June 26, 2008

Gunmen today opened fire in a Mexico City restaurant, killing a top police official in charge of monitoring the country’s illegal drug trade, as well as one of his bodyguards, Mexican officials said. The attack is the latest waged against authorities attempting to fight Mexico’s powerful drug cartels.
Security officials in Mexico City say the attack [...]

A grocer in Bristol has been told that, under regulations brought in by the European Union, he is not allowed to sell a recently imported batch of kiwi fruit because they are too small. A spokesperson for the UK’s Rural Payments Agency said that they failed the EU standards for fruit.
Tim Down, the grocer involved, [...]

Two days before the actual slug out between US-born fighter David Diaz (34-1-1, 17 KOs) and challenger, a three title holder Filipino boxing champion, Emmanuel “Pacman” Pacquiao (46-3-2, 34 KOs) occurs in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 28, 2008 the two trades verbal punches at each other during a meeting with members of sports media.
The [...]

The day before Zimbabwe’s presidential runoff is to be held, President Robert Mugabe says he is open to discussion with the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the opposition party that has decided to boycott what they and other African leaders have called a “sham election”.
On Wednesday, MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai had called for pre-election talks [...]

The US Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a 5-4 decision that a Washington, D.C. ban of personal firearms possession is unconstitutional. In a majority opinion written by Antonin Scalia, the court found that “[t]he Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm [...]

The president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Chakib Khelil predicts that prices of world crude oil could reach the $150 to $170 level per barrel before this year’s summer ends.
In an interview on the French news channel France24, Khelil who is also Algeria’s energy minister, also stated that prices won’t reach $200 [...]

Fulfilling a pledge of fairness, United States president George W. Bush announced Thursday that the United States will soon remove North Korea from a list of countries seen as ’sponsoring terrorism’ in the world.
The announcement was made as a ‘reward’ to North Korea for turning over all documents related to its controversial nuclear program. Pyongyang [...]

On Wednesday, a United States federal appeals court upheld convictions of fraud and obstruction of justice against media mogul Conrad Black, along with three other executives from his former press corporation Hollinger International.
Black, a Canadian-born who holds the title Baron Black of Crossharbour in the United Kingdom, was found guilty in July 2007 of three [...]

The Philippines and other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are becoming alarmed over the rapid increase of global oil prices and are seriously looking into prospects of building nuclear powered plants to energize the electric needs of the 10 member nations of ASEAN.
The heads of Asean Power Utilities/Authorities (Hapua) Council got [...]

June 25, 2008

by Jim Kouri, CPP
[The following is based on an FBI strategy report sent to the 14,000-member National Association of Chiefs of Police.]
The foreign intelligence threat within the United States is far more complex than it has ever been historically. The threat is increasingly asymmetrical insofar as it comes not only from traditional foreign intelligence services [...]

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) conference, held in Canberra, Australia, received mixed messages on Tuesday about the health of Australians. While average life expectancy is 81.4 years, second only to Japan’s 82.2, and rates of cancer, heart disease and stroke are dropping, incidence of obesity, alcohol-related diseases, and sexually transmitted infections are [...]

The U.S. state of Florida entered an agreement on June 24, 2008 to purchase the U.S. Sugar Corporation, the largest manufacturer of cane sugar in the U.S., in an effort to restore the Everglades. Terms of the agreement stated that the purchase would be completed within 75 days, but that U.S. Sugar would be able [...]

In late May to early June of 2008, news broke that a previously undiscovered indigenous tribe had been found near the border between Brazil and Peru. Worldwide media was quick to publish the story and the accompanying photographs taken by José Carlos Meirelles. The photos showed people in full body paint aiming bows at the [...]

The Associated Press (AP) news agency has come under fire from the blogging community after issuing a number of DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown notices against bloggers who have used extracts from AP articles.
Quoting from correspondence surrounding the takedown notices, a Drudge Retort contributor claims in his personal blog that not only is AP [...]

1. We who want to help children are not likely to be heard, because so much of the opposition is mindless.  Peter Ferrera dissects the nature of the mindless intimidation form of “argument” as he discusses the Huffington Post.
They want to shower conservatives with name calling, then smear them with allegations that their arguments are [...]

June 24, 2008

Even though the USB 3.0 standard, with transmission speeds nearing 5Gbit/s (600MB/s), has not yet matured and is not expected until 2009 or 2010, technology leaders Intel, AMD, and nVidia are battling to take the lead on the USB 3.0 specifications.
The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) was founded in 1995 by Intel, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Texas Instruments, [...]

June 23, 2008

For the first time ever, NASA has confirmed the presence of water ice on Mars. The Phoenix lander, which landed on Mars on May 25, has confirmed to NASA scientists that the white substance it found while digging a trench on June 15 is water ice.
“It is with great pride and a lot of joy [...]

It is feared that over 700 people have died after a ferry near the Philippines capsized after being hit by Typhoon Fengshen. Only four people from the ferry have been found alive.
The ferry left Manila en route to Cebu on Friday, and according to the owners, Sulpicio Lines, contact was lost at about 12:30 local [...]

June 22, 2008

Betty Jefferson, age 70, an elected tax assessor in New Orleans, along with her brother Mose Jefferson, age 66, and her daughter, Angela Coleman, age 53 — all residents of New Orleans, Louisiana — were charged via a 31 count-indictment by a Federal Grand Jury with conspiracy to commit mail fraud; and federal program [...]

June 21, 2008

Mexico City, Mexico – At least 12 people have died and 32 have been injured because of a human stampede in the night club News Divine in Mexico City. About 1,000 people tried to leave the club at the same time through the only accessible door during a police raid. The establishment’s owner, Alfredo Maya [...]