Why is this important, I have no idea...maybe because i saw the word beer...mMmm...
ST. LOUIS - Ten angry beer drinkers are trying to derail the largest brewery takeover in history.
The group filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday claiming Belgium-based InBev’s $52 billion purchase of Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. would violate U.S. antitrust law if completed as planned in the coming months.
The suit, filed in Anheuser-Busch’s hometown of St. Louis, does not seek financial damages but asks a judge to block the deal. The Department of Justice often reviews large acquisitions to determine if they are legal under U.S. law. But attorneys behind the lawsuit said they want to halt the deal regardless of the verdict in Washington.
more
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
The end of the world?
If this isn't news...I don't know what is. If this project goes wrong and the protons decide to go berserk (I don't know the term behind it) we're all going to be pretty much turned inside out! It was nice knowing you guys!
The end of the world?
Posted by Zack Whittaker @ 6:11 pm
Probably not.
Today (Wednesday, well it is for me anyway), we see the first beam test of the LHC, the Large Hadron Collider, in the CERN’s labs in Switzerland. The point of this, quite frankly, bloody huge experiment is to try and recreate the Big Bang on a small scale, to then see how the Universe was created.
Sounds a little dangerous and there has been much controversy over how safe this is, but we’ll get to that later. By creating a really tiny Big Bang, they’ll hopefully see how the Universe started and trace back to the very start, even before the biggest implosion/explosion the Universe has and probably will ever see.
Some background: we already have a “Standard Model” of physics, the basic core elements of everything we see and touch, including nuclei, atoms, photons, quarks, electrons and suchlike. However the problem these physicists face is knowing where these originally came from. They have this theory that they all came from one bigger particle, called the “Higgs boson”, named after Prof. Peter Higgs who first thought it up.
So after nearly a decade of work, construction, digging and thinking, they’ve created the biggest and most advanced particle accelerator the world has ever seen. Today, they’re turning it up to “11″.
Full Story
The end of the world?
Posted by Zack Whittaker @ 6:11 pm
Probably not.
Today (Wednesday, well it is for me anyway), we see the first beam test of the LHC, the Large Hadron Collider, in the CERN’s labs in Switzerland. The point of this, quite frankly, bloody huge experiment is to try and recreate the Big Bang on a small scale, to then see how the Universe was created.
Sounds a little dangerous and there has been much controversy over how safe this is, but we’ll get to that later. By creating a really tiny Big Bang, they’ll hopefully see how the Universe started and trace back to the very start, even before the biggest implosion/explosion the Universe has and probably will ever see.
Some background: we already have a “Standard Model” of physics, the basic core elements of everything we see and touch, including nuclei, atoms, photons, quarks, electrons and suchlike. However the problem these physicists face is knowing where these originally came from. They have this theory that they all came from one bigger particle, called the “Higgs boson”, named after Prof. Peter Higgs who first thought it up.
So after nearly a decade of work, construction, digging and thinking, they’ve created the biggest and most advanced particle accelerator the world has ever seen. Today, they’re turning it up to “11″.
Full Story
Monday, September 8, 2008
GOOGLE MAY BE CHALLENGED BY DEPT OF JUSTICE OVER ADVERTISING...Developing
Top Lawyer Is Selected
As U.S. Mulls Google Suit
By JOHN R. WILKE
September 9, 2008
Washington -- The Justice Department has quietly hired one of the nation's best-known litigators, former Walt Disney Co. vice chairman Sanford Litvack, for a possible antitrust challenge to Google Inc.'s growing power in advertising.
Mr. Litvack's hiring is the strongest signal yet that the U.S. is preparing to take court action against Google and its search-advertising deal with Yahoo Inc. The two companies combined would account for more than 80% of U.S. online-search ads.
Google shares tumbled 5.5%, or $24.30, to $419.95 in 4 p.m. trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, while Yahoo shares were up 18 cents to $18.26.
For weeks, U.S. lawyers have been deposing witnesses and issuing subpoenas for documents to support a challenge to the deal, lawyers close to the review said. Such efforts don't always mean a case will be brought, however.
Mr. Litvack, who was the Justice Department antitrust chief under President Jimmy Carter, has been asked to examine the evidence gathered so far and to build a case if the decision is made to proceed, the lawyers close to the review said.
It isn't clear whether a U.S. challenge would target the Google-Yahoo deal alone or take on broader aspects of Google's conduct in the growing online-advertising business. The agreement with Yahoo, announced in June, gives Google, of Mountain View, Calif., the right to sell search and text ads on Yahoo sites, sharing revenue with Yahoo, which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif.
Display and search-based Web advertising, which are dominated by Google, have transformed the media industry. As a result, a federal antitrust case against Google could set new boundaries for Internet competition, much as the Justice Department suit against Microsoft Corp. a decade ago broke ground applying antitrust law to new technologies.
Google has said the Yahoo deal doesn't violate antitrust law. It has forcefully argued -- in public testimony before Congress and in private meetings with Justice Department lawyers -- that the deal is pro-competition. The companies say they voluntarily delayed closing the deal until early October, to allow the U.S. to complete its review.
"We voluntarily delayed implementation of this arrangement to give the Department of Justice time to understand it, and we continue to work cooperatively with them," Google said. "While there has been a lot of speculation about this agreement's potential impact on advertisers or ad prices, we think it would be premature for regulators to halt the agreement before we implement it and everyone can judge the actual impact."
In a statement late Monday, Yahoo said: "We have been informed that the Justice Department, as they sometimes do, is seeking advice from an outside consultant, but that we should read nothing into that fact. We remain confident that the deal is lawful."
It is relatively rare for the Justice Department to hire a special counsel from outside the department. David Boies was brought in as a special counsel to build the landmark antitrust case against Microsoft in 1998. Stephen Axinn, another well-known New York litigator, was hired to challenge WorldCom Inc.'s proposed buyout of Sprint Corp. The companies abandoned that transaction in 2000 after the department and Mr. Axinn challenged the deal.
Mr. Litvack, who couldn't be reached for comment, resigned last week from Hogan & Hartson LLP, where he was a partner in the Los Angeles and New York offices. A Justice Department spokeswoman also declined to comment.
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that a group of major advertisers complained to the department about the deal. The Association of National Advertisers, which represents major advertisers such as Procter & Gamble Co. and General Motors Corp., warned that the deal could lead to higher prices and limited opportunities for Web advertisers.
Microsoft also has objected to the deal, saying it would unfairly foreclose competition on the Web. In Senate hearings in July, Microsoft's general counsel, Brad Smith, testified that "if search is the gateway to the Internet, and most people believe that it is, this deal will put Google in position to own that gateway and the information that flows through it."
Source: Wall Street Journal
As U.S. Mulls Google Suit
By JOHN R. WILKE
September 9, 2008
Washington -- The Justice Department has quietly hired one of the nation's best-known litigators, former Walt Disney Co. vice chairman Sanford Litvack, for a possible antitrust challenge to Google Inc.'s growing power in advertising.
Mr. Litvack's hiring is the strongest signal yet that the U.S. is preparing to take court action against Google and its search-advertising deal with Yahoo Inc. The two companies combined would account for more than 80% of U.S. online-search ads.
Google shares tumbled 5.5%, or $24.30, to $419.95 in 4 p.m. trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, while Yahoo shares were up 18 cents to $18.26.
For weeks, U.S. lawyers have been deposing witnesses and issuing subpoenas for documents to support a challenge to the deal, lawyers close to the review said. Such efforts don't always mean a case will be brought, however.
Mr. Litvack, who was the Justice Department antitrust chief under President Jimmy Carter, has been asked to examine the evidence gathered so far and to build a case if the decision is made to proceed, the lawyers close to the review said.
It isn't clear whether a U.S. challenge would target the Google-Yahoo deal alone or take on broader aspects of Google's conduct in the growing online-advertising business. The agreement with Yahoo, announced in June, gives Google, of Mountain View, Calif., the right to sell search and text ads on Yahoo sites, sharing revenue with Yahoo, which is based in Sunnyvale, Calif.
Display and search-based Web advertising, which are dominated by Google, have transformed the media industry. As a result, a federal antitrust case against Google could set new boundaries for Internet competition, much as the Justice Department suit against Microsoft Corp. a decade ago broke ground applying antitrust law to new technologies.
Google has said the Yahoo deal doesn't violate antitrust law. It has forcefully argued -- in public testimony before Congress and in private meetings with Justice Department lawyers -- that the deal is pro-competition. The companies say they voluntarily delayed closing the deal until early October, to allow the U.S. to complete its review.
"We voluntarily delayed implementation of this arrangement to give the Department of Justice time to understand it, and we continue to work cooperatively with them," Google said. "While there has been a lot of speculation about this agreement's potential impact on advertisers or ad prices, we think it would be premature for regulators to halt the agreement before we implement it and everyone can judge the actual impact."
In a statement late Monday, Yahoo said: "We have been informed that the Justice Department, as they sometimes do, is seeking advice from an outside consultant, but that we should read nothing into that fact. We remain confident that the deal is lawful."
It is relatively rare for the Justice Department to hire a special counsel from outside the department. David Boies was brought in as a special counsel to build the landmark antitrust case against Microsoft in 1998. Stephen Axinn, another well-known New York litigator, was hired to challenge WorldCom Inc.'s proposed buyout of Sprint Corp. The companies abandoned that transaction in 2000 after the department and Mr. Axinn challenged the deal.
Mr. Litvack, who couldn't be reached for comment, resigned last week from Hogan & Hartson LLP, where he was a partner in the Los Angeles and New York offices. A Justice Department spokeswoman also declined to comment.
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that a group of major advertisers complained to the department about the deal. The Association of National Advertisers, which represents major advertisers such as Procter & Gamble Co. and General Motors Corp., warned that the deal could lead to higher prices and limited opportunities for Web advertisers.
Microsoft also has objected to the deal, saying it would unfairly foreclose competition on the Web. In Senate hearings in July, Microsoft's general counsel, Brad Smith, testified that "if search is the gateway to the Internet, and most people believe that it is, this deal will put Google in position to own that gateway and the information that flows through it."
Source: Wall Street Journal
Sunday, September 7, 2008
North Korea ‘uses doubles to hide death of Kim’
Michael Sheridan, Far East Correspondent
Is Kim Jong-il for real? The question has baffled foreign intelligence agencies for years but now a veteran Japanese expert on North Korea says the “dear leader” is actually dead – and his role is played by a double.
The expert says Kim died of diabetes in 2003 and world leaders including Vladimir Putin of Russia and Hu Jintao of China have been negotiating with an impostor.
He believes that Kim, fearing assassination, had groomed up to four lookalikes to act as substitutes at public events. One underwent plastic surgery to make his appearance more convincing. Now, the expert claims, the actors are brought on stage whenever required to persuade the masses that Kim is alive.
The author has been derided by rival analysts of the hermetic communist state. Yet so few facts are known about North Korea’s ruling dynasty that some of the strange things reported in Professor Toshimitsu Shigemura’s bestselling book cannot be readily explained.
More
Is Kim Jong-il for real? The question has baffled foreign intelligence agencies for years but now a veteran Japanese expert on North Korea says the “dear leader” is actually dead – and his role is played by a double.
The expert says Kim died of diabetes in 2003 and world leaders including Vladimir Putin of Russia and Hu Jintao of China have been negotiating with an impostor.
He believes that Kim, fearing assassination, had groomed up to four lookalikes to act as substitutes at public events. One underwent plastic surgery to make his appearance more convincing. Now, the expert claims, the actors are brought on stage whenever required to persuade the masses that Kim is alive.
The author has been derided by rival analysts of the hermetic communist state. Yet so few facts are known about North Korea’s ruling dynasty that some of the strange things reported in Professor Toshimitsu Shigemura’s bestselling book cannot be readily explained.
More
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Bigger than Titanic?
Director Cameron says his next film, Avatar, far beyond anything he has ever done
James Cameron famously crowned himself "king of the world" after his epic film Titanic swept the Oscars a decade ago.
But as the director heads to Canada for this weekend's Walk of Fame celebrations, he boasts that his watery 1997 blockbuster starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet pales in comparison to his latest project, Avatar.
"It makes Titanic look like a picnic," Cameron said recently during an interview from Los Angeles, where he is working furiously on the new film.
Even Cameron, 54, finds it hard to describe the hugely ambitious Avatar, which is being made in stereoscopic 3-D and combines live action and computer animation.
More
James Cameron famously crowned himself "king of the world" after his epic film Titanic swept the Oscars a decade ago.
But as the director heads to Canada for this weekend's Walk of Fame celebrations, he boasts that his watery 1997 blockbuster starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet pales in comparison to his latest project, Avatar.
"It makes Titanic look like a picnic," Cameron said recently during an interview from Los Angeles, where he is working furiously on the new film.
Even Cameron, 54, finds it hard to describe the hugely ambitious Avatar, which is being made in stereoscopic 3-D and combines live action and computer animation.
More
Friday, September 5, 2008
New Ghostbusters Movie!
Columbia Scaring Up Ghostbusters RevivalThursday September 4
Los Angeles (E! Online) - No need to believe in UFOs, astral projections, mental telepathy, ESP, clairvoyance, spirit photography, telekinetic movement, full trance mediums, the Loch Ness monster and the theory of Atlantis.
Just believe that the allure of nostalgia and a monster paycheck is strong enough to get Bill Murray to strap on that positron collider again.
Variety reports that Columbia Pictures is gearing up to bring another Ghostbusters film to the big screen, ideally featuring all four main characters from the 1984 blockbuster and its 1989 sequel—Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson.
Both '80s-era films were cowritten by Aykroyd and Ramis and directed by Ivan Reitman.
Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, both executive producers on The Office, have been tapped to pen the new installment—after which, Columbia will approach its would-be leading men.
Eisenberg and Stupnitsky recently collaborated on the Ramis-directed comedy Year One. Despite a handful of small parts over the years in comedies such as Knocked Up and As Good as It Gets, Ramis—who also helmed three episodes of The Office last year—has had more of a career behind the camera since his Egon Spengler days.
While the project remains officially unconfirmed, the general consensus is that getting Murray to suit up after all these years will be the hard part—although the Oscar-nominated thesp deigned to contribute his Dr. Peter Venkman voice for the new Ghostbusters: The Video Game.
After helping to keep the dream alive for the past two decades, Aykroyd told a radio station last year that the idea of another Ghostbusters sequel was still alive and kicking. But...
"It will not happen as a live-action [movie], 'cause Billy [Murray] will not come on, in the live-action stage anymore for it," the veteran character actor said. "But he will voice his part, and we are looking to do it as a CGI animated project."
But who knows what will happen if the script stacks up?
Ghostbusters II didn't exactly recapture the magic of the original, which grossed $229.2 million (at '80s prices) at the box office, but it still brought in $112.5 million and millions more from home video sales.
Besides, even the lamest sequels are usually good for lines like, "Only a Carpathian would come back to life now and choose New York! "
Dell said to consider sale of factories
Dell said to consider sale of factories
By Rex Crum & Jeffry Bartash, MarketWatch
Last update: 12:41 p.m. EDT Sept. 5, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Dell Inc. reportedly might sell its factories as part of a strategy to overhaul its production model to cut more than $3 billion in annual costs within the next two years.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Dell could sell its factories within the next 18 months to contract manufacturers, most of which are based in lower-cost Asian countries. Dell has about 60 manufacturing or research facilities in 20 countries.
The sale of its factories would suggest Dell is still groping for ways to accomplish its goal of improved profits despite the return last year of founder Michael Dell to the role of chief executive.
Venancio Figueroa, a Dell spokesman, said the company wouldn't comment on "rumors and speculation." Figueroa repeated that Dell has said it wants to work more closely with manufacturers in order to "reduce costs and make products in a timely fashion."
Dell has made cutting costs and expanding into new markets part of its mantra since Michael Dell reclaimed his spot as the company's chief executive in January 2007 after being absent from that job since 2004.
And over the past year, Dell has launched a push into the retail sector in the U.S. and international markets, which has put its computers on the shelves at stores such as Best Buy Co. Inc.
Bill Fearnley, an analyst with FTN Midwest Securities, said selling its factories makes sense for Dell for several reasons, and also offers an incentive to potential plant buyers.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Thinking Makes Us Pig Out
Robert Roy Britt
LiveScience Managing Editor
LiveScience.com
Food for thought: Intellectual activities make people eat more than when just resting, according to a study that sheds new light on brain food.
This finding might also help explain the obesity epidemic of an increasingly sedentary society in which people still have to think now and then.
Researchers split 14 university student volunteers into three groups for a 45-minute session of either relaxing in a sitting position, reading and summarizing a text, or completing a series of memory, attention, and vigilance tests on the computer.
The scientists had determined beforehand that the thinking sessions consumed only three calories more than resting. After the sessions, the participants were invited to eat as much as they pleased.
Though the study involved a very small number of participants, the results were stark.
The students who had done the computer tests downed 253 more calories, or 29.4 percent more than the couch potatoes. Those who had summarized a text consumed 203 more calories than the resting group.
Blood samples taken before, during, and after revealed that intellectual work causes much bigger fluctuations in glucose levels than rest periods, perhaps owing to the stress of thinking.
The researchers figure the body reacts to these fluctuations by demanding food to restore glucose, a sugar that is the brain's fuel. Glucose is converted by the body from carbohydrates and is supplied to the brain via the bloodstream. The brain cannot make glucose and so needs a constant supply. Brain cells need twice as much energy as other cells in the body.
Without exercise to balance the added intake, however, such "brain food" is probably not smart. Various studies in animals have shown that consuming fewer calories overall leads to sharper brains and longer life, and most researchers agree that the findings apply, in general, to humans.
And, of course, eating more can make you fat.
"Caloric overcompensation following intellectual work, combined with the fact that we are less physically active when doing intellectual tasks, could contribute to the obesity epidemic currently observed in industrialized countries," said lead researcher Jean-Philippe Chaput at Laval University in Quebec City, Canada. "This is a factor that should not be ignored, considering that more and more people hold jobs of an intellectual nature," the researcher concluded.
The study was published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.
5 Ways to Beef Up Your Brain
Good Diet, Exercise Keep Brain Healthy
How Humans Got So Smart
Original Story: Thinking Makes Us Pig Out
LiveScience.com chronicles the daily advances and innovations made in science and technology. We take on the misconceptions that often pop up around scientific discoveries and deliver short, provocative explanations with a certain wit and style. Check out our science videos, Trivia & Quizzes and Top 10s. Join our community to debate hot-button issues like stem cells, climate change and evolution. You can also sign up for free newsletters, register for RSS feeds and get cool gadgets at the LiveScience Store.
Link
LiveScience Managing Editor
LiveScience.com
Food for thought: Intellectual activities make people eat more than when just resting, according to a study that sheds new light on brain food.
This finding might also help explain the obesity epidemic of an increasingly sedentary society in which people still have to think now and then.
Researchers split 14 university student volunteers into three groups for a 45-minute session of either relaxing in a sitting position, reading and summarizing a text, or completing a series of memory, attention, and vigilance tests on the computer.
The scientists had determined beforehand that the thinking sessions consumed only three calories more than resting. After the sessions, the participants were invited to eat as much as they pleased.
Though the study involved a very small number of participants, the results were stark.
The students who had done the computer tests downed 253 more calories, or 29.4 percent more than the couch potatoes. Those who had summarized a text consumed 203 more calories than the resting group.
Blood samples taken before, during, and after revealed that intellectual work causes much bigger fluctuations in glucose levels than rest periods, perhaps owing to the stress of thinking.
The researchers figure the body reacts to these fluctuations by demanding food to restore glucose, a sugar that is the brain's fuel. Glucose is converted by the body from carbohydrates and is supplied to the brain via the bloodstream. The brain cannot make glucose and so needs a constant supply. Brain cells need twice as much energy as other cells in the body.
Without exercise to balance the added intake, however, such "brain food" is probably not smart. Various studies in animals have shown that consuming fewer calories overall leads to sharper brains and longer life, and most researchers agree that the findings apply, in general, to humans.
And, of course, eating more can make you fat.
"Caloric overcompensation following intellectual work, combined with the fact that we are less physically active when doing intellectual tasks, could contribute to the obesity epidemic currently observed in industrialized countries," said lead researcher Jean-Philippe Chaput at Laval University in Quebec City, Canada. "This is a factor that should not be ignored, considering that more and more people hold jobs of an intellectual nature," the researcher concluded.
The study was published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine.
5 Ways to Beef Up Your Brain
Good Diet, Exercise Keep Brain Healthy
How Humans Got So Smart
Original Story: Thinking Makes Us Pig Out
LiveScience.com chronicles the daily advances and innovations made in science and technology. We take on the misconceptions that often pop up around scientific discoveries and deliver short, provocative explanations with a certain wit and style. Check out our science videos, Trivia & Quizzes and Top 10s. Join our community to debate hot-button issues like stem cells, climate change and evolution. You can also sign up for free newsletters, register for RSS feeds and get cool gadgets at the LiveScience Store.
Link
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Google Chrome Browser
Chrome is the original bling. Chrome caps, wheels and accessories have been essential elements of the pimped-out ride for decades. Now chrome, or rather Chrome, is preparing to pimp out your desktop. Google's new Web browser puts a high polish of user-friendly style onto the evolving trend toward cloud computing. (And you thought the lining was silver.)
Tuesday, Google launched the beta version of Chrome, formally entering the long-simmering war for browser supremacy. Odds are fairly high that you're reading this story using some iteration of Microsoft Internet Explorer, which dominates the landscape with a 72 percent share, according to Net Applications. (Despite years of taking aim at Microsoft, Mozilla's free, open-source Firefox is a distant second at 19.7 percent; Apple's Safari browser accounts for a mere 6.37 percent.)
More
Tuesday, Google launched the beta version of Chrome, formally entering the long-simmering war for browser supremacy. Odds are fairly high that you're reading this story using some iteration of Microsoft Internet Explorer, which dominates the landscape with a 72 percent share, according to Net Applications. (Despite years of taking aim at Microsoft, Mozilla's free, open-source Firefox is a distant second at 19.7 percent; Apple's Safari browser accounts for a mere 6.37 percent.)
More
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
'King of Voiceovers' Don LaFontaine Dies at 68
LOS ANGELES — Don LaFontaine, the man behind the chilling voice in various movie trailers and commercials, died Monday, his agent said. He was 68.
LaFontaine died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of complications from a collapsed lung, ETOnline reported. The official cause of death, however, was not immediately released.
LaFontaine's vocal talents have appeared in over 5,000 movie trailers and nearly 350,000 commercials. He is most famous for the introductory line, "In a world..."
Click here for Don LaFontaine's Web site.
LaFontaine most recently appeared in a Geico Insurance commercial where he was referred to as "that announcer guy."
He is survived by his wife, singer/actress Nita Whitaker, and three children Christine, Skye and Elyse. Source: Fox News
LaFontaine died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of complications from a collapsed lung, ETOnline reported. The official cause of death, however, was not immediately released.
LaFontaine's vocal talents have appeared in over 5,000 movie trailers and nearly 350,000 commercials. He is most famous for the introductory line, "In a world..."
Click here for Don LaFontaine's Web site.
LaFontaine most recently appeared in a Geico Insurance commercial where he was referred to as "that announcer guy."
He is survived by his wife, singer/actress Nita Whitaker, and three children Christine, Skye and Elyse. Source: Fox News
Monday, September 1, 2008
Coffee may lower risk of uterus cancer: Japan study
Sun Aug 31, 11:28 PM ET
Women who drink a lot of coffee may have less risk of developing cancer of the uterus, a Japanese study said Monday.
The study led by Japan's health ministry monitored some 54,000 women aged 40 to 69 over about 15 years, during which time 117 women developed cancer in the womb, according to the medical team.
The researchers at Japan's National Cancer Center divided the women into four groups by the amount of coffee they drank.
They found the group of women who drank more than three cups of coffee every day were more than 60 percent less likely to develop uterine cancer than those who had coffee fewer than two times a week, the study said.
"Coffee may have effects in lowering insulin levels, possibly curbing the risks of developing womb cancer," the study said.
The medical team also studied the effects of drinking green tea, but did not find any link to uterine cancer.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control, uterine cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women.
Source: Yahoo
Saturday, August 30, 2008
New Orleans gets ready as Gustav strengthens
NEW ORLEANS - Scarred by still-fresh memories of Katrina and spooked by Hurricane Gustav's rapid move toward Category 5 strength, a million residents of the Gulf Coast fled on Saturday — well ahead of the official order to get out of the way of a storm taking dead aim at Louisiana.
Residents took to buses, trains, planes and car — clogging roadways leading away from New Orleans, still reeling three years after Hurricane Katrina flooded 80 percent of the city and killed about 1,600 across the region.
Gustav had already killed more than 80 people in the Caribbean, and if current forecasts hold up, it would make landfall early Tuesday morning along Louisiana's central coast.
More
Friday, August 29, 2008
Gotta read the title, Front Page Yahoo!
I know this might not be a big deal, but i just saw this and thought it was funny.
Yahoo Headline "McCain taps Alaska governor...for VP"
By LIZ SIDOTI and BETH FOUHY, Associated Press Writers 6 minutes ago
Republican John McCain introduced first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate Friday, a stunning selection of a little-known conservative newcomer who relishes fighting the establishment.
"She's exactly who I need. She's exactly who this country needs to help me fight the same old Washington politics of 'Me first and country second,' " McCain declared as the pair stood together for the first time at a boisterous rally in Ohio just days before the opening of the party's national convention.
Palin, the first Republican woman on a presidential ticket, promised: "I'm going to take our campaign to every part of our country and our message of reform to every voter of every background in every political party, or no party at all."
"... Politics isn't just a game of competing interests and clashing parties," added the Palin, 44, who has built her career in large measure by challenging fellow Republicans.
In the increasingly intensive presidential campaign, McCain made his selection six days after his Democratic rival, Barack Obama, named Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, as his No. 2 on the ticket.
The contrast between the two announcements was remarkable — Obama, 47, picked a 65-year-old running mate with long experience in government and a man whom he said was qualified to be president. The timing of McCain's selection appeared designed to limit any political gain Obama derives from his own convention, which ended Thursday night with his nominating acceptance speech before an estimated 84,000 in Invesco Field in Colorado.
Public opinion polls show a close race between Obama and McCain, and with scarcely two months remaining until the election, neither contender can allow the other to jump out to a big post-convention lead.
On his 72nd birthday, McCain chose Palin, a woman younger than two of the Arizonan's seven children and a person who until recently was the mayor of small-town Wasilla, Alaska and has been governor less than two years. He settled on her six months after first meeting the governor and following only one phone call between them last Sunday and a single face-to-face meeting Thursday, according to a timeline provided by his campaign.
The Obama campaign immediately questioned whether she would be prepared to step in and be president if necessary.
"Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency," Adrianne Marsh, a spokeswoman for Obama, said in a written statement. A statement was put out on Obama's plane with the candidate merely welcoming her to the campaign.
President Bush complimented McCain for "an exciting decision."
"Governor Palin is a proven reformer who is a wise steward of taxpayer dollars and champion for accountability in government," a presidential statement said. "By selecting a working mother with a track record of getting things done, Senator McCain has once again demonstrated his commitment to reforming Washington."
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who came so close to being the first major party woman presidential candidate, said in a statement: "We should all be proud of Gov. Sarah Palin's historic nomination, and I congratulate her and Sen. McCain. While their policies would take America in the wrong direction, Gov. Palin will add an important new voice to the debate."
"It's an absolutely brilliant choice," said Mathew Staver, dean of Liberty University School of Law. "This will absolutely energize McCain's campaign and energize conservatives," he predicted.
Palin's name had not been on the short list of people heavily reported upon by the news media in recent days, and McCain's decision was a well-kept secret until just a couple hours before Friday's rally.
McCain's campaign said that Palin and a top aide met with senior McCain advisers in Flagstaff, Ariz., on Wednesday night. The next morning, the campaign said McCain formally invited Palin to join the ticket on the deck of McCain's home near Sedona, Ariz., and later Thursday the governor flew to Middletown, Ohio, with staff to await Friday's event in Dayton.
Describing the process that led to her selection, Palin told reporters she'd received word that she was McCain's choice on Thursday and had met privately with him that day to discuss it. She spoke briefly as the two running mates surprised shoppers at the Buckeye Corner in Columbus, Ohio, where they purchased Ohio State University sports memorabilia. McCain and Palin started a bus tour across Ohio and to Pittsburgh, where they will hold a campaign rally Saturday. Ohio and Pennsylvania are two states that figure prominently in who wins the election this fall.
Asked why McCain chose her, his campaign manager Rick Davis said, "Part of it is personal fit."
"He sees Sarah, Governor Palin, as the future of the party," he added. "These are people he'd like to elevate in that regard. reformers."
Sharyl Odenweller, a retired teacher from Delphos, Ohio who was visiting the store, said she was pleased that McCain had chosen a woman and someone "very pro life." But, Odenweller also said, "I'd like to know more about her experience. If something happened to him, would she be qualified to step into the presidency?"
With his pick, McCain passed over more prominent contenders like former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, as well as others such as former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, whose support for abortion rights might have sparked unrest at the convention that opens Monday in St. Paul, Minn.
A self-styled hockey mom and political reformer, Palin became governor after ousting a state chief executive of her own party in a primary.
More recently, she has come under the scrutiny of an investigation by the Republican-controlled legislature into the possibility that she ordered the dismissal of Alaska's public safety commissioner because he would not fire her former brother-in-law as a state trooper.
Palin has a long history of run-ins with the Alaska GOP hierarchy, giving her genuine maverick status and reformer credentials that could complement McCain's image.
Her husband, Todd Palin, is part Yup'ik Eskimo, and is a blue-collar North Slope oil worker who competes in the Iron Dog, a 1,900-mile snowmobile race. The couple lives in Wasilla. They have five children, the youngest of whom was born in April with Down syndrome.
___
Associated Press Writer Liz Sidoti reported for this story from Denver.
Republican John McCain introduced first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate Friday, a stunning selection of a little-known conservative newcomer who relishes fighting the establishment.
"She's exactly who I need. She's exactly who this country needs to help me fight the same old Washington politics of 'Me first and country second,' " McCain declared as the pair stood together for the first time at a boisterous rally in Ohio just days before the opening of the party's national convention.
Palin, the first Republican woman on a presidential ticket, promised: "I'm going to take our campaign to every part of our country and our message of reform to every voter of every background in every political party, or no party at all."
"... Politics isn't just a game of competing interests and clashing parties," added the Palin, 44, who has built her career in large measure by challenging fellow Republicans.
In the increasingly intensive presidential campaign, McCain made his selection six days after his Democratic rival, Barack Obama, named Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, as his No. 2 on the ticket.
The contrast between the two announcements was remarkable — Obama, 47, picked a 65-year-old running mate with long experience in government and a man whom he said was qualified to be president. The timing of McCain's selection appeared designed to limit any political gain Obama derives from his own convention, which ended Thursday night with his nominating acceptance speech before an estimated 84,000 in Invesco Field in Colorado.
Public opinion polls show a close race between Obama and McCain, and with scarcely two months remaining until the election, neither contender can allow the other to jump out to a big post-convention lead.
On his 72nd birthday, McCain chose Palin, a woman younger than two of the Arizonan's seven children and a person who until recently was the mayor of small-town Wasilla, Alaska and has been governor less than two years. He settled on her six months after first meeting the governor and following only one phone call between them last Sunday and a single face-to-face meeting Thursday, according to a timeline provided by his campaign.
The Obama campaign immediately questioned whether she would be prepared to step in and be president if necessary.
"Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency," Adrianne Marsh, a spokeswoman for Obama, said in a written statement. A statement was put out on Obama's plane with the candidate merely welcoming her to the campaign.
President Bush complimented McCain for "an exciting decision."
"Governor Palin is a proven reformer who is a wise steward of taxpayer dollars and champion for accountability in government," a presidential statement said. "By selecting a working mother with a track record of getting things done, Senator McCain has once again demonstrated his commitment to reforming Washington."
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who came so close to being the first major party woman presidential candidate, said in a statement: "We should all be proud of Gov. Sarah Palin's historic nomination, and I congratulate her and Sen. McCain. While their policies would take America in the wrong direction, Gov. Palin will add an important new voice to the debate."
"It's an absolutely brilliant choice," said Mathew Staver, dean of Liberty University School of Law. "This will absolutely energize McCain's campaign and energize conservatives," he predicted.
Palin's name had not been on the short list of people heavily reported upon by the news media in recent days, and McCain's decision was a well-kept secret until just a couple hours before Friday's rally.
McCain's campaign said that Palin and a top aide met with senior McCain advisers in Flagstaff, Ariz., on Wednesday night. The next morning, the campaign said McCain formally invited Palin to join the ticket on the deck of McCain's home near Sedona, Ariz., and later Thursday the governor flew to Middletown, Ohio, with staff to await Friday's event in Dayton.
Describing the process that led to her selection, Palin told reporters she'd received word that she was McCain's choice on Thursday and had met privately with him that day to discuss it. She spoke briefly as the two running mates surprised shoppers at the Buckeye Corner in Columbus, Ohio, where they purchased Ohio State University sports memorabilia. McCain and Palin started a bus tour across Ohio and to Pittsburgh, where they will hold a campaign rally Saturday. Ohio and Pennsylvania are two states that figure prominently in who wins the election this fall.
Asked why McCain chose her, his campaign manager Rick Davis said, "Part of it is personal fit."
"He sees Sarah, Governor Palin, as the future of the party," he added. "These are people he'd like to elevate in that regard. reformers."
Sharyl Odenweller, a retired teacher from Delphos, Ohio who was visiting the store, said she was pleased that McCain had chosen a woman and someone "very pro life." But, Odenweller also said, "I'd like to know more about her experience. If something happened to him, would she be qualified to step into the presidency?"
With his pick, McCain passed over more prominent contenders like former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, as well as others such as former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, whose support for abortion rights might have sparked unrest at the convention that opens Monday in St. Paul, Minn.
A self-styled hockey mom and political reformer, Palin became governor after ousting a state chief executive of her own party in a primary.
More recently, she has come under the scrutiny of an investigation by the Republican-controlled legislature into the possibility that she ordered the dismissal of Alaska's public safety commissioner because he would not fire her former brother-in-law as a state trooper.
Palin has a long history of run-ins with the Alaska GOP hierarchy, giving her genuine maverick status and reformer credentials that could complement McCain's image.
Her husband, Todd Palin, is part Yup'ik Eskimo, and is a blue-collar North Slope oil worker who competes in the Iron Dog, a 1,900-mile snowmobile race. The couple lives in Wasilla. They have five children, the youngest of whom was born in April with Down syndrome.
___
Associated Press Writer Liz Sidoti reported for this story from Denver.
David Duchovny in sex addiction treatment
Why is this important? How can it not?! Though I do feel for the guy but seriously, is there REALLY a such thing as sex addition? lol
Fri Aug 29, 2008
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "X-Files" star David Duchovny, who currently plays a womanizing writer on the cable television series "Californication," said on Thursday he has entered a facility for treatment of sex addiction.
Duchovny, 48, sprang to fame starring as the conspiracy-minded FBI agent Fox Mulder on Fox network's paranormal thriller "The X-Files," which spawned two big-screen spinoffs, one of which ran in theaters this summer.
He has been married since 1997 to actress Tea Leoni, with whom he has a 9-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son.
"I have voluntarily entered a facility for the treatment of sex addiction," he said in a statement released through his lawyer, Stanton "Larry" Stein. "I ask for respect and privacy for my wife and children as we deal with this situation as a family."
There were no further details in the statement, which was first reported on the Web site of People magazine, people.com.
In January, he won a Golden Globe Award as best comic actor for playing an oversexed single dad and novelist struggling with writer's block in the Showtime series "Californication."
Reuters/Nielsen
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Cindy McCain's Half Sister: "I'm Voting for Barack Obama"
EXCLUSIVE: Cindy McCain's Half Sister: "I'm Voting for Barack Obama"
Thursday August 28, 2008
Cindy McCain's half sister is planning on voting for Barack Obama, she tells Usmagazine.com.
"I'm not voting for McCain," Kathleen Hensley Portalski tells Us. "I have a different political standpoint.
"I'm voting for Obama," the Phoenix resident says. "I think his proposals to improve the country are more positive and I'm not a big war believer."
Portalski, 65, and the potential first lady, 54, have the same father: Jim Hensley, the founder of the beer distributor Hensley and Co. that Cindy McCain now chairs.
In an interview with NPR News' All Things Considered last week, Portalski said she felt "like a non-person" after Cindy McCain described herself as an "only child."
Portalski's mother is Hensley's first wife; Cindy McCain's mother, Marguerite Hensley, also had another daughter from her first marriage.
"She's kinda cool, standoffish," Portalski tells Us of her half sister.
Portalski also doesn't expect Cindy McCain to make an effort to reconcile their relationship.
"She never has, and I doubt that she ever will," she tells Us.
Portalski's son Nathan, a 45-year-old aerospace machinist, is also backing Obama.
"I wouldn't vote for John McCain if he was a Democrat," he tells Us. "I would not vote at all before I'd vote for him.
"I question whether Cindy is someone I'd want to see in the White House as first lady," he adds.
"I'm not voting for McCain," Kathleen Hensley Portalski tells Us. "I have a different political standpoint.
"I'm voting for Obama," the Phoenix resident says. "I think his proposals to improve the country are more positive and I'm not a big war believer."
Portalski, 65, and the potential first lady, 54, have the same father: Jim Hensley, the founder of the beer distributor Hensley and Co. that Cindy McCain now chairs.
In an interview with NPR News' All Things Considered last week, Portalski said she felt "like a non-person" after Cindy McCain described herself as an "only child."
Portalski's mother is Hensley's first wife; Cindy McCain's mother, Marguerite Hensley, also had another daughter from her first marriage.
"She's kinda cool, standoffish," Portalski tells Us of her half sister.
Portalski also doesn't expect Cindy McCain to make an effort to reconcile their relationship.
"She never has, and I doubt that she ever will," she tells Us.
Portalski's son Nathan, a 45-year-old aerospace machinist, is also backing Obama.
"I wouldn't vote for John McCain if he was a Democrat," he tells Us. "I would not vote at all before I'd vote for him.
"I question whether Cindy is someone I'd want to see in the White House as first lady," he adds.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Obama makes history in Denver as Democratic Party nominee
This is definitely history in the making. If a former commander in chief (Bill Clinton) would recommend him, isn't that a good thing or is this just to get Democrats into the White House?
By Kevin Vaughan
Originally published 11:25 a.m., August 27, 2008
Updated 11:51 p.m., August 27, 2008
And on the third day, they united — behind Barack Obama, against John McCain, for a new way of doing business in the world.
At 4:48 p.m. Wednesday, in a raucous Pepsi Center, the delegates at the Democratic National Convention made history when they officially nominated Obama as the party's presidential candidate — the first African-American to ever move so close to the nation's highest office.
Along the way, vanquished challenger Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton played leading roles in the party's effort to leave Denver a picture of tranquility in the place of the turbulence that marked the bruising primary season and even the last-minute negotiations over the machinations of the nomination.
Joe Biden, the six-term senator from Delaware who accepted the party's nomination as vice president, stepped before the television cameras in prime time and called for a change of course in foreign policy, something he said is necessary to restore the country's standing in the world.
In a verbal gaff that drove home an assertion made at the convention over and over, he accidentally said "George Bush" when he meant "John McCain."
"Freudian slip," Biden said. "Freudian slip."
Biden, who ran for president, heaped praise on Obama, a man he called too inexperienced for the job on the campaign trail.
"You can learn an awful lot about a man campaigning with him, debating him, and seeing how he reacts under pressure," Biden said. "You learn about the strength of his mind. But even more importantly, you learn about the quality of his heart."
And Obama himself made a surprise visit to the Pepsi Center in a show of unity with Biden.
All of it set the tone for today's historic move of the convention across the South Platte River to Invesco Field at Mile High, where Obama is expected to stand before a crowd of more than 75,000 and formally accept the party's nomination.
But before that could happen, drama — some of it apparently orchestrated behind closed doors — played out on the floor of the Pepsi Center and on Denver's streets during the convention's third day.
Outside the hall, the protest scene picked up. Several hundred self-proclaimed anarchists marched down the 16th Street Mall during the lunch hour. And about 2,000 people who streamed out of the Denver Coliseum after a concert by Rage Against the Machine marched to the Pepsi Center in a protest against the war.
Obama himself finally touched down in Denver, landing a few minutes before 3 p.m. And the Republicans, who gather next week in St. Paul, Minn., to nominate McCain, worked again to get in a word or two during the Democratic Party's gathering.
"Sen. McCain would keep us on offense with terrorism ... and Senator Obama would put us back on defense," former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said during an appearance at a Denver warehouse.
But the biggest doings were in the convention hall — and the questions of exactly how the roll-call vote of delegates would be handled. The roll call vote had been the subject of negotiations between representatives of Clinton and Obama, the two combatants in the longest, most-difficult primary season in recent memory.
And the question of its mechanics took on a life of its own in the wake of lingering hard feelings between Obama and both Clintons.
Shortly after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi banged the gavel and opened the convention at 3 p.m., the state-by-state tally began.
The first surprise came when delegates from Arkansas — where Bill Clinton served as governor — cast all 47 of their votes for Obama. Then delegates from California, which Hillary Clinton won, passed. So did Obama's home state, Illinois.
With the vote standing 1,568 1/2 for Obama, 341 1/2 for Clinton, New Mexico's delegates yielded to those from Illinois. And Illinois delegates yielded to New York, the state Clinton represents in the U.S. Senate.
Just then, on the big screens, images of Clinton making her way to the New York delegation's microphone, and the crowd in the arena erupted.
"On behalf of the great state of New York," she said moments later, "with appreciation for the spirit and dedication of all who are gathered here, with eyes firmly fixed on the future, in the spirit of unity, with the goal of victory, with faith in our party and our country, let's declare together in one voice, right here right now, that Barack Obama is our candidate," Clinton said.
The Pepsi Center erupted.
"I move that the convention suspend the procedural rules and suspend the future conduct of the roll call vote," Clinton said. "All votes cast by the delegates will be counted and I move Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois be selected by this convention by acclimation as the nominee of the Democratic Party as the president of the United States."
The motion was met with a rousing ovation. It was quickly seconded and approved by the thousands of people in attendance.
Pelosi did not wait for any "no" votes before slamming down the gavel.
As prime time arrived, so did Bill Clinton, and for a few minutes it was hard to tell whether he or Obama was the bigger rock star. Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop" — an old campaign song — blared, and the crowd roared and roared.
"Thank you," Clinton said again and again, before finally imploring the crowd to "sit down."
"I love this and I thank you, but we have important work to do here tonight," he said.
Then he got to business — praising his wife's history-making run — the closest a woman has ever come to winning a presidential nomination.
"In the end, my candidate didn't win," Clinton said. "But I'm very proud of the campaign she ran. She never quit on the people she stood up for, on the changes she pushed for, on the future she wants for all our children. And I'm grateful for the chance Chelsea and I had to tell Americans about the person we know and love.
"I'm not so grateful for the chance to speak in the wake of her magnificent address last night. But I'll do my best. Hillary told us in no uncertain terms that she'll do everything she can to elect Barack Obama. That makes two of us."
Clinton, who was supposed to speak for 10 minutes, was on the stage for more than 20.
He hammered away at Obama's attributes, calling him "the man for this job."
"Barack Obama is ready to lead America and restore American leadership in the world," Clinton said."Barack Obama is ready to be president of the United States."
Later, in the evening's final act, Biden took to the stage.
Once he got there, he pounded away on foreign policy — a major reason that many experts believe he was chosen to be Obama's running mate.
"As we gather here tonight, our country is less secure and more isolated than at any time in recent history," said Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "The Bush-McCain foreign policy has dug us into a very deep hole, with very few friends to help us climb out."
Biden's wife, Jill, introduced "a very special surprise guest" — Obama.
The running mates stood arm-in-arm on the stage, and Obama took a microphone.
"Hello Democrats," Obama said. "Hello Democrats."
He had something to say. He hoped that people now understood why Biden was his running mate. He paid homage to the Clintons.
He looked ahead — to tonight.
"At the start of this campaign we had a very simple idea, which is change in America doesn't start from the top down," Obama said. "It starts from the bottom up. That change is brought about because ordinary people do extraordinary things. And so we want to open up this convention to make sure that everybody who wants to come can join in the party and join in the effort to take America back."
After the hugs and after the music died down, Biden and Obama walked from the stage, and the Pepsi Center cleared out, and eventually the lights dimmed in the convention hall for the final time.
Tonight they go on in a football stadium. Tonight the spotlight's glare shifts squarely onto Obama.
Aaron J. Lopez, Todd Hartman, Paul A. Anthony, Ryan Sabalow, Dan Kelley and Sara Burnett contributed to this report.
Microsoft's Sneak Attack On Google
Browser Wars
Microsoft's Sneak Attack On Google
Victoria Barret 08.27.08, 12:00 PM ET
Forget about that $44 billion takeover bid for Yahoo. Microsoft's latest assault on Google is slier.
Since May Microsoft has been reimbursing people up to half of the value of items they buy using its search technology. The gimmick isn't working. In July Google's share of all searches jumped to 60% from 53% a year ago, while Microsoft's share slumped to 12% from 13.6%, according to Nielsen Online.
Now comes Chief Executive Steve Ballmer's latest would-be Google-toppling tactic (after his failed bid to take over Yahoo): a sneak attack using the newly launched version of Microsoft's dominant Web browser, Internet Explorer. Ballmer isn't portraying the updated browser as a Google destroyer, but many of its features turn out to be a crafty way for people to get around using the most popular search service.
"We didn't design this with Google in mind," insists Internet Explorer head Dean Hachamovitch. He adds: "It's not clear what the consequences might be."
The engineers in Redmond deserve a little more credit than Hachamovitch wants to give. The new browser comes with a search box in the upper right-hand corner and, just below that, a row of tiny logos for various search destinations, such as Yahoo, Ebay and MySpace. You can select which destinations you want to include here.
If your search will likely end up in Wikipedia, for instance, with a single click over a little "W" you can search only that encyclopedia. Amazon.com displays items for sale. The New York Times shows snippets of stories. So far 27 Web sites have joined the drop-down column, including Facebook and Digg.
Microsoft is, uncharacteristically, keeping its hands off, giving Web sites the option to serve up results and customize how they appear. It also magnanimously lets those sites take all the revenue from ads alongside the results. That's a sly stab at Google's business, though this kind of searching--where users already know where they want to go--doesn't yield especially lucrative ads for Google.
Another Google-dodging feature in the new browser: Highlighting a street address on a Web page launches a map, with the default set to Microsoft's Live Maps (though you can change this default to Google Maps).
Internet Explorer is the most widely used browser. This gives Microsoft a nice advantage over Google. Just as Microsoft used its dominance in operating systems to get its browser onto millions of computers, it now can rely on that browser to offer Web software. Microsoft needs that weapon as Google encroaches on its turf with freebie Web versions of word processors and spreadsheets.
Best do this while the dominance lasts. Firefox's market share jumped by a third in the last year to 19%, while Internet Explorer lost 6 percentage points to 73%. Still, even that rival gives it a little credit for the new browser. "They're playing catch-up, but I'm glad they're playing," says John Lilly, chief executive of Firefox publisher Mozilla.
Source:Forbes
Gustav kills 11; US Gulf Coast prepares for storm
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080827/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/tropical_weather
By JONATHAN M. KATZ, Associated Press Writer
By JONATHAN M. KATZ, Associated Press Writer
Gustav swirled toward Cuba on Wednesday after triggering flooding and landslides that killed at least 11 people in the Caribbean. Its track pointed toward the U.S. Gulf coast, including Louisana where Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc three years ago.
Oil prices continued to rise because of the threat to offshore rigs responsible for a quarter of U.S. crude production.
"We know it's going to head into the Gulf. After that, we're not sure where it's heading," said Rebecca Waddington, a meteorologist at the Miami-based National Hurricane Center. "For that reason, everyone in Gulf needs to be monitoring the storm. At that point, we're expecting it to be a Category 3 hurricane."
The tentative forecast track pointed Wednesday toward Louisiana and Mississippi, which took the brunt of Hurricane Katrina three years ago Friday. But the average error in five-day forecasts is about 310 miles (500 kms) in either direction, meaning the likeliest targets could be anywhere from south Texas to the Florida panhandle.
The threat to gulf oil operations already forced Royal Dutch Shell PLC and other oil companies to trigger evacuation plans. Oil prices jumped above US$119 a barrel in Wednesday trading, and one industry analyst said U.S. gas prices could rise 10 cents by this weekend as a result.
Gustav is raising concern particularly because there are few surrounding wind currents capable of shearing off the top of the storm and diminishing its power, the hurricane center said. "Combined with the deep warm waters, rapid intensification could occur in a couple of days."
New Orleans officials began planning for possible evacuations, and urged people who might need help in the event of an evacuation to call an emergency information number. Mississippi Emergency Management Director Mike Womack advised people along the coast to prepare.
Gustav diminished to a tropical storm over Haiti but was still dumping heavy rains as it moved west-northwest at 5 mph (7 kph), and forecasters said it could regain hurricane strength as it passes between Cuba and Jamaica. Top sustained winds were near 60 mph (95 kph), with higher gusts, and the storm was centered about 110 miles (180 kms) west of Port-au-Prince and 125 miles (200 kms) southeast of Guantanamo.
A hurricane warning was in effect for parts of Cuba including the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay. "My instinct is it will be a really wet night," base spokesman Bruce Lloyd said Wednesday morning.
Gustav's toll on the island of Hispaniola was becoming clearer Wednesday. At least three people were confirmed dead in Haiti, including a young girl swept off a bridge by flood waters and a man killed in a landslide, said civil protection director Marie Alta. Eight people, including two infants, died in a landslide in the Dominican Republic.
"They were all members of a family that had taken shelter since Tropical Storm Fay and left to go home because they thought the danger had passed," said Luis Luna Paulino, director of the civil defense agency.
Southern Haiti is prone to devastating floods because its mountainous terrain has been stripped of trees for farming.
As Gustav roared ashore Tuesday afternoon near the southern Haitian city of Jacmel with top winds near 90 mph (145 kph), palm trees toppled and rising waters reached the city's Victorian wooden buildings.
Flooding also was reported in coastal Les Cayes, where U.N. peacekeepers used tear gas to disperse demonstrators throwing rocks in a protest against rising food prices in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country. Haiti has seen deadly food riots, and could be in for more if Gustav seriously damages crops.
If the storm continues on its path, it could drive up U.S. gasoline prices by 10 cents a gallon ahead of Labor Day weekend, predicted James Cordier, president of Tampa, Florida-based Liberty Trading Group and OptionSellers.com.
Oil prices continued to rise because of the threat to offshore rigs responsible for a quarter of U.S. crude production.
"We know it's going to head into the Gulf. After that, we're not sure where it's heading," said Rebecca Waddington, a meteorologist at the Miami-based National Hurricane Center. "For that reason, everyone in Gulf needs to be monitoring the storm. At that point, we're expecting it to be a Category 3 hurricane."
The tentative forecast track pointed Wednesday toward Louisiana and Mississippi, which took the brunt of Hurricane Katrina three years ago Friday. But the average error in five-day forecasts is about 310 miles (500 kms) in either direction, meaning the likeliest targets could be anywhere from south Texas to the Florida panhandle.
The threat to gulf oil operations already forced Royal Dutch Shell PLC and other oil companies to trigger evacuation plans. Oil prices jumped above US$119 a barrel in Wednesday trading, and one industry analyst said U.S. gas prices could rise 10 cents by this weekend as a result.
Gustav is raising concern particularly because there are few surrounding wind currents capable of shearing off the top of the storm and diminishing its power, the hurricane center said. "Combined with the deep warm waters, rapid intensification could occur in a couple of days."
New Orleans officials began planning for possible evacuations, and urged people who might need help in the event of an evacuation to call an emergency information number. Mississippi Emergency Management Director Mike Womack advised people along the coast to prepare.
Gustav diminished to a tropical storm over Haiti but was still dumping heavy rains as it moved west-northwest at 5 mph (7 kph), and forecasters said it could regain hurricane strength as it passes between Cuba and Jamaica. Top sustained winds were near 60 mph (95 kph), with higher gusts, and the storm was centered about 110 miles (180 kms) west of Port-au-Prince and 125 miles (200 kms) southeast of Guantanamo.
A hurricane warning was in effect for parts of Cuba including the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay. "My instinct is it will be a really wet night," base spokesman Bruce Lloyd said Wednesday morning.
Gustav's toll on the island of Hispaniola was becoming clearer Wednesday. At least three people were confirmed dead in Haiti, including a young girl swept off a bridge by flood waters and a man killed in a landslide, said civil protection director Marie Alta. Eight people, including two infants, died in a landslide in the Dominican Republic.
"They were all members of a family that had taken shelter since Tropical Storm Fay and left to go home because they thought the danger had passed," said Luis Luna Paulino, director of the civil defense agency.
Southern Haiti is prone to devastating floods because its mountainous terrain has been stripped of trees for farming.
As Gustav roared ashore Tuesday afternoon near the southern Haitian city of Jacmel with top winds near 90 mph (145 kph), palm trees toppled and rising waters reached the city's Victorian wooden buildings.
Flooding also was reported in coastal Les Cayes, where U.N. peacekeepers used tear gas to disperse demonstrators throwing rocks in a protest against rising food prices in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country. Haiti has seen deadly food riots, and could be in for more if Gustav seriously damages crops.
If the storm continues on its path, it could drive up U.S. gasoline prices by 10 cents a gallon ahead of Labor Day weekend, predicted James Cordier, president of Tampa, Florida-based Liberty Trading Group and OptionSellers.com.
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