Soyuz Will Soon Be Only Shuttle Flying to Space Station

By Marc Kaufman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 15, 2008; A16

NASA's ability to send its astronauts to the $100 billion international space station is in danger of becoming a costly casualty of the Russia-Georgia war.

Because the American fleet of space shuttles will be retired in 2010 and the United States won't have a replacement ready until at least 2015, NASA wants to negotiate a contract this year to have Russia's Soyuz spacecraft transport all astronauts traveling to and from the station during the gap.

By Eugene Robinson
Friday, August 15, 2008; A21

Here come the goons, right on schedule.

The "author," and I use the term loosely, whose vicious lies damaged John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign has crawled back out from under his rock to spew vicious lies about Barack Obama. Right-wing radio talk-show hosts are dutifully transmitting this concocted venom. This presidential campaign has officially gotten ugly.

Can the computer maker meld consumer sensibilities into a business notebook line?

Darren Gladstone, PC World
PC World
Friday, August 15, 2008; 12:19 AM

UPDATED: 8/12/08 -- 11:26 a.m. PDT

Today Dell unveils its new take on the business notebook with its "E" family of laptops. Trying to merge consumer sex appeal with business-savvy notebook features is no easy task--but that isn't stopping Dell from making the attempt. Is the new line merely business as usual, or is it--as the press materials say--"Business Unusual?"

Two American hunters may have unraveled the mystery around Bigfoot, the legendary forest creature, which had fed hundreds of American stories along the way. They claim they discovered the body of the mythical ape-man in a remote forest in northern Georgia.

Bigfoot also known as Sasquatch, Chiye, Yeti, Yeren and Yowie is considered the Holy Grail for cryptozoologists. The creature is sometimes described as a large, hairy bipedal hominoid without knowing for sure whether it existed or not. Some experts consider its existence as a combination of folklore and hoaxes.

By Kim Hart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 14, 2008; D01

As the violence unfolded between Russia and Georgia during the past week, hackers waged war on another front: the Internet.

The Georgian government accused Russia of engaging in cyberwarfare by disabling many government Web sites, making it difficult to inform citizens quickly of important updates. Russia said that it was not involved and that its own media and official Web sites had suffered similar attacks. Although a cease-fire has been ordered, major Georgian servers are still down, hindering communication in the country.

If you want to delay the consequence of aging, you’d better start running on daily basis according to a new study published in the August 11 issue of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.

It has long been known that physical exercise improves our life, helping us maintaining a healthy heart and body. Previous research has also shown that exercise improves thinking and memory in people with normal brain activity. How is that possible? Well, the researchers believe that exercise increases blood flow to the brain, delivering oxygen and nutrients to brain cells, and elevates growth hormones. That’s exactly the reason for which exercising is recommended even in the case of people with Alzheimer’s.

Impeaching Musharraf

Pakistan's Parliament convened this week to initiate impeachment proceedings against President Pervez Musharraf. The same day, radical Islamists staged a rally in support of the move and a purported al Qaeda tape also surfaced, praising the idea. That shows what's at stake here: Pakistan's very existence, and its future as a moderate, democratic state.

This is a treacherous crossroads for Pakistan and for its main ally in the war on terror, the U.S. For all his missteps, President Musharraf has understood that fighting religious extremism is as crucial to Pakistan's sovereignty as it is to the free world's. Under his eight-year rule, he netted al Qaeda operatives, supported the breakup of the A.Q. Khan proliferation network, made peace with India, and committed blood and treasure to crack down on the Taliban in Pakistan's border regimes.

Foreign Policy Experience Is Emphasized

By Michael D. Shear and Alec MacGillis
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, August 13, 2008; A03

Aides to Republican Sen. John McCain were scrambling last Thursday morning even as his plane was descending into Des Moines. Russia had escalated its aggression in the bordering Republic of Georgia, they told reporters, and McCain wanted to seize the moment.

On the ground in Iowa, advance men raced to erect a podium on the tarmac, just feet from McCain's plane. The Republican nominee strode to the microphone for the first of several blistering statements condemning Russia's moves, delivering his comments well before President Bush spoke publicly about the incident.

By Al Kamen
Wednesday, August 13, 2008; A13

The presidential campaign strategies these days are clear. For the Democrats, it's time to stop the bickering and rally round Barack Obama, who dominates the Democratic National Committee's Web site.

On the Republican National Committee site, it's all Obama, all the time, boosting the campaign's "celebrity" theme, which appears to be gaining some traction. Recent polls showed that the public is tiring of hearing about the once-new-and-fresh young Democratic candidate. At the same time, the GOP is pounding Obama as just Hollywood, an empty suit, no experience, and who is he anyway?

Campaign Dismisses Timing of Phone Call, Contract

By Matthew Mosk and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, August 13, 2008; A03

Sen. John McCain's top foreign policy adviser prepped his boss for an April 17 phone call with the president of Georgia and then helped the presumptive Republican presidential nominee prepare a strong statement of support for the fledgling republic.

The day of the call, a lobbying firm partly owned by the adviser, Randy Scheunemann, signed a $200,000 contract to continue providing strategic advice to the Georgian government in Washington.