Congratulations to the NY Times. They know how to take care of people. Thank you, China.

Zhao Yan, center, is greeted by friends and relatives after he was released from the state security prison in Beijing.

“I would like to thank my family, friends and my employer for their steadfast concern and support,” Mr. Zhao said in a statement released on Saturday morning. He added: “These three years I have missed my family very much, especially my maternal grandmother, who is now more than 100 years old. For that reason, I want some time to reunite with my family.”

He needs to come to the USA and speak to the people that have missed him for so long. A visit here would be very nice.

I predicted $100 by the end of the year. I thought for a while it wasn't going to make it. Hm.

Traders worked in the crude oil options pit at the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday.

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS
Published: September 13, 2007
HOUSTON, Sept. 13 — Crude oil closed above $80 a barrel for the first time today, breaking a longstanding psychological barrier just days after oil producers tried to bring prices down by promising to increase output....

Morning Papers - continued...

The Trenton Times

Report: Iraqis losing religious freedom
9/14/2007, 10:21 a.m. EDT
By MATTHEW LEE
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Religious freedom has sharply deteriorated in Iraq over the past year because of both the insurgency and violence targeting specific faiths, despite the U.S. military buildup intended to improve security, says a State Department report to be released Friday.
The Annual Report on International Religious Freedom finds that all worshippers are targeted for attacks and the violence is not confined to the well-known rivalry between Sunni and Shia Muslims.
"The ongoing insurgency significantly harmed the ability of all religious believers to practice their faith," says the 22-page executive summary of the report, obtained by The Associated Press ahead of its official release by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

http://www.nj.com/newsflash/topstories/index.ssf?/base/politics-13/118977844932850.xml&storylist=


Princeton seeks more students, more diversity
9/14/2007, 9:27 a.m. EDT
By GEOFF MULVIHILL
The Associated Press
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) — With a $136 million complex of Collegiate Gothic-style stone buildings that feature huge, mahogany-trimmed dorm rooms, an art gallery and a 65-seat theater, Princeton University is preparing for its biggest increase in undergraduate enrollment since it started admitting women.
The university wants to use the added capacity to add more diversity to a campus that's one of the most prestigious places in higher education.
Princeton has ranked in at least a tie for first in the U.S. News and World Report rankings of the best universities for each of the past eight years. It accepts only about 10 percent of the nearly 19,000 students who apply each year.

http://www.nj.com/newsflash/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-27/1189777165293170.xml&storylist=jersey


Trentonian

Nation’s big-time mayors arrive for a taste of Trenton
By Staff Report
TRENTON — Some of the most influential voices in urban America arrive in Trenton today to help Mayor Douglas H. Palmer celebrate the crowning accomplishment of his political career: his rise to the presidency of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
But Palmer’s detractors are determined to rain on his parade. One group that blames him for many ills of the city plans a protest outside the Trenton Marriott at 12:30 p.m., just as more than 30 American mayors will be checking in.
Another group of critics, also spreading their message through anonymous blogs, spent yesterday planting curbside signs urging the public to read its Internet site, called missingmayor.com. A city road crew was spotted yanking out one of the signs.
Now in his 18th year as mayor, Palmer is believed to be serving his last term, which has prompted a variety of mayoral wannabes to put themselves forward as leaders with solutions to Trenton’s many social problems.

http://www.trentonian.com/WebApp/appmanager/JRC/Daily;jsessionid=cNFGGqnKyTRc1JFvS1rykT7N6fspnCDB28CTsR2jhrHj3nBdcKnp!-547604190?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pg_article&r21.pgpath=%2FTRN%2FHome&r21.content=%2FTRN%2FHome%2FTopStoryList_Story_675819



‘Trenton Speaks’ freely on new Internet site
By Joe D'Aquila
TRENTON — They’ve been called haters, malcontents and Johnny-come-latelies by the objects of their ire, and dismissed as insignificant, disgruntled, and even evil.
But now they’re being called something that really hurts — deleted.
They’re the vitriol-spewing Internet mavens who have for years found a home on a popular New Jersey Web site affiliated with newspapers other than this one, where matters of import to the Capital City were discussed and debated, often with a critical eye cast toward the powers that be.
But that all came crashing to a halt this week when nearly every comment posted on the Web board was deleted from existence nearly as quickly as it was put up — that is, if the message contained anything critical of the city’s administration or
was authored by someone seen as a critic.

http://www.trentonian.com/WebApp/appmanager/JRC/Daily?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pg_article&r21.pgpath=%2FTRN%2FHome&r21.content=%2FTRN%2FHome%2FTopStoryList_Story_674735



White House: Iraq Lags on Benchmarks
By JENNIFER LOVEN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House told Congress Friday that Iraqi leaders
gained little new ground on key military and political goals, a discouraging assessment a day after President Bush said progress justifies a large continued U.S. military presence there.
The report underscored the difficulty of Bush's argument that a continuing American sacrifice was creating space for Iraqi leaders to make gains on tamping down the sectarian fighting that leaves Iraq persistently fractured and violent.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_IRAQ?SITE=NJTRT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Bhutto to Return to Pakistan on Oct. 18
By MATTHEW PENNINGTON
Associated Press Writer
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto will return to Pakistan from an eight-year exile on Oct. 18 to campaign for office, her party said Friday. The government said she was free to come back but would have to face corruption cases against her.
Makhdoom Amin Fahim, vice president of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, said she would land in Karachi and would bring democracy to Pakistan. Supporters, throwing flower petals and lighting firecrackers, chanted: "Long Live Benazir! Prime Minister Benazir!"

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PAKISTAN_POLITICS?SITE=NJTRT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Powerful Aftershocks Terrorize Indonesia
By ANTHONY DEUTSCH
Associated Press Writer
PADANG, Indonesia (AP) -- Powerful earthquakes struck Indonesia for a third day Friday, terrorizing thousands of people who slept outside in fear of tsunami and falling debris. Seismologists warned that the worst may be yet to come.
The massive 8.4-magnitude quake that shook Southeast Asia on Wednesday has been followed by dozens of strong aftershocks that have killed at least 13 people, damaged hundreds of homes and churned up a 10-foot-high tsunami.
On Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey measured one aftershock jolting the area at magnitude 6.4.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/INDONESIA_EARTHQUAKE?SITE=NJTRT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Gulf Coast Recovering From Humberto
By JUAN A. LOZANO
Associated Press Writer
HIGH ISLAND, Texas (AP) -- Some residents of Texas and Louisiana fired up generators to cut through the darkness after Hurricane Humberto sneaked up on the Gulf Coast, knocking out power to thousands and flooding streets before fizzling into a tropical depression.
Humberto, the first hurricane to hit the U.S. in two years, steadily lost its punch Thursday after sloshing ashore in Texas as a stronger storm than initially expected and then dragging across Louisiana. One death was blamed on the storm.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/H/HURRICANE_HUMBERTO?SITE=NJTRT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Russia: Vote Approves Putin's PM Choice
By STEVE GUTTERMAN
Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia's lower house of parliament confirmed President Vladimir Putin's choice as prime minister Friday, approving a previously obscure official in a vote whose result was a foregone conclusion. Putin said the new premier, Viktor Zubkov, was among at least five people who could hope to succeed him.
The comment was an indication that the president wants Russians to consider Zubkov as a candidate, but not necessarily the front-runner for his backing in the March presidential vote.
"It's good that one more person has emerged, and that Russian citizens will have a choice," RIA-Novosti quoted Putin as saying.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/R/RUSSIA_GOVERNMENT?SITE=NJTRT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Sep 14, 10:27 AM EDT

Madonna at Kabbalah Conference in Israel
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Madonna joined other devotees of Kabbalah, Judaism's mystical sect, at a Tel Aviv hotel Thursday on the occasion of the Jewish New Year.
The 49-year-old singer, who wore a shiny black zipper jacket and a red hat with a plaid brim, is attending a Kabbalah conference during a private visit to the Holy Land.
She arrived Wednesday night but didn't speak to the media.
Madonna was raised a Roman Catholic but has become a follower of Jewish mysticism in recent years. She plans to visit sites sacred to Kabbalah devotees during her stay.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PEOPLE_MADONNA?SITE=NJTRT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


Belichick, Patriots Fined
By JIMMY GOLEN AP Sports Writer
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- Bill Belichick is ready for his close-up.
The Patriots' coach escaped suspension for using a video camera to spy on opposing coaches, with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell deciding instead on Thursday night to fine him $500,000 and dock the team $250,000 and a first-day draft pick next year.
It was the biggest fine ever for a coach and the first time in NFL history a first-round draft pick has been confiscated as a penalty. But Belichick will be on the sideline Sunday night, as planned, when the Patriots play the San Diego Chargers.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FBN_NFL_SPYING?SITE=NJTRT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT



Merck closes $366 million deal to buy NovaCardia for heart drug

By LINDA A. JOHNSON
TRENTON (AP) - Pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. said today it has completed its acquisition of NovaCardia Inc., a tiny drug development company with a promising experimental heart drug, for $366.4 million in stock.
Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck said the deal is expected to result in a charge of 15 cents per share in its third quarter. That's equal to about $325 million of the purchase price and will be accounted for as costs for in-process research and development.
The buyout price of $366.4 million includes $16.4 million to pay for cash and investments that San Diego-based NovaCardia had on hand.
Merck, the world's No. 7 drugmaker, said it would give more information on its 2007 profit forecast with its third-quarter financial results on Oct. 22.

http://www.trentonian.com/WebApp/appmanager/JRC/Daily?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pg_article&r21.pgpath=%2FTRN%2FBusiness&r21.content=%2FTRN%2FBusiness%2FHeadlineList_Story_662034


Stocks Pare Losses After Lower Open
By TIM PARADIS AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks pared their losses after opening lower Friday following a government report that August retail sales excluding autos fell sharply.
The report suggested consumers held off spending in the face of turmoil in the financial markets, though perhaps helped cement arguments of those calling for the Federal Reserve to cut its benchmark federal funds rate when policymakers meet Tuesday.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WALL_STREET?SITE=NJTRT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


At least 5 Atlantic City casinos plan to go smoke-free in light of new law
By WAYNE PARRY
ATLANTIC CITY (AP) - Smokers may soon be out of luck: At least five of Atlantic City's casinos are making gambling areas smoke-free.
The move comes in response to a law passed in February requiring gambling floors to be at least 75 percent smoke-free. The city's 11 casinos must tell the state by Saturday how they plan to comply with the law.
Harrah's Entertainment Inc., which owns four casinos here — Harrah's Atlantic City, the Showboat Casino-Hotel, Bally's Atlantic City and Caesars Atlantic City — said yesterday it will spend $7 million to open smoking lounges ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 square feet apiece. Tropicana Casino and Resort has a similar plan.
That would leave the gambling floor totally smoke-free; patrons would have to enter one of the lounges in order to light up.

http://www.trentonian.com/WebApp/appmanager/JRC/Daily?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pg_article&r21.pgpath=%2FTRN%2FBusiness&r21.content=%2FTRN%2FBusiness%2FHeadlineList_Story_666029


The Trentonian's Strange But True Blog

Radar, a Belgian draft horse and reigning Guinness World Record holder as the 'Tallest Living Horse,' at 6ft 6in, and Thumbelina, a miniature sorrel brown mare and the world's 'Smallest Living Horse,' 17.5 inches,

http://www.trentonian.com/WebApp/appmanager/JRC/Daily?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pg_article&r21.pgpath=%2FTRN%2FBusiness&r21.content=%2FTRN%2FBusiness%2FContentTab_News_658039



Community Options honors Caren Franzini
By Trentonian Online News Team
TRENTON — Community Options honored Caren Franzini, CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, as their person of the year for her help in employing individuals with disabilities. The event was held last Friday at the Morven Museum and Garden in Princeton.
The non-profit organization recognized Franzini for her dedication and commitment to non-profit organizations, entrepreneurships and urban development. According to Community Options, Franzini has shared the same
goals as the organization such as employing individuals with disabilities. The organization noted that Franzini was the catalyst that pushed the first domino to create a chain reaction for Community Options innovative programs, specifically The Daily Plan It in Princeton.

http://www.trentonian.com/WebApp/appmanager/JRC/Daily?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pg_article&r21.pgpath=%2FTRN%2FBusiness&r21.content=%2FTRN%2FBusiness%2FTopStoryList_Story_674306



The Star Ledger

State threatens lawsuit over child health rules
Thursday, September 13, 2007
BY SUSAN K. LIVIO
Star-Ledger Staff
Gov. Jon Corzine threatened yesterday to take legal action against the Bush administration to challenge new rules that would exclude thousands of children from the government-sponsored FamilyCare health insurance program next year.
In a strident letter mailed to the White House, Corzine called the rules "unreasonable" because they would make some children wait a year to apply, and limit enrollment to families from the lowest rungs of poverty.

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1189658496216280.xml&coll=1


Rebate checks are in the mail, really
by Tom Hester
Friday September 14, 2007, 10:42 AM

The checks - the much-awaited property tax relief checks, that is - are in the mail.
With Gov. Jon Corzine standing by, the final wave of this year's state Homestead Rebate checks were loaded on to a U.S. postal truck in Ewing today for delivery to 1.1 million nonsenior homeowners.
The average rebate is $966, more than three times the average amount homeowners received last year, $285.
"This benefit represent a dramatic increase in relief, particularly to middle-class families," Corzine told reporters at a Treasury Department check printing center. The governor noted that the average rebate this year for the largest group of non-senior homeowners - the 680,000 with incomes under $100,000 - is approximately $1,000. That amount is more than three times greater than the $316 they received last year.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2007/09/rebate_checks_are_in_the_mail.html


NJ student faces charges after Lehigh swimming team drinking party
by Associated Press
Friday September 14, 2007, 10:20 AM
Nineteen members of the Lehigh University swim team were charged with underage drinking after police broke up a party.
Two team members who lived at the home in Bethlehem, Pa. -- 19-year-old Mac S. Tichner of Brookville, N.Y., and Darren Podolak, 20, of Medford -- were charged with corruption of minors, furnishing alcohol to minors and reckless endangerment.
Police heard loud music coming from a house and found kegs, bottles of liquor and a beer pong table when they went inside, authorities said Thursday.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2007/09/nj_student_faces_charges_in_le.html


Top Harrah's casino boss in Atlantic City will step down
by Judy DeHaven
Friday September 14, 2007, 10:48 AM
The most senior casino boss of the Harrah's Entertainment network in Atlantic City announced he will step down by the end of the year.
Ken Condon, a 29-year casino veteran who has been president of Bally's - one of four A.C. casinos owned by Harrah's - for eight years, said Thursday he has submitted his resignation. The 52-year-old casino boss, who was born in Orange and started his casino career as a host at Resorts, said he will remain at Bally's to help transition a new top person.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2007/09/harrahs_casino_boss_in_atlanti.html


Before the Bell: Consumer confidence tumbles
by Abby Gruen and Sam Ali
Friday September 14, 2007, 8:40 AM

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2007/09/before_the_bell_consumer_confi.html



Sydney Morning Herald

Earth's vital signs poor: report
More wood was removed from forests in 2005 than ever before, one of many troubling environmental signs highlighted today in the Worldwatch Institute's annual check of the planet's health.
The Washington-based think tank's "Vital Signs 2007-2008" report points to global patterns ranging from rising meat consumption to Asian economic growth it says are linked to the broader problem of climate change.
"I think climate change is the most urgent challenge we have ever faced," said Erik Assadourian, director of the Vital Signs project.
"You see many trends in climate change, whether we are talking about grain production which is affected by droughts and flooding. Or meat production as livestock production makes up about 20 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions," he said.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/earths-vital-signs-poor-report/2007/09/14/1189276943121.html


Rate of child deaths more than halved: UN
FOR the first time since record keeping began in 1960, the number of deaths of young children around the world has fallen below 10 million a year, the UN Children's Fund says.
This public health triumph has arisen, UNICEF officials said, partly from campaigns against measles, malaria and bottle-feeding, and partly from improvements in the economies of most of the world outside Africa.
The estimated drop, to 9.7 million deaths of children under five, "is a historic moment", said Ann Veneman, UNICEF's executive director, noting that it shows progress towards the UN Millennium Development Goal in 1990 of cutting the rate of infant mortality by two-thirds by 2015.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/rate-of-child-deaths-more-than-halved-un/2007/09/13/1189276898618.html


On Borrowed Time: Australia's Environmental Crisis and What We Must Do About It
Author: Lindenmayer David
Global warming, biodiversity loss, salinity . . . There is no doubt Australia's environmental problems appear huge and overwhelming. Not only is our unique natural heritage under threat, but the consequences for agriculture, tourism and the economy may be catastrophic. Can anything be done to halt the destruction?
The good news is much can be done. In this powerful and passionate book, David Lindenmayer argues that Australia does have the knowledge and resources to tackle our environmental problems. In addition, he outlines creative and impressive solutions we can all be a part of. One of Australia's leading ecologists, Professor Lindenmayer delivers a timely message about the scale and urgency of the crisis we face.

http://www.penguin.com.au/lookinside/spotlight.cfm?home=penguin&SBN=9780143006961


Plans for giant battery to store wind power unveiled
The British arm of German utility E.ON said on Thursday it was developing a giant battery to store wind and solar power for times of high demand.
The prototype will be the size of four large shipping containers and contain the power of 10 million standard AA batteries - 1MW of electricity for four hours, said E.ON UK.
The battery should be operational by late 2009 and will help solve one of the main problems of wind and solar power, added the power firm, which has around 8.1 million electricity and gas customers.
"Green power is only generated from wind farms when the wind blows, and that might not be when the power's needed by customers," said Bob Taylor, MD of Energy Wholesale and Technology.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/plans-for-giant-battery-to-store-wind-power-unveiled/2007/09/13/1189276889016.html


Forgiving Amish help killer's widow
Jon Hurdle in PhiladelphiaSeptember 14, 2007
AN AMISH community that lost five girls in a Pennsylvania schoolhouse shooting massacre last year has donated money to the widow of the gunman.
The Nickel Mines Accountability Committee, which was set up to handle more than $US4.3 million ($5 million) in donations from around the world after the shootings, said it had given an unspecified "contribution" to Marie Roberts, a mother of three.
Her husband, Charles Carl Roberts, a local milk truck driver who was not Amish, tied up and shot 10 Amish schoolgirls aged six to 14 in their classroom on October 3, killing five of them before turning the gun on himself.
After the shootings, members of the deeply religious Amish community in Lancaster County, about 100 kilometres west of Philadelphia, said they wanted to forgive the gunman.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/forgiving-amish-help-killers-widow/2007/09/13/1189276898631.html


Al-Qaeda releases video of dead US pilot
An al-Qaeda led group in Iraq appealed to Americans today to reject the policies of President George W Bush and issued a video apparently showing the remains of a US pilot killed in a crash last year.
The video posted on the internet by the media arm of the Islamic State in Iraq showed the body of a dead man in a flight suit wearing a parachute harness and lying in an open area.
"O people of America, Iraq has taken many of your soldiers and Bush is the cause of this," said an off-camera insurgent on the video, which also included footage of Iraqi children it said were killed in a US air strike.
The video also showed an Air Force ID card bearing the name of Troy Gilbert, a US pilot whose plane crashed in November 2006. Originally listed as missing, he was declared dead based on human remains found at the site of the crash, according to a US military website.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/alqaeda-releases-video-of-dead-us-pilot/2007/09/14/1189276943875.html


New east-west line may cut congestion
THE NSW Government is to consider an east-west underground railway dubbed the Anzac Line, and a radical plan for a western Sydney fast train.
But the construction of a crucial CBD rail link and second harbour crossing - the former centrepiece of the Government's rail expansion plan - is in doubt.
Transport chiefs, including the heads of RailCorp and State Transit, are expected to be told today that the CBD link - which would have included three new city stations and provide badly needed relief for the congested North Shore Line and City Circle - should be postponed. It was to have been built by 2017.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/new-sydney-tunnel-proposal/2007/09/13/1189276899575.html


Men linked to Tamil Tigers
THREE Australian men provided the Tamil Tigers with more than $1 million worth of military resources, a court has been told.
Aruran Vinayagamoorthy, 33, and Sivarajah Yathavan, 36, of Melbourne, and Arumugan Rajeevan, 41, of Sydney, allegedly used the Melbourne-based Tamil Co-ordinating Committee to raise funds for Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, also known as the Tamil Tigers.
The prosecutor, Mark Dean, SC, told Melbourne Magistrates Court that the men were members of the Australian branch of the Tigers and maintained contact with the group in Sri Lanka.
Mr Dean said $1.9 million was deposited into a bank account owned by Vinayagamoorthy and the Tamil Co-ordinating Committee between 2001 and 2005. He alleged $1.25 million was used to purchase items for the Tigers.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/men-linked-to-tamil-tigers/2007/09/13/1189276898669.html


'Prophet' polygamist denies aiding rape
The rape trial of a US polygamist sect leader has started with prosecutors alleging he ordered a 14-year-old girl to marry and have sex with a cousin despite her protests.
Warren Jeffs, 51, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which broke from the Mormon Church because of differences over polygamy, denies two charges of acting as an accomplice to rape.
Jeffs, a self-proclaimed prophet whose followers believe he is descended from Jesus, was arrested in August last year outside of Las Vegas after being included on the FBI's "Ten Most Wanted" list.
He could face five years to life in prison if he convicted at the court hearing in Saint George, south of Salt Lake City.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/prophet-polygamist-denies-aiding-rape/2007/09/14/1189276943422.html


Death toll 10 as second quake rocks Sumatra
THE death toll from two huge earthquakes and a series of powerful aftershocks that hit Indonesia's Sumatra island has reached 10 and is likely to rise, with more victims feared trapped in the rubble.
More than 200 people were injured as buildings collapsed in the large provincial Sumatran towns of Padang and Bengkulu.
Indonesia, Australia and other countries in the region feared being hit by tsunami, but the earthquakes and more than 20 large aftershocks off Sumatra did not generate devastating waves, seisomologists said.
The continuing quakes that began on Wednesday night were strong enough to have sparked a tsunami, but the movement of tectonic plates between Asia and Australia apparently pushed water away from populated areas.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/second-quake-rocks-sumatra/2007/09/13/1189276898600.html



FIA fine McLaren $100 million and take away points
Formula One leaders McLaren have been kicked out of the 2007 constructors' title race and fined $US100 million ($119 million) in spying controversy involving Ferrari information.
However, the governing FIA ruled that championship leader Lewis Hamilton and team mate Fernando Alonso could keep their points in the drivers' contest.
"The WMSC (World Motor Sports Council) has stripped Vodafone McLaren Mercedes of all constructors points in the 2007 FIA Formula One world championship and the team can score no points for the remainder of the season," the FIA said.
"Furthermore the team will pay a fine equal to $US100 million, less the FOM income lost as a result of the points deduction," it added.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/motorsport/mclaren-penalised-120m/2007/09/14/1189276931610.html



Putin's political ambitions back on march
ANALYSIS
THE appointment of Viktor Zubkov as Russia's new Prime Minister has intensified speculation that Vladimir Putin harbours ambitions of remaining in office beyond next year's presidential election.
Although Mr Zubkov, 65, an economist, is a member of the so-called St Petersburg set, the cabal of former KGB officers and Putin loyalists that has seized control of key levers of power at the Kremlin, no one in Russia - not even those who have heard of him - regards him as a serious contender in the presidential contest.
Mr Zubkov, who previously headed Russia's federal monitoring service, has been a key figure in Mr Putin's fight against the post-Soviet Union oligarchs who took advantage of the Government's weakness to acquire control of some of the country's prized economic assets.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/putins-political-ambitions-back-on-march/2007/09/13/1189276898625.html


Howard's mortal fears exposed
The members of John Howard's cabinet felt a dread sense of foreboding about the forthcoming election when they saw a Newspoll last week showing Labor was 18 percentage points ahead. But Howard's next step took the level of hopefulness among his ministers from low to zero.
Appalled at the Government's standing in the poll, low and ebbing lower, the Prime Minister was gripped by a moment of existential terror. He asked Alexander Downer to canvass sentiment in the cabinet to test his support among the 18 people who run the Government.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/howards-mortal-fears-exposed/2007/09/13/1189276898096.html


Google finds space on NASA airstrip
IN THE annals of perks enjoyed by America's corporate executives, the founders of Google may have set a new standard: an uncrowded, federally managed runway for their private jet only a few minutes' drive from the office.
For $US1.3 million ($1.55 million) a year, Larry Page and Sergey Brin get to park their wide-body Boeing 767-200 - a customised former Qantas jet - as well as two other jets used by top Google executives, on Moffett Field, an airport run by NASA that is generally closed to private aircraft.
It is a perk that is likely to turn other Silicon Valley tycoons green with envy, as no other private jets have landing rights there. But it may not sit well with a community that generally considers itself proud to have Google in its midst.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/biztech/google-finds-space-on-nasa-airstrip/2007/09/13/1189276905147.html


Privacy concerns over Google 'candid camera' feature
The Street View feature of Google Maps, with its close-up views of city streets and recognisable shots of people, could violate a Canadian law protecting individual privacy.
Google introduced street-level map views in May, giving web users a series of panoramic, 360-degree images of nine US cities. Some of the random pictures feature people in informal poses who can clearly be identified.
Canada's Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart wrote to Google in early August asking for more details. She said if the Street View product were expanded to Canada without being amended, it could well violate privacy laws.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/concerns-over-google-candid-camera-feature/2007/09/13/1189276858785.html


Wikipedia cracks two-millionth mark
Wikipedia published its two-millionth article in the English language version of the anyone-can-edit encyclopedia, a symbolic milestone for the world's largest user-generated web publishing site.
Wikipedia, the sixth most visited network of websites worldwide behind commercial operators Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Time Warner and eBay, is available in 250 languages. Combined, Wikipedia has published more than eight million articles.
On September 10, an article on "El Hormiguero," a popular Spanish TV show, was created by Wikipedia contributor Zzxc to become the two millionth article in the English Wikipedia. The article is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EltHormiguero/

Since the reference project started in 2001, more than 100,000 registered users have made at least 10 edits each to Wikipedia articles, according to the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit charitable organization that operates Wikipedia.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/wikipedia-cracks-twomillionth-mark/2007/09/13/1189276859147.html


Beijing shows off new airport terminal
Beijing showed off its new multibillion-dollar airport terminal today - a mammoth glass and steel structure with a gracefully sloping roof that the owners said is meant to impress visitors to China's capital for the 2008 Olympics.
Terminal 3 at the Beijing Capital International Airport is a centerpiece project for the Olympics designed to relieve the overloaded airport's other two terminals and accommodate the city's torrid growth for the next seven years, executives with the airport's state-run holding company said at a tour for foreign media.
The terminal, which is scheduled to open for testing in February and full operation in July, is outfitted with a state-of-the-art baggage handling system, a rail terminal to carry passengers into the city and gates and a runway capable of handling Airbus' huge A380 superjumbo.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/news/beijing-shows-off-new-terminal/2007/09/13/1189276855702.html


Beijing China's most beautiful
Dirty, polluted, congested and razed of many old buildings - but Beijing has still been chosen as China's most beautiful city.
The host to next year's Summer Olympics beat 558 mainland cities as well as former British colony Hong Kong, which came in second in the survey by the China Institute of City Competitiveness, a non-profit organisation.
Southern boomtown Shenzhen came third for "its role as the pioneer of China's opening up and reform policies", while glitzy Shanghai got fourth place "for being the country's financial centre", the official China Daily reported.
Institute chairman Gui Qiangfang said the assessment took into consideration Beijing's design, infrastructure, architecture, culture and natural beauty.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/news/beijing-voted-chinas-most-beautiful/2007/09/11/1189276685810.html


SPECIAL FEATURE: 2007 Frankfurt motor show
drive.com.au, 10/09/07
The Drive team is in Frankfurt to give you a look at some of the new cars and concept vehicles starring at one of the world's biggest motor shows.
Frankfurt motor show news

http://www.drive.com.au/Editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=43303&s_rid=smh:ClassiePuff

continued...

I wonder if it's 'Osama bin Laden Proof?'

The Burj tower in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, still under construction, is seen in a Friday, Aug. 17, 2007 file photo. The Burj will become the world's tallest building by next year. The Burj Dubai surpassed Canada's Toronto-based CN Tower on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007, which at 555.3 meters (1,822 feet), had been the world's tallest free-standing structure since 1976, the developers said in a press release. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)