Fireworks are set off over the National Stadium during the opening ... - Yahoo! News Photos

 

Georgia says Russian aircraft bombed its air bases - Yahoo! News

AP Photo: In this image, made from television, Russian tanks are moving towards the breakaway South Ossetia...

By MUSA SADULAYEV

DZHAVA, Georgia - Russia sent columns of tanks and reportedly bombed Georgian air bases Friday after Georgia launched a major military offensive Friday to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia, threatening to ignite a broader conflict.

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Hundreds of civilians were reported dead in the worst outbreak of hostilities since the province won defacto independence in a war against Georgia that ended in 1992. Witnesses said the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali was devastated.

"I saw bodies lying on the streets, around ruined buildings, in cars," said Lyudmila Ostayeva, 50, who had fled with her family to Dzhava, a village near the border with Russia. "It's impossible to count them now. There is hardly a single building left undamaged."

Georgia says Russian aircraft bombed its air bases - Yahoo! News

MiniLyrics Automatically Fetches and Displays Lyrics for Your Media Player [Featured Windows Download]

 

Windows only: The MiniLyrics plug-in automatically downloads and displays lyrics for the currently playing song for a handful of the most popular media players. With support for everything from iTunes and Windows Media Player to Winamp and MediaMonkey, MiniLyrics fetches lyrics and—when possible—plays them back karaoke-style. The interface is completely skinnable, and you're likely to find a skin matching your preferred media player. You can also view floating lyrics in big red text for large, line-by-line playback of lyrics in time with the song. Not bad for a little impromptu karaoke or just a quick glance at the lyrics of a song. MiniLyrics is nagware, Windows only. For alternatives, check out previously mentioned EvilLyrics or the Lyrics Plugin.
Thanks Lekan!

MiniLyrics

Israel considers military option for Iran nukes - Yahoo! News

 

Israel considers military option for Iran nukes

By STEVEN GUTKIN, Associated Press Writer Thu Aug 7, 6:27 AM ET

JERUSALEM - Israel is building up its strike capabilities amid growing anxiety over Iran's nuclear ambitions and appears confident that a military attack would cripple Tehran's atomic program, even if it can't destroy it.

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Such talk could be more threat than reality. However, Iran's refusal to accept Western conditions is worrying Israel as is the perception that Washington now prefers diplomacy over confrontation with Tehran.

The Jewish state has purchased 90 F-16I fighter planes that can carry enough fuel to reach Iran, and will receive 11 more by the end of next year. It has bought two new Dolphin submarines from Germany reportedly capable of firing nuclear-armed warheads — in addition to the three it already has.

And this summer it carried out air maneuvers in the Mediterranean that touched off an international debate over whether they were a "dress rehearsal" for an imminent attack, a stern warning to Iran or a just a way to get allies to step up the pressure on Tehran to stop building nukes.

According to foreign media reports, Israeli intelligence is active inside Iranian territory. Israel's military censor, who can impose a range of legal sanctions against journalists operating in the country, does not permit publication of details of such information in news reports written from Israel.

The issue of Iran's nuclear program took on new urgency this week after U.S. officials rejected Tehran's response to an incentives package aimed at getting it to stop sensitive nuclear activity — setting the stage for a fourth round of international sanctions against the country.

Israel, itself an undeclared nuclear power, sees an atomic bomb in Iranian hands as a direct threat to its existence.

Israel believes Tehran will have enriched enough uranium for a nuclear bomb by next year or 2010 at the latest. The United States has trimmed its estimate that Iran is several years or as much as a decade away from being able to field a bomb, but has not been precise about a timetable. In general U.S. officials think Iran isn't as close to a bomb as Israel claims, but are concerned that Iran is working faster than anticipated to add centrifuges, the workhorses of uranium enrichment.

"If Israeli, U.S., or European intelligence gets proof that Iran has succeeded in developing nuclear weapons technology, then Israel will respond in a manner reflecting the existential threat posed by such a weapon," said Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz, speaking at a policy forum in Washington last week.

"Israel takes (Iranian President) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's statements regarding its destruction seriously. Israel cannot risk another Holocaust," Mofaz said.

The Iranian leader has in the past called for Israel's elimination, though his exact remarks have been disputed. Some translators say he called for Israel to be "wiped off the map," while others say a better translation would be "vanish from the pages of time" — implying Israel would disappear on its own rather than be destroyed.

Iran insists its uranium enrichment is meant only for electricity generation, not a bomb — an assertion that most Western nations see as disingenuous.

Israeli policymakers and experts have been debating for quite some time whether it would even be possible for Israel to take out Iran's nuclear program. The mission would be far more complicated than a 1981 Israeli raid that destroyed Iraq's partially built Osirak nuclear reactor, or an Israeli raid last year on what U.S. intelligence officials said was another unfinished nuclear facility in Syria.

In Iran, multiple atomic installations are scattered throughout the country, some underground or bored into mountains — unlike the Iraqi and Syrian installations, which were single aboveground complexes.

Still, the Syria action seemed to indicate that Israel would also be willing to use force preemptively against Iran.

"For Israel this is not a target that cannot be achieved," said Maj. Gen. Aharon Zeevi-Farkash, former head of Israel's army intelligence.

However, it's unlikely Israel would carry out an attack without approval from the United States.

Recent signs that Washington may be moving away from a military option — including a proposal to open a low-level U.S. diplomatic office in Tehran and a recent decision to allow a senior U.S. diplomat to participate alongside Iran in international talks in Geneva — are not sitting very well with Israel.

That may help explain recent visits to Jerusalem by Mike McConnell, the U.S. director of national intelligence, and Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, each of whom delivered a message to Israel that it does not have a green light to attack Iran at this time.

Senior Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they do not wish to appear at odds with their most important ally, said they were concerned about a possible softening of the U.S. stance toward Iran.

Apparently to allay Israeli concerns, Bush administration officials last week assured visiting Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak that the U.S. has not ruled out the possibility of a military strike on Iran. And the U.S., aware of Israel's high anxiety over Iran's nukes, is also hooking Israel up to an advanced missile detection system known as X-Band to guard against any future attack by Iran, said a senior U.S. defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions over the issue have not been made public.

With sanctions and diplomacy still the international community's preferred method to get Iran to stop building the bomb, an Israeli strike does not appear imminent.

If it did attack, however, Israel would have to contend with upgraded Iranian defense capabilities, including 29 new Tor-M1 surface-to-air missile systems Iran purchased from Russia last year in a $700 million deal.

Russia has so far not gone through with a proposed sale to Iran of S-300 surface-to-air missiles, an even more powerful air defense system than the Tor-M1. An Israeli defense official said the deal is still on the table, however. This is a big source of consternation for Israel because the system could significantly complicate a pre-emptive Israeli assault on Iran.

Military experts say an Israeli strike would require manned aircraft to bombard multiple targets and heavy precision bombs that can blast through underground bunkers — something Israel failed to do in its 2006 war against Hezbollah. It's widely assumed that Israel is seeking to obtain bunker buster bombs, if it hasn't already done so.

Elite ground troops could also be necessary to penetrate the most difficult sites, though Israeli military planners say they see that option as perhaps too risky.

America's ability to take out Iran's nuclear facilities is far superior to Israel's.

Unlike Israel, the United States has cruise missiles that can deliver high-explosive bombs to precise locations and B-2 bombers capable of dropping 85 500-pound bombs in a single run.

Yet the cost of an attack — by the U.S., Israel or both — is likely to be enormous.

Iran could halt oil production and shut down tanker traffic in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which could send the price of crude skyrocketing and wreck Western economies.

It could stir up trouble for the U.S. in Iraq by revving up Shiite militias there just as Washington is showing some important gains in reining in Iraqi chaos.

It could activate its militant proxies in both Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, from where Israel could come under heavy rocket attack. And it could strike Israel with its arsenal of Shahab-3 long-range missiles — something Israel is hoping to guard against through its Arrow missile defense system.

Perhaps most importantly, any strike on Iran — especially if it's done without having exhausted all diplomatic channels — could have the opposite of the desired effect, "actually increasing the nationalist fervor to build a nuclear weapon," said Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian-born Israeli and expert on Iranian affairs.

Whether an attack on Iran would be worth its cost would depend on how long the nuclear program could be delayed, said Chuck Freilich, a former Israeli deputy national security adviser and now a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School.

"A two, three-year delay is not worth it. For a five to 10-year delay I would say yes," he said.

___

Associated Press Writers Anne Gearan and Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report from Washington.

Israel considers military option for Iran nukes - Yahoo! News

Google Search Provides Olympic Event Schedules Inline [Google School]

 

Find out when events in your favorite sport are going down in a single Google search: Simply enter the event name and "Olympics" into the Google search box to see upcoming dates and times, like tennis Olympics, or diving Olympics.

Google's Olympics Onebox [Google Blogoscoped via Garett Rogers]

Is Windows Vista required for the NBC Olympics site?

 

No.

Unfortunately there has been a bit of confusion going around that the NBC Olympics site is requiring Vista to view the content. I believe the confusion stems from the fact that the NBC Olympics on the Go Windows Media Center application which is another avenue to watch Olympics content.

Its not the same as the NBC Olympics site which is based on Silverlight and does not require Windows Vista.

I've seen this error posted enough around the intArnets, that I felt compelled to write this post and make up the simple transportable graphic to the right.

Please, feel free to enjoy the NBC Olympics site, even... no how about... especially if you're not running Windows Vista.

Pioneer ups the ante, says 500GB Blu-ray-like disc possible | Crave, the gadget blog - CNET

 

Pioneer ups the ante, says 500GB Blu-ray-like disc possible

Posted by Erica Ogg 9 comments

A month after saying it had figured out how to squeeze 400GB of data onto a single optical disc, Pioneer says it can do better than that.

(Credit: Pioneer)

On Tuesday the company said that it is "feasible" to produce a Blu-ray-compatible disc with 20 layers. At 25GB per layer, that amounts to a 500GB disc. The previous claim of 400GB meant just 16 layers were on a single disc.

Blu-ray Discs are currently available in single layer (25GB) and dual-layer (50GB) discs.

The company said that it was able to squeeze more layers in by stacking alternating layers of two different thicknesses.

The disc is still in the research phase, but Pioneer says its goal is to produce an actual product between 2010 and 2012. Of course, whether it will even be possible to make discs with that many layers compatible with a broad array of Blu-ray player models on the market now is unclear. But by its own gaols, it's got a couple years to figure that out.

Pioneer ups the ante, says 500GB Blu-ray-like disc possible | Crave, the gadget blog - CNET

BgInfo Embeds System Stats on Your Desktop [Featured Windows Download]

 

Windows only: Freeware application BgInfo displays important system statistics on your desktop so that you don't have to pull up the Properties dialog or run ipconfig manually. Open BgInfo's standalone app, choose the desired font and size, and preview or apply the changes. The result will appear similar to the screenshot above. BgInfo actually embeds the information within your current desktop wallpaper so you can view it any time and it consumes fewer system resources. BgInfo is simple application to run, but power users may appreciate the available command line options that give you more control over the application. BgInfo is a free download for Windows only.

BgInfo [via gHacks]

YouTube File Hack (and Others) Download Clips to Your Desktop [Featured Windows Download]

 

Windows only: Free software YouTube File Hack is a standalone application and Internet Explorer integrated menu item that downloads videos to your desktop from the popular video sharing site. Simply run the application, enter the URL of the YouTube video you want to view offline, and press the Download button. When all is said and done, you'll have an FLV file for watching offline (we recommend the free VLC player to do so).

To use the Internet Explorer integration, navigate to any web page, right click on a YouTube video link, and choose the "Download this YouTube Video" option from the right-click menu. (Note that the "Download this" menu item displays regardless of whether a video is present or not.)

YouTube File Hack is one of several ways to download YouTube video clips. Let's review just a few of our favorite options:

• The All-In-One Video Bookmarklet works in IE or Firefox and requires no installation—just drag and drop it to your browser toolbar.
• The Better YouTube Firefox extension adds a "Download this video" link to any YouTube page in Firefox.
• Vixy.net and Viddownloader takes the URL of a YouTube clip, converts it to a format of your choice, and offers it for download.

For more video handling desktop and online apps, check out our top 10 free video rippers, encoders, and converters.

Currently, YouTube File Hack works within Internet Explorer only; the software is a free download for Windows only. What's your favorite way to download YouTube clips? Let us know in the comments.

YouTube File Hack [via Tech Links Daily]

RUSH LYRICS - The Spirit Of Radio

 

RUSH LYRICS

"The Spirit Of Radio"
Begin the day with a friendly voice
A companion unobtrusive
Plays that song that's so elusive
And the magic music makes your morning mood
Off on your way, hit the open road
There is magic at your fingers
For the Spirit ever lingers
Undemanding contact in your happy solitude
[Chorus:]
Invisible airwaves crackle with life
Bright antennae bristle with the energy
Emotional feedback on timeless wavelength
Bearing a gift beyond price, almost free
All this machinery making modern music
Can still be open hearted
Not so coldly charted
It's really just a question of your honesty, yeah
Your honesty
One likes to believe in the freedom of music
But glittering prizes and endless compromises
Shatter the illusion of integrity
[Chorus]
For the words of the prophets were written on the studio wall
Concert hall
And echoes with the sounds of salesmen

RUSH LYRICS - The Spirit Of Radio