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Man suspected in shooting deaths of singer's mother, brother and nephew.:Chicago.

allvoices / contributed news — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:29:45 -0600

William Balfour was arrested at Stateville Correctional Center and released to detectives as he awaited formal charges in the shooting deaths of the singer and Oscar-winning actress' relatives.
Police arrested the estranged brother-in-law of Jennifer Hudson on Monday in the deaths of the entertainer's mother, brother and young nephew, taking him from a prison where he had been held on a suspected parole violation.
Until Monday, police had identified Balfour, 27, only as a "person of interest" in the investigation. He had not been charged by Monday evening.

Mumbai attacks might change US initiative on War on Terror

allvoices / contributed news — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:28:00 -0600

Washington, Dec.2 : The terrorist attacks in Mumbai could fundamentally change the U.S. war on terror as President Bush hands over over to President-elect Barack Obama.

Analysts believe that in the wake of last week's attacks in Mumbai, Obama will inherit a potentially escalating conflict between India and Pakistan that could fundamentally alter the war on terror.

India has indirectly pointed fingers at Pakistan for not doing enough to rein in terror and militant elements in its territory.

If the Pakistani government, which has condemned the attack, is found to be involved, foreign policy analysts believe that could lead the longtime nuclear-armed rivals to the brink of all-out war.

"It could be disastrous," said Caroline Wadhams, a senior policy analyst for national security at the Center for American Progress.

"There would be repercussions for the world and the war in Afghanistan," Fox News quoted her as saying further.

Analysts agree that Bush has made the right initial moves and that there should be close coordination between him and Obama on the issue.

Bush sent the FBI to India to help with the investigation and assured the country's prime minister, Manmohan Singh, that the U.S. government will "devote the necessary resources and personnel to this situation."

Obama expressed sympathy for the victims of the terror attacks on Monday during a news conference in which he introduced his national security team.

But he declined to say whether the Indian government would be justified in pursuing terrorists in next-door Pakistan.

Obama said: "We're going to be engaged in some very delicate diplomacy in the next days and weeks, and I think it would be very inappropriate of me to comment."

"I think both the Bush administration and the Obama transition team will have to shift part of their attention from Afghanistan to defusing the India-Pakistan crisis," said Lisa Curtis, a senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation who focuses on national security.

She called the Mumbai attacks a "watershed moment" for the United States.

"It's going to complicate the war on terror," she said.

If tensions ratchet up between the two nations, Pakistan, which has been an uneasy ally of the United States in the war on terror, will likely declare that it cannot fight terrorism on its western Afghanistan border because it must focus on its eastern border with India, Curtis said.

Wadhams said the Mumbai attack signals that terrorism is not going away.

Curtis said this crisis resembles the India-Pakistan military standoff early this decade that came after a militant attack on the Indian Parliament that left 14 people, including the five men who attacked the building, dead in December 2001.

Tensions died down following international diplomatic mediation, which resulted in the 2002 withdrawal of Indian and Pakistan troops from the International Border.

That same year, Lashkar was banned in Pakistan under pressure from the U.S., a year after Washington and Britain listed it as a terrorist group. It is since believed to have emerged under another name, Jamaat-ud-Dawa.

The Pakistani government denies any link to Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Obama taps Clinton, Gates for US 'new dawn' abroad

allvoices / contributed news — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:24:45 -0600

By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO – Barack Obama promised "a new dawn of American leadership" in a troubled world Monday, announcing a strong-willed national security team headed by Hillary Rodham Clinton, who fought him long and bitterly for the presidency, and Robert Gates, the man who has been running two wars for George W. Bush.

The president-elect said he hadn't changed his mind about bringing most U.S. combat troops home from Iraq within 16 months but added a cautionary note — he'll consult with his military commanders first.

While his new team may be a bit more centrist — some war opponents might even say hawkish — than many Obama supporters might prefer, he said the withdrawal timetable he emphasized in the presidential campaign is still "the right time frame."

Clinton, as secretary of state, and Gates, remaining as defense secretary, will be the most prominent faces — besides Obama's own — of the new administration's effort to revamp U.S. policy abroad.

At a Chicago news conference, Obama also tapped top advisers Eric Holder as attorney general and Susan Rice as ambassador to the United Nations. He named Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to be homeland security secretary and retired Marine Gen. James Jones as White House national security adviser.

The choices had been telegraphed days earlier but were remarkable all the same — still another major turn in Clinton's extraordinary career, a show of faith in Gates and action to support Obama's frequent talk of desiring robust debate among seasoned, opinionated people in his inner circle.

Denouncing White House "group think," Obama signaled a break from President Bush's tendency toward an insular management style and go-with-the-gut diplomacy.

"The time has come for a new beginning," said Obama, flanked by flags on a stage with Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his six newest appointees. While Gates will stay at the Pentagon, Obama said the military's new mission will be "responsibly ending the war in Iraq through a successful transition to Iraqi control."

He said a newly completed agreement between Iraq and the Bush administration covering U.S. troops signals "a transition period in which our mission is changing." He added: "It indicates we are now on a glide path to reduce our forces in Iraq."

Obama has now selected half his Cabinet, including the high-profile jobs at State, Defense, Justice and Treasury. A week ago, he named his economic team, led by Timothy Geithner as treasury secretary. And soon he plans to announce New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as commerce secretary and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as health and human services secretary.

Obama's picks suggest he is mindful of his own relative inexperience; most of the appointees have decades more experience in government than he does as a former one-term Illinois senator. The selections also reflect his long-voiced desire to invite divergent viewpoints to chart the best course for the country.

"I assembled this team because I'm a strong believer in strong personalities and strong opinions," he said. "I think that's how the best decisions are made. ... So I'm going to be welcoming a vigorous debate inside the White House."

"But understand I will be setting policy as president," he added. He said he will be responsible for "the vision that this team carries out, and I expect them to implement that vision once decisions are made."

Quoting Harry S. Truman, Obama said: "The buck will stop with me."

"The time has come for a new beginning, a new dawn of American leadership to overcome the challenges of the 21st century," Obama said.

Without naming Bush or directly referring to what administration critics see as America's tarnished world image over the past eight years, Obama called for a new strategy for dealing with global issues.

"We're going to have to bring the full force of our power, not only military but also diplomatic, economic, and political, to deal with those threats not only to keep America safe but also to ensure that peace and prosperity will exist around the world," he said.

Referring to his security team, Obama said: "They share my pragmatism about the use of power and my sense of purpose about America's role as a leader in the world."

Asked by reporters about his choice of Clinton, who traded barbs with him and questioned his readiness for the presidency during the campaign, he praised her and shrugged off any suggestions of future problems.

He said of the New York senator, "She possesses an extraordinary intelligence and toughness, and a remarkable work ethic. ... She is an American of tremendous stature who will have my complete confidence, who knows many of the world's leaders, who will command respect in every capital and who will clearly have the ability to advance our interests around the world."

The former first lady repaid the compliment: "I am proud to join you ... and may God bless you and our great country."

Likewise, Gates said he was "honored to serve President-elect Obama."

He said he was "mindful that we are engaged in two wars and face other serious challenges at home and around the world."

"I must do my duty as they do theirs," he said of the men and women in uniform in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. "How could I do otherwise?"

At the news conference, Obama expressed sympathy for the victims of the terror attacks in Mumbai but twice declined to say whether the Indian government would be justified in pursuing terrorists in next-door Pakistan.

"This is one of those times when I have to reiterate there is one president at a time," he said. "We're going to be engaged in some very delicate diplomacy in the next days and weeks, and I think it would be very inappropriate of me to comment."

Obama had drawn criticism during the campaign — including from Clinton — when he said the United States would be justified in pursuing al-Qaida terrorists in Pakistan if it had "actionable intelligence."

Clinton will give up her seat as a senator from New York to join the Cabinet. Her appointment was preceded by lengthy negotiations involving her husband, the former president, whose international business connections posed potential conflicts of interests.

Napolitano, too, must resign her current job as a border state governor. She was among the earliest Obama supporters, when Clinton seemed the likely Democratic nominee.

Gates' appointment fulfilled a campaign promise by Obama, the naming of a Republican to his Cabinet.

Holder, a former Justice Department official in the Clinton administration, led Obama's vice presidential search, while Rice was his top foreign policy adviser. Jones, meanwhile, advised both Obama and Republican presidential nominee John McCain during the campaign on national security issues. Last year he led a commission that advised Congress on progress in training Iraqi security forces.

Clinton, Holder, Napolitano and Rice require Senate confirmation. Jones, as a White House official, does not. Nor does Gates, already confirmed to his post.

Jennifer Hudson's Brother-in-Law Arrested for Family Murders

allvoices / contributed news — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:17:28 -0600

Marcus Errico and Natalie Finn Marcus Errico And Natalie Finn

Los Angeles (E! Online) – Jennifer Hudson's estranged brother-in-law has just gone from "person of interest" to prime suspect in the slayings of her mother, brother and nephew.

Chicago police today arrested William Balfour for the Oct. 24 shooting deaths that ripped the Dreamgirls star's family apart.

Chicago police detectives went to the Illinois' Stateville Correctional Center, where Balfour has been detained since two days after the murders. The 27-year-old was transferred into police custody at 2:45 local time.

"He is awaiting formal charges for three counts of murder," a police department spokesman told E! News. "There likely will be a press conference once there are formal charges against him."

Defense attorney Joshua Kutnick told reporters outside the police station that his client has maintained his innocence.

"He vehemently denies that he is guilty in this case," Kutnick said. "Any evidence pointing to Mr. Balfour is not even thin. It is very, very weak."

Hudson's mother, Darnell Donerson, and 29-year-old brother, Jason Hudson, were found shot to death in the family's Chicago home. Seven-year-old Julian King, the son of Hudson's sister, Julia, was reported missing and found dead from a gunshot wound to the head three days later in an abandoned SUV.

Police said that Julian was likely taken alive from the house and then killed in the vehicle. Hudson was called upon to identify the bodies of all three.

Balfour was deemed a "person of interest" in the case almost immediately after the murders transfixed the nation. But he was jailed on an unrelated charges of parole violation stemming from a 1999 attempted-murder conviction, for which he spent seven years in prison. He was released in 2006.

At a hearing last month, the Illinois Prisoner Review Board decided to keep him locked up after hearing evidence that he appeared in places where drugs were sold and, according to his girlfriend, being in possession of a gun matching the description of the Hudson murder weapon.

The suspect's mother, Michelle Davis-Balfour, told reporters tonight that the authorities didn't have a case.

"If they found gun powder on his hands, you got a case," she said. "If they found a gun on him, he had a case. If they found a fingerprint on the truck that he did this, you got a case— but they don't have nothing."

Hudson's publicist, Lisa Kasteler, had no comment Monday.

Nicole Kidman 'hated' by Facebook users

allvoices / contributed news — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:09:17 -0600

Melbourne, December 2 : Nicole Kidman seems to be a popular topic of discussion on Facebook - because of users' hatred towards the actress.

And their hatred has sky-rocketed so much that they are forming anti-Kidman campaigns.

The Academy Award-winner is said to be the target of groups such as "Am I Taking Crazy Pills or is Nicole Kidman the Worst Actress in the World?" "Nicole Kidman is Satan", or simply "I hate Nicole Kidman" - by people never likely to have met the star or known her personally.

While Avi Aronstan said "She is manipulative, calculating and two faced!" Jarrod Booth blogger wrote "she has the emotional scope of a spoon and she's ugly," News.com.au reports.

The actress has further been violently critiqued on the social networking website for her acting skills for her recent performance in the romance-epic film 'Australia'.

While some dubbed the celebrity as the "ice queen", others held her "baby brain" accountable for an "overpaid" performance.

The Kidman-hating bloggers also put up her digitally altered pictures to make her look 100 years old -even attack her entirely innocent newborn baby.

Meanwhile, those close to the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador continued to vouch for Kidman calling her practical, sensitive and hard-working woman, committed to her family and far at bay from 'the prima donna about her'.

Highest tide in 20 years floods historic Venice

allvoices / contributed news — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:08:06 -0600

By LUIGI COSTANTINI, Associated Press Writer Luigi Costantini, Associated Press Writer

VENICE, Italy – Venice could use a bailout. The city built on water has too much of it.

Residents and tourists waded through knee-deep water Monday as they navigated the city's narrow streets and alleys, and its historic St. Mark's Square was inundated. Boxes of tourist merchandise floated inside the flooded shops around the square and even the city's famed pigeons sought refuge on rooftops and windowsills.

One of the highest tides in its history brought Venice to a virtual halt, rekindling a debate over a plan to build moveable flood barriers in an effort to save the lagoon city from high tides.

City officials said the tide peaked at 61 inches (156 centimeters), well past the 40-inch (110-centimeter) flood mark, as strong winds pushed the sea into the city.

Alarms went off at 6:37 a.m. to alert citizens, but many residents were taken by surprise because authorities had initially not forecast such a high water level.

In St. Mark's Square, one of the city's lowest points, tourists tried to stay dry by hopping on cafe tables and chairs sticking out of the water. The water was so high that someone rowed a small speedboat across the wide square.

"It was quite an extraordinary experience," said Michel Gorski, visiting from Brussels with his wife. "We got stuck in the hotel for half a day but we didn't suffer. We were sorry for the restaurants and stores around, but there was no panic and everyone worked really hard to clean up quickly."

Workers were unable to install the traditional raised wooden walkways used during flooding because the water rose so high the platforms would have floated away too.

"There are very few streets that are water-free," admitted city spokesman Enzo Bon.

In an ironic twist, the flooding also idled the city's water buses because their boarding platforms were underwater.

Bon had no reports of damage to the city's architectural jewels, and the Culture Ministry was monitoring the situation.

It was the fourth highest tide since 1872, when the city started keeping records. The last time Venice saw such high waters was in 1986, while the all-time record was 76 inches (194 centimeters) in 1966.

That flood forced 3,000 people to evacuate and damaged many historic buildings, but largely spared the city's art — which had long ago been removed to upper floors because of frequent flooding by tides.

"In Venice, we know how to live with high water," said Bon. "Of course there are some problems, because today's was an exceptional event."

Giancarlo Galan, the conservative governor of the surrounding Veneto region, criticized Venice's center-left administration for failing to prepare for the flood and for allegedly stonewalling a long-planned system of barriers that would rise from the seabed to ease the effect of high tides.

The $5.5 billion project, called "Moses" after the Biblical figure who parted the Red Sea, has been under construction for years and is expected to be completed by 2011. The company building the barriers said, had the system been in place, the city would not have been flooded Monday.

Venice Mayor Massimo Cacciari insisted the city's experts had done a good job and had revised their forecasts well before the water came in. Cacciari, who has criticized the barriers, said the government-backed project would be completed.

With low tide setting in and waters receding Monday afternoon, some tourists were charmed by the water wonderland.

"The hotel had to turn off the gas and the electricity, but they made us a nice candlelit cold lunch," said Yacob Laurent, a visitor from Paris. "They gave us boots and my wife and I went for a walk. It was a lot of fun."

Court dissolves Thai government for election fraud

allvoices / contributed news — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:04:48 -0600

By AMBIKA AHUJA, Associated Press Writer

BANGKOK, Thailand – The Constitutional Court dissolved Thailand's top three ruling parties for electoral fraud Tuesday and temporarily barred the prime minister from politics, bringing down a government that faced months of strident protests seeking its ouster.

The ruling set the stage for thousands of protesters to end their seige of the country's two main airports. Members of the People's Alliance for Democracy protest group at Bangkok's international airport cheered and hugged after they heard news of the verdict.

"My heart is happy. My friends are very happy," said Pailin Jampapong, a 41-year-old Bangkok housekeeper choking back tears as she jumped up and down.

Government spokesman Nattawut Sai-kau said that Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat and his ruling, six-party coalition would step down.

"We will abide by the law. The coalition parties will meet together to plan for its next move soon," he told The Associated Press.

He also said the government was postponing a regional summit in Thailand of Southeast Asian countries, from December to March.

Somchai's People's Power Party, the Machima Thipatai party and the Chart Thai party were found guilty of committing fraud in the December 2007 elections that brought the coalition to power with thumping majority.

Court President Chat Chalavorn said the court was dissolving the parties "to set a political standard and an example."

"Dishonest political parties undermine Thailand's democratic system," he said in the court's ruling.

The ruling sends Somchai and dozens of party executives into political exile, barring them from the country's politics for five years.

But other members of the three parties that escaped the ban can join other parties and try to cobble together a new coalition and choose a new prime minister.

It was expected that Somchai would remain the caretaker prime minister until then.

Thousands of members of the protest alliance have been the main Suvarnabhumi international airport and the domestic Don Muang airport for about a week, cutting off all commercial traffic to the capital and stranding more than 300,000 foreign travelers here.

At the Suvarnabhumi airport, the verdict was read out on a protest stage outside the main terminal.

"It is good because the (corrupt) politicians have been told to get out. It is good for Thailand. This is a blow for corruption," said Nong Sugrawut, a 55-year-old businessman who was among the thousands camped at Suvarnabhumi.

Politicians banned by the verdict refused to comment.

"The court just banned me and my party from political activity so I can't give you any comment," Kuthep Saikrajang, a spokesman of the People's Power Party, told The Associated Press.

Now,A centrist approach to security:to Mr.Barack Obama.

allvoices / contributed news — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:02:37 -0600

Appearing at a Chicago news conference with secretary of state nominee Sen. Hillary Clinton and five others on his team, Obama said his administration would restore U.S. standing in the world through alliance-building and international institutions, as well as by maintaining U.S. military power.
President-elect Barack Obama on Monday introduced his national security team, made up of centrist Washington insiders, and promised an overhaul of foreign policy to give added emphasis to diplomacy and bring a "new dawn of American leadership."
Obama said his administration would be committed to maintaining "the strongest military on the planet" and to adding to the ranks of the Army and the Marine Corps.
Even as Obama emphasized his plans for a break from Bush policy, however, there were abundant reminders that the new team will struggle with familiar problems, and that there would be substantial continuity in the way they must deal with them.

India-Pakistan relations may become Obama's top priority

allvoices / contributed news — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:50:15 -0600

Chicago, Dec 2 'Sovereign nations obviously have a right to protect themselves.' This axiomatic comment by President-elect Barack Obama, while unveiling his national security team on Monday morning, is fraught with significant implications for India-Pakistan bilateral relations.

That it was made in response to a specific question whether India has the right to attack Pakistan in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks makes it doubly important.

'Beyond that I do not want to comment on the specific situation that has taken place in South Asia right now. It is important for us to let the investigators do their job to make determination as to who is responsible for carrying out this heinous act. My administration will remain steadfast in support to India's efforts to catch the perpetrators of this terrible act and bring them to justice and I expect that the world community will feel the same way,' Obama said after making that comment.

His comments appeared to studiedly leave out saying he would necessarily stand in India's way were it to choose to target terrorists in Pakistan in the event the latter did not or could not contain them.

It was expected that Obama would be asked about the situation in India and its impact on relations with Pakistan as he introduced Senator Hillary Clinton as his choice for Secretary of State. From all available accounts, the Obama team has been paying considerable attention to the clear sharpening of the rhetoric from the Indian side in the aftermath of the terror attacks and its potential to yet again put the two countries on in a volatile embrace.

Although Iraq and Afghanistan remain important items of Obama's foreign policy to-do list, the dramatic appearance of the tensions between India and Pakistan could well constitute its top priority. Tied to the stability or lack thereof in Pakistan is Obama's passionate advocacy of defeating the Al Qaeda-Taliban combine now known to operate on Pakistani soil.

There is already some speculation whether Obama might follow up on his idea of appointing a special envoy to deal with the Kashmir issue, if only to relieve the Pakistani military from deploying major human resource and assets to border with India and diverting it to the country's northwest where the jehadi groups are in control. Once again popular current affairs show host Chris Mathews spoke of the possibility of former president Bill Clinton being asked to mediate in the dispute.

There are no indications at all whether Obama is even remotely considering a special envoy on Kashmir, but the talk has somehow remained in the air. Some experts believe that the Mumbai attacks lend particular urgency to the Kashmir issue, especially because the Lashkar-e-Taiba, whose core ideology is to challenge India's sovereignty over Jammu and Kashmir, has come under serious suspicion for its possible role in the latest attacks.

The sharpening anti-Pakistan tone in New Delhi is unlikely to go unnoticed in the headquarters of the US government-in-waiting here in Chicago. There is also realization that things can clearly spin out of control in the rawness of the atmosphere in South Asia.

Not that anyone here expects that India and Pakistan might go to war and seriously mar Obama's inauguration set for 50 days from now. But the incoming administration will be seriously chagrined at the idea of starting their term having to deal with two nuclear powers, one of them a haven for Islamist groups, locking themselves in a military conflict.

The Obama administration might feel reassured that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is not given to rash actions, but at the same time they also recognize the growing political pressures on him to act tough a few months before the general elections.

World's Most Heinous Crimes

allvoices / contributed news — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:48:31 -0600

They share a deep sorrow: an idealistic American who tried to protect the Kurds of Iraq, a Canadian general who refused to follow orders in Rwanda, a French priest who fought for the soul of Cambodia. Each one tried to focus the world's attention on the world's most heinous crime: genocide. Each time, they were shunned, ignored or told it was someone else's problem. Having reported on mass atrocities around the world, this time Amanpour traced the personal accounts of those who tried to stop the slaughter. The yearlong CNN investigation found that instead of using a U.N. treaty outlawing genocide as a springboard to action, political leaders have invoked reason after reason to make intervention seem unnecessary, pointless and even counter-productive. (by Christiane Amanpour)

The White House reactes without using the word

allvoices / contributed news — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:42:47 -0600

This is the second time the bureau has declared an economic slump during President Bush's eight-year tenure. It previously declared the U.S. in recession from March to November 2001 in a decline brought on by a stock market crash that struck Silicon Valley exceptionally hard.
Still, today's declaration by the National Bureau of Economic Research that the economy has been in retreat since last December sent Wall Street into a bearish fit that knocked nearly 9 percent off the S&P 500 index.
But this obscure group must be cautious, because recession is such a loaded term.
It took seven economists 11 months to decide what should seem obvious given all the foreclosures, bank failures and layoffs - the United States is officially mired in a recession.
They are under pressure to be quicker, but they have to resist.

Many economists believe the current downturn could be the worst since the recession of 1980-1982, when the U.S. unemployment rate soared above 10 percent. The nationwide jobless rate is currently 6.5 percent. Unemployment in California is 8.2 percent but is lower in the Bay Area.

Melamine Kills Again

allvoices / contributed news — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:22:59 -0600

Six Chinese infants may have died from consuming melamine-tainted milk powder, twice the number previously reported by the government, the Ministry of Health said Monday. The Ministry of Health said it has screened more than 22 million infants and children since September 10 and found that contaminated milk has sickened nearly 300,000 children -- a six-fold increase from the previous total of about 50,000. China's health officials had investigated 11 infant death cases and ruled out a connection to the tainted milk powder in all but six of those. The government had previously confirmed three infant deaths linked to tainted milk. Earlier this month, the World Health Organization reported that four infant deaths in China had been confirmed. The Ministry of Health found that 294,000 infants have suffered from urinary ailments. "The majority of sickened children had only small amounts of mud or sand-like (kidney) stones and were treated on an outpatient basis," the ministry said in a statement on its Web site. "Some children suffered from urinary tract stones and needed to be hospitalized." The peak of the screenings is over and the "seriously ill children are no longer in danger," the ministry said. (CNN)

Apple Store on Simpsons

allvoices / contributed news — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:12:33 -0600

The Simpsons spare no one: American Idol and X-Files are just a sampling of the cultural icons that the show has taken a pop shot at. There have been Apple references in past seasons: it was a Mac that was parodied in an attempt by a Springfield bully to use handwriting recognition software.

But Apple or rather Mapple was front and center in the latest episode. Ipods were replaced by MyPods and Steve Jobs was re-christened Steve Mobs. There was even a parody of the famous 1984 commercial featuring Comic Book guy.

I won't give away the plot for those of you still waiting to see it but sounds like Fox lawyers are working to block the clips on YouTube.

Most discussions on technology blogs like CNet seem to have degenerated into arguments regarding the quality of Simpsons episodes through the ages. I'd be interested in seeing if there is a significant spike in sales of Apple products following this informal promotion. Given The Simpsons' cult following, getting on the show can only be good for marketers.

Facebook Struggling to Make Money

allvoices / contributed news — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:57:27 -0600

Social networking may be taking the Internet by storm but that doesn't mean investors are thrilled about it. Turns out that monetizing pages where people are exchanging gossip and personal trivia while playing with inane applications isn't that easy.

Marketing research firm IDC has established said that just over half of social network users have even clicked on an advertisement on their territory. Just about 10% have translated into any form of sale. The numbers are not that bad given the volumes of traffic involved, but it still does not justify the kind of investments that a company like Facebook is looking for given its ambitious plans for expansion.

The time is thus ripe for a revolutionary business model to milk this cow. Facebook is resting its hopes on the somewhat controversial Facebook Connect. This service will allow the exchange of some identity information with other sites that are involved in social connecting services. It's brought on board some major players such as Digg.

Through this mechanism, Facebook hopes to build a profile of individual users based on activities they express an interest in through their web footprint. Such information, if used correctly by adverisers, would allow them to better target their audience and may translate into a better acquisition ratio.

Of course you may not be thrilled to know that Facebook is collecting information about you for consumer marketing purposes. Amazon does something similar when suggesting purchasing recommendations, though the footprint it examines is limited to pages you visit within its domain.

Advertisers are excited about the prospects of richer real time consumer data. But for consumers who are generally averse to online shopping endeavors even better targeting may not help.

BREAKING NEWS:CERTIFICATE FROM WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDANT ,FOR NOT INVOLVEMENT OF PAKISTAN IN INDIAN RECENT ATTACKS

allvoices / contributed news — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:57:23 -0600

Pakistan is not involved in recent indian attacks ,need to co-operate with india regarding this issue,this was stated by white house correspondant.He said that our intelligence experts have investigated on these attacks and we have reported to presidant bush also that pakistan is not involved in any manner in this activity.Here also pakistani prime minister syed yusaf raza gillani said that if india has any solid proof regarding this ,present us we ourself will do strict and hard action on it.pakistan and india should work collectively ,to defeat such elements who donot want peace in this zone.TODAY NATIONAL SOLIDARITY COUNSIL IS BEING CALLED IN ISLAMABAD,IN WHICH ALL POLITICAL PARTIES WILL PARTICIPATE TO DISCUSS ALL ISSURES REGARDING NATIONAL SOLIDARITY.

REPORT REGARDING INTERNATIONAL AIDS DAY

allvoices / contributed news — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:33:43 -0600

IT IS SAID THAT IN WORLD THERE ARE NEARLY 3 CRORE 32 LAKH AIDS EFFECTED PEOPLE IN THE WHOLE WORLD AND IN PAKISTAN THIS NUMBER IS FIVE THOUSAND .in 2007 ,21 lakh people died in the world due to aids.and at internatioinal level .aids effected people contain half of them are women.25 lakh children are also effected from aids .un aids control program says that 95 percent Aids virus effected people are from under developed countries and moslly effected part of wolrld is sub sahara africa,where effected people are 2 crore 25 lakh .in the world.aids disease,came in 1987.THIS REPORT COMPILED BY PAKISTANI LARGEST AND BIGGEST NEWSPAPER DAILY JANG CELL "JANG DEVELOPMENT REPORTING CELL".ON THE DAYS OF INTERNATIONAL AIDS DAY.

Breaking news;Kidney problems spreads in China:290,000 infants suffering.

allvoices / contributed news — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:32:07 -0600

The Chinese government says more than 290,000 infants have developed health problems, such
as kidney stones, from being fed formula milk containing the chemical melamine.
Parents are filing suits for damages against the companies but the court has not accepted their
claims. There have been 11 reported cases of death. After detailed investigation, it says the tainted
milk is suspected to be the cause of death in 6 cases, but not in the other 5 cases.
The health ministry revealed that 22,380,000 infants have been examined in hospitals since September.
It says 52,000 were treated, but 861 of them are still in hospital.

Rare artefacts having reminiscent of "Venus" figurines uncovered in Russia.

allvoices / contributed news — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:20:42 -0600

The new artefacts, discovered by Hizri Amirkhanov and Sergey Lev of the Russian Academy of
Sciences, include a mammoth rib inscribed with what appear to be three mammoths, a small
bone engraved with a cross-hatch pattern, and two human figurines presumed to be female.
The site at Zaraysk, 150km south-east of Moscow, has yielded figurines and carvings on
mammoth tusks.
As the Upper Palaeolithic is the latter part of the Stone Age, during which humans made the
transition from functional tool-making to art and adornment.
Artistic artefacts have been found in the nearby regions of Kostenki and Avdeevo, but this
is the first such discovery at Zaraysk.
Such "Venus" statuettes have been found in locations ranging from the mountains of Spain
as far east as Siberia, but their cultural significance remains a point of debate among
anthropologists.

Enchanting news:"The costlier vote offered in favour of President Bush".

allvoices / contributed news — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:48:43 -0600

I salute President Bush for his leadership in crafting a plan for AIDS relief in Africa and backing
it up with funding dedicated to saving lives and preventing the spread of the disease," Mr.Obama
said in taped remarks to the Saddleback Civil Forum on Global Health.
Normally,President-elect Barack Obama doesn't often offer praise for President George W. Bush's
foreign policy, but on Monday he offered the outgoing head of state accolades for battling AIDS in
Africa.
Under the Bush administration, more than 2 million people infected with HIV -- most of them in
Africa -- have received lifesaving anti-retroviral treatment as part of the President's Emergency
Plan for AIDS Relief.
Obama promised to continue working "to address the crisis around the world."

US deaths in Afghanistan in November drop sharply

allvoices / contributed news — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:10:37 -0600

KABUL, Afghanistan – One American serviceman died in Afghanistan in November, a dramatic drop from earlier months that the U.S. military attributed to their campaign against insurgent leaders, operations by Afghan and Pakistani forces and the onset of winter.

Twice this year, monthly U.S. death tolls in Afghanistan surpassed the monthly toll in Iraq, highlighting the differing trends in the two war zones: Security in Iraq has improved while it has deteriorated in Afghanistan.

The Taliban's reach is expanding — and even the capital, Kabul, is more dangerous than before.

U.S. troops suffered an average of 21 deaths in Afghanistan each month this year from May to October — by far the deadliest six-month period in Afghanistan for American forces since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. The Afghan Defense Ministry does not release fatality figures.

Militants this year have unleashed increasingly powerful roadside bombs and sophisticated, multidirectional ambushes. The deadlier attacks, combined with a record number of U.S. troops patrolling Afghanistan's vast provinces, has this year led to more American military deaths than ever before in Afghanistan — 148.

The sole U.S. military death recorded last month came when a suicide bomber rammed his car into a military convoy Nov. 13 as it was passing through a crowded market in eastern Afghanistan. The blast killed Sgt. Jonnie L. Stiles, 38, who was serving with the Louisiana Army National Guard.

Lt. Col. Rumi Nielson-Green, the spokeswoman at the U.S. base at Bagram, cautioned that one month of data does not make a trend "but may be an indicator."

But she noted that operations conducted by U.S. forces last summer against insurgent areas and bomb-making networks helped lower November's violence. Those efforts likely contributed to a 40 percent drop in improvised explosive device attacks in October, compared with September, and may have pushed down troop death last month as well.

In addition, U.S. forces also pressed ahead in November with what commanders call the Winter Campaign.

"This campaign is designed to create the conditions of lowering enemy capabilities, diminishing their support areas both by hard-power and soft, and continue strengthening border operations to complement the Pakistani efforts in the FATA," she said, referring to Pakistan's northwestern Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

She said Pakistani military operations in Bajur have also helped security in Afghanistan.

Insurgents in Afghanistan, particularly in mountainous areas, typically scale back their operations during the winter months, and that may have contributed to the declining trend, U.S. military spokesman Col. Jerry O'Hara said.

"That's some of it," he said. "But really we attribute it more toward our improvement in our tactics and techniques and procedures, along with the increased capability of the Afghan security forces."

O'Hara said the number of attacks in the Kabul region was 50 percent lower in January to October this year than during the same 10-month period in 2007. "And again, we attribute that to not only the Afghan security forces, but you have to give credit to the Afghan people for their personal involvement in the form of tips and their reports to Afghan security forces," he said.

Eleven U.S. troops died in Afghanistan in November 2007, meaning the year-on-year drop is also significant.

The U.S. still has about 150,000 troops in Iraq, but violence there has fallen off dramatically in recent months. Over the past six months it has become more dangerous to serve in Afghanistan, where the death rate among U.S. troops has been higher than in Iraq.

A near-record 32,000 American forces are deployed in Afghanistan.

Despite the vastly greater number of Americans deployed in Iraq, in two months this year more U.S. forces died in Afghanistan than Iraq. In July, 20 U.S. forces died in Afghanistan; 16 died in Iraq. In September, 16 died in Afghanistan; 14 died in Iraq.

Sixteen U.S. troops died in Iraq last month.

O'Hara said the military mourns every death and that the number of casualties is not a measure of effectiveness for the military.

"Our measures of effectiveness are increased security, increases in development, increases in people's attitudes toward their own well being," said O'Hara. "And certainly we're always adjusting our tactics based on what we see on the battlefield and what we are able to learn through intelligence about the insurgents."

The commander of NATO, Gen. John Craddock, said last week that the Taliban insurgency was growing more "virulent," saying violence jumped by 40 percent this year. Last year 111 U.S. troops died in Afghanistan, meaning deaths this year will likely have increased between 30 percent and 40 percent by the end of the year.

More than 5,900 people — mostly militants — have died in insurgency related violence in Afghanistan this year, according to an Associated Press count of figures from Afghan and Western officials.

On Monday, a suicide bomber apparently trying to target Afghan police blew himself up in a crowded market in southern Afghanistan, killing eight civilians and two policemen, said Helmand provincial police chief Asadullah Sherzad.

In Kabul on Sunday, a suicide bomber attacked a German Embassy vehicle, killing two Afghan civilians.

Taliban and other militant suicide bombers frequently target Afghan and international military forces in their suicide attacks, but many more Afghan civilians typically die in the attacks than do government officials or military personnel.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks.

Elsewhere on Monday, gunmen on a motorbike killed a district chief in central Afghanistan, a provincial spokesman said.

It was not clear who was responsible, but Taliban militants regularly assassinate government officials in their attempt to weaken the grip of President Hamid Karzai's administration in the provinces.