9/11 Panel Study Finds That C.I.A. Withheld Tapes - New York Times

9/11 Panel Study Finds That C.I.A. Withheld Tapes - New York Times: "WASHINGTON — A review of classified documents by former members of the Sept. 11 commission shows that the panel made repeated and detailed requests to the Central Intelligence Agency in 2003 and 2004 for documents and other information about the interrogation of operatives of Al Qaeda, and were told by a top C.I.A. official that the agency had “produced or made available for review” everything that had been requested."

FBI prepares vast biometrics database - Washington Post- msnbc.com

FBI prepares vast biometrics database - Washington Post- msnbc.com: "CLARKSBURG, W. Va. - The FBI is embarking on a $1 billion effort to build the world's largest computer database of peoples' physical characteristics, a project that would give the government unprecedented abilities to identify individuals in the United States and abroad."

Year of global cooling�-�-�The Washington Times, America's Newspaper

Year of global cooling�-�-� The Washington Times, America's Newspaper: "Al Gore says global warming is a planetary emergency. It is difficult to see how this can be so when record low temperatures are being set all over the world. In 2007, hundreds of people died, not from global warming, but from cold weather hazards."

Stanford's nanowire battery holds 10 times the charge of existing ones

Stanford's nanowire battery holds 10 times the charge of existing ones: "Stanford researchers have found a way to use silicon nanowires to reinvent the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power laptops, iPods, video cameras, cell phones, and countless other devices.

The new version, developed through research led by Yi Cui, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, produces 10 times the amount of electricity of existing lithium-ion, known as Li-ion, batteries. A laptop that now runs on battery for two hours could operate for 20 hours, a boon to ocean-hopping business travelers.

'It's not a small improvement,' Cui said. 'It's a revolutionary development.'"

Putin named Time "Person of the Year"

Putin named Time "Person of the Year": "Putin is the fifth Russian or Soviet leader to be named Person of the Year: Gorbachev, Andropov, Khrushchev and Stalin, who was named twice."

Nation & World | Man's journey to find birth mom ends — at work | Seattle Times Newspaper

Nation & World | Man's journey to find birth mom ends — at work | Seattle Times Newspaper: "GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — For years, Steve Flaig, a delivery-truck driver at a Lowe's store here, had searched for his birth mother.

He found her working the cash register at the front of the store."

The Apostles of Ron Paul

The Apostles of Ron Paul: "Their candidate, a 72-year-old obstetrician from Lake Jackson, Texas—land of duck hunters, ranchers, and oilmen—has improbably become an Internet sensation. He counts more Facebook and MySpace supporters than any Republican; more Google searches, YouTube subscribers, and website hits than any presidential candidate; and more Meetup members than the front-runners of both parties combined. In recent months he was sought out on the blog search engine Technorati more often than anyone except a Puerto Rican singer with a sex tape on the loose"

Putin rival held in psychiatric ward 'to prevent him protesting against government' | the Daily Mail

Putin rival held in psychiatric ward 'to prevent him protesting against government' | the Daily Mail: "A Russian opposition activist has been sent to a psychiatric hospital by authorities a day before a planned demonstration.

Artem Basyrov's detention is the latest in a series of incidents suggesting a punitive Soviet-era practice is being revived under president Vladimir Putin."

Ohio Elections Official Calls Machines Flawed - New York Times

Ohio Elections Official Calls Machines Flawed - New York Times: "CINCINNATI — All five voting systems used in Ohio, a state whose electoral votes narrowly swung two elections toward President Bush, have critical flaws that could undermine the integrity of the 2008 general election, a report commissioned by the state’s top elections official has found."

Report Says That the Rich Are Getting Richer Faster, Much Faster - New York Times

Report Says That the Rich Are Getting Richer Faster, Much Faster - New York Times: "Earlier reports, based on tax returns, showed that in 2005 the top 10 percent, top 1 percent and fractions of the top 1 percent enjoyed their greatest share of income since 1928 and 1929."

Egypt and Saudi Arabia make new overtures to Iran - Yahoo! News

Egypt and Saudi Arabia make new overtures to Iran - Yahoo! News: "Cairo - Iran is suddenly enjoying a thaw with its Arab neighbors – all close US allies – in the wake of a US intelligence report that judged Iran probably suspended its work on nuclear weapons four years ago.

Regional actors, in particular, are scrambling to engage Iran diplomatically, and analysts say they have the tacit approval of the Americans."

Discovery News : Discovery Channel

Discovery News : Discovery Channel: "Nov. 29, 2007 -- The same microwave radiation that reheats pizza can be used to fry the electrical systems in cars, stopping them dead in their tracks. Emitted from a rooftop device, the radiation could be used by law enforcement officers to put an end to dangerous car chases or by military personnel as a non-lethal way of disabling vehicles that get too close for comfort. 'The idea is to warn an automobile some distance away from a high-value target like a military barrack or a communication center. If they don't comply, you just zap them and it prevents them from coming closer,' said James Tatoian, CEO of Eureka Aerospace in Pasadena, Calif."

Why bad kissers don't get to second base - CNN.com

Why bad kissers don't get to second base - CNN.com: "In a study published recently in the scientific journal 'Evolutionary Psychology,' 59 percent of men and 66 percent of women said they've been in the position of being attracted to someone -- until they kissed the person."

Ozzy Osbourne garage sale raises $800,000 for cancer - USATODAY.com

Ozzy Osbourne garage sale raises $800,000 for cancer - USATODAY.com: "LOS ANGELES (AP) — Heavy metal fans aren't usually seen making bids at high-end auctions, but they turned out in numbers to snatch up a coat with embroidered bats, sneakers with skulls on them and other items put up for sale by Ozzy Osbourne."

US officials say Iran nuclear weapons program stopped in 2003, but capability remains - International Herald Tribune

US officials say Iran nuclear weapons program stopped in 2003, but capability remains - International Herald Tribune: "WASHINGTON: Iran halted its nuclear weapons development program in the fall of 2003 under international pressure but is continuing to enrich uranium, which means it may still be able to develop a weapon between 2010 and 2015, according to a new U.S. intelligence assessment released Monday. That finding, part of a new National Intelligence Estimate on Iran, is a sharp turnaround from two years ago when U.S. intelligence agencies believed Tehran was determined to develop a nuclear weapons capability and was continuing its weapons development program. It suggests that Iran's decisions are rational and pragmatic, and that Tehran is more susceptible to diplomatic and financial pressure than previously thought, the document concluded. 'Tehran's decision to halt its nuclear weapons program suggests it is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005,' says the unclassified summary of the secret report."

Young Chimps Top Adult Humans In Numerical Memory

Young Chimps Top Adult Humans In Numerical Memory: "'There are still many people, including many biologists, who believe that humans are superior to chimpanzees in all cognitive functions,' said Tetsuro Matsuzawa of Kyoto University. 'No one can imagine that chimpanzees--young chimpanzees at the age of five--have a better performance in a memory task than humans. Here we show for the first time that young chimpanzees have an extraordinary working memory capability for numerical recollection--better than that of human adults tested in the same apparatus, following the same procedure.'"

War critics astonished as US hawk admits invasion was illegal | Iraq | Guardian Unlimited

War critics astonished as US hawk admits invasion was illegal | Iraq | Guardian Unlimited: "International lawyers and anti-war campaigners reacted with astonishment yesterday after the influential Pentagon hawk Richard Perle conceded that the invasion of Iraq had been illegal. In a startling break with the official White House and Downing Street lines, Mr Perle told an audience in London: 'I think in this case international law stood in the way of doing the right thing.'"

Toddler fools the art world into buying his tomato ketchup paintings | the Daily Mail

Toddler fools the art world into buying his tomato ketchup paintings | the Daily Mail: "To the untrained eye, they appear to be simple daubs that could have been created by a two year old. Which is precisely what they are."

Russia pulls out of Nato arms pact | Russia | Guardian Unlimited

Russia pulls out of Nato arms pact | Russia | Guardian Unlimited: "President Vladimir Putin has withdrawn Russia from a key post-cold war international arms treaty, paving the way for the deployment of Russian forces closer to Europe. The withdrawal of Russian participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty was signed into law today. The United States, the European Union and Nato had urged Putin not to suspend the treaty, seen as a cornerstone of European security. Russia says Nato members have not ratified an amended version of the pact and accuses it of flexing its muscles near Russia's borders."

The truth about global warming - it's the Sun that's to blame - Telegraph

The truth about global warming - it's the Sun that's to blame - Telegraph: "'The Sun's radiance may well have an impact on climate change but it needs to be looked at in conjunction with other factors such as greenhouse gases, sulphate aerosols and volcano activity,' he said. The research adds weight to the views of David Bellamy, the conservationist. 'Global warming - at least the modern nightmare version - is a myth,' he said. 'I am sure of it and so are a growing number of scientists. But what is really worrying is that the world's politicians and policy-makers are not. 'Instead, they have an unshakeable faith in what has, unfortunately, become one of the central credos of the environmental movement: humans burn fossil fuels, which release increased levels of carbon dioxide - the principal so-called greenhouse gas - into the atmosphere, causing the atmosphere to heat up. They say this is global warming: I say this is poppycock.'"