Alaska high court: Voters may see write-in list - Atlanta Journal Constitution

By DAN JOLING

The Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Alaska Supreme Court has blocked a lower court ruling, saying voters at polling places may see a list of write-in candidates.

From left, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R) Alaska, and Republican candidate Joe Miller laugh during a political debate Tuesday, Oct 26, 2010 in Anchorage, Alaska. Murkowski is running a write-in campaign following her loss in the primary to Miller. (AP Photo / Michael Dinneen)

The high court ruled late Wednesday after the state appealed an order issued earlier in the day by a Superior Court judge.

The Supreme Court says the list of registered write-in candidates shall be limited to names only, with no party affiliation.

The lower court ruling was considered a setback for the campaign of incumbent U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski. She was defeated in the Republican primary by tea party favorite Joe Miller and is mounting a write-in campaign.

Former Sitka Mayor Scott McAdams is the Democratic candidate in the Senate race.

___

October 27, 2010 11:34 PM EDT

Copyright 2010, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

View the original article here

Images reveal tsunami destruction - BBC News

27 October 2010 Last updated at 21:31 ET Government helicopters were able to survey the damage on Wednesday Aerial images from the tsunami-hit Mentawai Islands in Indonesia have revealed the extent of destruction, as officials raised the death toll to 311.

Flattened villages are plainly visible on the images, taken from government helicopters circling the islands.

Rescuers, who have finally reached the area, say 13 villages were washed away by the 3m (10ft) wave, and 11 more settlements have not yet been reached.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is due to visit the region later.

He cut short a trip to Vietnam to oversee the rescue effort.

A 7.7-magnitude earthquake triggered the tsunami in western Sumatra two days ago.

The first cargo plane loaded with tents, medicine, food and clothes landed on the islands on Wednesday, but rescue teams believe they have yet to reach the worst-affected areas.

Local disaster official Ade Edward said 411 people were still missing.

Bad weather has delayed the rescue effort, with boats carrying aid struggling to make the trip from Padang on Sumatra in choppy seas.

Continue reading the main story 25 Oct, 0600 local time: Highest alert issued for Mt Merapi eruption; villagers advised to leave.25 Oct, 2142: 7.7 magnitude quake near Mentawai Islands; tsunami watch issued.26 Oct, 1300: First reports of people missing after tsunami26 Oct, 1402: Mt Merapi erupts.The first images emerging from the islands, taken on mobile phones, showed bodies being collected from empty clearings where homes and buildings once stood.

District chief Edison Salelo Baja said corpses were strewn along beaches and roads.

Locals were given no indication of the coming wave because an early-warning system put in place after the devastating 2004 tsunami has stopped working.

Fauzi, the head of Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysic Agency, told the Associated Press that the system began to malfunction last year, and was completely inoperative by last month.

Amateur video and aerial footage show the tsunami-hit Mentawai islands

"We do not have the expertise to monitor the buoys to function as intended," he said.

However, even a functioning warning system may have been too late for people in the Mentawai Islands.

The vast Indonesian archipelago sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the world's most active areas for earthquakes and volcanoes.

More than 1,000 people were killed by an earthquake off Sumatra in September 2009.

In December 2004, a 9.1-magnitude quake off the coast of Aceh triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean that killed a quarter of a million people in 13 countries including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.

View the original article here

For MySpace, a Fresh Coat of Paint - BusinessWeek

By Andy Fixmer and Ronald Grover

The numbers tell the tale of MySpace. Visitors? Down 20 percent in the last two years. Profits? None: It loses "below $100 million a year," according to the company. Value? Just over half the $580 million News Corp. (NWS) paid to acquire the social-networking site in 2005, says Alan Gould, an analyst at Evercore Partners (EVR).

On Oct. 27, MySpace unveiled a "dramatic remake," as News Corp.'s chief digital officer, Jon Miller, puts it. After years of cluttering its pages with distracting ads and features, MySpace is reversing course and slimming down. It hopes to lure back the lucrative under-35 demographic that has abandoned MySpace for Facebook, the top social network in the U.S. In September, Facebook drew 148 million visitors; MySpace had 58 million.

The redesign is also a last-ditch effort to keep News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch from cutting the cord and selling MySpace, which he's likely to do barring a major turnaround, says RBC Capital Markets analyst David Bank. News Corp. declined to comment. Dana Settle, a partner with venture capital firm Greycroft Partners, says "people have been very skeptical" that MySpace can do it. "It's a pretty Herculean task for any sort of entrenched company to really restart itself," she says. MySpace Chief Executive Officer Mike Jones responds that "the feedback we're getting so far is very strong."

The site's best shot at a successful reboot may be a design overhaul. Before the revamp, it had drawn unfavorable comparisons to GeoCities, the early Web company that let people build their own, often tacky websites. MySpace's customizable profile pages became littered with flashing pictures, auto-starting music players, and garish background images that sometimes rendered text nearly unreadable. A $300 million-a-year advertising deal with Google (GOOG) (now being renegotiated) rewarded MySpace for page views, so the company added complexity to the site to boost the number of clicks. Until recently, for example, it took three steps to add a friend. "The experience degraded" over time, says Miller in an interview. Jason Hirschorn, a top MySpace executive who left the company in June, is harsher. "MySpace had no respect for user experience," he says.

Jones, a former AOL (AOL) executive who joined MySpace in April 2009 and oversaw the redesign, decided to streamline the site. He and his team junked little-used features like weather and horoscope pages. Instead, visitors will be greeted by a mosaic of tiles featuring the most popular videos, music, and news on the site. Entertainment content, not friends, is meant to be the focus. "We're offering social entertainment, not a social network," says Jones. The new look is sleeker, though not necessarily quieter. Miller acknowledges that the changes will probably send some MySpace users fleeing but says they'll help attract new members over time. The redesigned site, says Jones, is meant to appeal most to the core demographic of 13- to 35-year-olds, frequent Web users who are prized by advertisers.

The redesign complements other changes Jones has made. Over the summer, MySpace started letting users sync their account with other social-media sites, including Twitter, YouTube, and yes, even Facebook. (That way, any comments people make on Facebook or Twitter would also appear on their MySpace pages, and vice versa.) MySpace was originally built with five different programming languages, which caused glitches and slow load times; Jones has replaced them with one. "It sounds simple," he says, "but you wouldn't believe how complicated that was."

He also is trying to get his team thinking about mobile—another party MySpace was late to. Facebook more than doubled its mobile users in 2009, to 25.1 million, while the figure for MySpace shrank 7 percent, to 11.4 million. To boost traffic, MySpace will soon roll out a revamped mobile site. Jones and his staff recently developed MySpace Music Romeo, an application for Apple's (AAPL) iPad that plays mood-appropriate music videos when users tell it how they're feeling. "Mobile is the future," Jones says. "I need my people thinking how MySpace fits in that future."

Even if the redesign can stanch the financial bleeding, MySpace still needs to bring back that most ephemeral of assets: cool. The online masses move on quickly, and no one has yet managed to turn around an Internet business in free fall. (See: Yahoo! (YHOO), AOL, MSN, and Digg, the last of which announced on Oct. 26 that it would lay off 37 percent of its staff.) "It's not that News Corp. was naive to buy MySpace," says Bank, the RBC analyst. "They were naive not to sell it sooner."

The bottom line: MySpace unveiled a sleeker new look on Oct. 27 that puts the emphasis on entertainment and celebrities rather than friends.

Fixmer is a reporter for Bloomberg News in Los Angeles. Grover covers the media and entertainment industry for Bloomberg Businessweek in Los Angeles.

View the original article here

Biodiversity study sounds an extinction alert (for things with spines) - Christian Science Monitor

If a creature has a spine and walks, flies, swims, or crawls, it may be in serious trouble.

Skip to next paragraph

Some 20 percent of all vertebrate species on Earth are threatened by extinction, according to a newly published survey – a study the research team involved says is the most exhaustive to date on biodiversity among vertebrates.

The losses are due largely to human encroachment on habitat, over-fishing and over-hunting, as well as the arrival of invasive species in habitats whose natural inhabitants have no defenses against the invaders, the study says.

But within an admittedly bleak global picture, the researchers add, conservation efforts have halted the decline in some species and brought others a significant step closer to recovery.

"The bad news can be extremely disheartening," says Ana Rodrigues, a scientist with the Center for Functional and Evolutionary Ecology in Paris and one of a team of 174 scientists from 38 countries who co-authored the study.

"But our results show that conservation efforts are not wasted," she adds.

Biodiversity refers to the variety of plant and animal species in an ecosystem. Generally the greater the diversity, the more resilient the ecosystem is to disturbances, either natural or man-made.

Using an internationally recognized "red list" index that tries to capture changes in a species' population size, structure, and geographic range, among other factors, the team found that without conservation programs, biodiversity among birds and mammals would have declined an additional 18 percent over the past 30 years. The programs range from efforts to establish safe havens such as marine protected areas or wildlife reserves to campaigns to battle invasive species.

The report draws on research conducted by some 3,000 scientists worldwide. It was published Tuesday on the journal Science’s website as delegates from 194 countries were meeting in Nagoya, Japan, to try to set conservation targets for the next decade under the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity, which is scheduled to end Oct. 29.

Eight years ago, parties to the convention agreed to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. But in April, a study published online in Science showed that the rate of decline in biodiversity across a broad range of plants and animals was not slowing. Countries had failed to meet the 2010 goal.

Page: 1 | 2

View the original article here

DC Metro stations allegedly targeted in bomb plot - Washington Post

var wp_ms_start = new Date().getTime();var utils = new Utils();D.C. Metro stations allegedly targeted in bomb plot @import url("http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/css/topstrip_teased.css");@import url("http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/css/sidebars.css");@import url("http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/css/bullets.css");@import url("http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/css/feature.css");@import url("http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/css/feature_ls.css");@import url("http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/css/misc_linkset.css");@import url("http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/css/story/main.css");@import url("http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/css/article_media.css");@import url("http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/css/related-bottom-content.css");@import url("http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/css/bookmarking_v2.css");@import url("http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/css/networked-news.css");@import url("http://media10.washingtonpost.com/wp/css/specials-js.css"); @import url("http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/css/network-news/2/networked-news.css"); Subscribe Mobile Multimedia Today's Paper Going Out Guide Jobs Cars Real Estate Rentals Classifieds News Nation Investigations Photos & Video Discussions World Education Entertainment Corrections Metro Health Columns & Blogs Innovations AD: Explore TimeSpace World sponsored by Sprint Local Weather District Columns & Blogs Local Tools Traffic Maryland Obituaries Yellow Pages Crime Virginia Commuting Classifieds Politics White House Congress Campaigns Polling The Fed Page Who Runs Gov Columns & Blogs Opinions Latest Opinions Toles Cartoons Telnaes Animations Local Opinions Outlook Discussions Sports Redskins Wizards/NBA Colleges Columnists Capitals/NHL United/Soccer High Schools Blogs Nationals/MLB Mystics/WNBA Leagues & Sports Wires Business Policy & Regulation Economy Local Business Technology Markets Industries World Business Special Reports Columns & Blogs Arts & Living Style Entertainment News Television Home & Garden Books Comics Music Food & Dining Travel Theater & Dance Weddings Crosswords Movies Fashion & Beauty Museums Post Magazine Horoscopes Sudoku The Washington Post  washingtonpost.com > Photo» This Story:Read +|Watch +| CommentsD.C. Metro stations allegedly targeted in bomb plot Federal law enforcement authorities have arrested a Northern Virginia man in connection with a plan to attack several stations.Note: Please upgrade your Flash plug-in to view our enhanced content.function placeCaptions() {if ( document.getElementById('thumbPlaceHolder') ) {var e1 = document.getElementById('thumbPlaceHolder') ;var e2 = document.getElementById('thumbWrapper') ;e2.style.position = 'absolute' ;e2.style.top = e1.offsetTop ;e2.style.left = e1.offsetLeft ;e2.style.display = 'block' ;}}
This StoryFeds arrest N.Va. man in D.C. Metro bomb plot
Article | Federal law enforcement authorities arrested a Northern Virginia man Wednesday in connection with an alleged plot to carry out terrorist bombings at stations in the Washington Metro system.Metro calls for rider vigilance in vulnerable systemDocument: Indictment of Farooque AhmedVideo: Metro police chief on alleged plotMap: Targeted Metro stopsPoll: Are you less likely to ride Metro?Metro: Public was not in dangerD.C. Metro stations allegedly targeted in bomb plotDr. Gridlock: Metro police chief unaware of plot Network News X Profile View More Activity TOOLBOXE-Mail ThisSave/Share +DiggFacebookRedditTwittermyspacedel.icio.usNewsTrustStumble It!Reprints COMMENT 0 Comments if ( COMMENTS_ALLOWED ) {if( COMMENTS_ACTIVE) {// document.write('POST A COMMENT
');document.write('BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
');document.write( getDisplayUserName()+'
');document.write(''+getFakeForm()+'');document.write(' Discussion Policy');document.write('');document.write('');} else {document.write('COMMENTS ARE CLOSED
');}}Your browser's settings may be preventing you from commenting on and viewing comments about this item. See instructions for fixing the problem.Discussion Policy CLOSEComments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post. if ( typeof rl_count == "undefined" ) {rl_count = 0 ;} else {rl_count += 0 ;}if ( rl_count > 5 ) {rl_count = 5 ;}inform_count = 5-rl_count ;if ( typeof rl_count_ST2010102705265 == "undefined" ) { rl_count_ST2010102705265 = 0 ; } else { rl_count_ST2010102705265 += 0 ; } if ( rl_count_ST2010102705265 > 5 ) { rl_count_ST2010102705265 = 5 ; } inform_count_ST2010102705265 = 5-rl_count_ST2010102705265 ;More on washingtonpost.com? More Photo News» washingtonpost.com
» This Story:Read +|Watch +| Comments© 2010 www.washingtonpost.com Ways you can get us Mobile Podcasts Newsletter & alerts Widgets RSS Post Store Facebook Photo Store TwitterWashington Post Live Web site About Us Work for us Site map Topics Index Search terms Make us your homepage Corrections Newspaper About The Post Subscribe Home delivery service Topics Index e-Replica PostPoints Company Post Company web sites Advertise In the newspaper On the web site Feedback Contact the Ombudsman Partners Slate Who Runs Gov Express Night OutCapitol Business El Tiempo Latino The Root © 1996-2010 The Washington Post Company User Agreement and Privacy Policy Rights and Permissions Help Contact Us ? Feds arrest N.Va. man in D.C. Metro bomb plot? Metro calls for rider vigilance in vulnerable system? Document: Indictment of Farooque Ahmed? Video: Metro police chief on alleged plot? Map: Targeted Metro stops? Poll: Are you less likely to ride Metro?? Metro: Public was not in danger? Dr. Gridlock: Metro police chief unaware of plot? D.C. Metro stations allegedly targeted in bomb plotfunction fixRelatedBoxWidth() {var w = 0 ;if ( document.getElementById('related-box') ) {w = Math.floor( document.getElementById('related-box').offsetWidth/2 ) - 17 ;}if ( w>150 && document.getElementById('related-box-left') && document.getElementById('related-box-right') ) {document.getElementById('related-box-left').style.width = w ;document.getElementById('related-box-right').style.width = w ;}}fixRelatedBoxWidth(); try{echoOmniture()}catch(e){}

View the original article here

Samsung Galaxy Tab: T-Mobile Price and Release Date - Product Reviews

Following on from our previous article which informed you about a confirmed price and date for the MyTouch 4G on T-Mobile, we now have a confirmed price and date for the T-Mobile version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

As reported from BGR, the price has now been confirmed to be $399, which is what was first rumored in one of our previous reports here. That price has now been set though, and it is subject to a two-year agreement.

What you might not be aware of though, is that the T-Mobile version will also benefit from their newly established HSPA+ network, which promises 4G speeds of up to 21Mbps.

If you are interested in picking one up, it will be available to buy on November 10th, just one day after a certain video game is launched worldwide.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook, or get daily updates via email.

Read more about samsung, Samsung Galaxy Tab, T-Mobile

HTC Vision: T-Mobile Release Date and HSPA+ Details T-Mobile MyTouch 4G: Price Confirmed with Release Date Samsung Vibrant: T-Mobile’s Galaxy S gets Release Date Samsung Galaxy Tab: Sprint Release Date and Price

View the original article here