Cyril's Gleans

gleans + 1xnerd news at 7:45 AM ET, 5/31

 

Giant feral pigs have long been the stuff of rural legends. And now they are the stuff of faked photos and gullible journalism... more»

 

 

Fire the incompetents, find the Pattons

By Max Boot

Our armed forces need to do a better job of punishing failure while rewarding those who succeed on the battlefield.

 

 

Suspect Says British Involved in Spy’s Killing

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Andrei K. Lugovoi, above, accused of poisoning Alexander V. Litvinenko in November, claimed today that he had evidence of British involvement but did not elaborate.

 

 

UK 'behind Litvinenko poisoning' Andrei Lugovoi, accused of killing ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, says UK secret services were involved. 'Tense relations' over case The man accused of murder Lugovoi's claims

 

 

 

Lohan DUI arrest gives Hollywood a headache

By David Pierson and Andrew Blankstein

News that the state is investigating underage drinking in Tinseltown is met with much finger-pointing.

 

 

Lohan's Dad: Lindsay Hooked on OxyContin

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Lindsay Lohan's estranged father says she suffers from multiple addictions, including alcohol and the painkiller OxyContin, the Web site E! Online reported Wednesday. The 20-year-old actress checked into rehab Monday following a weekend that included crashing her Mercedes, being arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence and being photographed slumped in the passenger seat of a friend's car. This is her second rehab stint this year.

 

 

Ontario Now People: Britney Spears, Riyo Mori, Lindsay Lohan International Herald Tribune - Britney Spears says she "truly hit rock bottom" during a stint in rehabilitation this year but told fans she did not blame her behavior on alcohol or depression.

 

Virgin territory
Tourists brave war-torn Chad to see the country's wild side

 

 

Disney's hags drawn into ageism debate
Does Cruella de Vil adversely influence kids with negative images of elderly?
--London Telegraph

 

 

nerd news

 

Wikipedia aims to take on Google
Online encyclopedia plans to reveal algorithm for its search engine
--London Telegraph

 

 

Big Blue wields knife again
To wrest profits from ailing IT-services business, IBM slashes North American workforce
--Business Week

 

 

Children good at approximate math: study

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Children who had never been taught addition or subtraction were able to solve approximate math problems involving large numbers, researchers said on Wednesday in a finding that reveals a new understanding of children's innate math ability.

 

 

New Agency IARPA Develops Spy Tools
WASHINGTON (AP) - Using a new laptop and a satellite link, FBI agents can find out within two minutes whether the fingerprint from a newly captured suspect overseas matches a terrorist database in Virginia. Intelligence officials are running documents in languages such as Arabic through a new computer program called "English Now." It converts the foreign characters into the Roman alphabet and makes words such as Baghdad, President Bush or Osama bin Laden jump out to spies who can't read Arabic.

 

 

IBM Mainframes and Game Chips Go Hybrid

The Cell Broadband Engine will be integrated with IBM mainframes, according to the computer giant and Hoplon Infotainment, which already works with IBM on a massively multiplayer online game. Cell is the brains of the Sony PlayStation 3, and is used for physics simulations in a Los Alamos National Laboratory supercomputer called Roadrunner, according to the firms, which say they'll work to integrate Cell with mainframes and Hoplon's virtual world infrastructure software, bitVerse. Read more   

 

 

Next-Generation Processor Unveiled By University of Texas

A revolutionary general-purpose computer processor, which may reach trillions of calculations per second, could be used to accelerate industrial, consumer, and scientific computing, according to computer scientists at the University of Texas at Austin who designed and built the computer. The new processor, known as TRIPS (Tera-op, Reliable, Intelligently adaptive Processing System), is a demonstration of a new class of processing architectures called Explicit Data Graph Execution, and unlike conventional architectures that process one instruction at a time, can process large blocks of information all at once and more efficiently. Current "multicore" processing technologies increase speed by adding more processors, which individually may not be any faster than previous processors, according to the computer scientists, but each TRIPS chip contains two processing cores, each of which can issue 16 operations per cycle with up to 1,024 instructions in flight simultaneously. Cu! rrent high-performance processors are typically designed to sustain a maximum execution rate of four operations per cycle. Read more

 

 

Clash of the titans?
Microsoft's Bill Gates and Apple's Steve Jobs talk technology

 

 

 

 

Gates, Jobs Make Rare Joint Appearance
CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) -- Legendary technology rivals Bill Gates and Steve Jobs made a rare joint appearance Wednesday and wasted no time making nice....

 

 

Maxis Unveils Cell Phone Money Transfer
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Thousands of Filipino workers in Malaysia can now remit money to their families back home under a new mobile phone money transfer service unveiled by Malaysia's top mobile phone operator Maxis....

 

 

AP CEO Urges Media to Adapt to the Web
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- The Internet is bringing numerous changes to the media industry, but the fundamentals of newsgathering remain the same, Associated Press President and CEO Tom Curley said Thursday....

 

 

Sightings hope for rare farm bird

 

Science fiction authors save the world every day, and now these well-qualified nuts are being unleashed on the war against terror ... [more]

 

 

What do you get when philosophers start messing about with notions of consciousness? ... [more]

 

 

How people come to believe they were kidnapped by aliens ... [more]

 

 

Can the brain's sensory perception be recalibrated? ... [more]

 

 

gleans + 1xlagniappe

 

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/31/movies/31loha.html

For Lohan, a Cocktail of Sympathy and Scorn

By SHARON WAXMAN

Published: May 31, 2007

 

 

'Cold War arms race is restarting'

Russian foreign minister says missile test marks new era.

 

 

Butler shortage has world's wealthy working <== just one damn thing after another

A chronic shortage of people entering the profession has left tens of thousands of vacancies for the quintessential English butler.

Leader: Butlers wanted

Would you want to employ a butler?

 

 

 

 

TIMES RECOMMENDS

India in a twist over US attempt to patent yoga

"How can you patent yoga - something that is thousands of years old?"

 

 

Man v God

Christopher Hitchens is an evangelical secularist, an atheist warlord. Religion, he writes, is 'violent and allied to racism'

 

 

Under pressure
One of the deadliest months in Iraq brings doubt over US tactics

 

 

lagniappe

 

Where the deep blue pearly waters
Wash upon white silver sands
There on the brink of love I kissed her
And obeyed our hearts command

Where the deep blue pearly waters
Wash upon white silver sands
We watched the sun set in the evening
In a far and distant land

So were beneath skies blue heaven
There's a place I must go
See the sun set in the evening
With the only love I know

Where the deep blue pearly waters
Wash upon white silver sands
There on the brink of love I kissed her
And obeyed our hearts command

[Instrumental Interlude]

Where the deep blue pearly waters
Wash upon white silver sands
There on the brink of love I kissed her
And obeyed our hearts command

We watched the sun set in the evening
See the moon yellow and pale
Watch the gaucho's ride the pinto's
All across the pampas trail

Where the deep blue pearly waters
Wash upon white silver sands
There on the brink of love I kissed her
And obeyed our hearts command

 

gleans + 1xnerdnews + 1xtoday'sreadinglist at 6:10 PM ET, 5/30

 

University prez: Fire Ward Churchill
Prof has called 9/11 victims 'little Eichmanns'
--Associated Press

 

 

Statues to be moved after 2,500 years on Acropolis
New home will be nearby museum
--Associated Press

 

 

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_23/b4037418.htm?chan=search

Smith & Wesson: A Gunmaker Loaded With Offshoots

 

 

http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2007/05/24/News/Ncaa-Grants.Lacrosse.Players.Extra.Year.Of.Eligibility-2910305.shtml

 

 

CDC: 107 People on TB Flights Need Tests
ATLANTA (AP) - A man with a form of tuberculosis so dangerous he is under the first U.S. government-ordered quarantine since 1963 had health officials around the world scrambling Wednesday to find about 80 passengers who sat within five rows of him on two trans-Atlantic flights. The man told a newspaper he took the first flight from Atlanta to Europe for his wedding, then the second flight home because he feared he might die without treatment in the U.S.

 

 

 

Stocks Jump, S&P 500 Hits Record Close
NEW YORK (AP) - Wall Street shot higher Wednesday, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 index to its first record close in more than seven years, as investors grew more confident the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates in the second half of 2007. The Dow Jones industrials also reached a new high close. The S&P 500, considered by traders as the best barometer of U.S. stocks, surpassed the record of 1,527.46, set March 24, 2000, at the peak of the dot-com boom, closing at 1,530.23, up 12.12, or 0.80 percent.

 

 

Quiz: How well do you know the 50 states?
For kids: Test your knowledge of the nifty 50 states and their capitals. By Felice Prager

 

 

A throwback to a time gone by
Travel: St. Charles, Mo., is quaint, but it's authentic. By Johnna Kaplan

 

 

Bush Seeks to Double Spending for AIDS Program

By DAVID STOUT 

President Bush asked Congress today to increase the United States’ commitment to $30 billion over a five-year period.

Video of Announcement

Robert Zoellick Is Chosen as World Bank Chief

 

 

First golden eagle for century born in Ireland

DUBLIN (Reuters) - A pair of golden eagles have produced the first chick to be hatched in the Republic of Ireland in nearly a century after the species was hunted to extinction in the country.

 

 

Finger length may foretell academic potential

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The length of children's fingers may hint at their natural abilities in math and language, a new study suggests.

 

 

Norway rated world's most peaceful country <== today's less alert item
UK is listed only 49th of 121 countries surveyed, with the US at 96 in the Global Peace Index.
Comment is free: Martin Bell 

 

 

Great apes 'facing climate peril' The great apes are facing an "inevitable crisis" arising from climate change, a leading conservationist warns.

Cheating cheetahs caught by DNA The promiscuous habits of female cheetahs are uncovered by scientists studying the species.

 

 

nerd news

 

The wide, wide world of Google
With GreenBorder, the search giant gets deeper into Net security. Plus: Google Earth close-ups and DoubleClick scrutiny.

Tue May 29 15:13:00 PDT 2007 | Read full story

 

 

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Is This Really The Next Big Thing?
Slide Show: What Could You Do With An Ultrashort Pulse Laser?

 

 

 

today's (05/30/07) reading list

 

Bold Entrepreneur: A Life of James B. Duke by Robert F. Durden (Hardcover - Mar 2003

 

Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy (Paperback - Aug 1, 2004)

 

Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy (Paperback - Sep 14, 1995

 

The Age of the Moguls: The Story of the Robber Barons and the Great Tycoons by Stewart H. Holbrook (Hardcover - Mar 20, 1985)

 

The American Tobacco Story by American Tobacco Company (Paperback – 1960

 

The Entrepreneurs: Explorations Within the American Business Tradition by Robert Sobel (Paperback - Aug 2000

 

The First Conglomerate: 145 Years of the Singer Sewing Machine Company by D. C. Bissell (Hardcover - April 1, 1999)

 

The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance by Ron Chernow (Paperback - Oct 15, 2001)

 

gleans + 1xana at 11:35 AM ET, 5/30

 

Troops hunt for British hostages US & Iraqi troops scour Sadr City. Audio: Julian Borger Ministry fears new tactics A multibillion dollar industry World briefing: Simon Tisdall Frist hope, then dread sets in Full Iraq coverage

 

 

IBM Lays Off 1,570 in Ongoing Overhaul
BOSTON (AP) - IBM Corp. laid off 1,570 people Wednesday, primarily from an ongoing overhaul of operations in its giant technology services unit. The company carried out a similar level of job cuts at the beginning of the month, for a total of 3,023 in this quarter and 3,720 for the year, according to IBM spokesman Edward Barbini.

 

 

This EDGE edition, at 5,600 words with video, graphics, and links, is available
online at http://www.edge.org/documents/archive/edge211.html

 

 

Hood River is Heaven for Windsurfers
Hood River, Oregon, and the Columbia River Gorge are hot spots for lovers of wind, water and spectacular scenery. Visitors come from around the world to take advantage of the Gorge's steady wind conditions, which are ideal for windsurfing, kitesailing and other extreme water sports. Hood River also draws visitors who want to hike, bike or drive the hills and bluffs along the scenic Gorge.
- Northwestern United States for Visitors Guide Angela Brown

 

 

 

Top 10 local hangouts in Barcelona

Damien Simonis, author of Lonely Planet's new Barcelona city guide, shares some tips.

 

 

Japan baffled by mystery of vanishing golden bathtub

 

 

 

FEATURES, VIEWS, ANALYSIS

Shifting times How the TV industry is being altered by the 'record' button

A web for the dead The fragile world of internet mourning and how it may develop

Super imaging How X-ray technology is revolutionising patient care

 

 

Watch the skies
The British telescope being built on a mountaintop in Chile

 

 

Irish eagle chick is first in century

 

 

Check out what sculpts the anatomy of a big wave ... [more]

 

 

How people come to believe they were kidnapped by aliens ... [more]

 

 

La France s’ennuie? No one can say Nicolas Sarkozy is boring, nor is France itself any longer boring. In fact, it could become quite exciting... more»

 

 

Brave presidents may be born, but they may be as much products of the luck of a moment. Their stories follow no simple pattern... more»

 

 

 

ana <== book stuff from the Guardian

 

 

 

Too embarrassed to protest As an awkward 17-year-old, Esther Freud felt unable to say no to an acquaintance's sexual advances. After writing about a similar incident in her new novel, she has come to realise how common this experience is.

Today's Haycast Sebastian Faulks talks about his new book and Charlotte Higgins looks at Vivienne Westwood's cultural manifesto. Listen to the Haycast archive

Poetry and action In the first of three interviews introducting the Prague Writers' Festival, Michael March talks to Pulitzer-winning poet Gary Snyder.

Nobel laureate develops a new image May 30, Hay: Orhan Pamuk reveals his next project will be a "novel with pictures". Hay 2007: full coverage

Gordon Brown heads for Hogwarts
May 30: In a shock revelation, it turns out that our new PM will not be brushing up on his beloved neo-endogenous growth theory this summer, but the final Harry Potter book.
Blog: Good novels should be bad influences

Ex-crack dealer defines word on the street
May 30: Have you ever visited Chocolate City? Are you a hog who likes to game? Everything is made clear in a book on sale in America called Street Talk.

 

gleans + 1xnerdnews + 1xana at 8:30 AM ET, 5/30

 

A Bush Brother Spreads His Vision of Computerized Teaching Programs

By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO

Neil Bush, brother of the President of the United States, is behind a teaching method that is intended to bypass textbooks.

 

 

Frugal Traveler | American Road Trip

Georgia, Alabama and a Bit of Gold Fever

By MATT GROSS

Matt Gross for The New York Times

Outside the Westervelt-Warner Museum of American Art.

With help from readers and people along the way, the Frugal Traveler headed to Georgia and Alabama in search of culture, nature and gold.

Tell Matt Where to Go in Tennessee and Kentucky

Video: Week 2: Bluegrass in Armuchee, Ga.

Complete Coverage: Follow the Frugal Traveler's Progress

 

 

An Earthy Mushroom Pasta Sauce With Piquant Cheese for an Earthy, Truffly Wine

By FLORENCE FABRICANT

Whether they hail from Alba or Asti, barberas tend to share an earthy profile, striking fruity chords with notes of black truffle.

 

 

Summer Breezes in, Sipping Barbera

By ERIC ASIMOV

Red wine this summer? The panel samples the barberas from Asti and Alba.

Interactive Feature: Wines of The Times

 

 

Feed Me

 

At Midday, You See All Types

By ALEX WITCHEL

What is the point of a business lunch? Lunch in a restaurant, like good deeds, is best when it’s voluntary and anonymous.

 

 

Saffron Power: Yellow, Yet Not Necessarily Mellow

By PETER KAMINSKY

Saffron can be the most intimidating spice in your kitchen, but its power dictates a sparing hand.

 

 

 

From a Pennsylvania Garden Patch, Down-Home Crocus Taste

By DAVE CALDWELL

In parts of Pennsylvania Dutch country, any respectable cook making the local specialty, chicken pot pie, always uses a pinch of saffron.

 

 

U.S. toll in Iraq climbs

By Ned Parker

May is the deadliest month this year. Diyala province's total tops that of notorious Al Anbar.

 

 

al-Qaida Video Threatens Attacks on U.S.
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- An American member of al-Qaida warned President Bush on Tuesday to end U.S. involvement in all Muslim lands or face an attack worse than the Sept. 11 suicide assault, according to a new videotape....

 

 

Turkey Builds Up Forces on Iraqi Border
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Turkey has sent large contingents of reinforcement soldiers, tanks and armored personnel carriers to its border with Iraq as debate heated up over whether to stage a cross-border offensive to hit Kurdish rebel bases....

 

 

Hunt for kidnapped Britons in Baghdad
Financial Times - By Steve Negus, Iraq Correspondent. Iraqi and US troops sealed off sections of Baghdad’s Sadr City on Wednesday following the kidnapping of five Britons, as suspicion fell on the radical Shia Mahdi Army militia as the force behind the abductions.

 

The Brain: Malleable, Capable, Vulnerable

By ABIGAIL ZUGER, M.D.

Norman Doidge’s fascinating synopsis of the current revolution in neuroscience straddles the gap between science and self-help.

Download an Excerpt From the Author's Web Site

 

 

Qatar Airways to Buy 80 Airbuses

PARIS (AP) - Qatar Airways extended a much-needed boost to ailing European jet-maker Airbus by signing a contract Wednesday to buy 80 Airbus A350 jets worth $16 billion. The contract was signed by Qatar Airways President Akbar Al Baker at the French presidential Elysee Palace in the presence of new French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Qatari Sheikh Hamad ben Khalifa al-Thani. The A350 is Airbus' challenger to Boeing's 787 long-range, mid-sized aircraft.

 

 

Federal Quarantine for TB Traveler
ATLANTA (AP) -- A man with a form of tuberculosis so dangerous he is under the first U.S. government-ordered quarantine since 1963 told a newspaper he took one trans-Atlantic flight for his wedding and honeymoon and another because he feared for his life....

 

 

Lohan Checks Into Rehab After Car Crash

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Lindsay Lohan has checked into rehab. Again. The move followed a weekend during which the wild-child actress, who is a month shy of her 21st birthday, crashed her Mercedes, was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence and was photographed slumped in the passenger seat of a friend's car. Lohan "admitted herself to an intensive medical rehabilitation facility" on Monday, according to a statement released by her publicist, Leslie Sloane Zelnick. The statement added, "Because this is a medical matter, it is our hope that the press will appreciate the seriousness of the situation and respect the privacy of Lindsay as well as the other patients receiving treatment at the facility."

 

 

Lohan bust may mark last call for young stars

By David Pierson and Andrew Blankstein

The actress' arrest focuses attention on underage drinking at trendy clubs.

 

 

 

nerd news

 

Take Note: Computing Takes Up Pen, Again

By MIGUEL HELFT

Peter DaSilva for The New York Times

Livescribe puts a computer inside a plump ballpoint pen.

An ambitious new type of pen-based computer system could bridge the gap between paper and the digital world.

Video: Livescribe Animation (mp4)

 

 

 

 

Touch Screen in a Table Is the Latest Wrinkle in Computers

By MICHEL MARRIOTT

Microsoft plans to unveil a new computing device called Surface, featuring a 30-inch screen embedded in an acrylic tabletop.

 

 

 

ana

 

Web	Results 1 - 10 of about 489,000 for how nasa screwed up. (0.17 seconds)

How NASA Screwed Up (And Four Ways to Fix It)

Get the latest in science news, including space, physics, planet earth, discoveries, NASA, satellites, and space travel from Wired.com. www.wired.com/science/space/magazine/15-06/ff_space_nasa - 47k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

Disinformation :: How NASA Screwed Up (And Four Ways To Fix It)

Disinformation and the CBC's cool show The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos have teamed up to reveal things you're not supposed to know. ... www.disinfo.com/site/displayarticle19509.html - 47k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

Pajamas Media: How NASA Screwed Up (And Four Ways to Fix It)

How NASA Screwed Up (And Four Ways to Fix It). PJM Barcelona. May 22, 2007 10:57 AM. (Gregg Easterbrook @ Wired). Support Pajamas Media; Visit Our ... pajamasmedia.com/2007/05/how_nasascrewedupandfour_w.php - 38k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

Digg - How NASA Screwed Up (And Four Ways to Fix It)

How NASA Screwed Up (And Four Ways to Fix It). Given NASA's politicization, we should hope that the space industry evolves as aviation did — transitioning ... digg.com/space/How_NASAScrewedUpAndFour_Ways_to_Fix_It - 20k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

How NASA Screwed Up (And Four Ways to Fix It) - Topix

How NASA Screwed Up (And Four Ways to Fix It). Here is a set of rational priorities for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, in descending ... www.topix.net/tech/2007/05/how-nasa-screwed-up-and-four-ways-to-fix-it - 39k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

TP Wire Service: How NASA Screwed Up (And Four Ways to Fix It)

How NASA Screwed Up (And Four Ways to Fix It). 22 May 2007 from Wired News: Top Stories | Read the full story». Only one priority of four correct! ... tpwireservice.com/mt/archives/2007/05/how_nasascrewe.html - 7k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

How NASA Screwed Up (And Four Ways to Fix It) - addict3d.org

How NASA Screwed Up (And Four Ways to Fix It). May 22 2007 10:29:50 ... RIAA Takes Cue From The Onion: Wants Radio Stations To Pay Up For Promoting Music ... www.addict3d.org/news/121968/How%20NASA%20Screwed%20Up%20(And%20Four%20Ways%20to%20Fix%20It) - 17k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

NASA screwed up - Forums powered by UBBThreads™

how so ? how did they screw up ? well, in 1950 we were certain that theres animals and plants on Mars. it changed colors. NASA screwed up by sending all ... uplink.space.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=missions&Number=717203&page=0&view=collapsed... - 41k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

IndianPad / How NASA Screwed Up (And Four Ways to Fix It)

How NASA Screwed Up (And Four Ways to Fix It) · http://www.wired.com/science/space/magazine/15-06/... posted by TollywoodBollywood 9 minutes ago (wired.com) ... www.indianpad.com/story/58014 - 39k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

How NASA Screwed Up (And Four Ways to Fix It) — The Mars Society

How NASA Screwed Up (And Four Ways to Fix It). Gregg Easterbrook 05.22.07 | 2:00 AM. Here is a set of rational priorities for the National Aeronautics and ... www.marssociety.org/portal%22+accesskey%3D%221/mars-news-from-the-san-diego-chapter/TMSSDNews_28198/ - 45k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

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gleans + 1xana + 1xnerdnews at 7:35 PM ET, 5/29

 

Six weeks later, Georgia fires still raging
The state's inability to keep the fires from rushing out of the Okefenokee Swamp is kindling a debate over lagging forestry budgets. By Patrik Jonsson

 

 

Five Britons kidnapped in central Baghdad

Urgent attempts under way to free four security guards and finance expert seized by gunmen in police uniforms.

The security firms active in Iraq

Recent trends in Iraq kidnappings

US troops suffer deadliest month of year

Comment is free: Simon Tisdall

 

 

THE STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ KEY STORIES Five Britons abducted in Baghdad US warns Iran over arming Iraqis Iraq car bomb kills at least 20 Leading Muslim calligrapher shot Bush approves Iraq funding bill BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS Limited options US Democrats criticised of turning their back on voters over Iraq war bill Iraq's war reaches the arts world Students brave the bombs Iraq 'facing grim future' Baghdad: Mapping the violence Iraq violence, in figures

 

 

 

Scaling new heights 71-year-old Japanese man becomes oldest to climb Everest. More on Japan

 

 

IBM's Buyback Binge Includes $11.5B Loan
BOSTON (AP) -- IBM Corp. disclosed Tuesday that it is taking on $11.5 billion in new debt to finance the aggressive accelerations of its stock repurchase plan, which appears to be one of the largest such steps ever....

 

 

Life in a remote US Army outpost in Iraq: IEDs, DVDs, and A/C
Doria, near Kiruk, is part of the new US counterinsurgency effort, where 110-degree heat isn't the only foe US troops face. By Howard LaFranchi

 

 

Earth nears tipping point on climate change
A rise of 1 degree Celsius could be enough to trigger 'dangerous' warming, scientists warn. By Peter N. Spotts

 

Recipes for when there are only two of you
Cooking meals for two doesn't have to mean difficult math and leftovers By Jessica Worful

 

 

How 'the perfect day' has changed
Marriages may be more stable as couples wait longer to get married. But they spend more, too. By Marilyn Gardner

 

 

Uncensored self-expression, fourth-grade style
Schoolchildren find that writing for 10 minutes without stopping is harder than they imagined. By C.L. Votaw

 

 

From Limestone Cliffs
A poem. By Steve Benson

 

 

Britney Spears Pens Personal Web Message

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Britney Spears says she "hit rock bottom," in a message posted on her Web site about the end of her marriage and her time in rehab. "Recently, I was sent to a very humbling place called rehab. I truly hit rock bottom. Till this day I don't think that it was alcohol or depression," the 25-year-old pop star writes. "I was like a bad kid running around with ADD (attention deficit disorder)."

 

 

 

ana

 

Lindsay Lohan Issues Statement, Confirms Rehab Reports
247gay.com, CA - Now that Lindsay Lohan’s stay at Malibu’s Promises rehab center has been confirmed by In Touch Weekly, a publicist for the 20-year-old starlet has issued a ...

 

 

Contactmusic.com

Lindsay Lohan's New Film Ready To Roll Without Her Starpulse.com, CT - 2 hours ago Troubled Lindsay Lohan and Rosario Dawson are to team up with Olympia Dukakis and Shirley Maclaine in a new movie, based on a real-life gang of elderly ... Lohan and Dawson Cast for Poor Things CanMag Lohan and Dawson are 'Poor Things' Time Out Lohan signs deal for granny comedy RTE.ie all 16 news articles »

MTV.uk

Lily Allen Blasts Lindsay Lohan Musicrooms.net, UK - 5 hours ago Lily Allen is furious with Lindsay Lohan, after she was "thrown off" a table at trendy Los Angeles club Les Deux this weekend to make way for the actress ... Allen Blasts Lohan For Club Encounter TeenHollywood.com Lily Allen hits out at Lindsay Lohan Digital Spy Lily Allen’s Message Of ‘Support’ For Lindsay Lohan After ... Entertainmentwise FemaleFirst.co.uk all 22 news articles »

 

 

nerd news

 

Google Earth takes it to the streets
New street-level view in Google Maps shows panoramas and offers zoom-in feature to read signs.

Tue May 29 12:44:00 PDT 2007 | Read full story

 

 

Move to create less clumsy robots Researchers in Spain set about creating a man-made version of the part of the brain that controls movement. Robot future poses questions March of the consumer robots

Design win for Alzheimer's tool A screensaver and social network for people with Alzheimer's wins a Microsoft-led software design prize.

Deutsche Telekom backs VoIP firm Deutsche Telekom backs net phone startup Jajah - one of the first major phone firms to support such technology.

 

 

 

gleans + !Xana + 1xlessalertitems + 1xnerdnews at 3:40 PM ET, 5/29

 

Entertainmentwise

Lindsay Reportedly Back in Rehab After Lost Weekend
ABC News - By LAURA COVERSON. Lindsay Lohan has reportedly decided to check back into rehab. But a different one this time. In Touch Online (In Touch magazine's Web site) reports the 20-year-old actress is "willingly" checking into Promises Residential Treatment ...
Out of it & back to rehab New York Daily News
Lindsay Lohan's rehab return Monsters and Critics.com
Philadelphia Daily News - Canada.com - Actress Archives - hecklerspray
all 106 news articles »

 

 

TB Case Brings Warning to Air Passengers
FOX News - By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer. ATLANTA - A man with a rare and exceptionally dangerous form of tuberculosis may have spread the disease to passengers and crew on two trans-Atlantic flights earlier this month, federal health officials said Tuesday.
US authorities quarantine air traveler with TB Reuters AlertNet
CDC issues quarantine order, seeks passengers in drug-resistant TB ... USA Today
International Herald Tribune - Atlanta Journal Constitution (subscription) - KTVO - WHNS
all 140 news articles »

 

 

Acropolis museum to open gates in early 2008

ATHENS, May 29 (Reuters Life!) - After years of delays, Greece's new Acropolis Museum will open its gates to the public in early 2008, giving new impetus to efforts to bring home the Parthenon marbles from the British Museum.  Full Article 

 

 

Geriatrics take to the rock star life

LONDON, May 29 (Reuters Life!) - They may have an average age of 78, but these rockers can tear up the stage with the best of them and are determined to take the music charts by storm.  Full Article 

 

 

Royal Festival Hall reopens after 21st century refit

 

 

Bloggers mourn death of medical whistleblower

 

 

Starry nights go digital for planet-hunter

 

 

Book Talk: Barry Eisler says CIA training helps his writing

 

 

 

ana <== The Golden Compass

 

JoBlo.com The Golden Compass! JoBlo.com, Canada - 15 hours ago For those unacquainted with the story, THE GOLDEN COMPASS is a sensational, psychological and philosophical adventure set in an enigmatic parallel universe ... "Golden Compass" Finds Your Inner Demon iMedia Connection, CA - 17 hours ago New Line Cinema wastes no time building buzz for its December-release, "The Golden Compass." See how sound, video and personalization combine to prepare ... The Golden Compass Screenshots #3 Gamers Hell, UK - May 25, 2007 Sega released three PS3 screenshots from The Golden Compass, a game developed by Shiny Entertainment and based on the first book in His Dark Materials ... Golden Compass trailer unveiled Oxford Mail, UK - May 25, 2007 A new trailer for The Golden Compass - the film version of Oxford author Philip Pullman's Northern Lights novel - can now be seen on the Oxford Mail website ... Empire Online Exclusive: Weitz Brothers Making Elric Empire Online, UK - 4 hours ago So his adaptation of The Golden Compass is already being hyped by studio New Line as the new Lord Of The Rings (rather inaccurately if you ask us, ... 'Golden Compass' Trailer Teases 'Lord Of The Rings' Parallels ... MTV.com - May 23, 2007 The trailer for "The Golden Compass," the first installment of this cult saga, encourages that sort of thinking — and it takes a good 30 seconds before ... 'The Golden Compass' (ALL) - 3 New Screens WorthPlaying.com, CA - May 23, 2007 Produced by New Line Cinema and Scholastic Media, The Golden Compass follows the screenplay adaptation of the first book in the acclaimed trilogy, ... MI6 Daniel Craig promotes <B>The Golden Compass</B> at Cannes press ... MI6, UK - May 22, 2007 Reporters at the Cannes Film Festival watched a preview of 10 vivid minutes of footage from "The Golden Compass," a $180 million digital fantasy to be ... Cannes: Sneak Peek at Footage From "The Golden Compass" Rotten Tomatoes, CA - May 22, 2007 Jen Yamato writes: "Sunday evening we got a sneak peek at New Line's forthcoming epic adaptation, "The Golden Compass," the first of what producers hope ... New Line Selling ‘The Golden Compass’ as ‘Lord of the Rings IV’ New York Magazine, NY - May 22, 2007 The teaser trailer for the first film in the series, The Golden Compass, assuages these worries a bit. The scenery is gorgeous, and the effects looks ...

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today's (5/29) less alert items

 

 

 

Poor Management Brings About a Global Crisis of Freshwater Supply

Nations are not likely to meet goals for sanitation, pollution, and irrigation systems by 2025.

Video: Water Conservation Tests the Limits

Las Vegas Deals to Satisfy Its Outsize Cravings

Billions Are Needed to Avert a National Crisis

 

 

 

nerd news

 

 

Photos: Boeing Dreamliner gets ready for takeoff
Swank new 787 passenger jet is scheduled to emerge from the factory on July 8, with a first flight anticipated for later in the summer.

Sat May 26 06:00:00 PDT 2007 | View photos

 

 

Photos: The Army's vision for soldier tech
The Future Combat Systems project lays out a fully networked force of robots, sensors and smarter vehicles. But getting there is slow going.

Mon May 28 06:00:00 PDT 2007 | View photos

 

 

U.S. colleges retool programming classes <== CNET News take
Also: A cell phone for technophobes Read it now...

 

 

PhysOrg.com

PS3 price cut pointless, says Bank of America
CVG Online - While everyone's crying been out for a PS3 price drop since the console launched in March, the Bank of America's Michael L. Savner has said he doesn't think it would be enough to stimulate sales of the console significantly.
Nintendo's US Head Sees Strong Future Wall Street Journal
PS3 needs better ‘everything’ AND a price cut iTWire
Seattle Times - BusinessWeek - Xinhua - Inquirer
all 76 news articles »

 

 

gleans + 1xlessaretnews + 1xnerdnews

 

Children’s intuitive psychology goes against science. Kids see purpose everywhere in nature and will tend to prefer creationist accounts of the origins of animals... more»

 

 

Firefighters dig in at Georgia swamp

By Richard Fausset

Blazes have raged for weeks in a wildlife refuge and show no sign of slowing. And then there's the alligators.

 

 

Prosperous reality Russia's middle class adapts to a changing nation and future

Decade of change Birth of a new Britain - Andrew Marr on how the 60s changed us

 

Homeless pet crisis persists in Katrina's wake

By Ann M. Simmons

Advocates struggle to deal with animals whose owners can no longer care for them, and with the offspring of cats and dogs lost in the hurricane.

 

 

Array of new planets found, but none like ours

By John Johnson Jr.

Astronomers announce 28 discoveries outside the solar system.

 

 

More schools are ditching final exams

By Carla Rivera

A number of campuses use oral presentations to determine if students have earned promotion.

 

 

Too sexy for my students

By Sarah Miller

She was fired from her teaching job after expanding her students' sexual vocabulary.

 

 

Instructor's nose-piercing disturbs district
'It wasn't too long ago that female teachers weren't allowed to wear pants'
--Palm Beach Post

 

 

Travelers resigned to record high gas price

By Louis Sahagun

Facing the Southland's highest holiday weekend fuel prices ever, travelers cut costs in other ways but still hit the road.

 

 

Wall-to-Wall Books, and All of Them for the Landlord

By ETHAN WILENSKY-LANFORD

The owner of Gotham Book Mart in Midtown had to sell his books after falling behind on rent by about a half-million dollars.

 

 

'Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life'

By BARBARA KINGSOLVER with STEVEN L. HOPP and CAMILLE KINGSOLVER
Reviewed by CORBY KUMMER

Barbara Kingsolver describes her family’s attempt to eat only locally grown food.

First Chapter

 

 

Haycast: the poetry special Sarfraz Manzoor talks to Sarah Crown about the Hay festival's Poetry Gala and Gillian Clarke takes us on a tour of the Poetry Bookshop. Plus, Richard Dawkins and Clive James. Listen to the Haycast archive Hay 2007: full coverage

 

 

 

8 U.S. Troops Said Killed Memorial Day

BAGHDAD (AP) - Eight American soldiers were killed in roadside bombings and a helicopter crash in a restive province north of Baghdad, the military reported Tuesday, making May the deadliest month of the year for U.S. troops in Iraq. The soldiers - all from Task Force Lightning - were killed Monday in Diyala as the U.S. commemorated Memorial Day, bringing the number of U.S. forces killed this month to at least 110.

 

 

Private Guards a Weak Link in Security
WASHINGTON (AP) - Legions of ill-trained, low-paid private security guards are protecting tempting terrorist targets across the U.S. Richard Bergendahl is one of them. He fights the war on terrorism in Los Angeles, protecting a high-rise office building for $19,000 a year. Down the block is an even taller skyscraper, identified by President Bush as a building chosen for a Sept. 11-style airplane attack.

 

 

Westerners seized in Baghdad Foreign Office 'urgently' looking into reports that four British security guards were in group of seven westerners kidnapped. Full Iraq coverage

 

 

Russia tests new multiple-warhead missile
Reuters Canada - MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile on Tuesday featuring multiple warheads which can be independently targeted, Russian agencies reported.

 

Magazine slams U.S. for enforcing Cuban cigar ban
'Something is wrong with our government priorities here'
--Reuters

 

 

Taboo of tattoos in workplace
'You have to live with your choices'
--Orlando Sentinel

 

 

Feeling good to be good may be completely natural
Generosity seems to activate part of brain stimulated by sex, food
--Washington Post

 

 

 

today's less alert items

 

 

There's not a lot of love in the Haight

By John M. Glionna

Gutter punks roam where, 40 years ago, flower children protested the war in Vietnam.

 

 

Musharraf's grip falters in Pakistan

By Laura King

Nationwide protests push the U.S.-backed general into a corner.

 

 

Iraq likely to miss goals set by U.S.

By Julian E. Barnes

Military officers doubt top objectives -- sharing of oil revenue, provincial elections and integration of Sunni Arabs -- will be achieved before a September report to Congress.

 

 

 

nerd news

 

"Jeopardy" teams-up with Google

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Jeopardy!" has answered the question of how to integrate the online world with America's classic game show with the Jeopardy! Google Daily Challenge.

 

 

Dial-up firm in a race to diversify

By James S. Granelli

United Online is buying and remaking websites. Investors have noticed.

 

 

E-Commerce Report

Millions of Addresses and Thousands of Sites, All Leading to One

By BOB TEDESCHI

What Internet business has raised $120 million in financing in the last year and owns 725,000 Web sites?

 

 

Google Deal Said to Bring U.S. Scrutiny

By STEVE LOHR

The F.T.C. has opened an antitrust investigation into Google’s planned $3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick.

 

 

 

Silicon Valley Wide-Eyed Over a Bride

By KATIE HAFNER

Anne Wojcicki has captured Silicon Valley’s attention with her marriage to a co-founder of Google, and with a biotech company she recently co-founded.

 

 

Telepresence TV

By PAUL BURNHAM FINNEY

Thanks to new technology, videoconferencing is delivering on its promise as an alternative to traditional business travel.

 

 

28 New Exoplanets Discovered

HONOLULU-Astronomers have discovered 28 new planets outside of our solar system, increasing to 236 the number of known exoplanets, revealing that planets can exist around a broad spectrum of stellar types-from tiny, dim stars to giants.

 

 

Small Stars Create Big Fuss

A "failed star" with only 24 times the mass of Jupiter is the smallest known object to spout jets of matter from its poles, a phenomenon typically associated with much larger black holes and young stars.

 

 

Getting Business Off The Ground

Lowering the price tag of access to space is a familiar mantra in launch-for-hire circles. UP Aerospace Inc. of Farmington, Conn., is focusing its efforts to meet that challenge on the needs of educational, commercial, government and entrepreneurial customers who need affordable ways to conduct space experiments.

 

 

Sony to Debut HD Radio Products in July
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Sony Corp. says it will introduce its first HD Radio products in July, joining the growing group of companies seeking to make the next-generation digital radio technology a standard feature in audio products over the next several years....

 

 

Deutsche Telekom backs VoIP firm Deutsche Telekom backs net phone startup Jajah - one of the first major phone firms to support such technology. Strike widens at Deutsche Telekom Telekom talks with union collapse

 

Friends reunited Our intrepid social networker is suddenly very popular

Grass root politics How the network can bring politicians and citizens closer

 

gleans at 12:45 AM ET, 5/29

 

Special Operations: High Profile, but in Shadow

By THOM SHANKER 

Special Operations forces are conducting between 6 and 12 missions every night across Iraq.

U.S. and Iranian Officials Meet in Baghdad

 

 

Celebrating Auden

Tishani Doshi: A large crowd joined poets Simon Armitage and John Fuller to pay tribute to WH Auden at the Hay festival.

 

 

 

Hope dries-up for Miskito Nicaraguan indigenous people first to suffer from climate change. More on climate change

 

 

Sheehan quits as face of US anti-war fight
Cindy Sheehan, whose soldier son was killed in Iraq three years ago, steps down from figurehead role.
Full Iraq coverage

 

 

Toddlers safe after Australian bush walkabout
· Overnight ordeal ends as rescuer hears 'little squeak'
· Children aged two and three found near cliff
More on Australia

 

 

Fifa bans international games over 2,500m
Fifa has provoked outcry in South America with its decision to ban matches at high altitude.
Guardian Unlimited Football

 

 

Survivor antibodies may hold clue to bird flu remedy
· Trials halt Vietnamese strain of H5N1 in mice
· Treatment similar to that used in 1918 pandemic
More on bird flu

 

 

Climber brings half tonne of rubbish from Everest
Japanese mountaineer's latest campaign to clean up the world's highest mountain.

 

 

Red Square's 1987 invader back on radar
Teenager who landed plane in Moscow's Red Square re-emerges 20 years later to reveal regrets.
More on Russia

 

 

From Russia with hate
Senior diplomat becomes latest Briton to fall foul of thugs.
More on Russia

 

 

The Da Vinci chapel echoes to sound of Saturn

As if there were not enough mysteries involving the medieval chapel that featured in The Da Vinci Code, the plot has thickened.

Making the Rosslyn chapel stonework sing

Does the singing stonework theory work?

Super stars could put Sun in the shade

 

 

Nice weather for a duck, say cricket fans

Cricket statisticians were among the only people excited yesterday by the wet and windy bank holiday Monday.

The holiday deluge across the UK

 

 

In pictures Flag, king, coin and priest - the ancient way of Estonia's Seto   Peretz Ousted as Leader Of Israel's Labor Party Washington Post  By Scott Wilson. JERUSALEM, May 29 -- Israel's Labor Party on Monday ousted Amir Peretz, its populist leader sharply criticized for his role as defense minister during last summer's Lebanon war, in a primary election with implications for the ...

Street art Pictures as Ugandan artists find a use for Kampala's potholes

Double standards? Why Alaskan Eskimos have a cultural claim to hunt whales

 

Peretz loses Israeli party vote Amir Peretz loses the Labour Party leadership, putting the future of the Israeli government coalition in doubt. Growing dissent in Israeli ranks Israel 'must explain' war probes In detail: Israeli political parties

Death penalty for China official China sentences the former head of its Food and Drug Administration to death for corruption, state media says.

 

 

Brisbane Times

Lindsay Lohan heads back to rehab
Stuff.co.nz - BREAKING NEWS: Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan is reportedly heading back to rehab just days after police discovered cocaine in a car she crashed in Hollywood.
Lindsay Lohan: out of control Daily Telegraph
Expert: Lohan Charges No Big Deal CBS News
ABC News - Mirror.co.uk - Chicago Sun-Times - The Money Times
all 756 news articles »

 

 

gleans at 8:30 PM ET, 5/28

 

Two Buck Chuck Still Making Waves
NAPA, Calif. (AP) -- Round and round they go, hundreds of bottles of Two Buck Chuck rattling and clinking their way toward a big machine that deftly fills, corks and seals each one in a rhythmic dance of metal and glass....

 

 

Duke Comes Up Short in Lacrosse Final

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Johns Hopkins blew a six-goal halftime lead, but rebounded to end Duke’s emotional comeback season.

Year After Scandal, a Sport Thrives

 

Bull's-eye for amateur book critics
An author warms up to her bad reviews on Amazon.com. By A.B. Curtiss

 

 

The Dawkins delusion

162 comments

 

 

Scientists divided over alliance with religion

 

 

26 migrants left at sea as row continues

 

 

TV contestants to compete for woman's kidneys

 

 

Dublin Journal

 

Irish Classic Is Still a Hit (in Calfskin, Not Paperback)

By EAMON QUINN

The Book of Kells, the splendidly illustrated Gospels in Latin written 1,200 years ago, is about to undergo laser analysis.

 

 

Food: The Way We Eat

 

Queen of Hearts

By SARA DICKERMAN

Peeling an artichoke’s petals to the bitter — and delicious — end.

 

 

New Limbless Lizard Species Discovered
NEW DELHI (AP) - An Indian zoologist said Monday he has found a new species of limbless lizard in a forested area in the country's east. "Preliminary scientific study reveals that the lizard belongs to the genus Sepsophis," said Sushil Kumar Dutta, who led a team of researchers from "Vasundhra," a non-governmental organization, and the North Orissa University. The newly found 7-inch long lizard looks like a scaly, small snake, Dutta said. "It prefers to live in a cool retreat, soft soil and below stones."

 

 

Notes from a small university

Durham's new vice-chancellor Christopher Higgins tells Matt Keating about his plans to turn it into the 'Princeton of Europe'.

 

 

Get a life or just Google it - the choice is yours
Belfast Telegraph - Google's declaration of intent to assemble the most comprehensive database of personal information has thrown down the gauntlet to civil libertarians.