Swansea - Cardiff pre-match warning

Swansea-Cardiff meet tonight for the first time in nine years for the Carling Cup third-round tie. The controverial fixture has a history of violence and police and football bosses have appealed for calm in the build up to the match. Measures have been drawn up for the expected 1,300 Cardiff supporters who will make the journey to The Liberty Stadium in Swansea. It is believed that they will all arrive on official coaches before being held in a secure compound at the ground. Police warned motorists of heavy traffic at the Liberty Stadium and in Morriston, Landore and Llansamlet and advised drivers to avoid the areas or to leave extra time for their journeys.

Mystery Surrounds Soldiers' Deaths, Altered DOD Photograph

Mystery Surrounds Soldiers' Deaths, Altered DOD Photograph: "AUSTIN, TX (September 19, 2008)

A mysterious story about an unnamed American soldier who is being held in connection with the fatal shooting deaths of two of his fellow American troops at their patrol base south of Baghdad on Sunday grew even more confusing last night when the Associated Press issued a 'mandatory kill' advisory for a Department of Defense-released photograph of one of the dead soldiers.AUSTIN, TX (September 19, 2008) – A mysterious story about an unnamed American soldier who is being held in connection with the fatal shooting deaths of two of his fellow American troops at their patrol base south of Baghdad on Sunday grew even more confusing last night when the Associated Press issued a 'mandatory kill' advisory for a Department of Defense-released photograph of one of the dead soldiers.AUSTIN, TX (September 19, 2008)
The face and shoulders of one of the deceased soldiers, Staff Sgt. Darris Dawson, 24, of Pensacola, FL, appears to have been digitally altered some time before the DOD provided the image to AP for distribution.

In the standard soldier's portrait, seated before an American flag while wearing a basic Army uniform, the DOD photograph appears to have Dawson's head and shoulders pasted onto the body of an unknown soldier. The picture of Dawson is very similar to the photograph of the other killed soldier, Sgt. Wesley R. Durban, 26, of Hurst, TX.

William Luther at the San Antonio Express-News said that photographer Bob Owen on the picture desk last night saw the pictures of Dawson and Durban move on the network and was "toggling" back and forth between the two and noticed the similarities. Owen called AP and soon after that the "kill" notice moved on AP picture network.

AP national photography editor Victor Vaughan said this morning he's working with the DOD and their public information officials to try to find out more information about the suspected altered the image, and why it may have been changed before it was provided to AP for distribution.

Vaughan told News Photographer magazine that he will reserve comment on the situation until he and the DOD have been able to unravel all of the facts.

The military said in a statement that Dawson and Durban were "victims of an early morning shooting" under circumstances that were "non-hostile" at their base near Iskandariyah, about 30 miles south of Baghdad.

Details are sketchy about how Dawson and Durban were killed, but the military statement said that "A US soldier is in custody in connection with the shooting deaths. He is being held in custody pending review by a military magistrate."

Sgt. Dawson's family told CNN that they don't understand why the Army refuses to tell them the circumstances surrounding their son's death.

The deceased soldiers were assigned to the Third Battalion, Seventh Infantry Regiment, Fourth Brigade Combat Team, Third Infantry Division, based in Fort Stewart, GA.

A press release sent to CNN from the commanding general of the Third infantry Division at Fort Steward said, "We do know that one soldier, a fellow noncommissioned officer, allegedly opened fired and mortally wounded his squad leader and fellow team leader."

Focus: Brave new world - Times Online

Focus: Brave new world - Times Online: "STARDOLL is only one example of the dozens of “social networking” firms sweeping across the internet. Led by MySpace, Facebook (in America) and Bebo (in the UK and Ireland), their astonishing rate of growth both fascinates and terrifies “old media” companies.

Along with Google, they form the vanguard of the second wave of dotcom firms dubbed Web 2.0 — businesses delivering services over the internet and predominantly funded by advertising.

Tens of millions of teenagers and students are spending hours creating their profile, or web page, on networking sites — listing their favourite bands, movies and heart-throbs, their hopes and ambitions. They can link to their friends’ pages, add music and video, share photographs, write a blog and send e-mails.

Fostered by the broadband revolution, this is creating new ways of communicating and interacting that many young people clearly find compelling. It also bites big chunks out of the time they have to watch television or read newspapers.

MySpace is only three years old this month, and yet it already has more than 90m users, generating billions of page impressions every month. That represents a huge audience for online advertising.

In May, according to Nielsen/Net Ratings, MySpace was the world’s fourth most-visited website, overtaking MSN and closing fast on Google, Ebay and Yahoo.

Michael Birch, the British founder of rival Bebo, predicts MySpace will become the most popular destination on the internet within a year. Some critics scoffed when News Corporation, the parent company of The Sunday Times, paid $580m for MySpace last year."

Where the web kids are - Times Online

Where the web kids are - Times Online: "Are they lurking in the darker reaches of YouTube?
Or delivering a series of 'pokes' and other greetings on the social networking site Facebook?
Nope. Today's kids aged 12 and under are likely to be whiling away their online hours playing games on sites you have never heard of.
The most popular website for young, web-savvy Britons, Stardoll.com, was set up by a 60-year-old Finnish woman who wanted to pass on the art of knitting clothes for a doll - in a modern context."

Founder Pink Floyd member dies - News, Music - The Independent

Founder Pink Floyd member dies - News, Music - The Independent: "Richard Wright, a founder member of Pink Floyd, died today at the age of 65 after battling cancer, his spokesman said.
Wright played the keyboard with the legendary band and wrote music in classic albums like the Dark Side Of The Moon and Wish You Were Here.

» The 10 Commandments of Facebook | Cracked.com

» The 10 Commandments of Facebook | Cracked.com: "The 10 Commandments of Facebook
by Ross Wolinsky

The rise of social media has made it easier than ever to keep in touch with friends, relatives and coworkers. With a few keystrokes you can reconnect with an old high school buddy, learn what your coworker’s favorite band is, or play Scrabble with a friend who lives on the other side of the globe.
But while increased connectivity is an undeniably good thing, you can just as easily use it to annoy the living hell out of everyone you know. This is the internet, after all, and if something on the internet can be used in an annoying way, you can safely assume that 99% of the population will proceed to do so (go try reading a comment on YouTube if you don’t believe me).
People need rules to tell them how to act. Luckily I went to the top of Mount Internet last night, and God handed me down these 10 Commandments of Facebook for all to obey. Follow them or you’ll go to hell."