WASHINGTON — Whistleblower website WikiLeaks has temporarily shut down because of financial difficulties.

WikiLeaks.org announced it was suspending operations in a message on its homepage that included an appeal to the public for donations. Read the full story

RIO DE JANEIRO — The search for the black boxes from an Air France airliner crash off Brazil six months ago will resume in early February, the head of the French office investigating the accident said here Saturday.

The new underwater sweeps, approximately 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) off Brazil’s northeast coast, will last a maximum three months and involve sonar and robot submarines, said Jean-Paul Troadec, director of the Investigation and Analysis Bureau. Read the full story

Vancouver police have a new crowd control device capable of emitting painfully loud blasts of sound, just in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics, CBC News has learned.

The medium-range acoustic device (MRAD) can use sound as a weapon, emitting piercing sounds at frequency levels that cross the human threshold of pain and are potentially damaging to hearing, say audio experts.

But it is primarily designed as a communications device that’s clearly audible up to a kilometre away, say police.

Const. Lindsay Houghton said the device was first tested this summer as a public address system during the Celebration of Light fireworks events in Vancouver. Read the full story

Though journalists, international affairs professionals, travel lovers, and international businessmen are already well aware that Brazil is the country to watch, there are still many gringos who aren’t tuned in to Brazil’s ascent or don’t quite understand the country’s importance. This list is for those gringos.

10. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s cultural capital (but not the national capital – that’s Brasília) is an excellent urban case study when learning about the developing world. It shares certain characteristics with other developing cities that provides many important lessons and a useful perspective on urban conflicts, like inequality, violent crime, and drug trafficking, as well as positive changes like a growing middle class, increased purchasing power of the average consumer and social movements. Read the full story

There are 50 murders a day in South Africa, the host country of the 2010 football World Cup. And Brazil, host of both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, also suffers from extreme violence. With a view to the high-profile events, the two countries are now attempting to crack down on rampant crime — and are using ruthless tactics to do so.

An orchid, a laptop and a Bible adorn the desk of Pricilla de Oliveira Azevedo. She is wearing the blue uniform of the military police, but there is no weapon visible in her small office. Her territory is the Favela Santa Marta, a hillside slum in the heart of the southern tourist zone of the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. From the top of the hill, there is a magnificent view of Sugar Loaf Mountain, the statue of Christ the Redeemer and Copacabana beach. Read the full story

In an era of basketball where individualism is king and the King is its scene, the 2009-2010 Houston Rockets, through the first five games of this season at least, are a throwback to yesterday.

Only, if yesterday was three decades ago, when teamwork, ball movement and passing graced the NBA during the days of Bird and Magic.

Yesterday, as in back to the days when the give-and-go was as sexy as the alley-oop.

The Rockets are 3-2 so far, with two of the three wins coming against Portland and Utah, two projected Western Conference powerhouses.

One of the defeats was in overtime to the defending champ Lakers.

These Rockets – without their top three scorers from last season – are currently playing .600 ball, when many thought they’d be fortunate to sniff .500 at any point of the season.

Whowouldathunkit.

For old-school basketball enthusiasts, this year’s team is a joy to watch, and further proof that sharp passing, ball movement, and hard screening and cutting are not completely lost arts.

There is no lead star. There is no assured go-to talent. There is no legitimate interior threat, superstar wing and/or blazing-quick point guard … err, scratch that, the “blazing-quick point guard” still does apply.

No, this is a collection of superior basketball energy and unselfishness; a collection that refuses to let up and understands the sum is greater than its parts.

Need proof?

Five Rockets are scoring in double figures. Eight average at least 8.2 points per game.

This is a team that assists on 60 percent of its field goals, and shoots 46 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from 3.

In today’s game, numbers such as those are unheard of.

This is a team whose heart and soul is an undrafted, 6-foot-6 power forward out of Kentucky; an undersized post player who serves as the team’s starting center and, entering this season, had averaged no more than 5.6 points per game – and that was two years ago – and 6.7 rebounds per game.
If you need one player who embodies the heart and soul of these Rockets, it’s Chuck Hayes, human proof that if you pursue the ball, defend and play for your teammates, everything will fall into place.

“We can score,” Hayes said following Wednesday’s heartbreaking OT loss to the Lakers. “As you can see from these last three games (of which the Rockets scored 102, 111 and 113 points, respectively), we can put the ball in the basket. We don’t have one guy who’s going to go for 30 or 40 except maybe every now and then, but everybody can put the ball in the basket when we play well together.”

That, in a nutshell, is the Houston Rockets, and the game is better off for it.

In a league that grossly sensationalizes its superstars and enforces the individual over team, the Rockets are spitting at that message and paving a new path back to the glory days of hoops.

Back to the days of physical screens, hard cuts, quick ball reversal and finding the open man.

Many figured the Rockets to be left for dead this season. Charles Barkley, I’m looking at you.

And, who knows, that may still be the case.

The Western Conference is no cupcake, and you can thank the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets for that.

But if the Rockets are headed toward a subpar this season, and if this early start is nothing but another cruel arrow into the hearts of Rockets fans, know this much: The Rockets will keep fighting, playing the way basketball is supposed to be played.

Somewhere, the NBA gods are smiling.

“When you lose your star players, people don’t expect very much from you but we’ve had the attitude that we’re going to play hard, compete and we’re going to see what we can do with this group,” Rockets coach Rick Adelman told Rockets.com following the team’s 113-96 win over Utah on Monday. “That’s how these guys have approached every day and that’s what makes them fun to coach because they do compete.”

- Dennis Silva II/The Katy Capsule

Courtesy of Rockets.com’s Jason Friedman, a good sign for Rockets loyalists everywhere:

http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/yao_ming_on_the_road_recovery_2009_10_20.html

Doesn’t offer too much at this point, but that’s to be expected. It’s still early in Yao’s recovery.

But a few interesting bits:

Yao on the Rockets’ current transition, fast style of play: “I keep thinking about it. Those fastbreaks we have will really, really help us; not just because they get you a quick score but also because it relieves the pressure from the main guys on the team when T-Mac or me come back.”

Yao personal trainer Anthony Falsone on the whole experience with Yao’s injury: “There was a down (period) for both of us. I take it very personally with him: I feel his successes are mine and vice versa. That feeling was probably the lowest point. I would go to his house during that time and we couldn’t really do anything or work out, it was really just information gathering time. I’d go to his house, we’d be by the pool and just sit there, just to be together. You couldn’t really say anything to make it better because we just didn’t know. Read the full story

Top Censored Stories of 2009/2010

• 1. US Congress Sells Out to Wall Street
• 2. US Schools are More Segregated Today than in the 1950s
• 3. Toxic Waste Behind Somali Pirates
• 4. Nuclear Waste Pools in North Carolina
• 5. Europe Blocks US Toxic Products Read the full story

Medical pot may make ballot
By Austin Counts

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Published: Thursday, October 1, 2009
Updated: Thursday, October 1, 2009

Amir Adib/ Arizona Daily Wildcat
Marijuana reform advocates say patients in need of herbal pain medication are closer to relief, as efforts increase in Arizona to turn out support for a proposition in favor of the legalization of medical marijuana.

Read the full story

Two prominent East Bay marijuana advocates got clearance from the state today to try to put a pot-legalization initiative on the November 2010 California ballot.

Richard Lee, executive director of the medical marijuana dispensary known as Oaksterdam, and Jeff Jones, former director of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers’ Cooperative, are the sponsors of a measure that would allow anyone over 21 to possess or grow marijuana for personal use. It would allow each local government to decide whether to tax and regulate marijuana sales. Read the full story

TYLER — A student was taken into a custody when a teacher known for his love of music died after being stabbed Wednesday at a Texas high school.

Todd R. Henry, 50, was a music therapist at John Tyler High School, according to his brother, Jody Henry. The victim was an “accomplished and respected guitarist,” Jody Henry told The Associated Press.

Read the full story

CORVALLIS, Ore. — After years of searching, the remains of Corvallis murder victim Brooke Wilberger have been found and on Monday, her accused killer changed his plea to guilty in the case.  Background: Wilberger murder

Wilberger’s killer, Joel Courtney was set go on trial for the 19-year-old’s death in February, 2010, but officially changed his plea to guilty Monday and was sentenced to life in prison after weeks of negotiations, the D.A. said. Read the full story

• Ht:6′8″
• Wt:215 lbs
• Class:2010 (High School)
• Avg. 18 points 10.5 rebounds his Jr year. Read the full story

So the Fed is now claiming the “real unemployment” to be at 16%, and this comes just weeks after claiming the economy was in a state of “recovery”. This makes one wonder if the “real unemployment” rate is actually even higher than the 16% they are now claiming. The figure was at 9.4% until the Fed released the news yesterday of 16% unemployment. There are also claims that this figure could continue to climb through 2011. Read the full story