examples">examples</a> to demonstrate basic
functionality, some <a href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/hints">hints and tips</a>,
and a page on <a href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/fixes">common errors and how to
fix them</a>.
Outside of this site there is a growing collection of <a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/elsewhere">tutorials from around the web</a> and
several people are giving <a href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/seminars">talks and
seminars</a> about DWR.
<h1>Reference Documents</h1> The detailed servlet configuring options is in
the <a href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/server/servlet">WEB-INF
configuration</a>.
The <a href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/server/dwrxml">dwr.xml</a> section
explains about <a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/server/dwrxml/converters">Converters</a>, <a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/server/dwrxml/creators">Creators</a> and <a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/server/dwrxml/signatures">Signatures</a> in
detail. This section is a must read for understanding what you can do with
DWR.
From DWR 2.0 (currently in development) you can also configure DWR using <a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/server/annotations">Annotations</a>.
There is also a small collection of <a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/server">generated documents</a> from things like
JavaDoc.
<h1>Scripting the Browser</h1> The <a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/browser/intro">scripting introduction</a> gets
you started with how to write Javascript code to call your Java code. DWR comes
with 2 Javascript libraries to help you:
<ul> <li><a href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/browser/engine">engine.js</a>:
Handles all server communication</li><li><a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/browser/util">util.js</a>: Helps you alter web
pages with the data you got from the server (and a few neat extras too)</li> </ul>
DWR is not a generic Javascript library so we try to steer clear of functions
that are not specific to remoting functionality, however there are a few functions
that sneak into util.js to make life a lot easier.
It is common to need to <a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/browser/extradata">pass extra data to callback
methods</a> and there is also a reference to how to <a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/other/errors">handle errors</a> too.
<h1>Integration</h1> DWR integrates with a large number of other projects. A
common query is how to get at servlet objects like HttpServletRequest, which is
explained in <a href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/server/javaapi">accessing servlet
objects</a>. DWR comes with some integration with <a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/server/spring">Spring</a> and <a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/server/hibernate">Hibernate</a> and there are
notes on integrating with <a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/server/struts">Struts</a> too.
Externally, there is some <a
href="http://lifeasastruct.blogspot.com/2005/10/ajax-on-appfuse.html">information
about integrating</a> DWR with <a href="https://appfuse.dev.java.net/">AppFuse</a>
written by Life as a struct.
In addition there are a number of projects that complement or compete with DWR
that you can find out about in <a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/other/related">related projects</a>.
<h1>Other Documents</h1> Things that don't fit into any of the above
categories:
<ul> <li>How to write <a href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/security">secure</a>
code with DWR</li><li>The <a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/browser/support">supported
browsers</a></li><li>The <a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/browser/environment">supported
environments</a></li><li>How to <a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/other/upgrading">upgrade from older versions of
DWR</a> </li> </ul> A table of contents without descriptions follows:
<div class="tree"><div class="menu"><ul><li><a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/overview/ajax">Introduction to
Ajax</a></li><li><a href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/overview/dwr">Overview of
DWR</a></li><li><a href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/getstarted">Getting
Started</a></li><li><a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/examples">Examples</a></li><li><a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/elsewhere">Tutorials From Around the
Web</a></li><li><a href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/seminars">Talks and
Seminars</a></li><li><a href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/hints">Hints and
Tips</a></li><li><a href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/fixes">Solving Common
Problems</a></li><li><a href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/server/servlet">WEB-INF
Configuration</a></li><li><a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/server/dwrxml">dwr.xml</a></li><li><a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/server/annotations">Annotations</a></li><li><a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/server">Generated Documentation</a></li><li><a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/browser/intro">Scripting
Introduction</a></li><li><a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/browser/engine">engine.js</a></li><li><a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/browser/util">util.js</a></li><li><a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/other/errors">Error Handling</a></li><li><a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/browser/extradata">Passing extra data to
callbacks</a></li><li><a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/server/javaapi">Accessing Servlet
Objects</a></li><li><a href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/server/spring">Spring
Integration</a></li><li><a href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/server/struts">Struts
Integration</a></li><li><a href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/server/jsf">JSF
Integration</a></li><li><a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/server/hibernate">Hibernate
Integration</a></li><li><a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/server/pageflow">Beehive
Integration</a></li><li><a href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/other/related">Related
Projects</a></li><li><a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/security">Security</a></li><li><a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/browser/support">Browser Support</a></li><li><a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/browser/environment">Supported
Environments</a></li><li><a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/changelog">Changelog</a></li><li><a
href="http://getahead.ltd.uk/dwr/other/upgrading">Upgrading
DWR</a></li></ul></div></div>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: May 8 - May 12, 2006
DATE: 05/12/2006 05:32:07
STATUS: publish
BODY:
It’s E3 time again in Los Angeles where a game-mad crowd goes wild. <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,11sx,lci5,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Engadget</a> spotted the new <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,63vu,k3nr,kpqm,g1qy">Del
l gaming boxes</a>—but there are no specs, so is this <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,1f6j,9kpg,kpqm,g1qy">jus
t an attempt to justify the investment in Alienware</a>? Meanwhile Alienware lost
no time blasting out game notebooks with <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,5dl8,it1v,kpqm,g1qy">wir
eless that’s even faster than wired</a>. Microsoft’s coming out with an HD DVD
player for Xbox 360 this holiday—but <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,8omv,6wxs,kpqm,g1qy">no
specs on that either</a>. Sony is throwing gamers a PlayStation 3 console the <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,alom,oc1,kpqm,g1qy">size
of a waffle iron</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,b46v,kk7x,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Kotaku</a>) though <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,11sx,lci5,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Engadget</a> has sticker shock <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,i47v,ktb0,kpqm,g1qy">ove
r the $500 price for a crippled version</a>. 

<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,alom,oc1,kpqm,g1qy"><img
alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/ps3stock.jpg" border="0"
height="255" width="178" alt="Image" /></a> Also new at E3: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,9mm2,ilfd,kpqm,g1qy">Nin
tendo’s Wii controller</a> with <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,gqoq,283z,kpqm,g1qy">bui
lt-in speaker</a> for nearly 3D sound; the Xbox 360 Live Vision, <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,2h9y,ij8r,kpqm,g1qy">hea
dset and racing wheel</a> Logitech’s <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,3nlq,cshf,kpqm,g1qy">G25
steering system</a>; and the Xbox 360 can take your mug shot and superimpose it on
your on-screen avatar—<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,cxc1,1mdz,kpqm,g1qy">cre
epy</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,53vb,isi8,kpqm,g1qy">Res
ident Evil 4 is headed for Wii</a> and get ready for <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,iuoy,bgzf,kpqm,g1qy">Gra
nd Theft Auto 4 in October 2007</a>. Engadget and Joystiq editor Vlad Cole wraps
up Tuesday’s Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony action with a podcast <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,3h18,k4px,kpqm,g1qy">her
e</a> and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,b46v,kk7x,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Kotaku</a> has <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,eyd7,3prk,kpqm,g1qy">Day
One photos</a> from the floor. 
 
The other L.A. story: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,iu18,28jk,kpqm,g1qy">the
juggernaut continues</a>. MySpace rolls out a new, ad-supported IM product to
compete with AOL writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,37qa,lj8n,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Micro Persuasion</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,dyt9,1uxj,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Mashable!</a> has a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,j3nx,7w74,kpqm,g1qy">rev
iew and screenshots</a>. Meanwhile <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,ilyw,dq2y,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Paidcontent</a> blogs that Microsoft’s Windows Live Messenger has
been tested by millions and is now in public beta, while <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a> reviews the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,gf0s,8pj1,kpqm,g1qy">AIM
MySpace Killer</a> that AOL doesn’t know how to profit from just yet.<a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,jty2,ixgw,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/bizarro.jpg"
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,i80,8tnc,kpqm,g1qy"><img
alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/googletrendslogo.gif"
border="0" height="74" width="175" alt="Image" /></a> Other Web 2.0 shorts: <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a> calls it Seth Godin’s purple
albatross and explains why <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,amf9,k983,kpqm,g1qy">Squ
idoo won’t work</a>. Scott Blum, founder of Buy.com launches a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,bhiu,5q7t,kpqm,g1qy">new
video startup</a>. Tech memeorandum becomes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,4oaq,jhph,kpqm,g1qy">tec
hmeme</a>. This year’s Webby Awards go to… the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,hpl,fv0p,kpqm,g1qy">same
old same old</a>. And here’s a first in the blogging world: The NBA <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,2qa6,7hrg,kpqm,g1qy">fin
ed Mavericks owner Mark Cuban $200,000</a> for criticizing league officials on
his blog reports <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,m75o,5k25,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Blogebrity</a>. 
 
Google Press Day happened Wednesday and despite an initial lack of wifi in
Mountain View, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,f4og,ci96,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Om Malik</a> tried to get some <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,6hdq,fi64,kpqm,g1qy">ear
ly word out on his Crackberry</a>. For those who couldn’t be there, <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,37sd,jqxz,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Niall Kennedy</a> wraps up new Google products like Google Co-op
(social search and tagging), Google Desktop 4, Google Trends (on-demand
Zeitgeist), and Google Notebook (<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,cxen,2cx6,kpqm,g1qy">a
_JavaScript scratchpad</a>). Meanwhile as you read this, Mountain View insiders
like Sergey and Larry are dumping Google stock so quickly that they’re causing a
visible <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,itcs,85yw,kpqm,g1qy">spi
ke in income taxes collected by California</a> this year: approximately 1/8th of
the state’s entire $4 billion take (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,ckte,ajmn,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Valleywag</a>). 

<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,l2dk,22x,kpqm,g1qy"><img
alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/britney_spears_7_1.jpg"
border="0" height="230" width="200" alt="Image" /></a> Finally in entertainment,
David Blaine, the guy in the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,k9zc,943h,kpqm,g1qy">gia
nt water-filled snowglobe in New York City</a>, nearly died trying to<a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,k9zc,943h,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/2006_05_blainestunt-
thumb.jpg" border="0" height="193" width="162" alt="Image" /></a> trying to break
the world breath-hold record says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,8qi8,77uo,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gothamist</a>. He was 1:50 short, his skin was peeling and he was
unconscious by the time <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,dcr2,abpa,kpqm,g1qy">div
ers fished him out</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,cf9f,g886,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>The Superficial</a>. Britney Spears admitted what everyone already
knows to David Letterman: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,eftp,5zf5,kpqm,g1qy">yes
, sir she’s pregnant</a>. But other rumors also fly: that Spears is preparing to
dump hubby Federline with an out-of-nowhere divorce. Finally, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,gfdk,br99,kpqm,g1qy">Nic
ole Kidman still loves Tom Cruise</a> but bloggers don’t. Did they doom M:i:III?
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,j9jy,efuy,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>PerezHilton.com</a> celebrated Mission Impossible 3’s
unexpectedly low opening weekend box-office sales and urged readers to <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,10a1,4tbk,kpqm,g1qy">boy
cott</a>. Of course, it’s still $48 million film and one Scientologist bought a <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,6pfa,l8o9,kpqm,g1qy">500
-seat block of MI:3 tickets</a> at Hollywood’s Arclight. On the bright side for
Tom: US Weekly compares his approval rating to Bush’s and notes that <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,prvt,39mg,5n6v,fuu7,kpqm,g1qy">Tom
’s is slightly higher</a>.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: May 1 - May 5, 2006
DATE: 05/11/2006 20:47:49
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Call it the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,gwp,8bm2,kpqm,g1qy">Retu
rn of the Beast</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,cgmw,g3de,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Om Malik</a>, who sees Microsoft awakening from its slumber to crush
Google—just like Netscape. First step: Make Microsoft’s search engine the default
in Explorer. Google’s objecting, but <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,1c,7pni,kpqm,g1qy"><stro
ng>Clickety Clack</a> writes that this setting is easy to change, <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,6wk5,mux,kpqm,g1qy">just
like Firefox’s default setting for Google</a>, so what’s the problem? Cry me a
river, Google, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,26uy,3dcd,kpqm,g1qy">Jer
emy Zawodny</a>, who reminds us that Google bought its way into the Firefox
default with a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,dcb,9xtf,kpqm,g1qy">reve
nue-sharing agreement</a>. It’s only when someone else plays browser games that
default becomes a big deal. 

href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,jitp,358x,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/gatesgoo-tm.jpg" border="0"
height="104" width="131" alt="Image" /></a> Second step: Find (or buy) allies.
With Google’s dominance of search increasing, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,9le0,fjyp,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>BetaNews</a> reports Microsoft has been discussing <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,gj4z,enti,kpqm,g1qy">acq
uiring a stake in Yahoo</a>. Not everyone in Redmond is on board, but search is
going to be commoditized someday, so Microsoft should <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,f4lc,34om,kpqm,g1qy">spe
nd what it takes to catch up</a>. And it is. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,kqqa,mee8,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>NYTimes</a> reports that Microsoft spending will rise sharply next
year, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,hudc,79i6,kpqm,g1qy">mor
e than $2 billion over previous estimates</a>, to address the threat. Third step:
Get others to replace Google search with MSN Live.com searches, which is <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,l81x,ek7z,kpqm,g1qy">wha
t happened with Amazon</a> over the weekend. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,1rtj,d5ge,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/fde43890199bd966fdfea622b38fa691
.jpg" border="0" height="103" width="79" alt="Image" /></a> 
 
People close to Larry and Sergey are <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,jitp,358x,kpqm,g1qy">wor
ried about Microsoft</a> says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,73xc,b2cu,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>John Battelle’s Searchblog</a>. But Google can’t be too concerned
since Microsoft announced Windows Vista slipped again to the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,ibgr,b660,kpqm,g1qy">sec
ond quarter of 2007</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,l58a,jfky,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>OSNews</a>) and Gartner advises holding off migrating until 2008!

In Web 2.0 news, Yahoo launched it's first content play in 5 years
with a new <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,ebj1,b4sr,kpqm,g1qy">gad
get-review portal called Yahoo Tech</a>. It combines reviews from
Consumer<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,2u8r,g5vb,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/go40038e.jpg"
border="0" height="156" width="156" alt="Image" /></a> Reports, Yahoo
users, and in-house advisors like The Mom to compete with Cnet’s reviews. <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,lrtm,8fez,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>business2blog</a> rounds up a trio of <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,d7rt,6vw5,kpqm,g1qy">luk
ewarm reviews</a>. The Spotback personalized news portal launched, claiming to
learn from user preferences over time. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a> likes it because users can customize their page, tag
stories, ask for more like this, and get Top Stories <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,d9gj,e2fu,kpqm,g1qy">as
rated by all Spotback users</a>. Best of all: no user account because it’s cookie-
driven. Michael Arrington also gives the thumbs up to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,8vbd,5k72,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/logo_home.gif"
border="0" height="66" width="197" alt="Image" /></a><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,8vbd,5k72,kpqm,g1qy">Sph
ere, a blog search engine that lets you sort for relevance</a> in lots of ways.
Also get ready: Google Press Day is next week and plenty of announcements are
expected including <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,l53h,f6el,kpqm,g1qy">Goo
gle Health and video in search results</a> says USA Today’s <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,4bsl,3rnv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Kevin Maney</a>. What's next? <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,2u8r,g5vb,kpqm,g1qy">Goo
gle Gum</a>. 
 
And burn rate re-enters the vocabulary as YouTube is rumored to have
raised another $25 million in VC while blowing nearly <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,jh7s,b8f,kpqm,g1qy">$1
million a month in bandwidth fees alone</a>, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a>. At that rate, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,ckte,ajmn,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Valleywag</a> blogs, YouTube will go bankrupt just in time to miss
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,2jwk,4dwr,kpqm,g1qy">hom
emade bootlegs of Hillary’s concession speech</a> in 2008. 

In politics, the “day without immigrants” went off<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,2jwk,4dwr,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/yt-vc.jpg" border="0"
height="261" width="399" alt="Image" /></a> peacefully as hundreds of thousands
rallied around the country for immigrant rights. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,7kd1,dckc,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Daily Kos</a> wraps up major-media coverage <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,3vzo,4pfp,kpqm,g1qy">her
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,2xzb,fjzf,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Facing South</a> covers the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,4gz,14r7,kpqm,g1qy">thou
sands who rallied</a> in the Southeast. Up in the Midwest, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,b542,1q68,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Michelle Malkin</a> seethes over a University of <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,ga0v,284h,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/138880464_dd6d81f4a8_m.jpg"
border="0" height="160" width="240" alt="Image" /></a>Minnesota instructor, Susana
De Leon, who <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,4ee3,glrw,kpqm,g1qy">use
d the May Day march to call white people “wetbacks”</a> and posts photos of signs
and symbols used by less politically savvy protesters—Che Guevara, anyone? Aztlan?
—<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,ga0v,284h,kpqm,g1qy">her
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,35a0,colj,kpqm,g1qy">her
e</a> . <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,2uwq,m5ez,kpqm,g1qy"> 
</a> 
But forget immigration, gas prices, Iran or Iraq. The blogoshphere was aflame over
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,6phh,cbpm,kpqm,g1qy">one
of the most jaw-dropping public appearances in the modern era</a>. Stephen Colbert
is a dangerous man -- a bomb thrower, an assassin, a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,bsy9,me0h,kpqm,g1qy">ter
rorist with boring hair and rimless glasses</a> says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,kzto,kiij,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Salon</a> and his brilliant performance unplugged the Bush myth
machine. His send up of everyone in sight at the White House Correspondents’
Dinner brought a heavily sheltered president face to face with <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,lq2x,8yra,kpqm,g1qy">pub
lic outrage and revulsion</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,emf2,27n4,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Scott Rosenberg</a>. But while the Colbert Report may be the best
show on television, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,4t3w,iwt8,kpqm,g1qy">Col
bert’s liberal bias shows through</a>, blogs<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,a0jx,e7f1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong> Huffington Post</a>. Please <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,3sdy,bwey,kpqm,g1qy">ple
ase, liberals, stop it. You’re embarrassing all of us</a> says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,dhao,dezv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Wonkette</a>. It was just a decent standup act with a lousy
audience. And it took 4 days but the NY Times finally noticed the ground-
breaking, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,600h,kosm,kpqm,g1qy">wit
heringly sarcastic attack</a> says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,l5lx,eqbi,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Boing Boing</a>. Catch the whole thing <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,3d02,be94,kpqm,g1qy">her
e</a> on <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,ppeb,39mg,bgb8,846d,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Comedy Central Videos</a>. 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 05/11/2006 20:46:23
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
 
 <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="4">
size="-1">After a poor result for the Labour Party in local elections,
Tony Blair, Britain's prime minister, sought to reassert his
authority by reshuffling his cabinet. Among the changes, he removed Jack Straw
from the post of foreign secretary (Margaret Beckett becomes the first woman to
hold the job), and sacked Charles Clarke, the home secretary. Mr Blair promised
there would be an orderly transition to his likely successor, Gordon Brown. But
just not yet. <a target="_blank"
The parliamentary
Intelligence and Security Committee concluded that a lack of resources prevented
Britain's security services from stopping the suicide-bombings
that took place in London on July 7th last year. <a target="_blank"
Many European countries
expressed concerns over a new Polish government that includes two
populist parties of the far left and far right. At least the new coalition, unlike
the old, will have a parliamentary majority. <a target="_blank"
Vladimir
Putin, Russia's president, gave warning of the malign effect of a
shrinking population, and suggested measures to raise the Russian birth rate. In
his annual state address, he also called for more defence spending, and reproved
external critics and enemies. 
Nicolas Sarkozy,
France's interior minister and would-be president, testified to
investigating judges in the “Clearstream affair”. President Jacques Chirac
expressed total confidence in the government led by Mr Sarkozy's rival, Dominique
de Villepin, but many saw that as a prelude to Mr de Villepin's
departure.
target="_blank" name="not_so_harmonious">Not so harmonious</div>
The Middle East Quartet
(America, the European Union, Russia and the UN) agreed to
a still undefined “temporary mechanism” for getting aid to the
Palestinians while bypassing the Palestinian Authority, now run by the
Islamists and sometime terrorists of Hamas. Conditions in the West Bank and Gaza
deteriorated further when the Israeli firm that provides the Palestinian
territories with fuel cut off supplies because it had not been paid. <a
target="_blank"
Violence continued
unabated in Iraq as the prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki,
deliberated on the formation of a new cabinet. In the Kurdish region in the north,
two old adversaries, Massoud Barzani and Talal Jalabani, decided to form a joint
government.
Iran's
president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, opened direct communication with America, cut off
after Iran's 1979 revolution, with a 15-page litany of grievances and no new
proposals to end its nuclear dispute with the UN Security
Council. Russia and China continued to hold out against a resolution that would
threaten sanctions. <a target="_blank"
size="-1">After last week's peace deal between the Sudanese government and the
main rebel group in the Darfur region, America pressed for the
UN to send troops to the region as soon as possible. <a
target="_blank"
Jacob Zuma, formerly
deputy president of South Africa, was cleared of a charge of rape
by a court in Johannesburg. His reputation has been diminished by some of his
testimony in the trial, and he now faces another trial for corruption in July. <a
target="_blank"
Heavy fighting in the
Somali capital, Mogadishu, after the collapse of a ceasefire
between rival warlords, left hundreds of people dead and wounded. 
target="_blank" name="the_right_stuff">The right stuff?</div>
George Bush nominated
air-force General Michael Hayden to head the CIA after the abrupt
resignation of Porter Goss. Many in Congress, including senior Republicans,
criticised Mr Bush's choice; General Hayden was in charge of the National Security
Agency when a controversial domestic eavesdropping programme was introduced. <a
target="_blank"
Mr Bush seemed likely to
achieve an extension to his tax cuts on dividends and capital
gains as Republicans in Congress agreed to a $70 billion package that also delays
the imposition of the alternative minimum tax on 15m upper middle-income
families.
reported that the Hispanic population in the United States had
grown to 42.7m in 2005 and accounted for half of the total growth in population
since 2004. Births, rather than immigration, provided much of the increase. The
data is more grist for the mill in the debate on illegal immigrants.
target="_blank" name="until_the_pips_squeak">Until the pips
squeak</div> Venezuela announced yet another tax increase on foreign
oil companies, this one on six firms which have invested $17 billion in extracting
600,000 barrels per day of synthetic oil from the Orinoco tar belt. President Hugo
Chávez's government said it would levy taxes and royalties totalling 83.3% on
these projects, up from 50.6%. 
”scar Arias took office
as Costa Rica's president, after narrowly winning an election in
February. Mr Arias supports ratification of a free-trade agreement with the United
States, but may not be able to secure its approval since he lacks a majority in
his country's Congress.
Facing criticism over
the nationalisation of Brazilian-operated gasfields in Bolivia, Brazil's
government inaugurated a uranium-enrichment plant capable of producing
nuclear fuel. Brazil has forsworn nuclear weapons. It previously sent its uranium
to Europe for enrichment.
target="_blank" name="don't_change_the_curtains">Don't change the
curtains</div> Singapore's ruling People's Action Party won a general
election for the tenth time in a row. But its share of the vote in contested seats
dropped slightly, to 67%. <a target="_blank"
Constitutional Court annulled the general election of April 2nd. It is
still not clear when a new election will be held, nor what the position of Thaksin
Shinawatra, who resigned as prime minister because of mass public protests, now
is. <a target="_blank"
size="-1">India's Communist parties did well in state elections,
winning Kerala and holding on to West Bengal. The Communists support the
government, but tend to exercise a block on reform. <a target="_blank"
Despite their poor
human-rights records, China, Cuba, Pakistan, Russia and Saudi Arabia all won seats
on the UN's new Human Rights Council. Iran
and Venezuela failed to get elected by the General Assembly, while other rights
abusers did not even dare try. The United States, which refused to stand, promised
to work to ensure the council was effective.
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 05/11/2006 20:45:47
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
 
size="-1">Wachovia, America's fourth-largest bank, launched a
takeover for Golden West Financial, a Californian savings-and-
loan, in a deal that Wachovia valued at $25.5 billion. However, Wachovia's share
price fell as investors fretted that the bank had paid too much for Golden West in
an uncertain housing market. <a target="_blank"
In its biggest
acquisition since 2000, UBS said it would pay up to $2.5 billion
for Banco Pactual, a Brazilian equities and investments firm. The
move opens Swiss-based UBS to Latin America's growing
asset-and-wealth-management market. 
further increased its holding in the London Stock Exchange, to
24.1%, putting other exchanges that may be contemplating a bid for the LSE on the back foot. Meanwhile, it emerged that French insurer
AXA has taken a 10.6% stake in NASDAQ,
purely for “investment purposes”. 
Warren Buffett
suggested he would make more overseas deals following Berkshire
Hathaway's first non-American acquisition. The investment group bought an 80%
stake, for $4 billion, in Iscar, an Israeli cutting-tools firm.
<a target="_blank"
target="_blank" name="the_domino_effect">The domino effect</div>
A bankruptcy judge began
hearing Delphi's arguments as to why it should be allowed to
cancel its labour contracts. Unions are threatening to strike if the auto-parts
supplier carries out the move as a step in a wide-ranging restructuring.
General Motors' chief executive, Rick Wagoner, reiterated that
the carmaker badly wanted to settle the dispute, because production would suffer
from a strike at Delphi. Meanwhile, GM said regulators had
allowed it to revise its accounting of a deal with unions on health care, which
reverses its first-quarter loss to a $445m net profit. Investors were happy,
boosting GM's share price by 9%. <a target="_blank"
United
Airlines'parent company posted a net profit of $23 billion for the first
quarter as it discharged liabilities from exiting bankruptcy, without which it
lost $306m.
Toyota
reported a record net profit of ¥1.37 trillion ($12.1 billion) for the year ending
March 31st. Japan's biggest carmaker has seen sales of its vehicles rise in every
region of the world (except Japan) and is steadily advancing in the North American
market, outstripping Chrysler in April. 
target="_blank" name="oranges_and_lemons">Oranges and lemons</div>
Corps, the Beatles' music company, said it would appeal a judge's ruling
to allow Apple Computer to continue displaying its multi-coloured
logo on its iTunes digital music site. Apple Corps, which depicts a green apple as
its logo, argued the computer-maker had breached a 1991 agreement that limited the
use of each other's symbols to music and computing respectively.
A court in Britain
granted GlaxoSmithKline an injunction against an animal-rights
group that intends to publish personal details of GSK
shareholders. The activists threatened the action in letters sent to investors
because the drug company uses Huntingdon Life Sciences, a
controversial animal-testing company. 
Two New England-based
firms specialising in laboratory services, Thermo Electron and
Fisher Scientific, agreed to merge in a $10.6 billion deal that
creates America's biggest supplier of research equipment. 
Just a few days after
launching a bid, Macquarie Bank withdrew from the hotly contested
takeover battle for Patrick, Australia's biggest cargo handler.
Toll Holdings, a land-transport and storage firm which launched a
hostile bid for Patrick last August, said it would not raise its A$6.2 billion
($4.8 billion) offer. 
OMV, an
Austrian oil firm, is to merge with Verbund, a utility, in a
combination worth euro29 billion ($37 billion). The move, in which
Austria's government will swap its 51% stake in Verbund for shares (it also
retains a large stake in OMV), comes soon after the
country's gas supply was disrupted by Gazprom's dispute with Ukraine. 
Lakshmi Mittal said he
could reduce his control of Mittal Steel and raise the offer for
Arcelor if the Luxembourg-based firm dropped its opposition to
Mittal's bid. The move is the latest shot in a long-running takeover battle.

Speculation grew over
the consolidation in Canada's mining industry, as Teck Cominco
made a C$17.8 billion ($16.1 billion) hostile bid for
Inco, which in turn said it remained committed to its much-
delayed takeover of Falconbridge. Others are expected to join the
fray. 
target="_blank" name="pedal_to_the_metal">Pedal to the metal</div>
size="-1">The price of gold continued its relentless ascent and
broke the barrier of $700 a troy ounce, less than a month after passing $600. A
contributing factor was the weak dollar, which led investors to diversify into
precious metals. 
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: TN Updates
DATE: 05/11/2006 03:17:38
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<div style="background-color:rgb(206, 206, 206); height:25px; "> <a
href="http://clients.ibnlive.com/election2006/statepage.php?state=Tamil%20Nadu">Vi
ew Vote Tally</a> | <a
href="http://clients.ibnlive.com/election2006/statealliances.php?state=Tamil%20Nad
u">View Alliances</a> | <a
href="http://clients.ibnlive.com/election2006/vote_share_full.php?state=Tamil%20Na
du">View Vote Share</a> | <a
href="http://clients.ibnlive.com/election2006/vote_change_full.php?state=Tamil%20N
adu">View Vote Change</a> 
 Total Leads : 234 | Total Results : 224 |
Total Seat: 234
</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr
style="background-color:rgb(204, 0, 0); ">
<td>Party Name
</td> <td>Leads
</td> <td>Results
</td> <td></td>
<td></td> </tr>
<tr><td>DMK
</td> <td valign="top"><table border="0"
cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td align="right">93</td>
<td align="right"> 
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td
valign="top"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody><tr>
<td align="right">91</td> <td
align="right"> 
</td> </tr>
</tbody></table></td>
<td align="center"><a href="vote_share.php?state=Tamil Nadu&aid=&allin=DMK"
style="text-decoration:underline; ">Vote Share</a></td>
<td><a
href="vote_change.php?state=Tamil Nadu&aid=&allin=DMK" style="text-
decoration:underline; ">Vote Change
</td> </tr> <tr style="background-color:rgb(231,
231, 231); "><td>ADMK
<tbody><tr>
</td> </tr>
<td align="center"><a href="vote_share.php?state=Tamil Nadu&aid=&allin=ADMK"
href="vote_change.php?state=Tamil Nadu&aid=&allin=ADMK" style="text-
</td> </tr> <tr><td>INC
<tbody><tr>
</td> </tr>
<td align="center"><a href="vote_share.php?state=Tamil Nadu&aid=&allin=INC"
href="vote_change.php?state=Tamil Nadu&aid=&allin=INC" style="text-
231, 231); "><td>PMK
<tbody><tr>
</td> </tr>
<td align="center"><a href="vote_share.php?state=Tamil Nadu&aid=&allin=PMK"
href="vote_change.php?state=Tamil Nadu&aid=&allin=PMK" style="text-
</td> </tr> <tr><td>CPM
<tbody><tr>
</td> </tr>
<td align="center"><a href="vote_share.php?state=Tamil Nadu&aid=&allin=CPM"
href="vote_change.php?state=Tamil Nadu&aid=&allin=CPM" style="text-
231, 231); "><td>CPI
<tbody><tr>
</td> </tr>
<td align="center"><a href="vote_share.php?state=Tamil Nadu&aid=&allin=CPI"
href="vote_change.php?state=Tamil Nadu&aid=&allin=CPI" style="text-
</td> </tr> <tr><td>MDMK
<tbody><tr>
</td> </tr>
<td align="center"><a href="vote_share.php?state=Tamil Nadu&aid=&allin=MDMK"
href="vote_change.php?state=Tamil Nadu&aid=&allin=MDMK" style="text-
231, 231); "><td>VCK
<tbody><tr>
</td> </tr>
<td align="center"><a href="vote_share.php?state=Tamil Nadu&aid=&allin=VCK"
href="vote_change.php?state=Tamil Nadu&aid=&allin=VCK" style="text-
</td> </tr> <tr><td>IND
<tbody><tr>
</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody> </table> 
 
From - <a
href="http://clients.ibnlive.com/election2006/statepage.php?state=Tamil%20Nadu">IB
N Live</a> 
</a></a></a></a></a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Israel-Palestine Conflict Background - Guardian
DATE: 05/10/2006 06:44:13
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Special report 
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/0,,377264,00.html">Israel and the Middle
East</a> 
World news guide <a
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldnewsguide/middleeast/page/0,,623021,00.html">
Israel</a> <a
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldnewsguide/middleeast/0,,618251,00.html">Middl
e East</a> 
Timeline <a
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/page/0,,1438150,00.html">A chronology of
events in the Middle East</a> 
Key speech 25.06.2002: <a
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,743503,00.html">Full text of
George Bush's speech on Palestinian statehood</a> 
The issue explained 04.06.2003: <a
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/theissues/article/0,,679445,00.html">Crisis in the
Middle East</a> 
Interactive guide <a
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/flash/0,,720353,00.html">How the Israelis and
Palestinians came to war</a> 
Weblog <a
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/weblog/special/0,10627,533512,00.html">The best
journalism on the conflict, from around the web</a> 
Government sites <a
href="http://www.knesset.gov.il/main/eng/engframe.htm">Israeli Knesset
(parliament)</a> <a href="http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/home.asp">Israeli ministry of
foreign affairs</a> <a href="http://www.gov.il/firstgov/english">Israeli
government site</a> <a href="http://www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng">Office of the Israeli
prime minister</a> <a href="http://www.minfo.gov.ps/">Palestinian Ministry of
Information</a> 
Media <a href="http://www.haaretzdaily.com/">Ha'aretz
(Israel)</a> <a
href="http://web.israelinsider.com/bin/en.jsp?enPage=HomePage&enDisplay=view&enDis
pWhat=Zone&">Israel Insider (Israel)</a> <a
href="http://www.jpost.com/">Jerusalem Post (Israel)</a> <a
href="http://www.maariv.co.il/">Maariv (Israel)</a> <a
href="http://www.amin.org/">Arabic Media Internet Network (Palestinian)</a> <a
href="http://www.palestinechronicle.com/">Palestine Chronicle (Palestinian)</a>
<a href="http://www.electronicintifada.net/">Electronic Intifada (Palestinian)</a>
<a href="http://www.bitterlemons.org/">Bitter Lemons (Israeli-Palestinian)</a>

-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Can the U.S. Replicate Brazil's Success with Ethanol?
DATE: 05/09/2006 12:37:30
STATUS: publish
BODY:
American viewers who saw <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12676374/">Dateline NBC</a> and <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/04/60minutes/main1588659.shtml">60
Minutes</a> reports on May 7 are now asking: If Brazil could ramp up its use of
ethanol and diminish its dependence on foreign oil, why can't we?
According to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.worldwatch.org/ct/20060509/pubs/sow/2006/toc/4/">State of the
World 2006</a>, ethanol represented only a small share of Brazil's market
until the 1970s, when the government made reducing oil import dependence a
national priority. As a result of a combination of tax breaks and fuel blending
mandates that drove investment in ethanol production and use, the industry made
rapid progress.
The Brazilian government also promoted the manufacture and sale of all-ethanol
cars and provided subsidies to increase sugar production and distillery
construction, while infrastructure was developed to distribute ethanol to
thousands of pumping stations around the country. As a result, by the mid-1980s,
ethanol-fueled vehicles accounted for 96 percent of total car sales.
But growth slowed dramatically in the 1980s and 90s as oil prices fell and
sugar prices rose, and by 1997, sales of ethanol vehicles came crashing down to
less than 1 percent of total vehicle sales. To address this problem, in 2003
Brazil began encouraging flexible fuel vehicles that can run on virtually any
mixture of gasoline and ethanol, changing the ethanol market overnight. In 2005,
flex-fuel vehicles accounted for more than half of new cars sold.
Since the 1970s, Brazil has saved almost $50 billion in imported oil costs—
nearly 10 times the national investment through subsidies—while creating more than
1 million rural jobs.
Brazil's experience shows how government leadership and smart policies can
reduce dependence on imported oil while boosting local economies. It's a success
story that a growing number of U.S. political and industry leaders are eager to
emulate.
<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr>
<td colspan="4" bgcolor="#999999"><div align="center">World's Top
Ethanol Producers, 2004</div></td> </tr>
<tr> <td align="left" bgcolor="#cccccc"
valign="bottom">Country </td> <td
align="center" bgcolor="#cccccc" valign="bottom">Amount (million
liters)</td> <td align="center" bgcolor="#cccccc"
valign="bottom">Share of World Production (percent)</td>
<td align="center" bgcolor="#cccccc" valign="bottom">Primary
Feedstocks</td> </tr> <tr>
<td>Brazil </td> <td>15,110</td>
<td>37</td> <td>Sugarcane</td>
</tr> <tr> <td>United States </td>
<td>13,390</td> <td>33</td>
<td>Corn</td> </tr> <tr>
<td>China </td> <td>3,650</td>
<td>9</td> <td>Corn, cassava, and other grains</td>
</tr> <tr> <td>India </td>
<td>1,750</td> <td>4</td>
<td>Sugarcane, cassava</td> </tr> <tr>
<td>France </td> <td>830</td>
<td>2</td> <td>Sugar beets, wheat</td>
</tr> <tr> <td
colspan="4">SOURCE: See <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.worldwatch.org/ct/20060509/pubs/sow/2006/">State of the World
2006</a>, Chapter 4, Endnote 13.</td> </tr>
</tbody> </table> 
<a target="_blank" name="2"></a> <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.worldwatch.org/ct/20060509/pubs/mag/2005/183/">Farming's
New Feudalism</a> -Robert Schubert Consolidation and
biotechnology shrink farmers' options. 
href="http://www.worldwatch.org/ct/20060509/pubs/mag/2005/183/">When Good
Corporations Go Bad</a> -Erik Assadourian The first of a
series on the evolving corporation. 
href="http://www.worldwatch.org/ct/20060509/pubs/mag/2005/183/">The Shape
of Forests to Come</a> -Karen Charman Edging toward commodi-
trees. 
href="http://www.worldwatch.org/ct/20060509/pubs/mag/2005/183/">Nam Theun
2</a> -David F. Hales Does this project make any dam sense?

 
<a target="_blank" name="3"></a> <h2>China Watch</h2>
� A joint initiative of the Worldwatch
Institute and Beijing-based Global Environmental Institute (GEI), <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.worldwatch.org/ct/20060509/features/chinawatch/">China Watch</a>
reports on energy, agriculture, population, water, health, and the environment in
China—with an emphasis on big-picture analysis relevant to policy makers, the
business community, and non-governmental organizations. 
 Recently in China
Watch 
 <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.worldwatch.org/ct/20060509/features/chinawatch/stories/20060509-
1/">China's Pharmaceutical Industry Lacks Innovation, Lags Behind</a><a
target="_blank"
1/"> - May 9 </a>
<a target="_blank"
1/"> </a><a target="_blank"
1/"> </a><a target="_blank"
1/">China's E-Waste Problem: Facing Up to the Challenge</a><a
target="_blank"
1/"> - May 4 </a>
<a target="_blank"
1/"> </a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 29th April - 5th May 2006
DATE: 05/04/2006 22:00:17
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 

<div>May 4th 2006 
From The Economist print edition</div> 
 
Zacarias
Moussaoui escaped a death sentence and was sent to jail for life for his
part in al-Qaeda's September 11th plot. He had told a court in Virginia that he
felt no remorse. On being led from the dock he shouted: “America, you lost.” <a
target="_blank"
More mass protests and
rallies in support of citizenship rights for illegal immigrants
took place across the United States. Demonstrations in Chicago and Los Angeles
attracted at least 400,000 in each city. However, some supporters worried whether
a concurrent “Day Without Immigrants”, a boycott of work and business by many
Latino workers, may have been counterproductive. <a target="_blank"
face="verdana,geneva,arial,sans serif" size="-1">The American army brought
indictments against Lieutenant-Colonel Steven Jordan for mistreating prisoners at
Iraq's Abu Ghraib jail. He is the highest-ranking officer to face
charges in the scandal. 
Ken Blackwell won the
Republican primary for governor of Ohio, becoming the first-ever
black candidate to run for the office. The state party has had a bad run recently
(the current governor became embroiled in a lobbying scandal) and will have a
tough time defending the seat in November.
California's race for governor, Phil Angelides, the state
treasurer, won the formal endorsement of the Democratic Party, despite the lead in
the polls of his main opponent, Steve Westly, ahead of the primary election on
June 6th. Either man will face the Republican incumbent, Arnold Schwarzenegger, in
November's election.
 
name="jobs_disapproval">Jobs disapproval</div> France's prime
minister, Dominique de Villepin, insisted that he would not resign
because of the Clearstream scandal, a murky affair involving bribes, spies and his
centre-right rival, Nicolas Sarkozy. Yet Mr de Villepin's ratings continue to
slump, threatening Edith Cresson's title as the fifth republic's least popular
prime minister. <a target="_blank"
Silvio Berlusconi
stepped down as Italy's prime minister, three weeks after losing
the election. He decided to quit after votes for speakers of the two parliamentary
chambers were won by his centre-left opponent, Romano Prodi. But he promised to
offer Mr Prodi aggressive opposition. <a target="_blank"
The European Union
called off talks with Serbia, which is hoping to become a
candidate for entry, after the Serbian government missed a deadline of April 30th
to hand over Ratko Mladic, an indicted Bosnian Serb general, to a war-crimes
tribunal in The Hague. Serbia's deputy prime minister and chief EU
negotiator, Miroljub Labus, resigned. <a target="_blank"
Four European Union
countries, Finland, Greece, Portugal and Spain, decided to lift restrictions on
the movement of labour from new EU members in
central Europe. They will join Britain, Ireland and Sweden. But
France, Germany and Italy have all decided to prolong their
restrictions.
 
name="energy_of_the_state">Energy of the state</div> <table
Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2">AP</td> </tr> </tbody></table></td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="bottom"><img alt="AP"
</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Bolivia's recently elected socialist president, Evo
Morales, led troops into a Brazilian-run gasfield and unveiled a decree
nationalising his country's oil and gas industry. Earlier, in Havana, he had
signed up to the “Bolivarian Alternative”, a political alliance involving Cuba and
Venezuela. <a target="_blank"
In a sudden about-turn,
Mexico's president, Vicente Fox, refused to promulgate a bill
that would have legalised the possession of small quantities of drugs, both hard
and soft. His spokesman had earlier praised the measure, which was criticised by
American officials. <a target="_blank"
Official results of
Peru's presidential election confirmed that a run-off ballot in
June will involve Ollanta Humala, a nationalist former army officer (who won 30.6%
of the vote), and Alan García, a populist former president (24.3%).
The deputy leader of
Honduras's governing Liberal party was shot dead at his home in
what police believed was an attack by a drug gang. He was the first legislator to
be killed in the country since democracy was restored in 1982. 
In its first budget
since winning an election in January, Canada's Conservative
minority government unveiled 29 tax breaks together with measures to reduce the
public debt. Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar edged over 90 American cents, its
highest level for 28 years. <a target="_blank"
 
name="no_peace">No peace</div> In two co-ordinated and grisly
attacks, suspected Islamic militants killed 35 Hindus in the mainly-Muslim Indian
state of Jammu & Kashmir. Talks between Kashmiri separatists and
the Indian prime minister made little progress. <a target="_blank"
Pramod
Mahajan, an up-and-coming senior official of India's main opposition
party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, died, 11 days after being shot by his own
brother. <a target="_blank"
Nepal's
government declared a ceasefire with rebel Maoists and said it would drop
terrorism charges (the rebels had earlier offered a three-month ceasefire). A new
government is now in place; but the Nepalese king's future is uncertain.

 
name="terror_stalks_the_streets">Terror stalks the streets</div>
Murder, and the
discovery of murder, continued in Iraq. Separate suicide-bomb
attacks killed 15 people in Falluja, and nine outside a courthouse in Baghdad.
Meanwhile, scores of corpses, which had been shot and handcuffed, were unearthed
in the capital.
Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2">AFP</td> </tr> </tbody></table></td> </tr>
<tr> <td valign="bottom"><img alt="AFP"
</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister, announced a
government dominated by his Kadima party. Tzipi Livni will be his deputy as well
as foreign minister. Amir Peretz, the Labour leader, will be defence minister. The
coalition consists of Kadima (29 seats), Labour (19), Shas (12) and the
Pensioners' party (7). 
American and European
diplomats tabled a draft resolution for the UN Security
Council calling on Iran to end uranium enrichment and threatening
future measures to enforce compliance. Russia and China have so far opposed
sanctions. <a target="_blank"
Presidential elections
took place in Chad as planned on May 3rd, despite calls from
opposition parties for a boycott and a rebel attack on the capital last month that
came close to toppling the incumbent, Idriss Déby.
Negotiators from the
Sudanese government and rebel groups missed several deadlines in their attempts to
clinch a peace deal to end the conflict in Darfur. Officials from
America and Britain joined the talks in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, to put
pressure on both sides to make the necessary concessions. <a target="_blank"
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 29th April - 5th May 2006
DATE: 05/04/2006 21:59:17
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 

<div>May 4th 2006 
From The Economist print edition</div> 
 
Austria's government and
leading financial institutions agreed to a euro1.35 billion ($1.7
billion) rescue package for BAWAG, which is owned by trade unions
and is one of Austria's biggest banks. The bail-out settles claims by creditors
for Refco, which sued BAWAG alleging
involvement in the broker's spectacular bankruptcy. BAWAG's
dented reputation has seen customers rushing to withdraw deposits. <a
target="_blank"
Bank of America
agreed to swap its BankBoston operations in Brazil (which it acquired
when it bought Fleet Bank in 2004) for a 5.8% stake in Banco
Itau, the country's second-biggest private bank. BOA's move is preparation for a buoyant market for bank loans in
Brazil on the back of falling interest-rates. 
has increased its holding in the London Stock Exchange to 18.7%
from the 15% stake it bought two weeks after its bid was rebuffed by the LSE's board in late March. 
target="_blank" name="high-tech_stakes">High-tech stakes</div>
size="-1">Microsoft's share price fell by 11%, its biggest daily
fall for five years, after the software giant said it would increase investment in
its internet-services unit in an effort to fend off growing competition from
Google. Microsoft's market value plunged by $32 billion.
Meanwhile, Google complained that Microsoft's new browser for the web favours its
own search service over those of its rivals. <a target="_blank"
In a deal that shows the
rapid development of Africa's mobile-phone market, South Africa's
MTN agreed to buy Investcom (which is based in
Dubai) for $5.5 billion. MTN will now rival Egypt's Orascom
Telecom as the biggest mobile operator in Africa and the Middle East.
Research In
Motion, which narrowly averted the shutdown of its
BlackBerry e-mail service two months ago, now faces another
lawsuit, this time from Visto, a firm that specialises in technology for mobile e-
mailing. Visto, in which RIM's previous sparring partner
NTP acquired an equity stake last December, claims that
RIM infringed four of its patents. 
EMI
confirmed it had made a $4.2 billion takeover approach to Warner
Music, which was promptly rejected. The two rivals have previously
explored ways of joining up to compete with Universal Music and Sony BMG, the world's biggest music companies. 
target="_blank" name="no_direction_home">No direction home</div>
Sirius,
a subscription-only satellite radio network, said its first-quarter loss had more
than doubled from a year ago, to $458.5m. A large chunk of the loss was related to
stock-compensation expenses for Howard Stern, America's most popular radio host,
who was nabbed from CBS Radio. Both Sirius and XM, America's biggest pay-radio network, are locked in fierce
competition for subscribers��one reason why Bob Dylan this week made his debut as
a DJ on XM.
Shortly after agreeing
to a euro25 billion ($31 billion) merger with Spain's Abertis,
Autostrade, an Italian toll-road company, removed Vito Gamberale
as its chief executive over disagreements about the deal. Some politicians in
Italy have voiced opposition to the merger, citing the importance of Autostrade's
road network to the country's infrastructure. 
size="-1">Volkswagen's supervisory board agreed to extend the
contract of Bernd Pischetsrieder as chief executive for another five years. His
future came into question after the German carmarker's chairman, Ferdinand Pi��ch,
claimed he had lost the support of union members (who make up half the board). Mr
Pi��ch in turn faced sharp criticism from investors at VW's
annual meeting this week for hindering a restructuring plan that is expected to
cost thousands of jobs. 
size="-1">EasyJet's pre-tax loss for the six months ending March
31st almost doubled, to ��40m ($70m), compared with a year ago. The biggest factor
was the cost of fuel, which increased by 68%. However, the budget carrier, which
normally posts a loss for the October-March season, predicted a summery outlook
for the rest of its year and said annual profits should increase by up to 15%.

America's markets
responded skittishly to comments by Ben Bernanke, rallying after
the chairman of the Federal Reserve signalled that the policy of raising interest
rates was over and falling in response to a later report that he thought his
comments had been misunderstood. Pundits made inevitable comparisons with Mr
Bernanke's predecessor, Alan Greenspan, who made a point of never being
understood. <a target="_blank"
target="_blank" name="fully_rested">Fully rested</div> America's GDP
grew at an annualised rate of 4.8% in the first quarter, the fastest rate of
growth for more than two years. But, with the price of oil trading steadily over
$70, some economists expressed concern that consumers might rein in their spending
in response to higher petrol prices. 
<table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="4"> <tbody><tr> <td
width="199" alt="Image" /></td></tr></tbody> </table> </a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Ajax Explained
DATE: 05/04/2006 21:54:42
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"> <tbody> <tr>
<td align="center" valign="top"> </td> <td valign="top">
 A new buzzword is making waves in the Web development
world - Ajax. In this issue we go beyond the hype and give you resources to get
you started with Ajax development. 
<ul><li><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/pub/articles/schalk-
ajax.html?msgid=4782823">A Hype-Free Introduction to Ajax</a></li><li><a
target="_blank" href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/pub/articles/nimphius-
ajax.html?msgid=4782823"> "Hello Ajax"! How to do the
Ajax thing with Oracle JDeveloper</a></li><li><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/jdev/tips/mills/AjaxAutoSuggest/Aj
axAutoSuggest.html?msgid=4782823">Ajax Transactions Using ADF and JavaServer
Faces</a></li><li><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.ftponline.com/javapro/2006_01/magazine/features/cschalk/">
The Ajax Approach to Richer Interfaces</a></li><li><a target="_blank"
href="http://java.sys-con.com/read/152299.htm"> JSF and
Ajax - Four-part Series:</a> <a target="_blank" href="http://java.sys-
con.com/read/152299.htm">1</a> <a target="_blank" href="http://java.sys-
con.com/read/171490.htm">2</a> <a target="_blank" href="http://ajax.sys-
con.com/read/192418.htm">3</a> <a target="_blank" href="http://ajax.sys-
con.com/read/204707.htm">4</a> </li><li>
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/java/ajax.html?msgid=4782823">
The OTN Ajax Resources Page </a>
</li></ul></td></tr></tbody> </table> 
<table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"> <tbody><tr><td height="2"
valign="top"><img src="http://oracleimg.com/admin/images/otn/r_arrow.gif"
alt="Image" height="10" width="10" alt="Image" /></td> <td
colspan="2">New Technical
Resources This Month</td> </tr> <tr> <td
align="center" valign="top">â€¢</td> <td valign="top"><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/jdev/tips/mills/MasterDetailSync/M
aster_Detail_Synchronization_in_ADF_Faces.html?msgid=4782823">Automatic Master
Detail Synchronization with ADF Faces</a></td> </tr> <tr>
<td align="center" valign="top">â€¢</td> <td valign="top"><a
target="_blank" href="http://www.oracle.com/technology/oramag/oracle/06-
may/o36frame.html?msgid=4782823"> Tuning Your View Objects
</a></td> </tr> <tr>
target="_blank" href="http://ajax.sys-con.com/read/204707.htm">
JSF and Ajax for Google Fans </a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
colspan="2"> </td></tr></tbody> </table> <table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1">
<tbody><tr><td height="2" valign="top"><img
src="http://oracleimg.com/admin/images/otn/r_arrow.gif" alt="Image" height="10"
width="10" alt="Image" /></td> <td colspan="2"
height="19">From the
Oracle Blog Community</td> </tr>
<tr> <td align="center" valign="top">â€¢</td>
href="http://www.jroller.com/page/raghukodali?entry=developing_and_testing_rest_we
b"> Developing and Testing REST Web Services in Oracle
Application Server </a></td> </tr> <tr>
<td align="center" valign="top">â€¢</td> <td valign="top">
<a target="_blank" href="http://blogs.oracle.com/shay/2006/03/29#a104">
Is Your JDeveloper Slow? - It Shouldn't Be! </a>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td
align="center" valign="top">â€¢</td> <td valign="top"><a
target="_blank" href="http://www.orablogs.com/fnimphius/archives/001721.html">
ADf Faces: How to Detect if Your Page is a dialog</a></td>
valign="top">â€¢</td> <td valign="top"><a target="_blank"
href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0118231/2006/04/03.html#a685">
Cascading Lists in JSF</a></td> </tr> <tr>
target="_blank"
href="http://blog.robsite.org/adfblogger/blog/roblog/adding_a_detailstamp"> Adding
a detailStamp to the ADF table</a></td> </tr>
<tr> <td align="center" valign="top">â€¢</td>
href="http://radio.weblogs.com/0135826/2006/04/06.html#a198">
Resolve Resource Names with JNDI when using javax.annotation.Resource</a></td>
valign="top">â€¢</td> <td
href="http://www.groundside.com/blog/content/DuncanMills/J2EE+Development/2006/04/
13/Quick-and-Dirty-HashMap-output-in-JSF.html"> Quick
and Dirty HashMap output in JSF</a></td> </tr>
<tr> <td align="center" valign="top">â€¢</td> <td valign="top"><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.it-eye.nl/weblog/2006/04/25/creating-a-jsf-div-component/">
Creating a JSF div component</a></td> </tr>
<tr> <td align="center" valign="top">â€¢</td> <td valign="top"><a target="_blank"
href="http://stegemanoracle.blogspot.com/2006/04/selectmanyshuttle-part-one.html">
ADF Faces selectManyShuttle Part One: The Database</a></td>
</tr> <tr> <td
colspan="2"> </td></tr></tbody> </table>
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: arun babu
DATE: 05/04/2006 22:56:33
Ohh nice links ... lemme check those.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE: 05/07/2006 09:45:33
Ajax - First time I am reading about this. Thanx Bala. I'll post my queries to
you, if there is any doubt.
-----
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 05/07/2006 12:12:11
Sure folks... Thank you!
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: FOREIGN POLICY’s May/June 2006 Issue
DATE: 05/02/2006 05:43:28
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7149.php"></a>
<div class="subtitle2level"><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7150.php"> THE 2006 FAILED STATES
INDEX</a> </div> Sudan, which wreaks havoc on its own citizens, is the country
in greatest danger of collapse. And Iraq—America’s greatest foreign investment in
decades—isn’t far behind. In the second annual Failed States Index,
FOREIGN POLICY and the Fund for Peace rank more than 60
countries—and tell you which ones are on the brink of collapse. Find out who has
improved (Bosnia and Herzegovina), which ones may be spiraling out of control
(Zimbabwe), and whether voting makes things better or worse (sometimes).
 
 
<div class="subtitle2level"> <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7151.php"> THE FIRST LAW OF
PETROPOLITICS</a>� </div> By Thomas L.
Friedman 
Iran’s president denies the Holocaust, Hugo Chávez tells Western leaders to go to
hell, and Vladimir Putin is cracking the whip. Why? They know that the price of
oil and the pace of freedom always move in opposite directions. It’s the First
Law of Petropolitics, and it may be the axiom to explain our age. 
 
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7152.php"> CUT AND RUN? YOU
BET.</a> </div> By Lt. Gen. William E.
Odom (Ret.) 
Why the arguments for staying in Iraq don’t add up. 
 
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7155.php"> IRAN’S OIL
SHIELD</a>� </div> By Christopher
Dickey 
Iran is commanding the world’s attention as the ayatollahs accelerate their race
for the bomb. But the timetable for talks—or a nuclear crisis—is not being shaped
by centrifuges, uranium, or reactors. It’s about the security that only oil can
provide. Plus: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7193.php"> Sizing up Iran’s
military</a> 
 
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7156.php"> AMERICA’S
ISOLATIONIST EDUCATION</a>� </div> By
Douglas McGray 
Speak two language and you’re bilingual. Speak one? You must be American. So goes
the old joke. But globalization means that students can no longer remain
blissfully unaware. Can Americans open the classroom door, or will today’s youth
be unprepared to lead tomorrow’s world? 
 
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7159.php"> REVERSAL OF
FORTUNE</a>� </div> By Anirudh
Krishna 
Don’t just lift people out of poverty. Stop them from falling into it. 
 
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7160.php"> TALE OF TWO
CHINAS</a>�</div> In “The Dark Side of China’s Rise” (March/April
2006), Minxin Pei described a country crippled by leaders who care more about
riches than reform. That portrayal ruffled the feathers of those who believe
China is the world’s next superpower. Which is it? A handful of prominent
scholars look at whether China is rising or falling. 
 
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7161.php"> THE FP MEMO: HOW
TO BE A CELEBRITY ACTIVIST</a>� </div> By
Rob Long 
The movie industry’s top stars are tackling the world’s problems. But do they
know their lines? Here’s how they can make a difference—without making fools of
themselves. 
 
<div class="bigtitle">In Other Words</div> <blockquote> <div
class="subtitle2level"><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7166.php"> THE “OTHER SIDE” OF
THE RWANDA STORY</a> 
 </div> <div
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7165.php"> KOREA-BASHING CARTOONS
IN JAPAN</a> 
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7167.php"> WHAT THEY’RE READING
IN ITALY</a> 
 </div>
</blockquote> 
<div class="bigtitle">Global Newsstand</div> <blockquote> <div
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7169.php"> DOES BRITAIN HAVE A
NATIONAL IDENTITY ANYMORE?</a> 
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7168.php"> REPORTING ON BURMESE
TYRANNY</a> 
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7170.php"> BEING GAY IN CHINA</a>
 
 </div>
</blockquote> 
<div class="bigtitle">Net Effect</div> <blockquote> 
<ul><li> <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7173.php">Iraq’s bombers’ bazaar
</a> </li><li> <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7174.php">FBI agents without e-mail
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7172.php">Sharing wireless Internet
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7171.php">Sending money, for cheap
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7175.php">Committee to Protect
Bloggers founder Curt Hopkins picks his best of the Web </a>
</li></ul> </blockquote> 
<div class="bigtitle">Missing Links</div> <div class="subtitle2level"><a
target="_blank" href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7176.php">MISSING
LINKS: OUR INEQUALITY ANXIETY</a> 
 </div> By Moisés Naím 
Economic disparities have not changed. Our tolerance for them has. 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: The Final List
DATE: 04/28/2006 10:46:56
STATUS: publish
BODY:
valign="bottom">Newsweekly</td> <td align="left"
valign="bottom">Web site</td> <td align="left"
valign="bottom">Location</td> <td align="right"
valign="bottom">Circulation</td> </tr>
<tr bgcolor="#eeeeee" valign="top"> <td align="left" valign="top">
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A4613">Portland Phoenix
</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Redirector?oid=oid%3A4613">Web site</a> <a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Redirector?oid=oid%3A4613" target="_blank"
title="Click here to open link in new window."><img
src="http://www.aan.org/images/newwindow.gif" alt="Image" border="0" height="11"
width="11" alt="Image" /></a> </td> <td align="left"
valign="top"> Portland, ME </td> <td
align="right" valign="top"> 42,523 </td>
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#ffffff" valign="top"> <td align="left" valign="top">
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A74">Providence Phoenix
valign="top"> Providence, RI </td>
<td align="right" valign="top"> 66,000 
</td> </tr>
<a href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A71">PW-
Philadelphia Weekly</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Philadelphia, PA </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A75">Random Lengths New
s</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> San Pedro, CA </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A106">Reader, The</a>
</td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Omaha, NE </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A76">Reno News & Review
valign="top"> Reno, NV </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A77">Riverfront Times</
a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> St. Louis, MO </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A78">Sacramento News &
Review</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Sacramento, CA </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A102">Salt Lake City We
ekly</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Salt Lake City, UT </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A79">San Antonio Curren
t</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> San Antonio, TX </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A115250">San Diego City
Beat</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> San Diego, CA </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A80">San Diego Reader</
a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top">
<a href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Redirector?oid=oid%3A80">Web
site</a> <a href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Redirector?oid=oid%3A80"
target="_blank" title="Click here to open link in new window."><img
valign="top"> San Diego, CA </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A81">San Francisco Bay
Guardian</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> San Francisco, CA </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A82">San Luis Obispo Ne
w Times</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> San Luis Obispo, CA </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A83">Santa Barbara Inde
pendent</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Santa Barbara, CA </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A84">Santa Fe Reporter<
/a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Santa Fe, NM </td> <td
</tr>
<a href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A112">Scene</a>
valign="top"> Cleveland, OH </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A85">Seattle Weekly</a>
valign="top"> Seattle, WA </td> <td
</tr>
<a href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A109">Seven Days</a>
valign="top"> Burlington, VT </td>
</td> </tr>
<a href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A36">SF Weekly</a>
valign="top"> San Francisco, CA </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A86">Shepherd Express</
valign="top"> Milwaukee, WI </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A8248">Source Weekly, T
he</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Bend, OR </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A88">Stranger, The</a>
valign="top"> Seattle, WA </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A8242">Style Weekly</a>
valign="top"> Richmond, VA </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A89">Syracuse New Times
valign="top"> Syracuse, NY </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A90">Texas Observer, Th
e</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Austin, TX </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A92">Tucson Weekly</a>
valign="top"> Tucson, AZ </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A93">Valley Advocate</a
> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Easthampton, MA </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A121">Ventura County Re
porter</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Ventura, CA </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A94">Village Voice, The
valign="top"> New York, NY </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A95">Washington City Pa
per</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Washington, DC </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A103">Wausau City Pages
valign="top"> Wausau, WI </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A96">Weekly Alibi</a>
valign="top"> Albuquerque, NM </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A4628">Weekly Planet Sa
rasota</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Sarasota, FL </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A97">Weekly Planet Tamp
a</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Tampa,
FL </td> <td align="right" valign="top"> 
93,781 </td> </tr>
<a href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A98">Westword</a>
valign="top"> Denver, CO </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A99">Willamette Week</a
valign="top"> Portland, OR </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A100">Worcester Magazin
e</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Worcester, MA </td>
<td align="right" valign="top"> 40,000</td></tr></tbody>
</table>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: More Listing of Alternate American Media
DATE: 04/28/2006 10:46:29
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A39">Illinois Times</a>
valign="top"> Springfield, IL </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A41">Independent Weekly
valign="top"> Durham, NC </td> <td
</tr>
<a href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A42">Isthmus</a>
valign="top"> Madison, WI </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A43">Ithaca Times</a>
valign="top"> Ithaca, NY </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A117608">Jackson Free P
ress</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Jackson, MS </td> <td
</tr>
<a href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A44">L.A. Weekly</a>
valign="top"> Los Angeles, CA </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A130862">LA Alternative
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A8408">Las Vegas Weekly
valign="top"> Henderson, NV </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A115578">Long Island Pr
ess</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Garden City, NY </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A135572">Los Angeles Ci
tyBeat</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A45">Louisville Eccentr
ic Observer</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Louisville, KY </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A8413">Maui Time Weekly
</a> </td> <td align="left"
valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Wailuku, HI </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A46">Memphis Flyer</a>
valign="top"> Memphis, TN </td> <td
</tr>
<a href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A48">Metro Pulse</a>
valign="top"> Knoxville, TN </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A49">Metro Santa Cruz</
valign="top"> Santa Cruz, CA </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A47">Metro Silicon Vall
ey</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> San Jose, CA </td> <td
</tr>
<a href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A50">Metro Times</a>
valign="top"> Detroit, MI </td> <td
</tr>
<a href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A51">Metroland</a>
valign="top"> Albany, NY </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A52">Miami New Times</a
valign="top"> Miami, FL </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A53">Missoula Independe
nt</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Missoula, MT </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A54">Monday Magazine</a
valign="top"> Victoria, BC </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A16">Monterey County We
ekly</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Seaside, CA </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A55">Montreal Mirror</a
valign="top"> Montreal, QC </td> <td
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#ffffff" valign="top">
<td align="left" valign="top"> <a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A56">Mountain Xpress</a
valign="top"> Asheville, NC </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A57">Nashville Scene</a
valign="top"> Nashville, TN </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A58">New Haven Advocate
valign="top"> New Haven, CT </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A113">New Times Broward
-Palm Beach</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Ft Lauderdale, FL </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A60">New York Press</a>
valign="top"> New York, NY </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A87">North Bay Bohemian
valign="top"> Santa Rosa, CA </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A61">NOW Magazine</a>
valign="top"> Toronto, ON </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A62">NUVO Newsweekly</a
valign="top"> Indianapolis, IN </td>
</td> </tr>
<a href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A63">OC Weekly</a>
valign="top"> Santa Ana, CA </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A64">Oklahoma Gazette</
valign="top"> Oklahoma City, OK </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A65">Orlando Weekly</a>
valign="top"> Orlando, FL </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A116">Other Paper, The<
valign="top"> Columbus, OH </td> <td
align="right"
valign="top"> 52,596 </td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A67">Pacific Northwest
Inlander</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Spokane, WA </td> <td
</tr>
<a href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A68">Pacific Sun</a>
valign="top"> San Rafael, CA </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A69">Palo Alto Weekly</
valign="top"> Palo Alto, CA </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A4629">Pasadena Weekly<
valign="top"> Pasadena, CA </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A70">Philadelphia City
Paper</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Philadelphia, PA </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A72">Phoenix New Times<
valign="top"> Phoenix, AZ </td> <td
</tr>
<a href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A73">Pitch, The</a>
valign="top"> Kansas City, MO </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A104">Pittsburgh City P
aper</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Pittsburgh, PA </td>
<td align="right" valign="top"> 73,365</td></tr></tbody>
</table>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Alternate News & Weekly Listings
DATE: 04/28/2006 10:44:56
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<a href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A105">Ace Weekly</a>
valign="top"> Lexington, KY </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A38">Arkansas Times</a>
valign="top"> Little Rock, AR </td>
</td> </tr>
<a href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A114">Artvoice</a>
valign="top"> Buffalo, NY </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A4">Athens NEWS, The</a
valign="top"> Athens, OH </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A5">Austin Chronicle</a
valign="top"> Austin, TX </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A6">Baltimore City Pape
r</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Baltimore, MD </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A110">Birmingham Weekly
valign="top"> Birmingham, AL </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A117">Black & White</a>
valign="top"> Birmingham, AL </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A37">Boise Weekly</a>
valign="top"> Boise, ID </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A2">Boston Phoenix</a>
valign="top"> Boston, MA </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A8428">Boston's Weekly
Dig</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Boston, MA </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A3">Boulder Weekly</a>
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Redirector?oid=oid%3A3">Web
site</a> <a href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Redirector?oid=oid%3A3"
target="_blank" title="Click here to open link in new window."><img
valign="top"> Boulder, CO </td> <td
</tr>
<a href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A91">C-
Ville Weekly</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Charlottesville, VA </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A119">Charleston City P
aper</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Charleston, SC </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A8">Chicago Newcity</a>
valign="top"> Chicago, IL </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A9">Chicago Reader</a>
valign="top"> Chicago, IL </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A10">Chico News & Revie
w</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Chico, CA </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A11">Cincinnati CityBea
t</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Cincinnati, OH </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A12">City Newspaper</a>
valign="top"> Rochester, NY </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A13">City Pages (Twin C
ities)</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Minneapolis, MN </td>
</td> </tr>
<a href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A14">Cityview</a>
valign="top"> Des Moines, IA </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A15">Cleveland Free Tim
es</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Cleveland, OH </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A117609">Coast, The</a>
valign="top"> Halifax, NS </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A17">Colorado Springs I
ndependent</a>
valign="top"> Colorado Springs, CO </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A1854">Columbia Free Ti
mes</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Columbia, SC </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A18">Columbus Alive</a>
valign="top"> Columbus, OH </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A19">Creative Loafing (
Atlanta)</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Atlanta, GA </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A20">Creative Loafing (
Charlotte)</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Charlotte, NC </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A21">Dallas Observer</a
valign="top"> Dallas, TX </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A22">Dayton City Paper<
valign="top"> Dayton, OH </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A23">East Bay Express</
valign="top"> Emeryville, CA </td>
</td> </tr>
<a href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A24">Easy Reader</a>
valign="top"> Hermosa Beach, CA </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A25">Eugene Weekly</a>
valign="top"> Eugene, OR </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A26">Fairfield County W
eekly</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Bridgeport, CT </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A27">Flagpole Magazine<
valign="top"> Athens, GA </td> <td
</tr>
<tr bgcolor="#ffffff"
valign="top"> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A28">Folio Weekly</a>
valign="top"> Jacksonville, FL </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A101">Fort Worth Weekly
valign="top"> Fort Worth, TX </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A29">Gambit Weekly</a>
valign="top"> Metairie, LA </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A4626">Georgia Straight
, The</a> </td> <td align="left" valign="top"> <a
valign="top"> Vancouver, BC </td>
</td> </tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A30">Hartford Advocate<
valign="top"> Hartford, CT </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A31">Honolulu Weekly</a
valign="top"> Honolulu, HI </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A32">Hour Magazine</a>
valign="top"> Montreal, QC </td> <td
</tr>
<a
href="http://www.aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A33">Houston Press</a>
valign="top"> Houston, TX </td> <td
align="right" valign="top"> 99,552</td></tr></tbody>
</table>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Top stories for the week of April 24 - April 28, 2006
DATE: 04/28/2006 06:56:08
STATUS: publish
BODY:
End of an era. Scott McNealy resigned from Sun after 22 years. <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,k6dk,6tko,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Channel 9</a> assumes this means <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,ace2,5yg0,kpqm,g1qy">Sun
employees can finally dump Star Office for Microsoft Office</a>. Sun’s stock <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,8gsu,9oi0,kpqm,g1qy">jum
ped 9 percent</a> after hours. McNealy’s unconventional successor Jonathan
Schwartz wears a ponytail, but we'll see how long Mr. Conventionally
Unconventional lasts <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,bo91,4ais,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" "
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/632ed2689db8ac799526f34b5e06e098.jpg"
border="0" height="145" width="125" alt="Image" /></a>when he has to give what the
Sun board wants: some <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,714d,fdzf,kpqm,g1qy">goo
d old-fashioned lay-offs</a>, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,ckte,ajmn,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Valleywag</a>. Never mind that, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,5osj,dtw8,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Fast Company</a>: Sun’s powers-that-be <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,xs3,ftm0,kpqm,g1qy">coul
dn’t have picked a better successor</a>. Still, Schwartz better brush up on his <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,4b7,6sl8,kpqm,g1qy">anti
-Microsoft gags</a> right quick: He’s now the biggest-time American <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,cz9c,632g,kpqm,g1qy">exe
cutive with a blog</a>, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,l65f,ah9h,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Know It All</a>. (See <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,bo91,4ais,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Schwartz’s Weblog</a>—and his “How I Met Scott” entry—<a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,cy23,lxdn,kpqm,g1qy">her
e</a>.) 

In Web 2.0 news, eBay’s buyer-seller feedback rating is the core of its trust
system, and it’s so useful that <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,kooc,jgvc,kpqm,g1qy">Rap
leaf is creating an eBay-style system</a> to let users provide others with
feedback on anyone else. EBay also previewed its new <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,3saa,gkuv,kpqm,g1qy">Exp
ress set-price site</a>, which puts it on a collision course with Web retailers
like Amazon.com—at the same time that it <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,59y9,7t1l,kpqm,g1qy">app
roached Yahoo and Microsoft about teaming up to fight Google</a> (via <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,h5jl,3o64,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>WSJ</a>). 
 
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,kooc,jgvc,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/rapleaflogo.gif" border="0"
height="47" width="175" alt="Image" /></a><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Tech Crunch</a> covers this week’s beta launch of <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,kxkn,hd8n,kpqm,g1qy">Yah
oo Go, a Microsoft Media and Tivo competitor</a>. Best of all, says <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,11sx,lci5,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Engadget</a>, it's <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,hm8a,4oo0,kpqm,g1qy">fre
e</a>. Took just eight days for Yahoo to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,9atl,apd0,kpqm,g1qy">qui
etly re-brand Meedio</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,79zy,flds,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Om Malik</a>. And Skype may be <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,koad,hck6,kpqm,g1qy">gea
ring up to compete with iTunes</a>; the VoIP giant inked a deal with EMI Music
Publishing for worldwide rights to its artists’<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,kjb2,klw8,kpqm,g1qy"></a
> songs (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,c96f,9lsb,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gizmodo</a>). 
Meanwhile, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,b15h,5xnf,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Teleread</a> hopes massively parallel proofreading is the next Web
2.0 thing: Over 38,000 people have signed up to help proofread online and turn
public-domain classics into <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,94o7,m3xa,kpqm,g1qy">Pro
ject Gutenberg e-books</a>. Facebook, which is rumored to be making $1 million per
week in revenue, is now <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,kjb2,klw8,kpqm,g1qy">all
owing users from corporate networks to joing their social network</a>. And the<a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,hzjf,mcf9,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g title="Snow" alt="Snow"
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/snowjob-tm.jpg" border="0"
height="163" width="239" alt="Image" /></a> BBC is catching Web 2.0 fever,
announcing bbc.co.uk 2.0, which will be an attempt to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,di9c,i63e,kpqm,g1qy">tur
n BBC online into a Web 2.0 poster child</a> complete with a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,clhh,5tgi,kpqm,g1qy">pub
lic service version of MySpace.com</a> . 
 
In politics, Fox News analyst and good-looking Tony Snow has replaced dumpy Scott
McClellan.<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,6dv0,dizf,kpqm,g1qy">
Just window dressing</a>, snorts <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,108l,8qxy,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Daily Dish</a>, but <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,ezmv,2c7q,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Wizbang</a> writes that at least Snow has the backbone to <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,dfzu,3z0w,kpqm,g1qy">fac
e off with Helen Thomas</a>. Snow has the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,a0j6,445u,kpqm,g1qy">big
gest ****ing head this side of Brit Hume</a>, writes The <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,ne4,ltn1,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>Poor Man Institute</a> , and he’s also in a rock band; <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,f1tq,39m,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>Wonkette</a> brings you <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,4hkq,lm0a,kpqm,g1qy">his
rendition of the Spongebob Squarepants song</a>. How’d he get hired after saying
“<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,ewwo,6pdf,kpqm,g1qy">Geo
rge Bush is something of an embarrassment</a>?” asks <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,ixt5,f04h,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Think Progress</a>. 

href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,edmr,4ipv,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g title="Brangelina" alt="Brangelina"
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/1103140_baafr1.jpg" border="0"
height="198" width="211" alt="Image" /></a>There’s real, non-spokesman news out
there too: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,h7yw,57zd,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Global Guerrillas</a> thinks war—or at least a bombing campaign—
against Iran is <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,124f,iskg,kpqm,g1qy">now
avoidable</a>, and Tony Snow’s former Fox colleagues report that Karl Rove has
been tapped for a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,go22,bepk,kpqm,g1qy">fif
th grand jury appearance</a> in Plamegate. But back to Fox, where everyone is
distracted, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,a0jx,e7f1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Huffington Post</a>: With Tony Snow as the new spokesman, will it be
long before Fox business analyst <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,2uwq,m5ez,kpqm,g1qy">Nei
l Cavuto replaces Treasury Secretary John Snow? </a><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,ewp4,9mf9,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/cruise-on-car.jpg"
border="0" height="120" width="161" alt="Image" /></a><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,2uwq,m5ez,kpqm,g1qy"> 
</a> 
In entertainment news, Brangelina are reportedly set to have a boy and have <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,edmr,4ipv,kpqm,g1qy">dec
ided to name him, that's right, Africa</a> blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,g2u2,kv1m,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>The Bosh</a>. Jolie also tops <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,ifye,2hfu,kpqm,g1qy">People’s most beautiful list for 2006</a>. Get ready for yet another
excruciating baby countdown: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,bh5a,276p,kpqm,g1qy">Bri
tney Spears is pregnant again</a> says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,3xjx,1ilf,kpqm,g1qy">IDo
ntLikeYouInThatWay</a>. And still more Tom Cruise weirdness this week: The star
interrupted his publicity duties in Rome to climb a nearby car, pound his chest,
and announce to fans, "I am the craziest man in the world!" As he spoke, Cruise
was inexplicably bathed in a an <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,ewp4,9mf9,kpqm,g1qy">eth
eral, greenish glow</a> says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pmnm,39mg,cl9a,fjjq,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Defamer</a>. 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Rational Resources
DATE: 04/27/2006 22:34:27
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Learn <ul> <li>"<a
href="http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/java/library/j-cq03316/">In pursuit of
code quality: Monitoring cyclomatic complexity</a>" (Andrew Glover,
developerWorks, March 2006): Identify risky code with simple code metrics and
Java™-based tools that monitor cyclomatic complexity 
 
</li><li>"<a href="http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/java/library/j-
cq01316/">In pursuit of code quality: Don't be fooled by the coverage
report</a>" (Andrew Glover, developerWorks, January 2006): How test coverage
measurements can lead you astray. 
 
</li><li><a
href="http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/views/java/libraryview.jsp?search_by=code+
quality">In pursuit of code quality:</a> Read the complete series by
Andrew Glover. 
 
contest.html">Multithreaded unit testing with ConTest</a>" (Yarden Nir-Buchbinder
and Shmuel Ur, developerWorks, April 2006): A coverage measurement solution for
concurrent programs. 
 
legacytest.html">Testing legacy code</a>" (Elliotte Harold, developerWorks, April
2006): Develop a unit test suite for legacy code that's never been tested. 
 
</li><li><a href="http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/java/">The Java technology
zone</a>: Hundreds of articles about every aspect of Java programming.</li> </ul>
 
Get products and technologies <ul> <li><a
href="http://clarkware.com/software/JDepend.html">JDepend</a>: A Java package
dependency analyzer that generates design quality metrics. 
 
</li><li><a href="http://www.kirkk.com/main/Main/JarAnalyzer">JarAnalyzer</a>:
This tool analyzes the relationships among jar files. 
 
</li><li><a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/metrics">Metrics plug-in for
Eclipse</a>: Calculates cyclomatic complexity and other metrics related to code
complexity and coupling. 
 
</li> </ul>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 22nd - 28th April 2006
DATE: 04/27/2006 13:19:59
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
size="-2"><div>Apr 27th 2006 
 
size="-1">The king of Nepal bowed to weeks of street protests and
announced the recall of parliament, suspended for the past four years. Maoist
rebels called a three-month ceasefire, while demanding elections to an assembly
that would draw up a new constitution. <a target="_blank"
Sri Lanka's
armed forces launched heavy attacks against Tamil Tiger rebels in the
east of the country, following a suicide-bombing that gravely injured the army's
chief of staff and killed several of his bodyguards. <a target="_blank"
the Solomon Islands was forced out of office, a week after his
election prompted riots that wrecked the country's capital, Honiara. <a
target="_blank"
judges were due to meet, at the request of the king, to untangle the mess
caused by an election that the opposition boycotted and that has failed to produce
a quorum for parliament.
China's president,
Hu Jintao, completed a week-long tour of Africa, his second in
three years, showing the importance that China attaches to the continent as a
source of oil and raw materials. During the visit, he signed a deal with Nigeria
for four oil-drilling licences, committing China to invest $4 billion in
infrastructure projects in the country. 
 
name="defender_of_the_faith">Defender of the faith</div> George Bush picked Tony
Snow, a broadcaster on the stridently conservative Fox News network, as
the White House's new press spokesman. Meanwhile, Mr Bush's job approval
rating slipped to another low: 32%, according to a poll for CNN. <a target="_blank"
Karl
Rove gave testimony to a second grand jury investigating the Plame
affair. The first grand jury brought charges against “Scooter” Libby, Dick
Cheney's former chief of staff, but prosecutors left the door open on further
indictments. 
Mr Bush went to
California, where he called on Congress to pass a bill giving official status to
illegal immigrants and said punitive measures being pushed by
some congressmen were “unrealistic”. 
In New Orleans's
primary election for mayor, Ray Nagin, the incumbent, received 38% of the
vote. He now faces Mitch Landrieu, Louisiana's lieutenant-governor, in a run-off
on May 20th. 
After months of
bickering, Larry Silverstein agreed to a deal that reduces his role in the
development of the World Trade Centre site in New York. The
developer will cede control of the pivotal Freedom Tower to the city's port
authority after it is built. 
 
name="an_opening_for_trade">An opening for trade</div> <table
size="-1">Panama announced a plan to double the capacity of the Panama
Canal to accommodate giant container-ships. The project, due to be
completed by 2014, is expected to cost $5.3 billion and will be paid for by toll
increases. The plan will probably be put to a national referendum this
year.
Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general, hailed Haiti's peaceful
parliamentary elections as a crucial step on the road to stability. President René
Préval is expected to form a coalition government. <a target="_blank"
 
name="shadows_of_death">Shadows of death</div> <table
size="-1">A series of events were held in Ukraine to mark the
20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, when a nuclear
reactor blew up on April 26th 1986. President Viktor Yushchenko joined ceremonies
in memory of those who died, or still suffer, from radiation exposure. In
neighbouring Belarus, opposition groups used the occasion to
renew protests against the government of Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
Hungary's
Socialist-led government was re-elected to office. The prime minister,
Ferenc Gyurcsany, promised to deal with the country's economic problems, but
foreign investors remain fretful about huge budget and current-account deficits.
<a target="_blank"
Members of the
European Parliament were outraged by claims that the city of
Strasbourg was overcharging them for rent for two of their buildings. Most MEPs would rather relocate entirely to Brussels; only the
determined opposition of the French government forces them to meet every month in
Strasbourg.
Rumblings over
Russian gas exports to the European Union continued. Gazprom,
Russia's energy giant, denied that it had made threats to shift supplies to other
customers even though Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, later appeared to repeat
them. The Russians insist they should be able to buy European energy companies
even while rejecting demands for more liberalised energy markets. <a
target="_blank"
 
name="inch_by_inch">Inch by inch</div> In Iraq, Jawad
al-Maliki, who took over as prime minister after Ibrahim al-Jaafari was at last
persuaded to step aside, said he hopes to form a government in about two weeks. <a
target="_blank"
A deal between Ehud
Olmert, the head of the Kadima party, and Amir Peretz, the head of Labour, under
which Mr Peretz is to be the new defence minister, opened the way for a new
Israeli government. <a target="_blank"
In the third terrorist
attack in 18 months on Egypt's Red Sea coast, three suicide-
bombers attacked the quiet resort of Dahab, killing at least 24 people, most of
them Egyptians. This was followed by two suicide-bomb attacks on the Sinai base of
an international peacekeeping group that killed only the perpetrators. <a
target="_blank"
Both Osama bin
Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al-Qaeda's leader in
Iraq, made appeals to Muslims to support the group's war with the West: Mr bin
Laden on an audiotape and Mr Zarqawi in a video posted on the internet.
size="-1">UN Security Council passed a resolution imposing travel and
financial sanctions on four Sudanese, including a former commander of the air
force and a leader of a pro-government militia, accused of war crimes in Sudan's
Darfur region. It is the first time that any individuals involved
in the Darfur conflict have been held directly responsible for their actions.

A group of public-health
experts attacked the World Bank for incompetence, falsification of statistics and
medical malpractice in its attempt to tackle malaria, a
preventable disease which kills over a million people each year, many in Africa.
The charges, and a rebuttal from the bank, were published in the Lancet
to coincide with Africa Malaria Day. The bank admits past incompetence, but argues
its new malaria policy is more outcome-based and transparent than critics
acknowledge. 
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 22nd - 28th April 2006
DATE: 04/27/2006 13:18:40
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
 
The European Union's
second-highest court heard an appeal from Microsoft that seeks to
overturn the antitrust ruling imposed in 2004. The software company denied it had
breached EU competition rules by, among other things,
bundling its Media Player into Windows. The court should give its decision by the
end of the year. 
Sun
Microsystems announced that Jonathan Schwartz, number two at the
struggling maker of high-end computers, would replace Scott McNealy as chief
executive. Mr McNealy, who co-founded the company and has held the post since
1984, will stay on as chairman. Sun has struggled in vain to reinvent itself since
the bursting of the dotcom bubble.
Blackstone Group
is to take a 4.5% strategic stake in Deutsche Telekom
for euro2.7 billion ($3.3 billion). Germany's new government
welcomed the move. A ruckus ensued in the run-up to last year's general election
when foreign-investment firms were compared to “swarms of locusts”. 
target="_blank" name="laying_it_out">Laying it out</div> Kenneth Lay took the stand at the
Enron trial. The firm's former chairman and chief executive
blamed Andrew Fastow, the former chief financial officer who struck a plea-bargain
deal with prosecutors, for the fraud that led to the energy-trader's collapse and
said a media “witch hunt” fed a hostile investment environment before Enron's
bankruptcy. Mr Lay denies charges of trying to cover up the perilous state of
Enron's finances. 
There was further
consolidation in the infrastructure industry as Spain's Abertis
agreed to merge with Italy's Autostrade. The combined company,
valued at around euro25 billion ($31 billion), will be the world's
largest operator of toll-roads. Its assets are mostly in Italy, Spain and France,
but also include the Dulles Greenway toll-road leading to Washington's
international airport. <a target="_blank"
Nissan
and Honda continued the recent success of Japanese carmakers by
reporting record net profits for the year ending March 31st. Honda's fourth-
quarter profit rose by 133% compared with a year earlier. The news provided sharp
contrast to the fortunes of Detroit. Last week, General Motors
reported its sixth straight quarterly loss (though at $323m, the result was better
than expected) and Ford announced its biggest quarterly loss in
four years—$1.19 billion—as it took charges for its restructuring plans.

Bucking the trend of
most large airlines worldwide, Emirates reported a net profit of
2.5 billion dirhams ($674m) for the year ending March 31st—its 18th consecutive
annual profit—despite an increase in fuel costs. Based in Dubai, Emirates is
planning to double in size over the next few years the better to compete on long-
haul routes. 
In a long-running
takeover battle, Engelhard, a maker of catalytic converters,
rejected a sweetened takeover offer from BASF and will buy back
20% of its outstanding shares to defend itself against the German chemical
company's bid. 
target="_blank" name="clean-air_act">Clean-air act</div> Reynolds
American (the parent company of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco) agreed to pay $3.5
billion for Conwood, a maker of smokeless-tobacco products that
traces its origins back to snuff manufacturing in the late 18th century. Although
cigarette consumption is declining, the market for smokeless (mostly snuff and
chewable) tobacco, such as Conwood's Kodiak brand, has been growing at 5% a year.

In an effort to control
a racing economy, China’s central bank raised interest rates for
the first time in 18 months. It also announced guidelines to rein in banks’
lending. <a target="_blank"
Speculation that a
silver-backed exchange-traded fund from Barclays Global Investors will soon be
launched helped the price of silver claw back some of its recent
loss. Investors cashing in profits from record highs contributed to volatile
trading that had seen the metal fall by 15% on April 21st. 
Three-month
copper futures broke the $7,000 a tonne barrier amid concern of
strikes at mines in Chile and Mexico. 
BP
announced that net income for the first quarter had fallen by 15% in a year, to
$5.6 billion. The company's profit was partly affected by last year's shutdown of
its oil refinery at Texas City following an explosion that killed 15 people. This
week federal regulators fined BP's North American
operations $2.4m for safety violations at a refinery in Ohio that were “similar to
those found during an investigation” of the fatal blast. 
target="_blank" name="slippery_slopes">Slippery slopes</div>
</td></tr></tbody> </table> The price of oil eased a little after touching $75 a
barrel in trading late last week. Meanwhile, George Bush said he was suspending
deposits to America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve until the autumn in an effort to
boost oil supplies. The move (which will have a small effect on overall oil
supply) comes amid growing political pressure in the United States over high
petrol prices. <a target="_blank"
article</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Affordable Europe - New York Times
DATE: 04/24/2006 09:06:41
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<ul style="font-size:100%; "> <li><a
href="http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/04/23/travel/23affordable-
amsterdam.html">Amsterdam</a> by Gisela Williams</li><li><a
athens.html">Athens</a> by Anthee Carassava </li><li><a
barcelona.html">Barcelona</a> by Andrew Ferren</li><li><a
berlin.html">Berlin</a> by Richard Bernstein</li><li><a
copenhagen.html">Copenhagen </a> by Seth Sherwood</li><li><a
dublin.html">Dublin</a> by Brian Lavery</li><li><a
geneva.html">Geneva</a> by Anne Glusker</li><li><a
lisbon.html">Lisbon</a> by Pavia Rosati</li><li><a
london.html">London</a> by Heather Timmons</li><li><a
madrid.html">Madrid</a> by Dale Fuchs</li><li><a
milan.html">Milan</a> by Elisabetta Povoledo</li><li><a
oslo.html">Oslo</a> by Bruce Bawer</li><li><a
paris.html">Paris</a> by Elaine Sciolino</li><li><a
prague.html">Prague</a> by Evan Rail</li><li><a
rome.html">Rome</a> by Brian Wingfield</li><li><a
venice.html">Venice</a> by Elisabetta Povoledo</li> </ul>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 04/21/2006 05:32:48
STATUS: publish
BODY:
 Would you believe 2 percent of U.S. Internet traffic is going through
Photobucket? That’s the word from <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a> on the image, photo, and video hosting site. It
serves <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,35vy,5gki,kpqm,g1qy">63
percent of all media links</a> to sites like MySpace, compared to just 8 percent
for Flickr and 1.3 percent for YouTube. And it's profitable. Who knew? 

href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,35vy,5gki,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/photobucketlogo.gif"
border="0" height="42" width="210" alt="Image" /></a> In other Web 2.0 news, <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,lfka,hwhu,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Cnet News.com</a> asks <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,bg1w,glz,kpqm,g1qy">whet
her anyone can actually make money on mashups</a>: sites that combine online maps
and data. They’re really cool but really easy to duplicate, which makes VCs a
little shy—except for real-estate sites like Trulia and Zillow. But money is
flowing into Simply Hired (which got <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,6zmd,7llr,kpqm,g1qy">$13
.5 million in VC funds</a>), a vertical search engine for jobs, blogs <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,m1tt,373r,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Om Malik</a> while <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,fy8m,kcgb,kpqm,g1qy">Fac
ebook got $25 million</a> from Greylock Partners. So much for the buyout rumors.
Also <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,btmz,inyc,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/longtail-tm.jpg"
border="1" height="172" width="126" alt="Image" /></a>new this week: FeedBurner’s
new <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,h5u2,1qbq,kpqm,g1qy">blo
g-to-email product</a> and scanR, which <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,4edm,gbn0,kpqm,g1qy">tur
ns your camera phone into a scanner</a>. AOL appears to be readying the <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,8rpx,awiz,kpqm,g1qy">lau
nch of a MySpace competitor called Head On</a>. And get your pre-orders in now for
2 releases due out this summer: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,j2ku,1tof,kpqm,g1qy">Min
dstorms NXT</a> (the software this round will be open source) and <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,btmz,inyc,kpqm,g1qy">The Long Tail, Chris Anderson’s highly-anticipated book</a> (nice quote
from Eric Shmidt on the cover). 
 
But the big news this week for bloggers was politics: It was a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,37jl,df4a,kpqm,g1qy">biz
arre week in the Whitehouse</a> says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,g3x7,jlru,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Hotline On Call</a>. Scott McClellan resigned as <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,le19,e7y0,kpqm,g1qy">obf
uscation minister</a>, and word on the street is that he was pushed. This makes
sense, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,dhao,dezv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Wonkette</a>, given that McClellan’s explanation was <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,5wus,7c17,kpqm,g1qy">vag
ue and lame</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,49kf,8hd1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Powerline</a> hopes the replacement will take a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,7i4v,ea9g,kpqm,g1qy">mor
e aggressive approach toward the White House press corps</a> for a change. Karl
Rove was also demoted, but <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,deix,bfu2,kpqm,g1qy">not
nearly far enough</a> said Howard Dean. He’ll be focusing instead on <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,69jm,hxmi,kpqm,g1qy">ele
ction strategy</a> says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,caos,eez7,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Hit and Run</a>. The real question, of course, is why <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,jmk3,7rf0,kpqm,g1qy">all
this wasn’t announced at 9pm on Friday</a> says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,jqft,jqpv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Jossip</a>.<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,j2ku,1tof,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/mindstormsnxtspike.jpg"
Calls for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation swelled, and even <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,3vy2,j9m6,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Taegan Goddard</a> runs Sen. Chuck Hagel’s quote on how the SecDef
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,912a,dtfq,kpqm,g1qy">doe
sn’t command the respect of our men and women in uniform</a>. But Rumsfeld’s <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,m911,lo09,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt="Paris" title="Paris"
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/parismobile.jpg" border="0"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,8dtl,8zsg,kpqm,g1qy">not
considering resigning</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,a0jx,e7f1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Huffington Post</a> writes that for Bush to fire Rumsfeld would
amount to saying he’d <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,fu0z,flij,kpqm,g1qy">fai
led as president</a>, while <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,ezmv,2c7q,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Wizbang</a> contrasts retired general Anthony Zinni’s carping today
with his <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,aj23,g853,kpqm,g1qy">war
nings about Iraq while serving under Clinton in 2000</a>. And anyway, Zinni’s <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,2nzv,j9sv,kpqm,g1qy">jus
t one of 4,700 living retired U.S. generals</a>, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,h0ky,6i56,kpqm,g1qy">Rig
ht Wing News</a>. 

 Potential military action against Iran remains a hot topic as Tehran claims it
has enriched uranium already, and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,ixt5,f04h,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Think Progress</a> blogs that a retired Air Force general claims <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,fsq1,28vj,kpqm,g1qy">mil
itary operations are already under way</a> in the Islamic Republic. The left
should just admit it <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,3li6,k6q3,kpqm,g1qy">wou
ld rather let Iran have nukes</a> than bomb to stop it, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,h0ky,6i56,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Right Wing News</a>. 

Finally on the lighter side, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,47cr,5yqd,kpqm,g1qy">Tom
Kitten arrived this week</a> and Tom Cruise told Diane Sawyer in a Primetime Live
interview that he would <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,4g13,sko,kpqm,g1qy">eat
Katie Holmes’ placenta</a> after the birth. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,foc1,dakj,kpqm,g1qy">Was
he serious?</a> Just in case, several bloggers (we couldn’t make this stuff up)
posted <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,fh0r,8xh9,kpqm,g1qy">rec
ipes</a>. Jennifer Anniston called Oprah live to deny she’s planning an <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,cq7e,kyl9,kpqm,g1qy">$8
million wedding to Vince Vaughn</a>. And, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pjzi,39mg,1wcm,lqw9,kpqm,g1qy">Par
is Hilton is coming to your phone</a>: the heiress and reality TV star has agreed
to use her likeness in a series of mobile video games. Consider yourself
warned.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 15th - 21st April 2006
DATE: 04/20/2006 19:32:08
STATUS: publish
BODY:
 
week 
 
The London Stock
Exchange's share price hit a new high (following last week's gains made
after NASDAQ revealed it had become the LSE's biggest shareholder) as investors pondered the possibility
of a takeover bid from the New York Stock Exchange. The speculation focused on a
regulatory filing by the NYSE, which recently listed its
own shares, confirming it was in merger talks with unnamed rival exchanges. <a
target="_blank"
In a further sign of the
increased competition among exchanges and the blurring of lines between asset
classes, the International Securities Exchange, the biggest
equities options exchange in the world, announced it was launching the ISE Stock Exchange with the backing of several Wall Street banks.
It will be fully electronic and is expected to start operating later this year.

Standard
Life revealed it had rejected several approaches from companies
interested in a merger and is to press ahead with its planned demutualisation this
summer. Europe's biggest mutual insurer said it expects to be valued at up to £5.5
billion ($9.8 billion) on its stockmarket debut, which is subject to a vote in May
by its members. 
target="_blank" name="sandy_bows_out_on_a_high">Sandy bows out on a
high</div> Citigroup, America's biggest financial-services
company, reported a net profit of $5.6 billion for the first quarter on the back
of strong performances from its international and investment-banking businesses.
Citigroup released its statement shortly before Sandy Weill stepped down as
chairman at a glitzy shareholders' event.
Kohlberg Kravis
Roberts is to pay $850m for an 85% stake in the software-development and
solutions unit of Flextronics, a company that makes products,
including Microsoft's Xbox 360 gaming consoles, for the electronics industry. The
unit is based in India (Flextronics is headquartered in Singapore) and KKR's is the biggest-ever leveraged buy-out by a private-equity
firm operating in the country. <a target="_blank"
Tata Consultancy
Services announced a further expansion that will result in an extra
30,500 people being employed by the company in the coming year. India's biggest
exporter of software services, which also said net profit rose by 41% in the year
ending March 31st, has benefited from a surge in outsourcing, most notably by big
financial-services firms. 
target="_blank" name="down_in_the_valley">Down in the Valley</div>
Intel
reported poor earnings. The world's biggest chipmaker said net profit had fallen
by 38% in the three months ending April 1st, compared with a year ago, to $1.35
billion. The company has been losing market share to Advanced Micro Devices, a
Silicon Valley rival with which it is in fierce competition, and predicts a
further fall in demand for its chips.
is to stop stocking rifles and shotguns in a third of its shops in the
United States (where it is the biggest seller of guns) because of a lack of
demand. The decision should do no harm to the retailer's efforts to break into
urban shopping locales, where it has sometimes met with stiff resistance.

Knight
Ridder, which is America's second-biggest newspaper publisher and is
being acquired by McClatchy, a smaller rival, said net income had fallen by 53% in
the first quarter compared with a year ago. McClatchy is reportedly close to
finding buyers for the 12 Knight Ridder titles it is selling. 
BAA
confirmed it had rejected a takeover approach by a consortium led by the
ubiquitous Goldman Sachs that valued the operator of several British airports,
including Heathrow, at £9.4 billion ($16.4 billion), around £650m higher than the
hostile bid BAA is fighting from Grupo Ferrovial, a Spanish
construction firm. 
International Monetary Fund released its latest semi-annual
World Economic Outlook and raised its forecast for global GDP growth in 2006 to 4.9%. The fund also slightly raised its
growth forecasts for the United States and the euro area (to 3.4% and 2.0%
respectively), but expects China's GDP to grow by 9.5% this
year, up from the forecast of 8.2% it made last September. <a target="_blank"
The price of
oil reached record highs, pushing well past $70 a barrel. Fears
that oil supplies might be jeopardised by any confrontation with Iran contributed
to market jitters. <a target="_blank"
target="_blank" name="losing_some_of_its_shine">Losing some of its
shine</div> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="4"> <tbody><tr><td valign="top"><table align="right" border="0"
size="-1">Saudi Arabia's Tadawul All Share index, the biggest
stockmarket of any Arab country, and a star performer in 2005, fell by 7.6% on
April 18th, continuing a slide that has seen it fall by around 36% from its peak
in February. Some analysts pointed to the suspension by Saudi regulators of two
dealers on allegations of manipulating markets as one factor that has spooked
wealthy investors. 
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 15th - 21st April 2006
DATE: 04/20/2006 19:31:22
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
The promised shake-up of
White House staff began in earnest. Scott McClellan, the press
secretary, announced his resignation and George Bush picked Rob
Portman, the current United States Trade Representative, as his new
budget chief (Susan Schwab, Mr Portman's deputy, is promoted to the top spot). In
a surprise move, Karl Rove will lose some of the policy co-
ordination duties he took on a year ago, but remains Mr Bush's deputy chief of
staff. <a target="_blank"
Mr Bush and senior military
personnel rallied around Donald Rumsfeld after several retired
generals called for the defence secretary to resign over his handling of the
occupation of Iraq. The Pentagon released a memo documenting the “unprecedented
degree” to which Mr Rumsfeld consulted with senior officers. <a target="_blank"
article</a> George Ryan, a former Republican governor of Illinois,
was found guilty of various federal charges linked to a corruption scandal
involving bribes for trucking licences in the state. 
size="-1">Arizona's Democratic governor vetoed a state bill that
would allow local authorities to arrest illegal immigrants and charge them with
trespassing. Janet Napolitano, who said she had taken advice from the police,
insisted the proposal was unworkable and blurred the line between state and
federal responsibilities. 
Thousands of people,
including a dozen survivors, commemorated the 1906 San Francisco
earthquake on April 18th at 5.12am, the exact time that the disaster struck.
Around 3,000 people were killed in the quake, which destroyed vast tracts of the
city. 
 
name="cocaine_high">Cocaine high</div> After several years in which it
claimed that coca production in Colombia was falling swiftly, the
United States found that it had increased by 26%, to 144,000 hectares (356,000
acres), after almost doubling the area surveyed. Since 2000, Washington has spent
some $4 billion helping Colombia's government to fight the drug trade. 
Venezuela's president,
Hugo Chávez, announced that his country would withdraw from the five-country
Andean Community because two other members, Colombia and Peru,
had signed free-trade agreements with the United States.
Three ministers in
Bolivia's leftist government were kidnapped by townspeople
supporting foreign investment in their country. The ministers told residents of
Puerto Suárez that a steelworks being built by a Brazilian firm broke a law
barring foreign ownership near the borders. Security forces later released
them.
 
name="trade_to_the_fore">Trade to the fore</div> <table
size="-1">Hu Jintao, China's president, made Seattle his first
stop on his visit to the United States, before heading to Washington, DC, for a “formal lunch” with George Bush. <a target="_blank"
Australia dispatched 180
soldiers to the Solomon Islands after rioters wrecked its
capital, Honiara, following an election. Australia already had several hundred
police in the Solomons as part of a regional peacekeeping force.
size="-1">Singapore called a parliamentary election for May 6th.
Opposition leaders are hoping to contest at least half the seats, though another
easy win by the ever-ruling People's Action Party seems certain. <a
target="_blank"
size="-1">Vietnam's ruling Communist Party began its tenth
congress. Corruption was high on the agenda, following a scandal involving
transport ministry officials.
A general strike and
political demonstrations continued in Nepal against the king,
paralysing the capital, Kathmandu. Tens of thousands defied government curfew
zones, resulting in the deaths of several protesters. <a target="_blank"
President Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines announced that she would
commute to life imprisonment the death sentences of some 1,200 convicts on death
row. Under a bill to be introduced to parliament, all future death sentences would
likewise be commuted until the end of her term in 2010.
 
name="that_florida_moment">That Florida moment</div> The top appeals court in
Italy confirmed a narrow victory for a centre-left coalition, led
by Romano Prodi, over the outgoing government of prime minister Silvio Berlusconi
in last week's bitterly contested general election. Parliament reconvenes on April
28th but a new government may not be constituted until June.
German government, yielding to international pressure, finally
agreed to open a huge collection of records relating to concentration camps and
slave labour under the Nazi regime. The files contain information about more than
17m people who were imprisoned or enslaved.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky,
the imprisoned former head of the Russian oil company, Yukos, has
been attacked with a knife by a cellmate, according to lawyers for the ex-tycoon.
An associate of the businessman said the attack would not have been possible
“without an order from above”. 
The governor of
Hungary's central bank was accused by the ruling Socialist party
of meddling after he criticised their fiscal record ahead of a second round of
voting in parliamentary elections. 
 
name="intended_to_provoke">Intended to provoke</div> A suicide bomber from the West
Bank, a member of Islamic Jihad, killed nine people in Tel Aviv.
The Hamas government defended his action. Israel refrained from direct
retaliation. Meanwhile, Jordan accused Hamas of smuggling arms into the kingdom
and scouting targets there. <a target="_blank"
size="-1">Muslims and Christian Copts battled in the Egyptian
port city of Alexandria after a Copt was stabbed to death. <a target="_blank"
size="-1">Nigeria's president, Olusegun Obasanjo, announced a new
development plan to alleviate poverty in the oil-rich Niger delta region. Militant
groups fighting for a larger share of oil revenues rejected the plan, and renewed
their offensive, killing at least two people in an attack on an army barracks.

Kenyan
MPs approved a report that implicates senior
ministers and civil servants in corruption. Several other ministers have already
resigned over the Anglo Leasing affair, and this latest move could lead to the
prosecution of the vice-president, Moody Awori.
 President Robert Mugabe
said his opponents in Zimbabwe were “playing with fire” and
threatened action if they organise against him. He also promised to extend state
control over the mining industry. 
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Upload Big Files with No Email
DATE: 04/17/2006 13:43:24
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<h2><a href="http://www.jdempsey.com/2005/12/08/free-online-file-storagesending/"
rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Free online file storage/sending">Free
online file storage/sending</a></h2>
Back in May,<a href="http://www.jdempsey.com/2005/05/06/sending-large-
files-via-email/" title="Sending large files via email"> I posted an article about
YouSendIt,</a> a free e-mail-based file sending service. If you’ve ever had to
send large files and don’t have access to FTP, or the person you’re sending to
doesn’t, this type of service is a fantastic resource.
<img src="http://www.jdempsey.com/media/305_grayLine.gif" alt="305 Grayline"
border="0" height="2" width="450" alt="Image" />
<a href="http://www.box.net/" title="Box.net - Online storage and
file sharing">BOX.NET</a> Free Online File Storage
Box.net lets you Share and Access your Photos, Documents, and Files from ANY
Computer. Backup and Sync important data. 1GB of space for Free, or 5GB for
$4.99/mo. Easy to use and no software to download. 
<img src="http://www.jdempsey.com/media/305_grayLine-1.gif" alt="305 Grayline-1"
border="0" height="2" width="450" alt="Image" />
Today, I have a list of 50 similar services that are absolutely free and
require no e-mail registration to use. Included in the list are file size limits,
download limits and the amount of time the file remains on the server for
download.
Bigupload File Size Limit: 300MB 
Download Limit: Unlimited 
File Life: 30 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 30 days) 
URL: <a href="http://www.bigupload.com/">http://www.bigupload.com</a>
Content-Type File Size Limit: 100MB 
File Life: 7 Days after last download 
URL: URL: <a href="http://content-type.com/">http://www.content-type.com</a>
CyberUpload File Size Limit: 500MB 
File Life: 7 Days (Deleted only if there is no download activity in 7 days) 
URL: <a href="http://www.cyberupload.com/">http://www.cyberupload.com</a>
FileFactory File Size Limit: 500MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.filefactory.com/">http://www.filefactory.com</a>
MegaShares File Size Limit: 1.5GB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.megashares.com/" target="_blank" title="Sending large
files via email">http://www.megashares.com</a>
mooload File Size Limit: 500MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.mooload.com/">http://www.mooload.com</a>
RapidUpload File Size Limit: 300MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.rapidupload.com/">http://www.rapidupload.com</a>
RapidShare File Size Limit: 100MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.rapidshare.de/">http://www.rapidshare.de</a>
SendSpace 
File Size Limit: 1.2GB 
Download Limit: download bandwidth limit of 100GB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.sendspace.com/"
target="_blank">http://www.sendspace.com</a>
SendOver 
File Size Limit: 2GB 
URL: <a href="http://www.sendover.com/">http://www.sendover.com</a>
Spread-It 
File Size Limit: 500MB 
File Life: 14 Days 
URL: <a href="http://www.spread-it.com/">http://www.spread-it.com</a>
Snaggys File Size Limit: 500MB 
Download Limit: 999 Downloads 
URL: <a href="http://www.snaggys.com/">http://www.snaggys.com</a>
TransferBigFiles File Size Limit: 1GB 
URL: <a
href="http://www.transferbigfiles.com/">http://www.transferbigfiles.com</a>
Uploading File Size Limit: 500MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.uploading.com/">http://www.uploading.com</a>
YouSendIt File Size Limit: 1GB 
URL: <a href="http://www.yousendit.com/">http://www.yousendit.com</a>
zUpload File Size Limit: 500MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.zupload.com/">http://www.zupload.com</a>
myShareBox File Size Limit: 100MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.mysharebox.com/">http://www.mysharebox.com</a>
ShareBigFile File Size Limit: 300MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.sharebigfile.com/">http://www.sharebigfile.com</a>
MegaUpload File Size Limit: 250MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.megaupload.com/">http://www.megaupload.com</a>
UpDownloadServer File Size Limit: 250MB 
File Life: Unlimited 
URL: <a
href="http://www.updownloadserver.de/">http://www.updownloadserver.de</a>
MyTempDir 
URL: <a href="http://www.mytempdir.com/">http://www.mytempdir.com</a>
Send File 
URL: <a href="http://www.send-file.co.uk/">http://www.send-file.co.uk</a>
XtraFile File Size Limit: 250MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.xtrafile.com/">http://www.xtrafile.com</a>
bonpoo File Size Limit: 250MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.bonpoo.com/">http://www.bonpoo.com</a>
FileCache File Size Limit: 250MB 
URL: <a
href="http://www.filecache.de/upload">http://www.filecache.de/upload</a>
Supload File Size Limit: 200MB 
URL: <a href="http://supload.com/sendfile">http://supload.com/sendfile</a>
TheUpload File Size Limit: 100MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.theupload.com/">http://www.theupload.com</a>
zSHARE File Size Limit: 100MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://zshare.net/">http://zshare.net</a>
Upload.Sc 
File Life: Unknown 
URL: <a href="http://www.upload.sc/">http://www.upload.sc</a>
Store and Serve 
/>
URL: <a href="http://storeandserve.com/">http://storeandserve.com</a>
BIGfileupload File Size Limit: 100MB 
URL: <a href="http://bigfileupload.com/">http://bigfileupload.com</a>
QuickDump File Size Limit: 100MB 
Download Limit: download bandwidth limit of 500MB per hour 
/>
URL: <a href="http://quickdump.com/">http://quickdump.com</a>
Easy-Sharing 
URL: <a href="http://www.easy-sharing.com/">http://www.easy-sharing.com</a>
Turbo Upload 
URL: <a href="http://www.turboupload.com/">http://www.turboupload.com</a>
SaveFile File Size Limit: 60MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.savefile.com/">http://www.savefile.com</a>
FileHD File Size Limit: 60MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.filehd.com/">http://www.filehd.com</a>
RapidSharing File Size Limit: 50MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.rapidsharing.com/">http://www.rapidsharing.com</a>
UploadSend File Size Limit: 50MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.uploadsend.com/">http://www.uploadsend.com</a>
UploadFront File Size Limit: 50MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.uploadfront.com/">http://www.uploadfront.com 
</a> FreeUploader File Size Limit: 50MB 
Download Limit: Unknown 
URL: <a href="http://www.freeuploader.com/">http://www.freeuploader.com</a>
Momoshare 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.momoshare.com/">http://www.momoshare.com</a>
FriendlyShare 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.friendlyshare.de/">http://www.friendlyshare.de</a>
orb-z File Size Limit: 50MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.orb-z.com/">http://www.orb-z.com</a>
UploadHut File Size Limit: 50MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.uploadhut.com/">http://www.uploadhut.com</a>
SupaShare File Size Limit: 50MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.supashare.com/">http://www.supashare.com</a>
FileHost File Size Limit: 50MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.filehost.ro/">http://www.filehost.ro</a>
ushareit File Size Limit: 50MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.ushareit.com/">http://www.ushareit.com</a>
SceneWorld File Size Limit: 50MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.sceneworld.net/up">http://www.sceneworld.net/up</a>
UltraShare File Size Limit: 30MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.ultrashare.net/">http://www.ultrashare.net</a>
UploadTemple File Size Limit: 30MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.uploadtemple.com/">http://www.uploadtemple.com</a>
SendMeFile File Size Limit: 30MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.sendmefile.com/">http://www.sendmefile.com</a>
Upload2 
File Life: 1 Year 
URL: <a href="http://upload2.net/">http://upload2.net</a>
UploadTown File Size Limit: 20MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.uploadtown.com/">http://www.uploadtown.com</a>
11MBIT.in 
URL: <a href="http://a1.11mbit.in/">http://a1.11mbit.in</a>
Refrozen File Size Limit: 20MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.refrozen.com/">http://www.refrozen.com</a>
KeepMyFile 
URL: <a href="http://keepmyfile.com/">http://keepmyfile.com</a>
Hyperupload 
URL: <a href="http://www.hyperupload.com/">http://www.hyperupload.com</a>
WebFileHost 
URL: <a href="http://www.webfilehost.com/">http://www.webfilehost.com</a> 
SendOver 
File Size Limit: 2GB 
URL: <a href="http://www.sendover.com/"
target="_blank">http://www.sendover.com</a>
FileFactory File Size Limit: 1.5GB 
URL: <a href="http://www.filefactory.com/"
target="_blank">http://www.filefactory.com</a>
MegaShares File Size Limit: 1.5GB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.megashares.com/" target="_blank" title="Sending large
files via email">http://www.megashares.com</a>
SendSpace 
File Size Limit: 1.2GB 
Download Limit: download bandwidth limit of 100GB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.sendspace.com/"
target="_blank">http://www.sendspace.com</a>
YouSendIt File Size Limit: 1GB 
URL: <a href="http://www.yousendit.com/">http://www.yousendit.com</a>
TransferBigFiles File Size Limit: 1GB 
URL: <a
href="http://www.transferbigfiles.com/">http://www.transferbigfiles.com</a>
zUpload File Size Limit: 500MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.zupload.com/">http://www.zupload.com</a>
Spread-It 
URL: <a href="http://www.spread-it.com/">http://www.spread-it.com</a>
FileFactory File Size Limit: 500MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.filefactory.com/">http://www.filefactory.com</a>
mooload File Size Limit: 500MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.mooload.com/">http://www.mooload.com</a>
CyberUpload File Size Limit: 500MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.cyberupload.com/">http://www.cyberupload.com</a>
Uploading File Size Limit: 500MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.uploading.com/">http://www.uploading.com</a>
Snaggys File Size Limit: 500MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.snaggys.com/">http://www.snaggys.com</a>
Bigupload File Size Limit: 300MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.bigupload.com/">http://www.bigupload.com</a>
RapidUpload File Size Limit: 300MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.rapidupload.com/">http://www.rapidupload.com</a>
ShareBigFile File Size Limit: 300MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.sharebigfile.com/">http://www.sharebigfile.com</a>
MegaUpload File Size Limit: 250MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.megaupload.com/">http://www.megaupload.com</a>
UpDownloadServer File Size Limit: 250MB 
URL: <a
href="http://www.updownloadserver.de/">http://www.updownloadserver.de</a>
XtraFile File Size Limit: 250MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.xtrafile.com/">http://www.xtrafile.com</a>
bonpoo File Size Limit: 250MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.bonpoo.com/">http://www.bonpoo.com</a>
FileCache File Size Limit: 250MB 
URL: <a
href="http://www.filecache.de/upload">http://www.filecache.de/upload</a>
Supload File Size Limit: 200MB 
URL: <a href="http://supload.com/sendfile">http://supload.com/sendfile</a>
RapidShare File Size Limit: 100MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.rapidshare.de/">http://www.rapidshare.de</a>
myShareBox File Size Limit: 100MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.mysharebox.com/">http://www.mysharebox.com</a>
TheUpload File Size Limit: 100MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.theupload.com/">http://www.theupload.com</a>
zSHARE File Size Limit: 100MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://zshare.net/">http://zshare.net</a>
Upload.Sc 
URL: <a href="http://www.upload.sc/">http://www.upload.sc</a>
Store and Serve 
/>
URL: <a href="http://storeandserve.com/">http://storeandserve.com</a>
BIGfileupload File Size Limit: 100MB 
URL: <a href="http://bigfileupload.com/">http://bigfileupload.com</a>
QuickDump File Size Limit: 100MB 
Download Limit: download bandwidth limit of 500MB per hour 
/>
URL: <a href="http://quickdump.com/">http://quickdump.com</a>
Easy-Sharing 
URL: <a href="http://www.easy-sharing.com/">http://www.easy-sharing.com</a>
Turbo Upload 
URL: <a href="http://www.turboupload.com/">http://www.turboupload.com</a>
SaveFile File Size Limit: 60MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.savefile.com/">http://www.savefile.com</a>
FileHD File Size Limit: 60MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.filehd.com/">http://www.filehd.com</a>
RapidSharing File Size Limit: 50MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.rapidsharing.com/">http://www.rapidsharing.com</a>
UploadSend File Size Limit: 50MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.uploadsend.com/">http://www.uploadsend.com</a> 
UploadFront File Size Limit: 50MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.uploadfront.com/">http://www.uploadfront.com 
</a> FreeUploader File Size Limit: 50MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.freeuploader.com/">http://www.freeuploader.com</a>
Momoshare 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.momoshare.com/">http://www.momoshare.com</a>
FriendlyShare 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.friendlyshare.de/">http://www.friendlyshare.de</a>
orb-z File Size Limit: 50MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.orb-z.com/">http://www.orb-z.com</a>
UploadHut File Size Limit: 50MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.uploadhut.com/">http://www.uploadhut.com</a>
SupaShare File Size Limit: 50MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.supashare.com/">http://www.supashare.com</a>
FileHost File Size Limit: 50MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.filehost.ro/">http://www.filehost.ro</a>
ushareit File Size Limit: 50MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.ushareit.com/">http://www.ushareit.com</a>
SceneWorld File Size Limit: 50MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.sceneworld.net/up">http://www.sceneworld.net/up</a>
MyTempDir 
URL: <a href="http://www.mytempdir.com/">http://www.mytempdir.com</a>
Send File 
URL: <a href="http://www.send-file.co.uk/">http://www.send-file.co.uk</a>
UltraShare File Size Limit: 30MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.ultrashare.net/">http://www.ultrashare.net</a>
UploadTemple File Size Limit: 30MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.uploadtemple.com/">http://www.uploadtemple.com</a>
SendMeFile File Size Limit: 30MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.sendmefile.com/">http://www.sendmefile.com</a>
Upload2 
File Life: 1 Year 
URL: <a href="http://upload2.net/">http://upload2.net</a>
UploadTown File Size Limit: 20MB 
/>
URL: <a href="http://www.uploadtown.com/">http://www.uploadtown.com</a>
11MBIT.in 
URL: <a href="http://a1.11mbit.in/">http://a1.11mbit.in</a>
Refrozen File Size Limit: 20MB 
URL: <a href="http://www.refrozen.com/">http://www.refrozen.com</a>
KeepMyFile 
URL: <a href="http://keepmyfile.com/">http://keepmyfile.com</a>
Hyperupload 
URL: <a href="http://www.hyperupload.com/">http://www.hyperupload.com</a>
WebFileHost 
URL: <a href="http://www.webfilehost.com/">http://www.webfilehost.com</a> 
 

-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Guardian on Muriel Spark
DATE: 04/17/2006 05:49:05
STATUS: publish
BODY:
17.04.2006: <a
href="http://books.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,1755114,00.html">Obituary:
Dame Muriel Spark</a> 
17.04.2006: <a
href="http://books.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1755262,00.html">Appreciation:
David Lodge</a> 16.04.2006: <a
href="http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,1754890,00.html">Tribute:
Ruaridh Nicholl</a> 16.04.2006: <a
href="http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,1754900,00.html">David Smith:
Catholic wit, Calvinist ethic</a> 16.04.2006: <a
href="http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,1754937,00.html">Extract: The
Seraph and the Zambesi</a> 
More about <a
href="http://books.guardian.co.uk/authors/author/0,,1155152,00.html">Muriel
Spark</a> 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 04/14/2006 06:34:52
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Kaboom! TV has finally exploded. At the end of this month, Disney's ABC will begin
bypassing cable and satellite TV and start streaming episodes of Lost, Desperate
Housewives and other <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,47z8,a5xq,kpqm,g1qy">hit
shows straight from its website for free</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,4fmt,lcue,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Lost Remote</a>). If other media — newspapers, magazines, and even
online <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,47z8,a5xq,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/lost.jpg" border="0"
height="110" width="156" alt="Image" /></a>companies — don’t watch out, they <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,3t9n,c0r4,kpqm,g1qy">may
lose the broadband internet to TV companies</a> blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,de7f,2r51,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>BuzzMachine</a>. Advertisers have always been more comfortable
spending big money on TV. Now they can continue to spend their money with those
familiar players and get broadband, too. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,m5xx,6dmh,kpqm,g1qy">Thi
s is big, big, big</a> says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,jfem,iki,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>A VC</a> and means they get the future of media. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,5v0n,h4zp,kpqm,g1qy">Dis
ney is leading the pack</a> writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,lrtm,8fez,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Business2Blog</a>. Disney chief Robert Iger is trying to avoid the
record industry’s mistakes, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,32zt,gax1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Techdirt</a>, which means other entertainment execs will start
ganging up on him instead of recognizing where they too <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,he90,lsm3,kpqm,g1qy">nee
d to go</a>. 
 In Web 2.0 news, Google Calendar is live and it’s <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,50y9,1rjz,kpqm,g1qy">fas
t, slick and stable</a>. One more step towards <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,6gih,dyon,kpqm,g1qy">Goo
gle Office</a> says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,6up,bmsz,kpqm,g1qy">Read
/Write Web</a>. Also launching: Microsoft Live Academic which lets anyone <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,92ox,6jqt,kpqm,g1qy">sea
rch through academic journals</a> in computer science, electrical engineering and
physics. Google <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,ib6d,l3wr,kpqm,g1qy">voi
ce search may also be coming soon</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a> compares sites that sell music and how they stack
up. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,2ath,csl8,kpqm,g1qy">The
winner? Not iTunes</a>. If you’re looking for a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,2gik,dm5s,kpqm,g1qy">dir
ectory of all the newest Web 2.0 companies</a> in one place check out <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,1yry,fayc,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>O’Reilly Radar</a>. And tax collectors warn you’d better fess up to
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,6bua,4fxa,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/muslimsobl002.jpg" border="0"
height="137" width="209" alt="Image" /></a>what <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,5xe4,cbr7,kpqm,g1qy">tax
es you owe on Internet shopping</a>—or else, reports<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,6ske,cgqh,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt=" " src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/cheneypitch.jpg" border="0"
height="214" width="158" alt="Image" /></a> <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,lfka,hwhu,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Cnet News.com</a>. 
 In politics, some interesting characters are showing up at the demonstrations
against cracking down on immigration including <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,6bua,4fxa,kpqm,g1qy">Ame
rica-bashing Muslim activists</a> says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,hgii,lz6d,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Michelle Malkin</a>. Just a another <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,8z6p,80v1,kpqm,g1qy">par
anoid fantasy of an invasion from the south</a> says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,70t0,1209,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>MyDD</a>. But the story that really got bloggers going was when
Cheney took his 18% approval rating for a ride, throwing the first pitch at the
Washington Nationals' home opener and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,6ske,cgqh,kpqm,g1qy">was
booed loudly</a> writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,f1tq,39m,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>Wonkette</a>. It sounded like <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,ir9y,la26,kpqm,g1qy">a
riot was about to break out</a>, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,7kd1,dckc,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Daily Kos</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,hxyv,bfq6,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Instapundit</a> watched the video, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,3uvk,krq3,kpqm,g1qy">did
n't notice any loud boos</a>, and says the AP has a history of reporting booing
that doesn't show up in the recordings. 
 
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,cifh,6r2b,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g title="Vanity Fair" alt="Vanity Fair"
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/vanityfair_2.jpg" border="0"
height="185" width="128" alt="Image" /></a> Finally, this week’s entertainment
roundup: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,jhnz,k0jk,kpqm,g1qy">Gwy
neth Paltrow had boy</a>, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,f9lq,g16c,kpqm,g1qy">ano
ther unfortunately named celebrity baby</a>, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,c0l4,7irf,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gawker</a>. Vanity Fair<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,f9lq,g16c,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g title="Gwyneth" alt="Gwyneth"
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/gwyneth2.jpg" border="0" height="153"
width="144" alt="Image" /></a> goes all-green with an issue featuring Al Gore
warning that the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,cifh,6r2b,kpqm,g1qy">wor
st catastrophe of human civilization</a> is bearing down on us (via <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,itaz,f14z,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Ted Blog</a>). Angelina Jolie decides to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,juow,57sq,kpqm,g1qy">hav
e her baby in Africa</a> blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,a3o9,b73h,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>popbytes</a>. And the tabloids report Tom Cruise commissioned an <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,phm0,39mg,9zyj,ansi,kpqm,g1qy">adu
lt-size pacifier for Katie Holmes</a> to help her stay quiet while giving birth.
No comment. 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 8th - 14th April 2006
DATE: 04/12/2006 14:45:39
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
 
BAE
Systems confirmed it had started talks to sell its 20%
stake in Airbus to EADS (which owns the other
80%). The news marks the end of BAE's involvement with the
project, which it joined in 1979. The proceeds of a sale, estimated at up to $8
billion, will probably be used to increase its presence in America's defence
industry, where the company is already a big supplier to the Pentagon. <a
target="_blank"
In the latest Vioxx
court case, a jury in New Jersey awarded $9m in punitive damages to a man who
claimed the painkiller had caused his heart attack. The decision was a blow to
Merck because under New Jersey law the jury could make the award
only if it believed the plaintiff's case that the firm had withheld data on the
risk from Vioxx.
size="-1">Serono's share price plunged after the Swiss-based
biotechnology group said it is “terminating discussions” over a possible sale as
it had received only inadequate offers. Several large drug companies have been
mentioned as possible suitors for the firm over the past few months. 
target="_blank" name="where_there's_a_will">Where there's a
will</div> NASDAQ revealed it had become the biggest shareholder
in the London Stock Exchange. It took a 15% stake for £448m
($780m), the bulk of which was sold by Threadneedle Asset Management. Two weeks
ago, NASDAQ dropped a takeover offer that the LSE's board rejected as too low, but which pricked the interest
of its institutional investors. 
The Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation held an unprecedented hearing into Wal-Mart's
application to open a bank. The company insists it does not want to move
into retail banking, but could save money by processing transactions through a
state industrial bank (to be based in Utah). Opponents, from the banking sector
and community groups, predicted that Wal-Mart will expand its plan, leading to the
closure of independent banks serving rural markets. 
Enron trial in Houston saw Jeffrey Skilling, the firm's chief
executive for six months in 2001, take the stand. He has pleaded not guilty of the
fraud that led to the energy-trader's collapse.
The chairman of
Hyundai Motor, Chung Mong-koo, apologised to South Koreans for
becoming embroiled in a series of scandals involving political lobbying and slush
funds. Prosecutors are to question Mr Chung and his son, who is the president of
Kia, a Hyundai affiliate, over the allegations. 
size="-1">Compass, the world's biggest food-services company,
sold its travel-catering business. In a deal totalling £1.8 billion ($3.2
billion), a private-equity firm controlled by Sweden's Wallenberg family will buy
the firm's railway and airport concessions, and Australia's Macquarie Bank will
buy its Moto motorway-service business in Britain. Compass will use some of the
cash to complete its takeover of Levy Restaurants, an American counterpart that
operates in large venues, such as Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. 
target="_blank" name="watch_and_learn">Watch and learn</div>
In the latest internet
initiative by a traditional media company, Disney announced a
two-month experiment that allows viewers freely to download popular series, such
as “Desperate Housewives”, from its ABC website. Networks
usually charge a fee to download programmes, but Disney's plan relies on
advertising revenue (viewers will not be able to fast-forward through
commercials). 
Samsung
Electronics and Sony are expanding their joint venture
in LCD flat-screens and will invest $2 billion in a factory
in South Korea, just as other manufacturers are increasing their capacity.
Analysts predict a further decline in the price of big-screen TVs, but LG.Philips, the
world's biggest maker of large LCD panels, said the drop in
prices had hurt its profits, which fell in the first quarter by 85% from the last
quarter of 2005. 
International Air Transport Association reached an agreement with
Chinese authorities to open a new route that shaves half an hour from the flying
time between China and Europe. Airlines have been pushing the country to ease
restrictions on its airspace, of which only 30% is available for civil
aviation.
The World Trade
Organisation reported that exports in goods increased by 6% in
2005 (in real terms) and estimated they would rise by 7% in 2006. The surge in the
price of oil and metals helped the share of fuels and mining products to reach 16%
of global trade last year, its highest for 20 years. 
target="_blank" name="yellow_fever">Yellow fever</div> <table
size="-1">The price of gold rose above $600 a troy ounce on April
11th for the first time since December 1980 before falling back. Investors looking
for higher-yielding assets have helped raise the price of gold by over 40% in the
past year. <a target="_blank"
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 8th - 14th April 2006
DATE: 04/12/2006 14:44:42
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
 
size="-1">Italy's election produced a photo-finish, with the
centre-left coalition under Romano Prodi narrowly scraping a majority in both
houses of the Italian parliament. But the outgoing prime minister, Silvio
Berlusconi, refused to concede defeat, promising to make Mr Prodi's task of
forming a government even harder. <a target="_blank"
After years of fruitless
pursuit, the Italian authorities finally caught up with and arrested Bernardo
Provenzano, the long-time reputed head of the Mafia in Sicily. <a
target="_blank"
The French
government withdrew its planned new job contract for the young after
several weeks of protest. The cave-in is a political embarrassment for President
Jacques Chirac and his prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, and it also promises
to put off any idea of other reforms for some time to come. <a target="_blank"
Matthias Platzeck
resigned as chairman of Germany's Social Democratic Party on
grounds of ill health. The new chairman of the party, which has lost members and
its way, is Kurt Beck, premier of Rhineland-Palatinate. 
A Spanish judge charged
29 people suspected of involvement in the Madrid train bombings
in March 2004. Most of the suspects are Moroccan nationals. 
 
name="popular_populists">Popular populists</div> Ollanta Humala, a nationalist
former army officer, won Peru's presidential election, with
little more than 30% of the vote. He faces a run-off ballot, almost certainly
against Alan García, a populist former president. <a target="_blank"
The last contingent of
1,765 members of Colombia's right-wing paramilitaries handed in
their arms under a peace process that has seen more than 30,000 demobilise.
Critics claim they have not yet dismantled their criminal and drug-trafficking
networks. 
Eight men were found
dead on a farm in south-western Ontario in what appeared to be a resurgence of a
battle among Canada's biker gangs for control of the drug
trade.
 
name="birthday_bombing">Birthday bombing</div> <table
size="-1">Scores of people, most of them Sunni Muslims, were killed by a huge bomb
blast in Karachi, in southern Pakistan, as they gathered to mark
the anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad's birth.
Five Sri Lankan
soldiers and two civilians were killed in a mine attack in the northern
Jaffna peninsula. The Tamil Tigers and the government are supposed to be observing
a ceasefire.
Australia's
foreign minister, Alexander Downer, was questioned by an inquiry
investigating allegations that illegal payments were made to Iraq by the
Australian wheat board in defiance of sanctions against Saddam Hussein's regime.
John Howard, the prime minister, was expected to follow him.
On the eve of Hu
Jintao's first trip to Washington, DC, monthly
Chinese trade figures recorded a sharp increase in China's
surplus. The Chinese president is sure to face strong calls during his visit for a
further revaluation of the yuan. <a target="_blank"
 
name="in_the_nuclear_club">In the nuclear club</div> Iran announced
that it had managed to produce low-enriched uranium from its first 164-machine
cascade of centrifuges at its pilot enrichment plant at Natanz. Although it claims
its activities at Natanz are for civilian purposes, they are in defiance of
requests by the UN Security Council to halt all such work.
America, which had earlier dismissed reports that it was planning attacks on
Iranian nuclear facilities with tactical nuclear weapons as “wild speculation”,
said Iran was “moving in the wrong direction”. So did Russia. <a target="_blank"
killed and 120 injured when suicide-bombers attacked a Shia mosque in the
Iraqi city of Musayib. It was the worst attack of the year so
far. Politicians in the government reiterated that the country was not entering
into a civil war.
The Israeli cabinet
officially signalled the end of Ariel Sharon's tenure as prime
minister by declaring him “permanently incapacitated” a little over three months
after a stroke that left him in a coma. Ehud Olmert officially becomes prime
minister, but has yet to form a new government after last month's
election.
Israeli shelling of
Gaza killed at least two children as well as several of its
intended targets, the militants responsible for daily rocket attacks across the
border. Meanwhile, the EU suspended all direct aid to the
Hamas-led Palestinian Authority. This is nearly half of the €500m ($600m) a year
that the EU sends to the Palestinian
territories.
The latest round of
talks between rebel groups from the Darfur region of Sudan and
the Sudanese government, hosted by the Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo,
collapsed. Negotiations to end the conflict in Darfur have been proceeding for two
years, but the African Union wants a final conclusion to talks by the end of
April. <a target="_blank"
At least 120 people are
thought to have drowned after a passenger boat capsized on Lake Volta in
Ghana. Last week, a boat overloaded with passengers capsized off
the coast of Djibouti, killing 73. The incidents are the latest
in a spate of passenger-boat disasters in African countries. 
 
name="not_going_to_go_away">Not going to go away</div> <table
valign="top"> 
size="-1">Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in cities across the United
States in support of illegal immigrants and against any potential
congressional legislation that would criminalise them. The biggest rally, in
Dallas, attracted 350,000 protesters. Earlier, a Senate bill more in line with
George Bush's position, which allows illegal immigrants to apply for residency,
stalled because of partisan bickering over amendments. <a target="_blank"
Another political row
broke out over presidential powers when it emerged (through documents filed in the
prosecution of Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, Lewis “Scooter” Libby) that Mr
Bush declassified intelligence on Iraq in 2003 to counter critics
of the war. Democrats asked for more details; Republicans said Mr Bush had not
done anything wrong. 
Early voting began in
the New Orleans mayoral election, which takes place on April
22nd. Polling stations have been set up across Louisiana to allow evacuees from
Hurricane Katrina who don't trust the postal system to return briefly to cast
their ballot. <a target="_blank"
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Rojo: Social Mojo, XP on a Mac
DATE: 04/07/2006 08:59:15
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Top stories for the week of April 3 - April 7, 2006<a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,av79,jofl,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt="Jobs" title="Jobs"
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/jobsfreezesover.jpg" border="0"
height="256" width="204" alt="Image" /></a> 
It’s true, you can now boot Windows on a Mac—<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,57m9,8trv,kpqm,g1qy">and
hell did not freeze over</a>. This week <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,dpbw,beq0,kpqm,g1qy">App
le rolled out Boot Camp</a>, a downloadable software patch that lets its Intel-
based Macs boot XP. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,33k,iwp1,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>Apple Matters</a> can barely believe <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,jt9r,2bb0,kpqm,g1qy">dua
l-booting is finally here</a>, and calls it an <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,i8ux,bvrw,kpqm,g1qy">ins
anely bad idea</a>. It’s <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,je1y,bywg,kpqm,g1qy">a
monumental collision of worlds</a> that could make Dell and other PC makers as
nervous as George Costanza says the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,h5jl,3o64,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>WSJ.com</a> and could earn Apple <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,d5xp,f67c,kpqm,g1qy">mil
lions of new buyers</a>. Apple shares jumped 10 percent. Too bad Mac users
running Windows XP will be subject to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,hi6y,7z3i,kpqm,g1qy">the
same attacks and viruses that plague the Windows world</a>, blogs <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,5xqf,g1k2,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gizmodo</a>. But <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,6r1p,5kmn,kpqm,g1qy">who
wants Windows on a Mac anyway</a>? asks <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,9g52,em9t,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Mary Jo Foley</a>.
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,eh9z,8n6m,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt="Googlebot" title="Googlebot"
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/googlebot.jpg" border="0"
height="153" width="174" alt="Image" />Google’s testing a new real-estate
service</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,b6n0,5pt8,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Shimon Sandler</a>, which means fresh competition for Zillow and
Real Estate ABC. This is how <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,f36r,jdd,kpqm,g1qy">Goog
le actually takes over the world</a>, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,lrtm,8fez,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>business2blog</a>: By getting users to populate Google Base with
stuff in the natural course of their searches. And people laughed that Google
Base’s “upload anything” philosophy was too vague writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,91rd,kseb,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>InsideGoogle</a>, but Mountain View’s looking <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,j0ut,jnbb,kpqm,g1qy">bri
lliant as usual</a>. Google also has a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,hyiy,2coj,kpqm,g1qy">new
related links product for Web publishers</a> that includes tabs for search, news
and related items, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,1vsd,6kob,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Lifehacker</a>, but <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,91rd,kseb,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>InsideGoogle</a> says it <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,2ddo,114b,kpqm,g1qy">doe
sn’t make money like AdSense</a>—until you tweak it.
 In Web 2.0 news, Federated Media, John
Battelle's<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,8z20,jez7,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt="Radio 2.0" title="Radio 2.0"
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/radio_20.jpg" border="0"
height="185" width="239" alt="Image" /></a> blog-ad syndicate, has launched a
mini-tech.memeorandum that <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,28v,g9gf,kpqm,g1qy">aggr
egates top tech headlines from 25 hand-picked bloggers</a> into a single feed.
Battelle calls it the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,4xxv,e94u,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>best of the best</a> (check out the new <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,3p6f,6pwi,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Federated Media/Tech</a> feed) but isn’t this a hopeless old-media
model, asks <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,5z8r,99k2,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Rough Type: Nicholas Carr’s Blog</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a> talks with execs from the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,45mr,bjwh,kpqm,g1qy">mos
t popular RSS readers</a>, including our, ahem, favorite. It's a follow-up to his
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,8kj7,86tx,kpqm,g1qy">pop
ular post about the state of feed readers</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,9qla,bed7,kpqm,g1qy">Swi
tzerland breaks its Web 2.0 neutrality with Wikio</a>, a smart combination of the
best features of digg, Technorati, and Google News. And Friendster founder
Jonathan Abrams has a new <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,cwko,hevn,kpqm,g1qy">awe
some Web 2.0 thing</a> reports <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,ckte,ajmn,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Valleywag</a>. 

The New York Times <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,4vxq,4lkz,kpqm,g1qy">red
esigned its Web site along suspiciously blog-like lines</a>, writes <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,w8x,8qmd,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>Movable Type News</a>, with better use of real estate and white
space, links to most popular stories and videos, a list of most-blogged articles,
and link-rich header and footer for site navigation. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,lrtm,8fez,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>business2Blog</a> <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,bp3j,g577,kpqm,g1qy">hat
es the new look</a>, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,8pql,ek9i,kpqm,g1qy">oth
ers like it</a>. Either way, you can now <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,fz0u,ldza,kpqm,g1qy">wat
ch videos of the wedding announcements</a>. 
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,hrqq,4q16,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g title="Delay" alt="Delay"
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/delayboink1.jpg" border="0"
height="208" width="151" alt="Image" /></a> 
In politics, congressman Tom DeLay (R-TX) announced he would resign in a few
months, ducking out of an increasingly shaky reelection fight. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,5jld,bm42,kpqm,g1qy">DeL
ay’s resignation may have been a scam</a> to let party honchos in Texas pick the
GOP nominee rather than voters, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,3vy2,j9m6,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Taegan Goddard</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,a0jx,e7f1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Huffington Post</a> is outraged that in a post-resignation
interview, Chris Matthews fed DeLay softballs and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,8mfe,cssh,kpqm,g1qy">faw
ned over the former House majority leader</a> on and off camera. <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,eibd,9ti6,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Eschaton</a> asks, What’s worse: That Matthews keeps telling DeLay,
“I owe you,” or <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,lyvf,lrg8,kpqm,g1qy">DeL
ay saying there’s nothing worse than a woman know-it-all</a>?<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,hvjv,e6sw,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g title="Couric" alt="Couric"
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/katiedig.jpg" border="0"
height="172" width="125" alt="Image" /></a> 
The number of bombings and U.S. and civilian casualties in Iraq is dropping,
writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,hxyv,bfq6,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Instapundit</a>, who’s as surprised as anyone at this confirmation
that <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,edv6,i0du,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>good news from Iraq is underreported</a>. Maybe the fact that we’re
spending <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,jzat,a77d,kpqm,g1qy">as
much on Iraq assistance as we did to rebuild Germany</a> helps—but <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,ixt5,f04h,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Think Progress</a> doesn’t think so.
 And finally in entertainment news, after months of Brangelina-like denials and
"no comments," Katie Couric finally <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,hvaf,p3u,kpqm,g1qy">conf
essed what everyone’s known for weeks</a>: she’s leaving the Today for CBS to
become <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,iuaf,3ede,kpqm,g1qy">the
first solo-female evening news anchor</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,de7f,2r51,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>BuzzMachine</a> says what’s saddest is it <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,hvjv,e6sw,kpqm,g1qy">rev
eals no vision for the news</a>. Prepare your goodbyes -- because <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,7apo,3wsi,kpqm,g1qy">you
'll never see those gams under the anchor's desk</a> says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pf2c,39mg,c0l4,7irf,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gawker</a>. 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 1st - 7th April 2006
DATE: 04/06/2006 12:55:34
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
 
size="-1">Thaksin Shinawatra, the Thai prime minister, handsomely
won a general election. But the main opposition parties boycotted the poll, and Mr
Thaksin's result was worse than at an election a year ago, so he announced that he
would stand down. <a target="_blank"
will close all of its small coal mines by the end of next year in an
attempt to improve the industry's dismal safety record.
Pakistani
security forces killed at least 16 Taliban militants in a clash near the
Afghan border, in war-racked North Waziristan.
Nepalese government rejected an offer by Maoist militants for an
indefinite ceasefire in the area around the capital, Kathmandu. The opposition
began a four-day strike.
 
name="the_hammer_comes_down">The Hammer comes down</div> Tom DeLay, the
former House majority leader, said he was resigning from Congress. Affectionately
known as “the Hammer” in his heyday, Mr DeLay gave up the leadership post to fight
charges of campaign-finance wrongdoing. <a target="_blank"
Massachusetts legislature overwhelmingly passed a comprehensive
health-insurance programme that will eventually cover around 95% of uninsured
people in the state. The bill's supporters are pushing it as a model for the
federal government. <a target="_blank"
Two federal air
marshals pleaded guilty of planning to smuggle cocaine on a flight from
Houston to Las Vegas. The pair, arrested in a sting operation in February, were
hired after the expansion in airline security following the September 11th
attacks. 
 
name="it_all_catches_up,_eventually">It all catches up,
eventually</div> Saddam Hussein is to be tried on new charges of
genocide against Iraq's Kurds in the 1980s. On some estimates more than 100,000
were killed, some of them by poisonous gas in the infamous Anfal campaign in 1988.
Under cross-examination for the first time in his current trial, the former Iraqi
dictator admitted signing an order for the execution of 148 Shias. 
Condoleezza Rice,
America's secretary of state, and Jack Straw, her British counterpart, made a
surprise visit to Iraq to hurry along the formation of a new
government. Ibrahim al-Jaffari reiterated that he would not resign as prime
minister, despite calls for him to go. <a target="_blank"
size="-1">UN rushed aid to Iran's western Lorestan
province where a series of earthquakes killed 70, injured at least 1,300 and left
thousands without homes.
size="-1">In Kuwait, women voted for the first time after being
granted equal political rights last year. They participated in a council by-
election in a district south of Kuwait City. 
Sudan banned Jan
Egeland, head of the UN's emergency relief
operations, from entering the conflict-torn region of Darfur, but
then relented under international pressure. Separately, the African Union
announced an investigation into claims that its peacekeepers in the region
committed sexual abuse.
Charles
Taylor, former Liberian president, was charged with crimes against
humanity in the international war-crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone. To avoid risk
of destabilising the region, his trial may be transferred to The Hague. Sweden
said it might be prepared to take him as a prisoner, if he is convicted. <a
target="_blank"
As registration for
candidates in Congo's first multi-party elections in 40 years
closed, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress, led by a veteran opposition
leader, Etienne Tshisekedi, announced it would boycott the poll. More than 70
people have signed up for the presidential contest, including the incumbent,
Joseph Kabila.
size="-1">Uganda's opposition leader, Kizza Besigye denied
treason charges at the start of his trial in Kampala. The Supreme Court rejected
his challenge to presidential elections, won in February by Yoweri Museveni for a
third term. 
 
name="setting_the_world_on_fire">Setting the world on fire</div>
In an unusually brief
“throne speech” at the start of a parliamentary session, Canada's
new Conservative minority government promised measures to fulfil campaign
promises, such as an accountable-government bill and a cut in sales tax, but
otherwise gave little away. <a target="_blank"
Ralph Klein, the long-
serving Conservative premier of oil-rich Alberta, Canada's
fastest-growing province, received an unexpected snub when only 55% of delegates
at a party convention endorsed his leadership. As a result, Mr Klein said he would
step down at the end of this year, rather than in 2008. <a target="_blank"
size="-1">Venezuela's government took control of two oilfields,
one operated by France's Total and the other by Eni of Italy, after the companies
refused to sign up to new arrangements converting their operating contracts into
joint ventures in which Petróleos de Venezuela, the state oil firm, will have a
majority stake. Exxon Mobil earlier sold a stake in a small field to Spain's
Repsol to avoid the change. <a target="_blank"
 
name="a_dented_reputation">A dented reputation</div> There were further
protests in France, even after President Jacques Chirac promised
to water down the new job-contract for young people. The protesters are insisting
on its withdrawal. Mr Chirac gave the task of reshaping the law to parliament, not
to the prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, severely weakening the latter's
authority. <a target="_blank"
valign="top"> 
size="-1">Italy staged its second TV
debate between the two main candidates for prime minister in next week's election.
Silvio Berlusconi, the incumbent, surprised his centre-left opponent, Romano
Prodi, by offering some new tax cuts. Most pundits judged the debate a draw, but
still expect Mr Prodi to win the election narrowly. <a target="_blank"
Denis Donaldson, a one-
time senior man in Sinn Fein who admitted to having been a
British agent for 20 years, was shot dead in a cottage in Co. Donegal, Ireland.
Sinn Fein's paramilitary wing, the IRA, denied
responsibility. <a target="_blank"
Serbia has assured the
International Criminal Tribunal for ex-Yugoslavia in The Hague that it will hand
over Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian-Serb general accused of genocide,
by the end of April. 
Gazprom, Russia's state-
run gas giant, said it was planning to raise sharply the prices it charges to
Belarus, whose economy depends on cheap Russian gas. The move was
seen as part of Gazprom's bid to take control of Belarus's pipelines. 
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 1st - 7th April 2006
DATE: 04/06/2006 12:33:31
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
 
Five years after walking
away from a previous agreement, Alcatel, based in Paris, and
Lucent, based in New Jersey, said they will merge to create a
network-equipment manufacturer rivalling Cisco Systems in size. To head off
political misgivings about the deal, Alcatel is selling its satellite business to
Thales, a French defence group; to handle government research
projects in the United States, the newly combined company will create a subsidiary
overseen by a board of former American security officials. <a target="_blank"
Apple Computer
released software that allows its latest Macintosh computers, based on
Intel chips, to run Microsoft Windows in addition to Apple's own operating system,
Mac OSX. Its share price surged on the news.
target="_blank" name="selling_the_family_silver">Selling the family
silver</div> After arduous negotiations, General Motors announced it
was selling a 51% stake in GMAC, its mortgage and financial
services business (and most profitable division), to a group of private investors
for $14 billion. However, the carmaker's share price fell after sales data showed
it was losing yet more market share. <a target="_blank"
Further trouble for
GM loomed on the horizon as Delphi, its
main parts supplier, filed a restructuring plan that sheds most of its factories,
eliminates thousands of jobs and voids the contracts and benefits of its current
and retired workers. Unions warned that they were ready for a prolonged strike if
the plan is approved; credit-rating agencies said such a strike would only
entrench GM's “junk” status. <a target="_blank"
size="-1">Continental, a German tyre and car-parts firm, agreed
to buy Motorola's telematics (car navigation and communications)
division for $1 billion. The division supplies electronics to carmakers in North
America and is a new venture for Continental, which has also expressed an interest
in buying bits of Delphi.
Rolf Breuer
announced his resignation as chairman of Deutsche Bank's
supervisory board. He is stepping down to spare Germany's biggest bank
embarrassment that might stem from a lawsuit filed by Leo Kirch, in which the
tycoon blames Mr Breuer for the fall of his media empire following negative
remarks he made in 2002 regarding Mr Kirch's creditworthiness. 
Poland reached an
agreement with UniCredit that will allow the Italian bank to
complete its takeover of Germany's HVB, (which involves two
Polish banks). Poland's refusal to allow the deal had drawn sharp criticism from
the EU, which accused its prime minister of acting like an
economic nationalist.
Australia's financial
regulator accused Citigroup of insider trading during a large
takeover last year in which it was an adviser. Separately, the Federal Reserve
Bank of New York ended a year-long ban on Citigroup from conducting big
acquisitions. The punishment was handed down by the Fed after the financial
services group became embroiled in a series of regulatory problems. <a
target="_blank"
Lloyd's
reported a small pre-tax loss of £103m ($187m) for 2005, its first loss in four
years. The world's oldest insurance market was hit by record claims, mostly
stemming from last year's hurricane season. 
target="_blank" name="strategic_steel_stitching-up">Strategic steel stitching-
up</div> Arcelor transferred its recently acquired holdings in
Dofasco, a Canadian steelmaker, to a Dutch foundation so as to
bolster its defences against Mittal Steel's hostile takeover
plans, which include selling Dofasco. The move angered some of Arcelor's
shareholders (even though the firm also increased its dividend by 54% above that
announced in February) who complained about the lack of consultation. 
International
Paper agreed to sell 5.1m acres of forest, dotted around the United
States, to investors for $6.1 billion. That brings the total disposals of the firm
to 5.4m acres, believed to be America's biggest-ever private sale of
forest.
size="-1">Netflix, which pioneered online DVD rentals, launched a lawsuit against
Blockbuster, accusing its rival of infringing two patents
relating to its business methods in the United States. Blockbuster, responding to
Netflix's growing popularity, launched its own online service 20 months ago.

Coca-Cola
overhauled its pay for directors and linked their cashing-in of share
grants to the future performance of the company. The move had been championed by
Warren Buffett, who leaves Coca-Cola's board on April 19th. 
target="_blank" name="the_work_ethic">The work ethic</div> <table
</td></tr></tbody> </table> More data pointed to evidence of Japan's economic
recovery. Its unemployment rate fell to 4.1% in February, the lowest in almost
eight years, while the ratio of jobs to applicants reached a 14-year high. The
news suggests that interest rates will rise above zero sooner than
expected</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Indian News Sources - Media
DATE: 04/05/2006 06:32:44
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<a
href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/">Hindustan Times</a> 
Major English-language daily, published in Delhi. <a
href="http://www.rediff.com/news">Rediff.com</a> 
Major Indian news portal. Breaking news and many web-exclusive
features.
<a
href="http://www.timesofindia.com/today/pagehome.htm">Times of
India</a> 
Quality online daily offering critical reporting of national and regional news.
Good features and business coverage.
href="http://www.aiir.com/asp/aiir.asp?pid=11">All India Internet
Radio</a> 
National internet radio station broadcasting news and music.
href="http://air.kode.net/">All India Radio</a> 
Public service radio station, broadcasting in 24 languages including English. News
available in text and RealAudio.
href="http://www.asianage.com/">Asian Age</a> 
Detailed daily news reports with additional coverage from regional India and the
rest of south Asia.
href="http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/mar282006/update.asp">Decca
n Herald</a> 
Bangalore daily. Text-only version is easiest to navigate.
href="http://www.gomantaktimes.com/">Gomantak Times</a> 
Goa's online paper in English.
href="http://www.hinduonnet.com/">Hindu</a> 
Major national daily paper, based in Madras. Most of its regional coverage is
devoted to India's southern states.
<a href="http://www.indian-
express.com/">Indian Express</a> 
Established national paper: includes a useful special report on Kashmir. Archive
dates back to 1997. 
href="http://www.indiamonitor.com/">India Monitor</a> 
News service, hampered by a clunky design. Includes a useful press
review.
href="http://www.ranchiexpress.com/news/">Ranchi Express</a> 
Brief English-language reports from Ranchi. More detailed accounts are available
in Hindi: fonts are downloadable.
href="http://www.tehelka.com/">Tehelka.com</a> 
Alternative - and alternatively designed - news magazine. 
href="http://www.telegraphindia.com/">Telegraph</a> 
Calcutta daily. 
href="http://www.tribuneindia.com/">Tribune, Chandigarh</a> 
Quality daily with good regional coverage.
<a href="http://www.the-
week.com/">Week</a> 
Weekly news magazine offering bold, punchy analysis. Daily headlines also
available on site.
Jammu and
Kashmir
<hr /><a
href="http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/">Daily Excelsior</a> 
Jammu newspaper aimed at the troubled state's Hindu minority. Tends to lead on
Indian national news. <a
href="http://www.kashmirtimes.com/">Kashmir Times</a> 
Jammu-based paper, daily since 1964. Prides itself on objectivity.
href="http://www.greaterkashmir.com/">Greater Kashmir</a> 
Kashmir-based paper.
href="http://www.kashmirobserver.com/">Kashmir Observer</a> 
News from the Kashmir valley, sceptical of the motives of both India and Pakistan.
The literary quotation or proverb at the end of every leader column lends an
other-worldly feel.
Government
<hr /><a
href="http://goidirectory.nic.in/">Government of India</a> 
Official portal site linking to India's national institutions, including the
websites of the president, prime minister, parliament, ministries, states and
universities. 
<a href="http://pib.nic.in/">Press Information Bureau</a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: India Links (Left/Communist)
DATE: 04/04/2006 10:15:41
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<a href="http://www.sabrang.com/" target="_blank"> 
Sabrang Communications </a>
 <a href="http://www.sahmat.org/" target="_blank">Safdar
Hashmi Memorial Trust</a>
 <a href="http://www.janaagraha.org/"
target="_blank">JANAAGRAHA</a>
 <a href="http://www.janmanch.org/"
target="_blank">JANMANCH – The People’s Forum</a>
 <a href="http://www.sacw.net/" target="_blank">The South
Asia Citizens Web </a>
 <a href="http://www.coalitionagainstgenocide.org/"
target="_blank">Coalition Against Genocide</a>
 <a href="http://www.peoplesfoodsovereignty.org/"
target="_blank">People's Food Sovereignty Network</a>
 <a href="http://www.ncasindia.org/"
target="_blank">National Centre for Advocacy Studies</a>
 <a href="http://www.southasiadisasters.net/"
target="_blank">Disaster Mitigation Institute</a>
 <a href="http://www.narmada.org/" target="_blank">Friends
of River Narmada</a>
 <a href="http://www.labourfile.org/" target="_blank">
Labour File</a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Western Media (Right/Conservative - Mostly)
DATE: 04/04/2006 06:56:55
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tbody><tr><td><img src="http://www.commentarymagazine.com/images/clear.gif"
alt="Image" border="0" height="20" width="14" alt="Image" /></td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <a href="http://www.americanheritage.com/"
target="_blank">American Heritage </a> </td> </tr> <tr>
<td> <a href="http://www.americanoutlook.org/"
target="_blank">American Outlook </a> </td> </tr> <tr>
<td> <a href="http://www.shalem.org.il/azure"
target="_blank">Azure </a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>
<a href="http://www.brook.edu/press/review/rev_des.htm"
target="_blank">Brookings Review </a> </td> </tr> <tr>
<td> <a href="http://www.city-journal.org/" target="_blank">City
Journal </a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a
href="http://www.claremont.org/writings/crb" target="_blank">Claremont Review of
Books </a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a
href="http://www.firstthings.com/" target="_blank">First Things </a> </td>
</tr> <tr> <td> <a href="http://www.forbes.com/"
target="_blank">Forbes </a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>
<a href="http://www.foreignaffairs.org/" target="_blank">Foreign
Affairs </a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/" target="_blank">Foreign Policy </a>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a
href="http://www.momentmag.com/" target="_blank">Moment Magazine </a> </td>
</tr> <tr> <td> <a
href="http://www.nationalreview.com/" target="_blank">National Review </a>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a
href="http://www.digitalnpq.org/" target="_blank">New Perspectives Quarterly </a>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a
href="http://www.fpri.org/orbis/" target="_blank">Orbis </a> </td>
</tr> <tr> <td> <a
href="http://www.cis.org.au/policy/home.htm" target="_blank">Policy Magazine </a>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a
href="http://www.policyreview.org/" target="_blank">Policy Review </a>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a
href="http://www.reason.org/" target="_blank">Reason </a> </td> </tr>
<tr> <td> <a href="http://www.amconmag.com/"
target="_blank">The American Conservative </a> </td> </tr> <tr>
<td> <a href="http://www.theamericanenterprise.org/"
target="_blank">The American Enterprise </a> </td> </tr> <tr>
<td> <a href="http://www.prospect.org/" target="_blank">The
American Prospect </a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/" target="_blank">The Atlantic
Monthly </a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a
href="http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cato_journal.html" target="_blank">The Cato
Journal </a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a
href="http://www.economist.com/" target="_blank">The Economist </a> </td></tr>
<tr> <td> <a href="http://www.forward.com/"
target="_blank">The Forward </a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>
<a href="http://www.jrep.com/" target="_blank">The Jerusalem
Report </a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a
href="http://www.meforum.org/meq" target="_blank">The Middle East Quarterly </a>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a
href="http://www.thenation.com/" target="_blank">The Nation </a> </td>
</tr> <tr> <td> <a
href="http://www.nationalinterest.org/" target="_blank">The National Interest </a>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a
href="http://www.thenewatlantis.com/" target="_blank">The New Atlantis </a>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a
href="http://www.newcriterion.com/" target="_blank">The New Criterion </a>
</td></tr> <tr> <td> <a href="http://www.tnr.com/"
target="_blank">The New Republic </a> </td> </tr> <tr>
<td> <a href="http://www.thepublicinterest.com/"
target="_blank">The Public Interest </a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>
<a href="http://www.the-tls.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Times Literary
Supplement </a> </td></tr> <tr> <td> <a
href="http://www.weeklystandard.com/" target="_blank">The Weekly Standard </a>
</td> </tr> <tr> <td> <a
href="http://wwics.si.edu/index.cfm?fuseaction=wq.welcome" target="_blank">The
Wilson Quarterly </a></td></tr></tbody> </table>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Rojo: Typepad Widgets, Facebook Flap
DATE: 03/31/2006 05:34:55
STATUS: publish
BODY:
Top stories for the week of March 27 - March 31, 2006
<a target="_blank" title="Facebook"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,695g,m19g,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g title="Facebook" alt="Facebook"
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/facebook.jpg" border="0"
height="174" width="174" alt="Image" /></a>
This week’s sign of <strike>the</strike> <strike>apocalypse</strike> Bubble
2.0: Facebook, where college students around the world socialize, turned down a
$750 million offer and is <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,695g,m19g,kpqm,g1qy">ang
ling for $2 billion</a>, according to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,75hn,h0ec,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Businessweek Online</a>. To think Rupert Murdoch <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,3fo7,h5dm,kpqm,g1qy">sna
gged the much larger MySpace for just $580 million</a>; Facebook would cost
$285/student. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,agd4,c550,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Russell BeatieNotebook</a> says it’s a non-story; they’ve been on
the block for awhile and the $2 billion number is <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,63fs,ah3x,kpqm,g1qy">hea
rsay and media manipulation</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a> thinks Facebook executives are just seeing <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,1hku,f18j,kpqm,g1qy">how
high a number analysts think is ridiculous</a> —and it’s higher than $2 billion.
It’s too late, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,79zy,flds,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Om Malik</a>, they should have taken the $750 mil—just take a look
at their <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,etqx,4aeo,kpqm,g1qy">cra
tering Alexa stats</a>. Plus they may open the network to non-student users—and <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,i4uv,a5ik,kpqm,g1qy">get
spanked by MySpace</a>. 

href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,2fco,juvw,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g title="iphone" alt="iPhone"
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/iphone1.jpg" border="0"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,42k6,e42d,kpqm,g1qy">App
le Computer is turning 30</a> and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,2mm7,ewj4,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Kottke</a> links to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,am2f,8k7k,kpqm,g1qy">Ste
ve Jobs’ best quotes ever</a>. But the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,4msp,fruh,kpqm,g1qy">Bea
tles’ Apple record label is ticked about iTunes</a>, saying it violates a 1991
agreement by Apple Computer to not sell music—and is suing because they can’t just
let it be (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,d63u,8mm6,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>eWeek Technology News</a>). Meanwhile, Apple iPhone rumors are
swirling; “reliable” mock-up <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,2fco,juvw,kpqm,g1qy">pho
tos of an iPod-ish cell are making the rounds</a>, but <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,lrtm,8fez,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>business2blog</a> says that’s because Business 2.0
magazine commissioned them in 2005! Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer hints Redmond will
have its own iPod/cell combo, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,ke0m,7edk,kpqm,g1qy">pos
sibly in a year</a>. Ballmer also says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,3awy,c1ot,kpqm,g1qy">he
doesn’t own an iPod, and won’t let his kids have one</a>—and they can’t use Google
either. 

Web 2.0 shorts: Zillow will soon have competition from Internet Brands’ <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,5ydr,12rt,kpqm,g1qy">Rea
lEstateABC.com</a>, which lets users adjust property values and adds detail on
comparables, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a>. Plaxo’s CEO wrote a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,gmhs,78mu,kpqm,g1qy">pub
lic apology for the company’s acquaintance spam</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,71qt,afwa,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Red Herring</a> and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,besf,jnnx,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Silicon Beat</a> report that Luxembourg-based <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,ts1,dryc,kpqm,g1qy">Jaja
h may out-skype Skype</a> with a new no-software VOIP phone service. And Second
Life, an online virtual world, has grown to 165,000 residents and an economy
estimated at $60 million annually, which explains how creator Linden Labs just <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,l7ed,cleo,kpqm,g1qy">rai
sed $11 million in real money</a> from VCs including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos. It’s
more than a game, it’s an operating system, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,k6bz,863h,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Scobleizer</a>: You can store files, script using an in-game API,
even build a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,8bm8,ilyc,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g title="Dealbreaker" alt="Dealbreaker"
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/dealbreaker.jpg" border="0"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,krs5,9loh,kpqm,g1qy">fou
ntain that spits blood</a>.

href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,2j99,bz6r,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt="Strumpette" title="Strumpette"
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/strumpette2.jpg" border="0"
height="129" width="159" alt="Image" /></a> After getting slagged over the
weekend, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,37qa,lj8n,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Micro Persuasion</a>’s Steve Rubel revisited the Dale Carnegie
classic How to Win Friends and Influence People, and turns Carnegie’s
lessons into a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,co53,lyir,kpqm,g1qy">hig
h-road approach to blogging for influence</a>. Meanwhile, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,f18a,c9u,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>infOpinions</a> calls Rubel’s attacker a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,2j99,bz6r,kpqm,g1qy">cow
ardly, anonymous one-hit wonder</a>. 

On the Google beat, the search giant seems to be flying the classic start-up
trajectory: Scorn Wall Street, Washington and “evil,” then start compromising as
your profits attract predators. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,ilyw,dq2y,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Paidcontent.org</a> catalogs Mountain View’s <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,imo8,gp63,kpqm,g1qy">lat
est moral descent as it gets into big-time D.C. lobbying</a>. You might get some
insight into what the Ph.D.-heavy search giant is thinking by checking out <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,hwt2,kx6b,kpqm,g1qy">Goo
gle Tech Talks</a>, a series of free Google Video presentations ranging from
collecting Antarctic meteorites to high-end scientific visualization at NASA (via
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,clak,48o5,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Ars Technica</a>). Or you might get some insight into what ambulance
chasers and mortgage <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,7jhw,irv4,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g title="Card" alt="Card"
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/bushreaction.jpg" border="0"
height="163" width="172" alt="Image" /></a>brokers are thinking by checking out
the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,8qb9,azzw,kpqm,g1qy">top
10 Google keywords</a> on <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,313x,hq5s,kpqm,g1qy">Boi
ngBoing</a>. Good news: mesothelioma lawyers only sets you back $54.33 a
pop.
 In politics, an exhausted-looking Andrew Card resigned as White House chief of
staff; Bush’s Office of Management and Budget director Joshua Bolten will take
over. Maybe fallout<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,9je5,loid,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt="Upsidedown" title="Upsidedown"
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/upsidedown.jpg" border="0"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,fwng,4xjm,kpqm,g1qy">
</a>over <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,fwng,4xjm,kpqm,g1qy">war
rantless spying pushed Card to quit</a>, speculates <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,7kd1,dckc,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Daily Kos</a>. Card’s not enough, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,a0jx,e7f1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Huffington Post</a>; <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,7jhw,irv4,kpqm,g1qy">Rum
sfeld, Rove and Cheney remain</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,f1tq,39m,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>Wonkette</a> wonders if White House counsel <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,5nj9,inhf,kpqm,g1qy">Dan
Bartlett or White House spokesman Scott McClellan might be next</a>. Shaking up
White House staff only <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,kinc,h0tf,kpqm,g1qy">rei
nforces claims critics make about the administration</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,49kf,8hd1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Power Line</a>. Still, Bolten did well at OMB as a voice of fiscal
discipline, and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,6gkr,8yfx,kpqm,g1qy">may
be the new blood the White House needs</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,8txh,7unw,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>RedState</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,dd7u,b0yy,kpqm,g1qy">
</a> 

And hundreds of thousands of students and workers nationwide protested <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,fqic,5gkn,kpqm,g1qy">imm
igration bills being considered by Congress</a>. When L.A. mayor Villaraigosa told
students to head <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,7h8a,4ntn,kpqm,g1qy">bac
k to class</a>, the kids shouted “hell no, we won’t go,” blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,2rzn,ajgd,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Townhall.com</a>. No one’s going to sympathize with protesters who
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,9je5,loid,kpqm,g1qy">rai
se a Mexican flag over an upside-down U.S. flag</a>, blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,pcd4,39mg,ezmv,2c7q,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Wizbang</a>. 
 

�
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Business this week: 25th - 31st March 2006
DATE: 03/30/2006 11:36:31
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
size="-2"><div>Mar 30th 2006 
 
In a move that might
placate its disgruntled shareholders, DaimlerChrysler announced
another overhaul at its loss-making Smart microcar unit, which
includes scrapping the unpopular four-seater model. The restructuring should help
the carmaker's Mercedes division, of which Smart is a part. Last year Mercedes
made its first operating loss in a decade, but DaimlerChrysler's plans will cut
its overheads by consolidating Smart's separate production lines. <a
target="_blank"
revealed it would have to restate financial results for several years at
GMAC. The carmaker is hoping to sell a majority stake in its
mortgage and financial services unit as part of its strategy to raise cash and
improve its credit rating. As part of this strategy, GM is
continuing to divest its holdings in Japan; it is also in talks with three
potential buyers to sell its 7.9% stake in Isuzu Motors.

In a hearing before
America's Supreme Court, eBay argued that it and other e-commerce
companies were being subjected to unnecessary lawsuits from “patent trolls” that
aggressively seek patent royalties. The online auctioneer is defending its
website's “Buy it Now” feature, which it says it has sufficiently altered since a
court ruled in 2003 that it infringed patents held by MercExchange, a technology
firm. <a target="_blank"
target="_blank" name="the_men_from_the_pru">The men from the
Pru</div> Just a few days after Aviva confirmed it had launched a
bid to buy Prudential, it abandoned its £17 billion ($30 billion)
offer due, it said, to a lack of “co-operation” from the Pru's board. The move
didn't dampen speculation among investors that both British insurance firms are
now likely takeover targets. 
withdrew its bid for the London Stock Exchange. It joins a long
line of suitors that have wilted at the displeasure of the LSE's board at the value of its offer (even though some of its
major shareholders expressed positive feelings to the approach).
The Securities and
Exchange Commission overturned a lifetime ban on Frank Quattrone
from working in the securities industry. The SEC
said the ban, imposed in 2004 by the National Association of Securities
Dealers, America's regulator of brokerage firms, was hasty and “not in accordance”
with NASD's rules. 
target="_blank" name="a_white_knight_to_the_rescue">A white knight to the
rescue</div> Temasek, the Singaporean government's investment
company, bought an 11.6% stake in Standard Chartered from the
estate of a deceased local banking tycoon, who helped the bank defeat a takeover
bid in 1986. It was rumoured that several American and British financial
institutions had been interested in the stake, worth £2.3 billion ($4 billion), as
a step towards launching a bid for the London-based firm, which makes most of its
profit in Asia.
Investors gave their
seal of approval to a decision by antitrust officials to allow the $1.7 billion
merger between Maytag and Whirlpool, which both
make electrical appliances (Maytag's share price increased by 28%). The news ends
a saga that heated up when China's Haier made a bid for Maytag last year.

Grupo Ferrovial
said it was employing Australia's Macquarie Bank as an
adviser in its hostile bid to buy BAA, the operator of seven
British airports, including Heathrow. As part of their arrangement, the Spanish
firm, which specialises in infrastructure, struck a deal to sell its 21% stake in
Sydney airport to Macquarie if it succeeds in winning BAA
(for which Macquarie had been expected to mount a rival bid).
GUS, a
British retailer and business services group, confirmed that it was planning to
split itself in two and list its Argos Retail Group and
Experian divisions on the stockmarket. The plan to demerge was
expected (GUS sold its stake in Burberry last year), but
private-equity groups had expressed interest in Experian, a credit-checking
business based in California. 
size="-1">Accenture, a consulting firm, reported that net profit
for the three months ending February 28th had fallen by 67%, compared with a year
earlier, as it booked a $450m charge for losses associated with its contract to
provide Britain's National Health Service with a new IT
system. Problems with integrating and developing the system are proving more
difficult for Accenture than it indicated last year.
target="_blank" name="money_in_the_bank">Money in the bank</div>
size="-1">China surpassed Japan as the world's biggest holder of foreign
reserves. The news came amid more politicking over China's currency
policy, which American politicians regard as a cause of their trade deficit.
Charles Schumer, a senator who has been shrill in his attacks on Beijing, dropped
plans, for the moment at least, to slap a 27.5% tariff on Chinese goods, partly in
response to signals from China that it would allow its currency to float more
freely. <a target="_blank"
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Politics this week: 25th - 31st March 2006
DATE: 03/30/2006 11:24:37
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
size="-2"><div>Mar 30th 2006 
 
size="-1">The new Kadima party, founded by Ariel Sharon, won the largest number of
parliamentary seats (28) in Israel's general election. Mr
Sharon's former party, the Likud, did poorly, winning only 11 seats, whilst Labour
won 20. But Kadima, led by acting prime minister Ehud Olmert, won less decisively
than expected, which should make forming a stable coalition harder. <a
target="_blank"
A cabinet formed by the
Islamist party, Hamas, won a parliamentary vote and formed a
Palestinian government. Ismail Haniya was sworn in as prime
minister. He urged the international community not to punish the Palestinian
people for their support of Hamas by suspending aid. <a target="_blank"
After three weeks of
argument, the UN Security Council issued a presidential
statement calling on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment. At the
insistence of Russia and China, a phrase saying that Iranian nuclear weapons would
be a threat to peace was excised from the final text. <a target="_blank"
Iraq, the American army faced mounting anger and political
pressure from Shias after a combined raid with the Iraqi army on a Baghdad mosque
complex killed about 20 people. Elsewhere in the country, scores more bodies were
found, victims of a wave of sectarian violence that has driven 30,000 people from
their homes. <a target="_blank"
Nigeria, the remaining three Western oil workers kidnapped by
militants demanding a bigger local share of oil revenues flowing from the Niger
Delta region were released. 
At a summit in Khartoum,
Sudan, the Arab League pledged to fund the embattled and under-
resourced African Union force in the Darfur region of the country for the next six
months. The UN is expected to assume control of the force
in October. 
After nearly three years
in exile in Nigeria, Charles Taylor, a former Liberian president,
was taken into custody by the international war-crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone.
He faces trial on 17 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his
alleged role in Sierra Leone's brutal civil war. <a target="_blank"
 
name="expensive_exit">Expensive exit</div> Antonio Palocci, Brazil's
powerful finance minister, resigned because his office was party to the
leaking of bank-account details of a witness against him in a corruption scandal.
His replacement, Guido Mantega, was the head of the country's largest development
bank. The real and Brazil's bonds both lost value. <a target="_blank"
 
Animal-rights activists,
including Brigitte Bardot and Sir Paul McCartney, tried to hinder an annual cull
of 325,000 harp seals in eastern Canada, which officials say is
needed to control their numbers.
 
name="hell,_no,_we_won't_vote">Hell, no, we won't vote</div>
Thailand, protestors staged a final demonstration in protest at
an election due on April 2nd, which the prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, has
called early in an attempt to disarm his critics. The main opposition parties are
boycotting the poll. <a target="_blank"
An Afghan
Muslim, who escaped a possible death sentence for the crime of becoming a
Christian, arrived in Italy where he was immediately granted asylum.
The first jail sentence
given to medical professionals for aborting a female fetus was handed down in
India. A doctor and his assistant were sentenced to two years for
revealing the sex of the fetus, illegal under Indian law, and then agreeing to
abort it. A recent report estimated that around 10m female fetuses have been
aborted in India in the past 20 years.
Pakistan
praised an offer by India's prime minister, Manmohan Singh, of a treaty
of friendship, peace and security, between the two adversaries.
 
name="talking_to_the_enemy">Talking to the enemy</div> Negotiations continued in
Ukraine to form a coalition government following a parliamentary
election. President Viktor Yushchenko's party fared badly, taking 14% of the vote,
forcing him to talk to Yulia Tymoshenko, his former ��orange revolution�� ally,
about returning to her old job of prime minister. <a target="_blank"
Belarus
continued to clamp down on protests against Alyaksandr Lukashenka's victory in the
recent presidential election. A former Polish ambassador to the country was among
those jailed. NATO joined Western governments in denouncing
the election as flawed and is to review its strategic pact with Belarus. <a
target="_blank"
Strikes and
demonstrations continued across France against a new labour
contract for the young. Though most protests were peaceful, skirmishes broke out
in Paris. <a target="_blank"
tried to reassure markets that its president's decision to veto the appointment of
an Islamist as governor of the central bank was not a crisis. Adnan Buyukdeniz was
nominated by the ruling Justice and Development Party, which has seen several of
its nominations to key government posts rejected by Turkey's secular institutions.
<a target="_blank"
 
name="the_fall_guy">The fall guy</div> Andrew Card resigned as
George Bush's chief of staff. He held the post longer than anyone
since the Eisenhower administration, but was blamed by some Republicans for the
slide in the president's popularity. He was replaced by Josh Bolten, the current
budget director. <a target="_blank"
face="verdana,geneva,arial,sans serif" size="-1">Jack Abramoff
was sentenced to six years in prison for fraud in Florida. The former
lobbyist will not be sent behind bars just yet as he is co-operating with a
federal investigation in a separate fraud and bribery case, for which he made a
plea-bargain deal in January and is yet to be sentenced.
Around half a million
people demonstrated in Los Angeles against stringent immigration
proposals that are being championed by Republicans in Congress. However, a
committee in the Senate approved a bill combining tighter border security with
ways to allow illegal migrants to become citizens and others to come as guest-
workers. <a target="_blank"
The Supreme
Court heard an appeal by Osama bin Laden's former driver, which
challenges the use of presidential powers to try suspected terrorists in military
tribunals. The court is expected to rule later this year.
In a unanimous vote, the
Federal Election Commission decided that political websites, such as
internet blogs, can remain broadly unregulated in what they
publish (except for paid political advertising). 
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Indira Parthasarathy Drama Workshop - April 3-8
DATE: 03/30/2006 06:38:03
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<div align="center">BAY AREA TAMIL CULTURAL
CENTER </div> <div align="center">and</div> <div align="center">BHARATHI NATAKA MANRAM</div> <div
align="center"> </div> <div align="center">ARE PROUD TO BRING YOU</div> <div
align="center"> </div> <div align="center"> A DRAMA WORKSHOP by INDIRA
PARTHASARATHY</div> <div> </div> <blockquote style="">
<blockquote style=""> <div>Sangeeth Nataka Academy
award winner Indira Parthasarathy</div> <div>will be
conducting a weeklong drama workshop in April. </div> <div>It
will be once in a lifetime opportunity to learn from an illustrious 
dramatist of Indira Parthasarathy's magnitude. Besides being</div> <div>a Tamil
professor and a dramatist he has won awards</div> <div>for his novels and plays.
He was the Founder-Director of
the</div> <div>School
of Performing Arts,
Pondicherry University.</div></blockquote></blockquote>
<div>The workshop details are as follows:</div>
<div> </div> <div> <table style="border-collapse:collapse; "
border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="border-
color:windowtext; background-color:transparent; " align="right" height="21">Monday, April 03,
2006</td> <td style="border-color:windowtext; background-
color:transparent; ">Fremont
Library</td> <td style="border-color:windowtext; background-
color:transparent; ">5 PM
to</td> <td style="border-color:windowtext; background-
color:transparent; " align="right">9:00 PM</td></tr> <tr> <td style="border-
face="Times New Roman" size="2">Wednesday, April 05,
color:transparent; ">Fremont Library
</td> <td style="border-color:windowtext; background-
color:transparent; ">5 PM to
face="Times New Roman" size="2">Thursday, April 06,
color:transparent; ">Union City
Library </td> <td style="border-color:windowtext; background-
color:transparent; ">5 PM to
face="Times New Roman" size="2">Friday, April 07,
color:transparent; ">To be Announced
color:transparent; ">-
</td> <td style="border-color:windowtext; background-color:transparent;
"> </td></tr> <tr>
<td style="border-color:windowtext; background-color:transparent; " align="right"
height="21">Saturday, April 08,
color:transparent; ">Union City
Library </td> <td style="border-color:windowtext; background-
color:transparent; ">10 AM to
color:transparent; " align="right">2:00 PM</td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div>
<div style=""> </div> <div> <div>Prof. Parthasarathy intends to
offer this workshop using a script-oriented approach with the following broad
outline</div> <div> </div> <div>1. Introductory lecture followed by play
reading. </div> <div>2. Reading a play for your own pleasure, reading it to probe
the characters, to contemplate on the plot in relation to the characters etc</div>
<div>3. Reviewing and rewriting the scenes from the participants'
perspectives</div> <div>4. Organizing the students into small groups to discuss
different situations</div> <div>5. Each group bringing its unified outlook on the
situation they studied </div> <div>6. Discussion by the whole group.</div>
<div>7. Importance of scenery, properties, costumes, blocking etc. 
8. Converting a shortstory into a play 
9. Adaptations from English to Tamil 
 
We will be making use of his plays 'Aurangzeb' 'Iruthi
Attam'.</div></div> <div style=""> </div></div>
<div>Registration Fees:</div> <div> </div> <div>The
materials fee for the workshop is $15 per day or $50 for the entire
workshop.</div> <div> </div> <div>Seats are limited. So, please RSVP to
reserve your place by April 2nd.</div> <div> </div> <div>Participants will
receive a certificate of completion. We are working with University of
California, Berkeley, Tamil Chair to get their endorsement of this program and
possibly get a certificate from the university. </div> <div> </div> <div>For
further details about registration, please contact:</div> <div> </div>
<div>Mani M. Manivannan</div> <div>e-mail: <a target="_blank"
href="http://us.f600.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=mmanivannan@gmail.com">mmanivannan@gmail.com</a> </div> Phone: 510-796-2433
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Top Web 2.0 Stuff - Media
DATE: 03/29/2006 08:17:59
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<ul> <li>Business 2.0's <a
href="http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/23/smbusiness/business2_nextnet_intro/index.htm
">The Next Net 25</a></li><li>Chicago Tribune's <a
href="http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/technology_internetcritic/2006/03/se
rvices.html">50 best Web sites: SERVICES</a></li><li>Designtechnica's <a
href="http://reviews.designtechnica.com/guide46.html">The Best of Web 2.0</a>
review</li> </ul>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Will Iran Be Iraq All Over Again
DATE: 03/28/2006 20:17:04
STATUS: publish
BODY:
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7046.php"> FOOL ME
TWICE</a>� </div> By Joseph
Cirincione 
I used to think that the Bush administration wasn’t seriously considering a
military strike on Iran, because it would only accelerate Iran’s nuclear program.
But what we’re seeing and hearing on Iran today seems awfully familiar. That may
be because some U.S. officials have already decided they want to attack Iran.
Related in FP: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7059.php">How To Keep Iran Honest</a>,
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7060.php">Blair’s
New Tune on Iran</a>, and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7061.php">Think Again: Iran</a> 

href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7048.php"> THE COMING GAS
CARTEL</a>� </div> By Michael J.
Economides 
Oil is not America’s only energy addiction. With domestic gas production in
decline, the United States and many of its allies will grow more dependent on
imports to generate electricity and heat homes. Gas suppliers will band together
in response to the growing global demand, just as oil producers did decades ago.
Few people talk about the looming U.S. dependency on imported natural gas, but it
could be painful. Related in FP: <a
target="_blank" href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7066.php">The Green
Bullet</a>, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7067.php">Think Again: Energy
Independence</a>, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7068.php">The Future of Oil</a>, <a
target="_blank" href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7069.php">A Well-Oiled
Regime</a>, and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7070.php">Think Again: Nuclear
Energy</a> 

href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7047.php"> WHAT NEXT FOR
IRAQ?</a>�</div> When President Bush speaks derisively about advocates of
“cutting and running” from Iraq, he has in mind people like Nir Rosen, a
journalist whose reporting has led him to the conclusion that U.S. withdrawal is
the best policy. Rosen recently told FP why the United States
should get out, why Moktada al-Sadr is the only man who can keep Iraq together,
and why Iran and the United States are natural allies. Related
in FP: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7062.php">Christopher Hitchens vs.
George Galloway</a>, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7081.php">Profile of a Killer: Abu
Musab al-Zarqawi</a>, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7082.php">The Iraq War Blame Game</a>,
and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7065.php">The
Ethics of Exit</a> 
 
 
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7049.php"> THE WORLD’S
MARKED MEN</a>� </div> By Daniel
Byman 
Assassinations have sparked major upheavals throughout history.
FP looks at seven leaders who are at risk today—Abdullah, Al-
Sistani, bin Laden, Chávez, Karzai, Musharraf, and Putin—and what might follow if
they fall. 
 
<div class="subtitle2level"><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7022.php">NIGHT FLIGHT</a> </div>
Photographs by Bruno Stevens 
In engrossing photos, Bruno Stevens captures the plight of Uganda’s “night
commuters”—the 40,000 children who hike for miles from their villages every night
to shelters in town. They are on the run from the Lord’s Resistance Army, a
radical, religious paramilitary group that seeks to swell its ranks by abducting
children while they sleep. If caught, their next march will be as Uganda’s
youngest soldiers. 
 
 
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/redirect/7050.php"> WHAT EXACTLY IS
SOFT POWER?</a>� </div> By Joseph S. Nye
Jr. 
In 1990, FP was the first to publish the concept “soft power” in
an article I wrote. Since then, the idea has circled the globe, as a quick Google
search will show. But as it has moved into common usage, the term has been
stretched and twisted, sometimes beyond recognition. What exactly is soft power
and how useful is it in dealing with today’s challenges? 
 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Worldwatch: Has the U.S. Media Reached a Tipping Point on Global Warming?
DATE: 03/28/2006 13:52:46
STATUS: publish
BODY:
In a remarkable shift with far-reaching policy implications, prominent U.S.
news organizations are declaring the debate on climate change "over." This week's
cover story in <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1176980,00.html">Time</a>
magazine and all-week coverage by <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.abcnews.go.com/WNT/GlobalWarming/story?id=1770428&page=1">ABC
News' "World News Tonight"</a> both acknowledge the overwhelming scientific
consensus on global warming. As the Time story says, "By any measure,
Earth is at the tipping point…. Suddenly and unexpectedly, the crisis is upon
us."
Melting glaciers and mounting scientific evidence appear to have persuaded many
journalists and editors to abandon their tendency to portray the issue as an
unsettled controversy. Revelations that the Bush Administration altered government
studies and muzzled experts also spurred the media's conversion, along with
reports that ExxonMobil and other oil companies sought deliberately to convince
the public of ongoing scientific uncertainty. 
The media now notes that many climate "skeptics" are funded by the fossil fuel
industry, and that oil company lobbyists have assumed key positions in the White
House and government agencies in recent years. Yet some groups are still fighting
to convince the public that the climate debate is justified, in response to a
recent <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.adcouncil.org/newsDetail.aspx?id=79">partnership</a> between
Environmental Defense and the Ad Council to run public service announcements on
the crisis.
Now that the U.S. media is declaring the climate debate dead, policymakers in
the world's largest carbon-emitting nation must focus on effective solutions.
Worldwatch's <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.worldwatch.org/ct/20060328/pubs/sow/2006/">State of the World
2006</a> report notes that the United States must work with the international
community, and with China and India in particular, to ensure adequate energy
supplies for all while simultaneously transitioning away from fossil fuels. At
last year's <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.worldwatch.org/ct/20060328/press/news/2005/09/28/">World
Petroleum Congress</a>, Worldwatch President Christopher Flavin announced that the
world is at an "energy tipping point," with production of biofuels, wind power,
and solar energy all growing at rates of 20–30 percent per year, compared with
growth rates of 2 percent for oil and gas.
Increased policy support for renewable energy, together with high oil and gas
prices, could provoke a true energy revolution in the next few years. According to
a recent <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/GlobalWarming/story?id=1750492&page=1">
Stanford University</a> poll, the American public is ready: 85 percent of
respondents agreed that human-induced climate change is occurring, and 65 percent
believed the government should do more to stop it. Another poll by the <a
target="_blank" href="http://pewresearch.org/obdeck/?ObDeckID=8">Pew Research
Center</a> found that 82 percent of Americans support increased federal research
on solar and wind energy—with Republicans voicing even greater support than
Democrats.
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 03/28/2006 10:54:12
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
size="-2"><div>Mar 23rd 2006 
 
reached an agreement on early retirement with the United Auto Workers,
boosting the carmaker's cost-cutting programme. The deal should also avert a
strike by workers at Delphi, GM's bankrupt
parts supplier, who are included thanks to commitments made when GM span the firm off in 1999. The news was welcomed by investors.
Last week, the carmaker revealed that its loss of $10.6 billion for 2005 was $2
billion more than reported in January, largely because of its exposure to Delphi.

Volvo
Trucks gained a foothold in Asia by buying a 13% stake in Nissan
Diesel from Nissan Motors for SKr 1.5 billion ($195m). The Swedish
company has an option to buy the remaining 6% of Nissan Motors' stake within the
next four years.
Sanofi-
Aventis, a French pharmaceutical company, settled a dispute with
Apotex, a Canadian maker of generic drugs, which protects
Sanofi's American patent on Plavix, a blood-thinner, until 2011. Sanofi's share
price soared after the announcement; Plavix, marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb, is
the world's second bestselling drug. 
 
name="a_vista_on_the_horizon">A Vista on the horizon</div>
Microsoft delayed the
consumer launch of its new Windows Vista operating system
(again), pushing the date to January. The share prices of some computer-makers
wobbled at the news. Investors fretted that sales might stall in the Christmas
season as shoppers wait for the new version. 
After the group's chief
executive said he had “no plans” to do so, Aviva was forced by
British regulators to admit it might still raise its offer of around £16 billion
($30 billion) for Prudential. Aviva says that its bid, which
would unite Britain's two biggest insurance companies, promises advantages when
competing with larger American and European firms. The Pru has rejected the offer.
<a target="_blank"
ITV,
Britain's biggest commercial broadcaster, turned down a proposal by three private-
equity firms seeking a controlling interest in the company. The consortium
includes Apax Partners, which retains Greg Dyke, the BBC's
former director-general, as an adviser. 
Body Shop
International is to be bought by L'Oréal for £652m ($1.1
billion). Anita Roddick, who founded the beauty retailer, said L'Oréal's French
negotiators were “the most bloody seductive people on earth”. Some questioned
whether Body Shop's earthy-crunchy image will fit with the owner of such glamorous
brands as Lancôme. 
 
name="following_a_precedent">Following a precedent</div> A federal appeal court ordered a
retrial of Frank Quattrone,an investment banker made rich by the
1990s tech boom, who was convicted in 2004 of obstructing justice. In similar
thinking to last year's Supreme Court's ruling that overturned Arthur Andersen's
conviction, the court found fault with instructions given to the jury at Mr
Quattrone's trial. The judge had not made it clear that to secure a conviction he
had to be found to have knowingly obstructed an investigation into share dealings
when he asked colleagues to wipe e-mails. <a target="_blank"
Chen Jiulin, the former
chief executive of China Aviation Oil, was sentenced by a court
in Singapore to four years in jail for his part in a $550m derivatives scandal in
2004. Mr Chen pleaded guilty last week to six charges that included issuing false
financial statements. Several former executives have been sentenced in the case,
which was Singapore's biggest financial scandal in a decade. 
size="-1">PetroChina reported net income of 133.4 billion yuan
($16.3 billion) for 2005. The profits were larger than those made by firms such as
Total and Chevron, and are the biggest-ever for an Asian publicly listed company
(which is a subsidiary of state-run CNPC).
BAA rejected an £8.75
billion ($15.4 billion) preliminary takeover offer from Grupo
Ferrovial, a Spanish firm which specialises in infrastructure and which
has been mulling a bid for the British airports operator since February. Britain's
regulators gave Ferrovial until April 24th to make a firm offer. 
size="-1">SITA, a firm which provides IT systems to
airlines, estimated that missing luggage will cost the industry
$2.5 billion this year. Most of the 30m stray valises will be returned,
eventually, to their rightful owners, but 204,000 bags (out of three billion that
are checked in) will be lost for ever. 
 
name="that_frothy_feeling">That frothy feeling</div> <table
size="-1">Stockmarkets continued the year's bullish run. The FTSE
index closed above 6,000 for the first time in five years and the Dow
Jones Industrial Average traded over 11,000. The star performer was the
Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex index, which touched 11,000 for
the first time, just six weeks after topping 10,000.
</a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Top stories for the week of March 20 - March 24, 2006
DATE: 03/28/2006 10:52:33
STATUS: publish
BODY:
 Surprise, suprise, Vista slipped. Microsoft announced the
new version of Windows <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,l12s,a3yb,kpqm,g1qy">won
’t be released in time for the 2006 holiday season</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,lfka,hwhu,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>CNET News.com</a> ). It’s gonna <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,jmsr,d25i,kpqm,g1qy">sti
nk to be a PC retailer</a>, reports <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,kmur,itpx,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Yahoo News</a>. What happened to “we needed just a few more weeks?”
asks <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,lrtm,8fez,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Business2blog</a>, warning others <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,k1zu,jtu5,kpqm,g1qy">not
to do the victory dance before they ship</a>. Last week’s Vista demo was about <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,3lbq,hotj,kpqm,g1qy">min
d-numbing pointlessness</a>, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,3g59,8ztv,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Forbes</a>, leading audience members to check e-mail on their
Blackberrys instead.<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,jm9l,5cte,kpqm,g1qy">
Fire the leadership NOW</a>, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,hej9,m0ao,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Mini-Microsoft</a>. 

href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,k1zu,jtu5,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt="Microsoft" title="Microsoft"
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/microsoft.jpg" border="0"
height="145" width="194" alt="Image" /></a>While <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,emf2,27n4,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Scott Rosenberg</a> tracks <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,chiz,7f3n,kpqm,g1qy">how
the Vista meme propagated through the blogosphere</a> from digg to Slashdot to
the New York Times, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,k6bz,863h,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Scobleizer</a> took heat for being <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,bgwa,by0c,kpqm,g1qy">out
of the loop</a>. Readers expected <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,gkvd,8wge,kpqm,g1qy">qui
cker Vista comment</a> from Redmond’s blogger, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,37qa,lj8n,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Micro Persuasion</a>. And Bill Gates had just been so helpful at
lunch, answering <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,k6bz,863h,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Scoble</a>’s <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,lkr3,o2r,kpqm,g1qy">pesk
y questions about acquisitions</a>. At least Gates has a sense of humor about <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,ltve,jivq,kpqm,g1qy">all
those Bill videos on YouTube</a>. 

 Microsoft’s getting much more positive coverage in the blogosphere for Mix 06,
Redmond’s Web-development hoo-hah in Vega$. The IE 7 preview was popular, and <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,gpnu,8jpl,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Yahoo Music Blog</a> touted the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,eucy,4469,kpqm,g1qy">Yah
oo! Music Unlimited widget</a> for Microsoft’s Sidebar and Yahoo! Music RSS
feeds. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,l2n3,bxsy,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Scobleizer</a> went to the MySpace party and quizzed CTO Aber
Whitcomb on <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,bi6c,86pf,kpqm,g1qy">how
MySpace got so popular</a>: Influential first adopters, obedience to users, and
having founder Tom as everybody’s first friend. 
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,eucy,4469,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g alt="Yahoo Music" title="Yahoo Music"
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/yahoomusic1.gif" border="0"
height="120" width="235" alt="Image" /></a>Meanwhile, in the world of software
that works today: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>TechCrunch</a> covers the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,gfax,b6ls,kpqm,g1qy">alp
ha launch of Riya</a>, the photo facial-recognition site, as well as <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,c8ba,eumj,kpqm,g1qy">Fir
efox 2.0 Alpha</a>. Also debuting this week is a company <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,8l62,hl3i,kpqm,g1qy">Mik
e Arrington calls evil</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,1vsd,6kob,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Lifehacker</a> shows you how to be a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,f0r0,bve2,kpqm,g1qy">Gma
il master</a>. And Pearl Jam shows how <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,3cxy,cv9n,kpqm,g1qy">giv
ing away content can help sales</a>; even after they gave their “World Wide
Suicide” single away, it became the number-one iTunes download. 

 Google continues to launch new services every week, like <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,gkdd,epm8,kpqm,g1qy">Goo
gle Finance</a>. Think Google Maps, but with <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,6u1w,xc6,kpqm,g1qy">time
and stock price replacing latitude and longitude</a>. But it took <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,79zy,flds,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Om Malik</a> <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,3w45,7sqi,kpqm,g1qy">jus
t 15 minutes to decide it’s a yawn</a>... and the data is two whole hours old! <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,de7f,2r51,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Buzzmachine</a> thinks the biggest deal is that Google is <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,mavf,bg49,kpqm,g1qy">get
ting into the content biz</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,ilyw,dq2y,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>PaidContent.org</a> <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,h68l,dp0p,kpqm,g1qy">rou
nds up reviews</a>.
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,1igf,fzho,kpqm,g1qy"><im
g title="Trump" alt="Trump"
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/babytrump.jpg" border="0"
height="169" width="180" alt="Image" /></a> Political bloggers had a field day
when President Bush left getting troops out of Iraq up to “future presidents,”
blogs <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,a0jx,e7f1,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Huffington Post</a>, which figures Bush is <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,7361,2vad,kpqm,g1qy">jus
t leaving things in God’s hands</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,fzff,5lzw,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Daily Kos</a> is <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,h8bn,zmt,kpqm,g1qy">asha
med of a president who laughs</a> when asked about war. And <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,2yfy,69tb,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Truthdig</a> calls the president <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,5muq,m027,kpqm,g1qy">ton
e-deaf</a>. But <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,jma8,cqpd,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Captain’s Quarters</a> writes that even the Washington
Post gave the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,dd7u,b0yy,kpqm,g1qy">pre
sident’s press outing high marks</a>, and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,61qh,1hpp,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Decision ’08</a> wonders why the president doesn’t do <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,imcc,ayt,kpqm,g1qy">more
conferences like this one</a>. The president later suggested <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,2pth,mcim,kpqm,g1qy">blo
gs can get out stories the media refuses to show</a>, according to <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,497o,3mbr,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Blogs for Bush</a>. 

Bad enough that <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,d0j2,dvh4,kpqm,g1qy">Yah
oo brought in Tom Cruise for some big thinking</a>; now <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,c0l4,7irf,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Gawker</a> reports that <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,49ts,b4fx,kpqm,g1qy">Jud
ith “Miss Runamuck” Miller is working on a story for The Atlantic</a>,
possibly because of former Times colleague Howell Raines. At least
Colbert Report’s Stephen Colbert will keep the printed word safe with <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,7iq0,ejw8,kpqm,g1qy">a
seven-figure Warner book deal</a>. Meanwhile <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,1igf,fzho,kpqm,g1qy">Don
ald Trump is about to fire his newborn son</a>. And anyone who wants to track
celebrity sightings around Manhattan—Harrison Ford, Lucy Liu, Ashanti—should try
the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p9p2,39mg,m9mw,htrf,kpqm,g1qy">Goo
gle Maps-powered Gawker Stalker mash-up.</a> 

�
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 03/28/2006 07:35:37
STATUS: publish
BODY:
week 
size="-2"><div>Mar 23rd 2006 
 
 
American and British
forces freed three hostages held in Baghdad since November.
Norman Kember, a Briton, and James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden, both Canadians,
belong to a Christian peace-group working in Iraq. Their detention was condemned
by Muslims worldwide. The tortured body of a fourth hostage, Tom Fox, an American,
was found in Baghdad earlier this month. 
George Bush
used a press conference to re-emphasise that he thinks his policy in Iraq
will eventually produce a democratic country. He also hinted that a decision to
bring American troops home would be made by his successor, after January 2009.

size="-1">Illinois held primaries for November's mid-term
elections. Tammy Duckworth, one of the most prominent of several Iraq war veterans
who are campaigning across the United States, won her Democratic primary. <a
target="_blank"
An appeals court
dismissed revised federal regulations that attempt to loosen emission
controls for older coal-powered energy plants. The case had been brought
by 15 states, including California and New York, which argued that the looser
rules, issued in 2003, harmed public health. 
 
name="perilous_apostasy">Perilous apostasy</div> Western governments expressed
concern over religious freedom with Afghanistan's government
following the jailing of a man (who may yet be executed) for converting from Islam
to Christianity.
Afghanistan's president,
Hamid Karzai, reshuffled his cabinet and replaced Abdullah
Abdullah as foreign minister. Mr Abdullah was the last significant member of the
Northern Alliance, which fought the Taliban in the 1990s, left in the cabinet.

Sonia Gandhi, leader of
India's ruling Congress party, resigned her seat in India's
parliament, and as chair of a national advisory commission. Members of parliament
are not allowed to hold other paid public positions. Congress's reported plans to
amend this rule, seen as a move to protect Mrs Gandhi, had caused a furore. She
says she will stand for re-election in her constituency. 
 
Russia's president,
Vladimir Putin, paid a visit to China, where a number of deals
were signed, including an agreement to build pipelines that will eventually
provide China with up to 80 billion cubic metres of gas a year. <a target="_blank"
 
name="the_minsk_wail">The Minsk wail</div> As expected, Alyaksandr
Lukashenka was declared the overwhelming victor in Belarus's
presidential election. Protesters demonstrated on the streets of Minsk
against what they saw as a rigged result, but a repeat of Ukraine's ��orange
revolution�� of last winter looks unlikely. <a target="_blank"
Silvio
Berlusconi attacked Italian businessmen at a conference organised by
Confindustria, a business lobby group. The Italian prime minister, who is lagging
in the polls ahead of next month's election, said that those who supported the
left were out of their minds. He also suggested that the idea of Italy being in an
economic crisis had been dreamt up by the left and by the newspapers.
France, street protests continued to grow against a new job
contract that would make it easier to fire the young. The prime minister,
Dominique de Villepin, is refusing to back down, though he is talking of offering
some concessions. <a target="_blank"
The Basque separatist
group ETA announced a ��permanent ceasefire��. ETA has killed over 800 people in the past 40 years, though
nobody during the past three. Its ceasefire was welcomed by Spain's prime
minister, Jos�� Luis Rodr��guez Zapatero, who has been more open than his
predecessors to dialogue with Spanish regions seeking more autonomy. <a
target="_blank"
The trial began in
Britain of seven men, allegedly linked to al-Qaeda, who conspired
to launch a campaign of bombings. One defendant was accused of trying to buy a
��radioisotope bomb��.
size="-1">Sweden's foreign minister, Laila Freivalds, resigned
after allegations that she lied about her involvement in the closure of a Swedish
website that wanted to publish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
 
name="unknown_soldier">Unknown soldier</div> Prices of Peruvian
bonds and shares fell as opinion polls suggested that Ollanta Humala, a
nationalist former military officer of no previous political experience, might win
the first round of a presidential election on April 9th. <a target="_blank"
Ecuador's
government imposed a state of emergency in five highland provinces after
protests by Indian groups, partly against free-trade negotiations with the United
States and partly aimed at extracting extra public spending ahead of an election
in October. <a target="_blank"
Pressure mounted on
Brazil's finance minister, Antonio Palocci, after claims by
witnesses that he was a frequent visitor to a house in Bras��lia used as a
lobbying centre in 2003 and 2004, something which he has previously denied. In a
long-running corruption scandal, Brazil's ruling Workers' Party is alleged to have
made illegal donations to allied parties and bribed congressmen. <a
target="_blank"
size="-1">Argentina's government took control of Aguas
Argentinas, a company partly owned by France's Suez that provided water and
sewerage in Buenos Aires under a 30-year contract. Suez earlier said it would
forgo the contract because of a government tariff freeze. 
 
name="a_banker_for_benin">A banker for Benin</div> 
Yayi Boni, a former
banker, was elected the new president of the west African state of
Benin. He beat his nearest rival, Adrien Houngbedji, in a run-off
election on March 19th. 
Heavy fighting broke out
in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, between militia groups and an
armed Islamist group, killing at least 20 people. It is a setback for the anarchic
country, whose parliament met only recently on home soil for the first time in
over a year. 
Kadima, the party
founded by Ariel Sharon, is leading its rivals in the run-up to
Israel's general election on March 28th. Now led by Ehud Olmert,
it is expected to be the biggest party in Israel's next coalition government. <a
target="_blank"
Iran's
supreme spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said he supported talks with
America on the instability in Iraq. Some conservatives in Iran's government had
opposed negotiations. He also reiterated Iran's right to pursue what it insists is
a peaceful nuclear energy programme. 
</a></a></a></a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: WSJ Op-Eds
DATE: 03/28/2006 06:44:28
STATUS: publish
BODY:
 <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.wsj.com/wsjgate?source=jopinaowsj&URI=/article/0,,SB1143494618253
09364,00.html%3Fmod%3Dopinion%26ojcontent%3Dotep">The Battle for Bangkok</a> 
Thaksin has won elections, but never really the public's trust. 
By EMILY PARKER 
<center> </center> <a target="_blank"
size="4">America's Heyday</a> 
A business culture perfectly matched to globalization. 
By SEBASTIAN MALLABY 
 

<a
target="_blank"
size="4">Spring Fever Enlivens Politics</a> 
This time it's not the disaffected Muslim youths of the banlieu. 
By GEORGE MELLOAN 
 
<a target="_blank"
size="4">Iran's Icon</a> 
The voice of a democratic revolution. 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Web 2.0 Wars: Round 13
DATE: 03/17/2006 19:56:19
STATUS: publish
BODY:
It's time for Round 13 in Newsome.Org's Web 2.0 Wars. The contestants, pairing
logic and rules are <a href="http://www.newsome.org/2006/02/newsomeorgs-web-20-
wars.shtml">here</a>. 
 
Prior Rounds: <a href="http://www.newsome.org/2006/02/newsomeorgs-web-20-
wars.shtml">1 </a> | <a href="http://www.newsome.org/2006/02/web-20-wars-round-
2.shtml">2</a> | <a href="http://www.newsome.org/2006/02/web-20-wars-round-
12.shtml">12</a> 
Here are the contestants for Round 13: 
 
Bloop 
<a
href="http://www.forumone.com/section/services/projectspaces/">ProjectSpaces</a>
<a href="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/home">FeedBurner</a> <a
href="http://www.bloglines.com/">Bloglines</a> <a
href="http://www.purevolume.com/">Purevolume</a> <a
href="http://www.fotolog.com/">Fotolog</a> <a
href="http://www.ourmedia.org/">Ourmedia</a> <a
href="http://www.yub.com/mall/">Yub</a> <a href="http://www.spotrunner.com/">Spot
Runner</a> <a href="http://www.myspace.com/">Myspace</a> <a
href="http://www.newsalloy.com/">News Alloy</a> <a
href="http://www.allmydata.com/">Allmydata</a> 
From: <a href="http://www.newsome.org/2006/03/web-20-wars-round-
13.shtml">newsome.org</a>
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 03/17/2006 19:54:57
STATUS: publish
BODY:
It's time for Round 14 in Newsome.Org's Web 2.0 Wars. The contestants and rules
are <a href="http://www.newsome.org/2006/02/newsomeorgs-web-20-
 
13.shtml">13</a> 
 
 
<a href="http://gabbr.com/">Gabbr</a> 
<a href="http://www.gcast.com/">Gcast</a> 
<a href="http://www.blinkx.com/main.php">Blinkx</a> 
<a href="http://www.openomy.com/">Openomy</a> 
<a href="http://www.riffs.com/">Riffs</a> 
<a href="http://www.ajchat.com/">ajchat</a> 
<a href="http://www.blogspot.com/">Blogger</a> 
<a href="http://www.jambo.net/web-site/Home.html">Jambo</a> 
<a href="http://www.protopage.com/v2">Protopage</a> 
<a href="http://rollyo.com/">Rollyo</a> 
<a href="http://www.alexa.com/">Alexa</a> 
 
From: <a href="http://www.newsome.org/2006/03/web-20-wars-round-
14.shtml">newsome.org</a> 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
DATE: 03/17/2006 19:53:50
STATUS: publish
BODY:
It's time for Round 15 in Newsome.Org's Web 2.0 Wars. The contestants and rules
are <a href="http://www.newsome.org/2006/02/newsomeorgs-web-20-
 
14.shtml">14</a> 
 
 
<a href="http://www.chatsum.com/">Chatsum</a> 
<a href="http://www.pandora.com/">Pandora</a> 
<a href="http://looklater.com/">LookLater</a> 
<a href="http://30boxes.com/">30 Boxes</a> 
<a href="http://webjay.org/">Webjay</a> 
<a href="http://www.plazes.com/">Plazes</a> 
<a href="http://www.noodly.com/">Noodly</a> 
<a href="http://www.wondir.com/">Wondir</a> 
<a href="http://www.diigo.com/">Diigo</a> 
<a href="http://www.squishr.com/">Squishr</a> 
<a href="http://www.jots.com/">Jots</a> 
<a href="http://www.xdrive.com/">Xdrive</a> 
<a href="http://www.blummy.com/">Blummy</a> 
 
<a href="http://www.newsome.org/2006/03/web-20-wars-round-15.shtml">From:
newsome.org</a> 
-----
--------
AUTHOR: bsubra
TITLE: Top stories for the week of March 13 - March 17, 2006
DATE: 03/17/2006 06:35:52
STATUS: publish
BODY:
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,b1cb,kuv,kpqm,g1qy">Blog
gers go to expensive tech conferences</a> so you don’t have to. Esther Dyson
kicked off PC Forum by declaring that <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,bt5u,8l88,kpqm,g1qy">sea
rch had peaked and was getting boring</a>, reports <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,ijv2,fkrq,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Between the Lines</a>. But Yahoo’s Jeff Weiner calculated that <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,ce7,9jqn,kpqm,g1qy">just
.0058 percent of the world’s knowledge is indexed</a> today; the rest is still <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,7its,9075,kpqm,g1qy">dar
k matter</a> says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,7shb,7yxa,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>Tech Surf Blog</a>.<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,dzp7,m1lv,kpqm,g1qy">
</a><a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,eo8z,582a,kpqm,g1qy">Ros
s Mayfield</a> captured <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,9e3q,6mqn,kpqm,g1qy">Est
her’s conversation with eBay’s Pierre Omidyar</a>, who says start with as little
structure as possible, watch what people do, then limit behavior that contradicts
the environment you’re trying to create.
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,tik,7wfj,kpqm,g1qy"><img
title="Googlecanoodle" alt="Googlecanoodle"
src="http://www.rojo.com/corporate/images/stories/googlecanoodle2.jpg" border="0"
height="141" width="188" alt="Image" /></a> Not much <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,bly9,260l,kpqm,g1qy">liv
eblogging going on from SXSW</a> in Austin, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,6up,bmsz,kpqm,g1qy">Read
/Write Web</a> who also lamented that this year’s Oscars for blogs, the
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,etaz,j23v,kpqm,g1qy">Blo
ggies, were the same-old same-old</a>. Kottke and Dooce had their own panel
discussion and <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,m75o,5k25,kpqm,g1qy">Blo
gebrity</a> caught their chat about sponsorship, the subscription model,
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,4cka,1nc2,kpqm,g1qy">say
ing bad things about a blogger’s dog</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,k6bz,863h,kpqm,g1qy">Sco
belizer</a> blogs about <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,gwzy,5fwo,kpqm,g1qy">Jim
my Wales of Wikipedia’s secret</a> and why it made him cry. 
Other blog bits: AOL is <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,duhu,42qo,kpqm,g1qy">rel
aunching Netscape.com</a> with <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,mefe,k2qs,kpqm,g1qy">dig
g-like citizen journalism</a> headed by Jason Calacanis says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,mefe,k2qs,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>PaidContent.org</a>. And the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,lnti,28jx,kpqm,g1qy">fir
st full length movie was spotted on Apple’s iTunes</a> store for $9.99 says <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,bc2e,85iq,kpqm,g1qy"><st
rong>MacRumors</a>. 
A busy week for Google watchers: The judge in Justice v. Google will order
Mountain View to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,7i4g,5ycc,kpqm,g1qy">cou
gh up some data</a>, but it’s unclear how much. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,32zt,gax1,kpqm,g1qy">Tec
hdirt</a> wondered whether a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,9ehu,2pi4,kpqm,g1qy">bac
k-room deal had already been reached</a> and the judicial activity was all about
saving face. Screenshots of Google’s new <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,jyzn,aoek,kpqm,g1qy">one
-to-five-star reputation system</a>, were leaked to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,jboe,dush,kpqm,g1qy">Tec
hCrunch</a>. And resistance really is futile: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,4fn1,gxsy,kpqm,g1qy">the
latest company acquired by Google is Sketchup</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,2jts,frix,kpqm,g1qy">Goo
gle Blogoscoped</a>) What’s next? <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,m3v8,69v9,kpqm,g1qy">Mar
s</a>, of course. 
In media blogging, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,m62k,e7bi,kpqm,g1qy">Buz
zMachine</a> covers McClatchy’s <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,6qh9,juo4,kpqm,g1qy">sur
prise buy of Knight Ridder</a>. McClatchy will <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,7z24,5glb,kpqm,g1qy">div
est itself of a dozen larger papers</a> including the Philadelphia Daily News and
the San Jose Mercury News, according to <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,hgyw,kfhx,kpqm,g1qy">New
Media Musings</a>. It’s a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,87jn,893j,kpqm,g1qy">bad
deal for newspaper-company stockholders</a> and news magnate Rupert Murdoch says
media companies can’t expect their glorious past to save them from <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,fjve,ezxe,kpqm,g1qy">fai
ling and falling</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,4fmt,lcue,kpqm,g1qy">Los
t Remote</a>). 
 
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,62za,banh,kpqm,g1qy">Set
h Godin</a> writes that <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,egzh,lim6,kpqm,g1qy">RSS
fatigue is setting in</a> from too many posts and urges restraint, selectivity,
cogency and brevity. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,jfem,iki,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>A VC</a> agrees there’s an <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,3ur,gm62,kpqm,g1qy">atte
ntion crisis on the horizon</a>, but favors better filters (del.icio.us, digg,
Memeorandum, Technorati, etc.) over less blogging. Too late for<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,inqv,bguw,kpqm,g1qy"></a
> <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,dzp7,m1lv,kpqm,g1qy">Scr
ipting News</a>, though: <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,88cb,2lnd,kpqm,g1qy">Dav
e Winer will stop blogging</a>. <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,jfem,iki,kpqm,g1qy"><str
ong>A VC</a> offers Winer a <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,dx6z,9x62,kpqm,g1qy">tho
usand thanks</a> but <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,g9au,2rpd,kpqm,g1qy">Cru
nchNotes</a> screams <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,gd07,7jv7,kpqm,g1qy">“No
Dave, no!”</a> It isn't really your blog anymore, you just write it. <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,ckte,ajmn,kpqm,g1qy">Val
leywag</a> thinks it's found the real reason Winer's quitting <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,cpys,3qax,kpqm,g1qy">her
e</a>. 
In politics, <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,a2c0,gqup,kpqm,g1qy">RCP
Blog</a> frets that the president’s national poll numbers are still
dropping, with <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,ko81,1gga,kpqm,g1qy">job
approval sliding to 33 percent</a>. Hardly matters since the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,9nvs,jn6k,kpqm,g1qy">ina
bility of Dems to capitalize on the bad news</a> is nothing short of remarkable
says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,b9q2,cflc,kpqm,g1qy">Dow
nAndDirty</a>. Still, incompetent is the <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,9u0m,kqea,kpqm,g1qy">wor
d most frequently associated with Bush</a>, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,ixt5,f04h,kpqm,g1qy">Thi
nk Progress</a>, and some Bush confidants mutter the president needs an
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,m3ap,hne0,kpqm,g1qy">exp
erienced hand who could give better advice</a> (via <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,a0jx,e7f1,kpqm,g1qy">Huf
fington Post</a>). 

href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,4io2,id6c,kpqm,g1qy"> 
</a>
<a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,4io2,id6c,kpqm,g1qy">The
sexiest blogger alive</a>? George Clooney declared himself a liberal and then <a
target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,k34d,5wt1,kpqm,g1qy">use
d the f-word</a> on <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,a0jx,e7f1,kpqm,g1qy">Huf
fington Post</a>. Or did he, asks <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,a0jx,e7f1,kpqm,g1qy">Won
kette</a>, who reports <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,5yzk,da6l,kpqm,g1qy">Clo
oney saying his post was just old quotes strung together</a>. Regardless, Clooney
plays neoconservative characters in his movies, says <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,2rzn,ajgd,kpqm,g1qy">Tow
nhall.com</a>. It’s a brave man who comes between <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,fn8z,mh2p,kpqm,g1qy">Ari
anna and self-promotion</a>, writes <a target="_blank"
href="http://www.elabs3.com/c.html?rtr=on&s=gww,p75q,39mg,108l,8qxy,kpqm,g1qy">Dai
ly Dish</a>.
-----
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AUTHOR: bsubra

TITLE: Politics this week: 11th - 17th August 2007

<div class="arr"> <a

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வா!!</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">தாணு</td></tr><tr><td

</td><td bgcolor="white">இப்னு ஹே்துன் (பரங்கிப்ேபட்ைட

ஹ.பஃக்ருத்தீன்)</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">32</td><td bgcolor="white"><a

விைடெபறுே் தருணே்</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">நடராஜன்

ஸ்ரீனிவாசன்</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">31</td><td bgcolor="white"><a

href="http://selvaraj.weblogs.us/archives/207">ெதாட்ட இடே் ேலருே்</a> </td><td

bgcolor="white">கைல அரசன்</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">29</td><td

குோர்</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">27</td><td bgcolor="white"><a

நான்</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">balamukundhan</td></tr><tr><td

</td><td bgcolor="white">உோ கதிர்</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">24</td><td

கவிைதகள்</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">ெபான். சிதே்பரகுோரி</td></tr><tr><td

விடைலயின் நிைனவுக் குறிப்புகள்</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">Suresh

</td><td bgcolor="white">ெவளிகண்ட நாதர்</td></tr><tr><td

</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">ெபான்ஸ்</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">17</td><td

"ெபாடிப்ைபயா"</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">ஆசாத்</td></tr><tr><td

</td><td bgcolor="white">நாேக்கல் சிபி</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">14</td><td

உணர்ந்து ெகாண்ேடன் </a> </td><td bgcolor="white">govikannan</td></tr><tr><td

சிவா</td></tr><tr><td bgcolor="white">7</td><td bgcolor="white"><a

</td><td bgcolor="white">குந்தைவ வந்தியத்ேதவன்</td></tr><tr><td

ேபா ேபா ேபா</a> </td><td bgcolor="white">குலவுசனப்பிரியன்</td></tr><tr><td

ோற்றே்! </a> </td><td bgcolor="white">வவ்வால்</td></tr><tr><td

பார்த்தசாரதி</a></font></td> <td align="center"><font>90</font></td>

ராகவன்</a></font></td> <td align="center"><font>60</font></td>

பார்த்தசாரதி</a></font></td> <td align="center"><font>85</font></td>

ஆசாத்</a></font></td> <td align="center"><font>35</font></td>

ூகிருஷ்ணேூ ர்த்தி</a></font></td> <td

ராே்</a></font></td> <td align="center"><font>60</font></td>

பார்த்தசாரதி</a></font></td> <td align="center"><font>90</font></td>

ூேூ லே்: ேசது, தேிழில்: குறிஞ்சிேவலன்</a></font></td> <td

பார்த்தசாரதி</a></font></td> <td align="center"><font>100</font></td>

ூேூ லே்: ஈ.எே்.அஷ்ரஃப், தேிழில்: குறிஞ்சிேவலன்</a></font></td> <td

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