Link Collection

34 Egyptian fishermen were held captive by Somali pirates for the past four months, with the pirates rejecting a $200,000 ransom offer on Wednesday. Yesterday the fishermen overpowered their armed captors and escaped on their fishing ships. They killed two of their captors and are bringing other pirates back to Egypt as their prisoners:
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE57D1P620090814



Interesting tidbit on how Navy P-3 planes were used by US Geological Survey geologists to study mineral deposits in Afghanistan to look for undiscovered valuable mineral deposits. The US government paid for all of this survey work and discovered iron, copper and gemstones (emeralds, rubies and sapphires)...and even though the US did all the work to discover the minerals and the US paid for everything needed for the discover, the government of Afghanistan gave the exploration rights for copper mines to a Chinese company. We've spent how much money in Afghanistan and they are giving the mineral rights to China?
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/08/dr-book-club-afghanistans-high-tech-rock-collectors/


The Justice Department is suing a bulletproof vest maker for *knowingly* using faulty material in the bulletproof vests they sold for use by US troops and police officers. The US government also alleges that after the founders found out about the lawsuit they took $5 million from their company and purchased things like a Ferrari, a Maserati and a private jet:
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=43383&dcn=e_gvet


The Global Entry program is being expanded to 13 additional airports (including Honolulu, San Francisco and Vegas). This program allows trusted air travelers to skip the passport processing lines and instead use a touchscreen system that includes a fingerprint scan. This allows most people to get through the line in less than 5 minutes, far faster than the passport processing normally takes!
http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1250094008914.shtm


Research indicates that wobbles in the Earth's tilt were responsible for the global warming episodes that interspersed prehistoric ice ages. This result shows the end of the second last ice age occurring 141,000 years ago, thousands of years earlier than previously thought:
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/08/14/earth-wobble-climate.html


New movie theater goes beyond IMAX with its "Immerssive dome"
http://www.rdmag.com/News/2009/08/Software-New-movie-theater-puts-viewers-in-immersive-dome/


Alcatel-Lucent said that wind and solar power have reached the inflection point--as early as next year it will be cheaper to use green energy even if electrical connections are available at cell sites:
http://telephonyonline.com/3g4g/news/alcatel-on-grid-alternative-energy-0730/


Apple and AT&T were hit with a class action lawsuit over advertising MMS for the iPhone 3G S but not having MMS available:
http://www.betanews.com/article/ATT-and-Apple-hit-with-class-action-over-iPhone-MMS-promises/1250191285


Verizon began a new buy-1 BlackBerry-get-1 free promotion, but now they have extended the promotion to include netbooks, PC cards, and USB modems:
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/08/14/verizon-kicks-off-new-and-improved-blackberry-bogo-promo/


The tough economy has resulted in the reduction of cancellation of workplace blood drives, resulting in blood bank donation drops:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-08-13-companyblood_N.htm?csp=34


Teens in one city in the UK are getting certificates when they show they can successfully catch a bus:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6020355/Teenager-given-council-certificate-for-getting-on-bus-in-Greater-Manchester.html


Man gave his name and account number and showed his ID to a bank teller right before robbing a bank in Alaska...police caught up with him quickly. The funny thing is that he's not a first-time bank robber--I guess he didn't learn much from the 57 months he spent in prison from his last bank robbery conviction:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32397411/ns/us_news-weird_news/


Rumor (note: sources are Star Magazine and National Enquirer, not the most credible publications) is that Jessica Simpson is being linked to Colt Brennan after being dumped by Tony Romo:
http://www.celebitchy.com/65687/jessica_simpson_in_new_romance_with_tony_romos_archenemy/