Things I Found September 9, 2008

September 9: Today In History

News
WSJ: Fannie, Freddie To Be Removed From S&P 500: Standard & Poor's will remove Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from its S&P 500 Index after the close of trading Wednesday.

Alfalfa Sprouts Recalled in Salmonella Outbreak: New incident reported in Washington state. With the Salmonella-St. Paul outbreak finally contained, the Food and Drug Administration reports 13 cases of Salmonella Typhimirium in Oregon and Washington State. The outbreak is apparently linked with the consumption of raw alfalfa sprouts.

Weather
Ike gives Cuba final kick, moves to Gulf of Mexico : HAVANA - Hurricane Ike moved into the warm waters of the Gulf and took aim at the U.S. and Mexican coasts Tuesday after bringing down aging buildings in Havana and tearing through western Cuba's tobacco country.

Science
Will the Large Hadron Collider Destroy Earth? The potential for the world's largest atom smasher to destroy Earth is one question weighing on the minds of some lay people as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) prepares to go online Wednesday.

Politics
Takimag: The Palin Illusion: Having been listening to happy talk for more than a week about the “Palin factor,” courtesy of all my local friends and the commentaries of Pat Buchanan, and having felt at least for a few minutes some of the same euphoria about the GOP vice-presidential candidate, it now seems appropriate to look at the gaping hole in the donut.

Things I Found September 7, 2008

September 7: Today In History

Pakistan Cuts Supply Lines to NATO Troops in Afghanistan: In a major development, the federal government on Friday announced disconnection of supply lines to the allied forces stationed in Afghanistan through Pakistan in an apparent reaction to a ground attack on a border village in South Waziristan agency by the Nato forces.

Russia Today Covers Rally for The Republic (YouTube): Texas Congressman Ron Paul may not be the next US President. But the firebrand Republican, who failed to win the party's nomination this year, is still hugely popular with grassroots supporters.

BBC: US Takes Over Key Mortgage Firms: US financial officials have outlined plans for the government to take over the failing mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

BBC: Caribbean Lashed By Hurricane Ike: Thousands of people have taken refuge across the Caribbean as one of the season's fiercest hurricanes barrels across the islands, on course for Cuba.

TimesOnline: Scramble For Cash As Central Banks Dry Up: British banks soon could be scrambling for short-term funding once more amid reports that supplies from Threadneedle Street and from Frankfurt may be drying up.

LiveScience: The Top 10 Mad Scientists: From mildly eccentric to downright wacky, these 10 hyper-intelligent characters didn't just march to a different beat, they each played their own tune altogether, all while changing how we look at the world.

Venezuela, Russia May Hold Joint Naval Exercises: President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that Venezuelan and Russian ships could soon hold joint naval exercises in the Caribbean — a move that would likely raise concerns in Washington.

Asia bourses cheer US bailout: Asian stock markets have soared following the US government's takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.