Planet jcm

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - The world’s supplies of clean, fresh water cannot sustain today’s “profligate” use and inadequate management, which have brought shrinking food supplies and rising food costs to most countries, WWF Director General James Leape told the opening session of World Water Week in Stockholm [on Monday]. “Behind the world food crisis is a global [...]

MADRID, Spain (AP) -- An airliner bound for the Canary Islands swerved off the runway while departing from Madrid airport Wednesday, Spain's national airport authority said. Local media reported at least seven people dead....

WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Polish counterpart signed a deal Wednesday to build a U.S. missile defense base in Poland, an agreement that prompted an infuriated Russia to warn of a possible attack against the former Soviet satellite....

Cartoon for Today, Aug 20, 2008

John Nichols The timing is, of course, exactly right to dominate the front pages of Sunday newspapers--the most well and widely read daily publications--and the Sunday morning talk shows.

Michael Gould-Wartofsky Thousands of youth activists will hit the streets to protest the Democratic and GOP conventions, but can they create democracy from outside?

MADRID, Spain (AP) -- An airliner bound for the Canary Islands swerved off the runway while departing from Madrid airport Wednesday, Spain's national airport authority said. Local media reported at least seven people dead....

BEIJING (AP) -- Crystl Bustos hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning as the U.S. Olympic softball team beat Japan 4-1 in extra innings and will play for its fourth straight gold medal....

WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Polish counterpart signed a deal Wednesday to build a U.S. missile defense base in Poland, an agreement that prompted an infuriated Russia to warn of a possible attack against the former Soviet satellite....

AP - An airliner bound for the Canary Islands swerved off the runway while departing from Madrid airport Wednesday, Spain's national airport authority said. Local media reported at least seven people dead.

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The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Standard Edition(read more)

Council workers are staging a 24-hour walkout over pay, disrupting schools, bin collections and ferries in Scotland.

A Spanish passenger plane has skidded off a runway on takeoff at Madrid airport, local media report.

Salesforce.com spent $31.5 million on August 4 to acquire San Francisco-based call center software company InStranet. It's Salesforce.com's largest acquisition ever. It's also the San Francisco Bay Area's first in 37 months. Or at least it feels like it, no? Careful with the champagne, though. InStranet went through its third round of funding way back in 2001, when it raised $14.7 million at a $50 million valuation in a round joined by Benchmark Capital. So it's not a huge exit. Then again, at least its an exit. Salesforce.com will also report its second quarter earnings today. Analysts expect $260.56 million in revenues for a 47.6 percent year over year growth.

The mother of a missing Lynn boy is looking to the public for help in her desperate search for her son.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Republican official tells The Associated Press that Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman will be speaking at the Republican National Convention....

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) -- The week before the 2004 Democratic National Convention, John Kerry drafted his presidential nomination speech and then set off on a cross-country trip that brought him home to thousands of delegates waiting in Boston....

Washington Post

Biden Brings Reporters Bagels, But No VP News
ABC News - 28 minutes ago
ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf reports from Wilmington, Delaware: Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., left his Wilmington house this morning before 8am with nary a word to reporters camped out in his driveway.
In announcing a running mate, timing and place are key Los Angeles Times
Obama Ready to Announce Running Mate New York Times
Wall Street Journal - Chicago Sun-Times - guardian.co.uk - Portsmouth Herald News
all 1,203 news articles

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne will use a speech to claim the Tories are the party best placed to tackle poverty.

VENTURA, Calif. (AP) -- A jury has ruled that a ranch company's negligence helped lead to the 2005 landslide that killed 10 people in a community on California's central coast....

AP - A jury has ruled that a ranch company's negligence helped lead to the 2005 landslide that killed 10 people in a community on California's central coast.

SkeptOlympics writes "A new chapter in the ongoing controversy surrounding China's women's gymnastics team opened today, as search engine hacker stryde.hax found surviving copies of official registration documents issued by China's General Administration of Sport of China. The incriminating documents, expunged by censors from the official site and from Google's document cache, still appear in the document translation cache of Chinese search giant Baidu, here and here, showing the age of one of China's gold medal winning gymnasts to be 14 instead of 16, the minimum age for competition presented on her government issued passport. Now that official government documentation is available, how long will the IOC be able to keep a lid on this scandal?" I imagine the answer is "Forever".

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

During the Summer Games, track and field is the granddaddy of them all, but will the people in the stands follow this sport from one Olympiad to another?

Voice of America

Biden Brings Breakfast
FOXNews - 30 minutes ago
by Aaron Bruns WILMINGTON, Del - Joe Biden showed some hospitality to the reporters gathered outside his Wilmington home on the off chance that Barack Obama picks the Delaware Senator as his VP - delivering coffee and bagels from his white pickup truck ...
Wait Continues for US Candidates' Vice Presidential Picks Voice of America
Obama’s VP pick - predictions, Internet hoaxes and guarantees Christian Science Monitor
Newsweek - KARK - NewsTalk 1010 WCSI - New York Times
all 372 news articles

New York Daily News

Milwaukee says ‘aaay,’ ‘Happy Days’ are here again
Boston Herald - 30 minutes ago
By Jim Stingl / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel MILWAUKEE - Reality and TV collided Monday when Cindy Williams, whose "Laverne & Shirley" character was a brewery worker from Milwaukee, stepped foot for the first time in a Milwaukee brewery and ran into the ...
Video: First Person: the 'Fonz' in Bronze AssociatedPress
Bronze Fonz Gold for Business Newsradio 620
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Seattle Times

Fannie, Freddie Bailouts May Hinge on Debt Rollover (Update3)
Bloomberg - 30 minutes ago
By Dawn Kopecki Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's success in repaying $223 billion of bonds due by the end of the quarter may determine whether they can avoid a federal bailout.
Some Say Bailout of Housing Giants Is Inevitable New York Times
Will a 7% Mortgage Threat Doom Fannie and Freddie? Seeking Alpha
BloggingStocks - The Associated Press - CNNMoney.com - Wall Street Journal
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Troop deaths feed French doubts over Afghan mission

A convoy of badly needed food aid for beleaguered Georgians rumbled through a Russian checkpoint Wednesday, waved through by soldiers who themselves showed no signs of fulfilling their president's promise of a pullback within two days. A top Russian general,...

ABC News

Plane crashes in Madrid, casualties reported
CNN International - 33 minutes ago
MADRID, Spain (CNN) -- A Spanish plane went off the runway on Wednesday at Madrid's Barajas Airport, possibly due to an engine fire, an airport official said.
Plane crashes in Madrid, injuries feared CNN
Plane crash at Madrid airport Telegraph.co.uk
AFP - Aljazeera.net - Sydney Morning Herald - The Associated Press
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IGOETI, Georgia (AP) -- A convoy of badly needed food aid for beleaguered Georgians rumbled through a Russian checkpoint Wednesday, waved through by soldiers who themselves showed no signs of fulfilling their president's promise of a pullback within two days....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Neither Barack Obama nor John McCain has consistently followed the government's instructions for keeping prohibited foreign money out of their presidential campaigns, and some of that banned money has slipped into Obama's campaign....

The Associated Press

EBay Cuts Fixed-Price Sale Fee to Compete With Rivals (Update2) Bloomberg - 37 minutes ago By Carol Wolf Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- EBay Inc., the world's largest online auctioneer, lowered initial fees to list items at fixed prices by as much as 70 percent to compete with other Internet retailers. eBay Supports Sellers With Dramatically Lower Listing Fee MarketWatch Some eBay sellers frustrated with rule changes The Associated Press New York Times - BusinessWeek - Reuters - Wall Street Journal all 202 news articles

TheMedGuru

Arsenic In Drinking Water Could Lead To Diabetes
eFluxMedia - 39 minutes ago
By Anna Boyd Who would have thought that even water might lead to type 2 diabetes. It’s not exactly the water, but the low levels of arsenic found on tap water used by 13 million people in the United States .
Study Shows A Possible Diabetes Link to Arsenic in Water Daily Green
Arsenic in Drinking Water Raises Diabetes Risk Washington Post
U.S. News & World Report - WebMD - eMaxHealth.com - Discover Magazine
all 307 news articles

WWL

Bush visiting Gulf Coast 2TheAdvocate - 39 minutes ago By AP NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- President Bush is set to be in New Orleans on Wednesday, nine days before the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Bush sees 'a brighter day' for New Orleans Houston Chronicle President Bush: The Katrina Failure of Louisiana, New Orleans Bayou Buzz WAPT - The Associated Press - The Mississippi Press - gulflive.com - Jackson Clarion Ledger all 272 news articles

AFP

Net companies prepare for political conventions (and parties) CNET News - 39 minutes ago Internet companies including Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft are planning to use this year's political conventions to show off their technology and products--and, of course, host massive parties for employees, celebrities, and politicians. Google to help bloggers blanket Dem, GOP conventions Ars Technica The 2008 Google(tm) Democratic Convention ZDNet Wall Street Journal - Wired News - AHN - AFP all 26 news articles

Double car bombing in Algeria kills 11 - agency
Reuters - 44 minutes ago
ALGIERS (Reuters) - A double car bombing in Algeria killed at least 11 people on Wednesday, a day after an attack that killed 43 people at a military academy, the Algerian press agency APS said quoting the Interior Ministry.
Twin Algeria Car Bombs Kill 11 Washington Post
Bombings in Algeria Kill 11 New York Times
Wall Street Journal - CNN International - Xinhua - Reuters UK
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Ars Technica

Power gating and turbo mode: Intel talks Nehalem at IDF Ars Technica - 45 minutes ago By Jon Stokes | Published: August 20, 2008 - 08:23AM CT SAN FRANCISCO—It's not like there's a universally agreed-upon definition of the term "embedded," but of the universe of definitions that I'd seen prior to Tuesday's Intel Developer Forum keynote ... Intel is readying the next phase in its Atom journey DailyTech Intel's Nehalem Takes Center ... InternetNews.com eFluxMedia - BBC News - PC World - CNET News all 318 news articles

Hua Guofeng, who briefly ruled China as communist founder Mao Zedong’s successor, died Wednesday, state-run media reported.

Review: 'Rocker' doesn't rock
CNN - 47 minutes ago
By Owen Gleiberman (Entertainment Weekly) -- There's a certain kind of lamely domesticated, corporate, lit-like-a-floor-wax-commercial rock 'n' roll comedy that makes you feel faintly embarrassed for the people who made it.
A Hard Rainn's Gonna Rock ABC News
'The Rocker' forgets to rock San Jose Mercury News
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New York Daily News

Paterson Declares Victory: 'I Was Not Afraid'
New York Daily News - 48 minutes ago
Gov. David Paterson was triumphant this morning while speaking to the DN's own Errol Louis on WWRL AM 1600, saying the Legislature had agreed to make about "75 percent" of the mid-year budget cuts he sought, reducing next year's deficit in an ...
Legislators Are Negotiating to Cut Budget by $1 Billion New York Times
Paterson, legislative leaders agree to $500M cuts Newsday
Albany Times Union - New York Magazine - News 10 Now - NY1
all 295 news articles

Locally the reconstruction of the Market-Frankford El has been the big transit capital project for a long time. Though necessary, it doesn't add any new service. One dreams that maybe once it is over some other projects can be given some consideration.

The last remnant of the old Market Street Elevated, a fixture in West Philadelphia for 100 years, is gone, its pillars toppled last week like dominoes.

An army of ironworkers, carpenters, electricians, mechanics, painters, masons, plumbers and crane operators is now rushing to erect the final stretches of the new El by Monday morning, when some semblance of normalcy is supposed to return.

An airliner swerved off a runway while taking off from Madrid airport today, the Spanish national airport authority AENA said.

MTV UK

Dave Matthews Band's saxophone player dies
Entertainment Weekly - 49 minutes ago
LeRoi Moore, saxophonist and founding member of Dave Matthews Band, died on Tuesday from complications stemming from an ATV accident he suffered in June.
Video: AP Top Stories AssociatedPress
Dave Matthews Band sax player LeRoi Moore dies The Associated Press
The Patriot-News - PennLive.com - Toledo Blade - NME.com - WSET
all 785 news articles

US will have to beat Japan again for softball gold
Sports Network - 50 minutes ago
Beijing, China (Sports Network) - Rei Nishiyama looped an RBI single into right-center field to lift Japan to a 4-3 victory over Australia in 12 innings on Wednesday, ending a thrilling bronze medal softball game at the Beijing Olympics.
US softball survives scare, beats Japan Boston Globe
Beijing Games: While you were sleeping Baltimore Sun
Detroit Free Press - NFCA Home Plate - Los Angeles Times - Houston Chronicle
all 925 news articles

I vaguely remember hearing/reading something about the MySQL Drizzle project among the news emerging from OSCON last month. But, it didn't grab my attention enough at the time (I thought it was just something compete with SQLite), so I didn't follow up...

10TV

Tubbs Jones Unconscious in Cleveland Hospital
FOXNews - 52 minutes ago
AP EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio - US Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, one of Hillary Clinton's biggest supporters during the primaries, remained unconscious Wednesday in a Cleveland area hospital after being transported there Tuesday night.
Tubbs Jones Taken To Hospital CBS News
US Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones Hospitalized Fox 8 News WJW
The Associated Press - The Hill - Fox 8 News WJW
all 147 news articles

My first daughter is born yesterday at 18h03. Mother and baby are doing great. There are times like this when I just want to say: "What else".

I was nevertheless surprised to see a father there, playing with his EEEPC, running GNU/Linux, while waiting for his son's birth. He had a 3G internet connection and was eagerly browsing the web.

Times are changing all the time.

United to end free meals on many trans-Atlantic flights USA Today - 53 minutes ago In a move that appears to have fired up many of the airline's frequent fliers, United Airlines will "become the first US carrier to stop serving free meals in the coach cabin of some overseas flights," Bloomberg News writes. UAL Scraps Free Coach Meals on Some Overseas Flights (Update1) Bloomberg United Airlines Stops Free Snacks on Select Routes Cheapflights.com San Francisco Chronicle - Aero-News Network all 10 news articles

News 10 Now

Cuomo, ISPs sign child porn accord Bizjournals.com - 54 minutes ago Five Internet service providers, or ISPs, serving New York have signed an agreement by the state Attorney General's office to rid their servers of child pornography Web sites. 7 more will block kiddie porn on the Web The Post-Standard - Syracuse.com 11 more Web providers to cut child porn, Cuomo says Press & Sun-Bulletin News 10 Now - WXXI - WBNG-TV - 13WHAM-TV all 22 news articles

The convicted paedophile Gary Glitter has agreed to fly from Thailand to a third country after refusing to return to England, a Thai immigration official said.

Times Online

Elderly Chinese Women Sentenced to Labor Re-Education
Washington Post - 55 minutes ago
By Ariana Eunjung Cha BEIJING, Aug. 20 -- Two elderly women were sentenced to a year of labor re-education after they applied for permits to demonstrate during the Olympics against their 2001 eviction from their homes, according to the son of one of ...
BEIJING BEAT: Rights groups frustrated by Olympics The Associated Press
China sentences 2 elderly women to labor for seeking to protest International Herald Tribune
New York Times - The Epoch Times - The Age - guardian.co.uk
all 524 news articles

The Associated Press

Some Say Bailout of Housing Giants Is Inevitable New York Times - 56 minutes ago By CHARLES DUHIGG and VIKAS BAJAJ Financial conditions are continuing to worsen at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, leading some investors to prepare for a government bailout of the housing giants even as the Treasury Department and the companies say such ... How Fannie and Freddie will fail BloggingStocks Fannie, Freddie capital raising options uncertain The Associated Press Wall Street Journal - CNNMoney.com - Forbes - Seeking Alpha all 739 news articles

American launches in-flight Internet on 3 routes The Associated Press - 56 minutes ago NEW YORK (AP) - American Airlines expanded the availability of in-flight Internet access Wednesday, launching airborne e-mail, Web and other online services on some of its longer, nonstop flights. In-flight landscape set to change as American’s Internet goes live Flight International American Air kicks off in-flight Internet service Reuters Chicago Tribune - MarketWatch - KDBC - Dslreports all 105 news articles