Viacom, Time Warner Cable Battle Over Fees

The battle brewing over carriage fees paid to television networks by cable providers picked up steam Wednesday with Viacom Inc. (VIA) saying its popular networks such as Comedy Central, MTV and Nickelodeon will go dark on Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) after midnight unless the two sides reach an agreement.

Under pressure to boost its revenue amid an advertising slump and threats to its business model posed by the rise of the Internet, Viacom is seeking fee increases of between 22% and 36% per channel from Time Warner Cable, which is the fourth-largest video distributor in the U.S. after Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), DirecTV Group Inc. (DTV) and DISH Network Corp. (DISH).

Cable companies are fending off similar bids from broadcast and cable networks throughout the industry. Stations owned by broadcaster LIN TV Corp. (TVL) went dark on Time Warner Cable for four weeks in October as the two sides wrangled over fees, and Univision Communications Inc., CBS Corp. (CBS), NBC Universal, Hearst-Argyle Television Inc. (HTV) and Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. (SBGI) all are engaged in similar negotiations.

“As advertising dollars continue to shift to the Web and DVR viewing increases, both broadcasters and cable network owners need the contractual flow of affiliate fee revenues to be an increasing contributor to the business model, ” said Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Michael Nathanson. “Viacom’s cable networks are materially underpriced relative to their peers, which we believe represents an opportunity for Viacom in the future.”

Shares of Viacom closed Tuesday at $19.26, down 56% for 2008, while Time Warner Cable shares were down 21% for the year at $21.76. The two sides were holding high-level negotiations on New Year’s Eve in an attempt to head off a threatened service disruption after midnight.

Viacom’s bid to get higher fees from Time Warner Cable is perhaps the highest- profile negotiation yet, since its networks are among the most popular on cable television, with shows like “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”. According to Nathanson, its cable networks account for 25% of total cable network viewers every day and 20% in prime time.

press release from Viacom:

NEW YORK, Dec. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — The move by Time Warner Cable to force such channels as Nickelodeon, COMEDY CENTRAL and MTV off the air is another example of a cable company overreaching for profit at the expense of its viewers.

The renewal we are seeking is reasonable and modest relative to the profits TWC enjoys from our networks. We have asked for an increase of less than 25 cents per month, per subscriber, which adds up to less than a penny per day for all 19 of MTV Networks’ channels.

We make this request because TWC has so greatly undervalued our channels for so long. Americans spend more than 20% of their TV viewing time watching our networks, yet our fees amount to less than 2.5% of what Time Warner generates from their average customer.

Throughout the country, we have negotiated equitable license agreement renewals, or are in the final stages of renewals, with virtually every cable and satellite carrier. Nevertheless, Time Warner Cable has dismissed our efforts at a fair compromise and has effectively chosen to deny its customers some of the most popular TV shows on the air.

As a result, we are sorry to say that for Time Warner Cable customers our networks will go dark as of 12:01 on January 1st, denying Time Warner customers shows like Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, and The Hills.

Ultimately, however, if Nickelodeon, COMEDY CENTRAL, MTV and the rest of our programming is discontinued — over less than a penny per day — we believe viewers will see this behavior by their cable company as outrageous. Time Warner Cable subscribers who are being handed a January 1st $3 monthly increase in Raleigh, Orange County, Los Angeles, and New York City are simultaneously facing the removal of beloved shows across 19 channels.

We find it a shame that Time Warner Cable remains unreasonable at this time. We hope its leadership will have a change of heart and will seek to negotiate a fair renewal agreement.

statement from TWC:

MTV Networks may pull its channels from your lineup on January 1st.

• MTV Networks wants our customers to pay millions more.  They are currently demanding price increases that are nearly triple the rate of increase under our current agreement. These increases would be excessive even in a strong economy, but given the current conditions, it’s simply not fair to our customers.

• MTV’s demands are outrageous and would force our customers to pay millions of dollars more per year. MTV’s networks are not worth so much more today than they were yesterday, especially given the fact that their ratings are mostly declining in recent years.

• Much of their popular programming is also available for free online. In this economy, we don’t believe it’s appropriate to ask our customers to pay so much more for programming with declined ratings or that’s available for free.

• We’ve successfully negotiated hundreds of programming agreements with other cable networks, many within the last few months. Our hope is that we will come to an agreement with MTV Networks that is fair to our customers.

Ancient Amazonian city discovered

A lost city discovered deep in the Amazon rainforest could unlock the secrets of a legendary tribe.

Little is known about the Cloud People of Peru, an ancient, white-skinned civilisation wiped out by disease and war in the 16th century.

But now archaeologists have uncovered a fortified citadel in a remote mountainous area of Peru known for its isolated natural beauty.

A Giant Breach in Earth’s Magnetic Field

Dec. 16, 2008 – NASA: NASA’s five THEMIS spacecraft have discovered a breach in Earth’s magnetic field ten times larger than anything previously thought to exist. Solar wind can flow in through the opening to “load up” the magnetosphere for powerful geomagnetic storms. But the breach itself is not the biggest surprise. Researchers are even more amazed at the strange and unexpected way it forms, overturning long-held ideas of space physics.

The magnetosphere is a bubble of magnetism that surrounds Earth and protects us from solar wind. Exploring the bubble is a key goal of the THEMIS mission, launched in February 2007. The big discovery came on June 3, 2007, when the five probes serendipitously flew through the breach just as it was opening. Onboard sensors recorded a torrent of solar wind particles streaming into the magnetosphere, signaling an event of unexpected size and importance.

Raeder explains:

“We’re entering Solar Cycle 24. For reasons not fully understood, CMEs in even-numbered solar cycles (like 24) tend to hit Earth with a leading edge that is magnetized north. Such a CME should open a breach and load the magnetosphere with plasma just before the storm gets underway. It’s the perfect sequence for a really big event.”

Obama Named Person of the Year

And what a year it’s been…

Fed slashes key rate to near zero

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — In its latest effort to try and stimulate the U.S. economy, the Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate to a range of between zero percent and 0.25%, and said it expects to keep rates near that unprecedented low level for some time to come.

The central bank typically sets a specific target for its federal funds rate instead of a range. The rate had previously been at 1% and this marks the first time the Fed has cut rates below 1%. Most investors were expecting the Fed to cut rates to either 0.25% or 0.5%.

The federal funds rate is an overnight lending rate used as a benchmark to set rates for a variety of loans, including adjustable rate mortgages, credit cards, home equity lines of credit and business loans. This marks the tenth time it has cut rates in the last 15 months.

Several banks announced they were lowering their prime rate to 3.25% in light of the Fed’s decision. Typically, the prime rate is 3 percentage points higher than the fed funds rate. It was 4% before Tuesday’s rate cut.

Weak earthquake hits Charleston, SC

CHARLESTON, S.C. — A weak earthquake shook parts of the South Carolina coast Tuesday, tipping over people’s Christmas trees, knocking pictures off walls and causing minor injuries.

The temblor with a preliminary magnitude of 3.6 was recorded at 7:42 a.m. northwest of Charleston, according to the Earthquake Hazards Program of the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colo. The epicenter was about 4 miles from Summerville near a fault blamed for the deadly 1886 Charleston quake which killed more than 100.

Hemlock Semiconductor raises $3 billion to build chip and solar cell materials

Ever since solar cells took off a few years ago, there has been a shortage of silicon in its purest form. That’s because polycrystalline silicon is used to make both semiconductor chips and most solar cells.

Because of that, the Hemlock Semiconductor Group has been able to raise $3 billion to expand the production of polysilicon at two major manufacturing sites. The group will invest that money to build a new factory in Clarksville, Tenn., and to add to another one in Hemlock, Mich.

Lawyers can now serve notices on Facebook in Au

Canberra lawyers have won the right to serve legally binding court documents by posting them on defendants’ Facebook sites.

In a ruling that could make legal and internet history, a Supreme Court judge ruled last week lawyers could use the social networking site to serve court notices.

Email and even mobile phone text messages have been used before to serve court notices, but the Canberra lawyers who secured the ruling are claiming service by Facebook as a world first.

Your iPhone Takes Screenshots of Everything You Do?

So basically, to create the effect of the current screen shrinking into the background, when you hit the home button, it first takes a snapshot of the screen, and then shows you that image being manipulated.

Apparently, these screenshots are written to memory, and can be accessed by law enforcement officials to incriminate the guilty.

Texting Tips

Here are a couple of sites which make texting so much easier:

ChaCha.com is basically like ask Jeeves, but on your phone. You can text ChaCha any question and get a text reply answer.

Chikka allows you to send texts messages from your pc.

You can also send text from your pc if you know what carrier your friend is with, using your e-mail:

T-Mobile: phonenumber@tmomail.net
Virgin Mobile: phonenumber@vmobl.com
Cingular: phonenumber@cingularme.com
Sprint: phonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com
Verizon: phonenumber@vtext.com
Nextel: phonenumber@messaging.nextel.com

This months’ Consumer Reports magazine says carriers are charging way too much for text-messaging service. Consumers Union, which publishes the monthly magazine, has asked federal officials to investigate text-messaging rates.

Little Known Facts About The IRS

I received this in an email a while back.. something to think about:

Little Known Facts About The Internal Revenue Service

1. The IRS is not a U.S. Government Agency. It is an Agency of the IMF. (Diversified Metal Products v. IRS, et al. CV-93-405E-EJE U.S.D.C.D.I., Public Law 94-564, Senate Report 94-1148 pg. 5967, Reorganization Plan No. 26, Public Law 102-391.)

2. The IMF is an Agency of the UN. (Blacks Law Dictionary 6th Ed. Pg. 816)

3. The U.S. has not had a Treasury Department since 1921. (41 Stat. Ch.214 pg. 654)

4. The U.S. Treasury is now the IMF. (Presidential Documents Volume 29-No.4 pg. 113, 22 U.S.C. 285-288).

5. The United States does not have any employees because there is no longer a United States. No more reorganizations. After over 200 years of operating under bankruptcy, it’s finally over, (Executive Order 12803). Do not personate one of the creditors or share holders or you will go to Prison.18 U.S.C. 914

6. The FCC, CIA, FBI, NASA and all of the other alphabet gangs were never part of the United States government. even though the “US Government” held shares of stock in the various Agencies. (U.S. v. Strang , 254 US 491, Lewis v. US, 680 F.2d, 1239).

7. Social Security Numbers are issued by the UN through the IMF. The
Application for a Social Security Number is the SS5 form. The Department of the Treasury (IMF) issues the SS5, not the Social Security Administration. The new SS5 forms do not state who or what publishes them; the earlier SS5 forms state that they are Department of the Treasury forms. You can get a copy of the SS5 you filled out by sending form SSA-L996 to the SS Administration. (20 CFR chapter 111, subpart B 422.103 (b) (2) (2) Read the cites above).

8. There are no Judicial courts in America and there has not been since 1789. Judges do not enforce Statutes and Codes. Executive Administrators enforce Statutes and Codes. (FRC v. GE 281 US 464, Keller v. PE 261 US 428, 1 Stat. 138-178) .

9. There have not been any Judges in America since 1789. There have just been Administrators. (FRC v. GE 281 US 464; Keller v. PE 261 US 428 1Stat. 138-178).

10. According to the GATT you must have a Social Security number. House Report (103-826)

11. We have One World Government, One World Law, and a One World Monetary System.

12. The UN is a One World Super Government.

13. No one on this planet has ever been free. This planet is a Slave Colony. There has always been a One World Government. It is just that now it is much better organized and has changed its name as of 1945 to the United Nations. *

14. New York City is defined in the Federal Regulations as the United Nations. Rudolph Gulliani stated on C-Span that New York City was the capital of the World” and he was correct. (20 CFR chapter 111, subpart B 422.103 (b) (2) (2)

15. Social Security is not insurance or a contract, nor is there a Trust Fund. (Helvering v. Davis 301 US 619, Steward Co. V. Davis 301 US 548.)

16. Your Social Security check comes directly from the IMF which is an Agency of the UN. (Look at it if you receive one. It should have written on the top left United States Treasury.).

17. You own no property; slaves can’t own property. Read the Deed to the property that you think is yours. You are listed as a Tenant. (Senate Document 43, 73rd Congress 1st Session).

18. The most powerful court in America is not the United States Supreme Court but, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. (42 Pa.C.S.A. 502).

19. The Revolutionary War was a fraud. See (22, 23 and 24).

20. The King of England financially backed both sides of the Revolutionary war. (Treaty at Versailles July 16, 1782, Treaty of Peace 8 Stat 80).

21. You can not use the Constitution to defend yourself because you are not a party to it. (Padelford Fay & Co. v. The Mayor and Alderman of The City of Savannah 14 Georgia 438, 520).

22. America is a British Colony. (THE UNITED STATES IS A CORPORATION, NOT A LAND MASS AND IT EXISTED BEFORE THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR AND THE BRITISH TROOPS DID NOT LEAVE UNTIL 1796.) Respublica v. Sweers 1 Dallas 43, Treaty of Commerce 8 Stat 116, The Society for Propagating the Gospel, &c. v. New Haven 8Wheat 464, Treaty of Peace 8 Stat 80, IRS Publication 6209, Articles of Association October 20, 1774.)

23. Britain is owned by the Vatican. (Treaty of 1213).

24. The Pope can abolish any law in the United States. (Elements of Ecclesiastical Law Vol.1 53-54)

25. A 1040 form is for tribute paid to Britain. (IRS Publication 6209).

26. The Pope claims to own the entire planet through the laws of conquest and discovery. (Papal Bulls of 1455 and 1493).

27. The Pope has ordered the genocide and enslavement of millions of people. (Papal Bulls of 1455 and 1493)

28. The Popes laws are obligatory on everyone. (Bened. XIV., De Syn. Dioec, lib, ix., c. vii., n. 4. Prati, 1844)(Syllabus, prop 28, 29, 44) .

29. We are slaves and own absolutely nothing not even what we think are our children.(Tillman v. Roberts 108 So. 62, Van Koten v. Van Koten 154 N.E. 146, Senate Document 43 & 73rd Congress 1st Session, Wynehammer v. People 13 N.Y. REP 378, 481).

30. Military Dictator, George Washington, divided the States (Estates) into Districts. (Messages and papers of the Presidents Vo 1, pg 99. Websters 1828 dictionary for definition of Estate.)

31. “The People” does not include you and me. (Barron v. Mayor & City Council of Baltimore. 32 U.S. 243).

32. The United States Government was not founded upon Christianity. (Treaty of Tripoli 8 Stat 154.)

33. It is not the duty of the police to protect you. Their job is to protect the Corporation and arrest code breakers. Sapp v. Tallahasee, 348 So. 2nd. 363, Reiff v. City of Philadelphia, 477 F.Supp. 1262, Lynch v. N.C. Dept of Justice 376 S.E. 2nd. 247.

34. Everything in the “United States” is For Sale: roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, water, prisons airports etc. I wonder who bought Klamath Lake. Did anyone take the time to check? (Executive Order 12803)

35. We are Human capital/chattel. (Executive Order 13037)

36. The UN has financed the operations of the United States government for over 50 years and now owns every man, women and child in America. The UN also holds all of the Land in America in Fee Simple. *

37. The good news is we don’t have to fulfill “our” fictitious obligations. You can discharge a fictitious obligation with another’s fictitious obligation. *

38. The depression and World War II were a total farce. The United States and various other companies were making loans to others all over the World during the Depression. The building of Germany’s infrastructure in the 1930’s, including the Railroads, was financed by the United States. That way those who call themselves “Kings,” “Prime Ministers,” and “Furor.”etc could sit back and play a game of chess using real people. Think of all of the Americans, Germans etc. who gave their lives thinking they were defending their Countries, which in reality were corporate fictions that really didn’t even exist. The millions of innocent people who died for nothing! Isn’t it obvious why Switzerland is never involved in these fiascoes? That is where the “Bank of International Settlements” is located. Wars are manufactured to keep you distracted and longing for peace. You have to have an enemy to keep the illusion of “Government” in place. *

39. The “United States” did not declare Independence from Great Britain or King George. Agents and officers of the British Corporation known as the United States and its third party debt collection agency known as the IRS, are invited to rebut any information within this document, point by point, under penalty of perjury. Failure to rebut within ten business days is to admit that all information contained herein is truthful, valid and unrebuttable. This under the law of contracts, 3/7/10.

To date, no one at the IRS has attempted to rebut this information.

Android on the HTC Touch

Upcoming Solar Cycle to Wreak Havok in North America?

MOSCOW – Our Sun is muscling up again.

According to NASA, it is beginning another 11-year cycle of activity. Considering that the Sun is to blame for some unfavorable climate changes on the Earth, the coming decade could spell more trouble for our planet.

The first measuring instruments made their appearance 440 years ago. They showed that our nearest star treats the Earth to more than just solar eclipses. Sunspots, solar flares, faculae and other phenomena affect everything on the Earth: from atmospheric events to human behavior. These phenomena are known collectively as solar activity.

This activity, expressing itself through bursts of solar radiation, magnetic storms or fiery flares, can vary in intensity, from very low to very strong. It is the storms that pose the greatest danger to civilization.

On August 28, 1859, polar lights glowed and shimmered all over the American continent as darkness fell. Many people thought their city was aflame. The instruments used to record this magnetic fluctuation across the world went off their scales. Telegraph systems malfunctioned, hit by a massive surge in voltage.

This was an actual solar storm. Its results for humankind were small, because civilization had not yet entered a hi-tech phase of development. Had something similar happen in our nuclear space age, destruction would have been catastrophic.

Proof From Oxford: Parallel Universes Exist

Parallel universes aren’t just the stuff of sci-fi, according to a mathematical discovery by Oxford scientists. The breakthrough is being described as “one of the most important developments in the history of science”

The parallel universe theory was first proposed back in over half a century ago in 1950 by US physicist, Hugh Everett. The theory helps make sense of the many mysteries of quantum mechanics that have left scientists scratching their heads for decades. In Everett’s “many worlds” universe, every time a new physical possibility is explored, the universe splits off. For each possible alternative outcome, each one is played out in an alternate universe. The implication would mean that the number of alternative scenarios in every individual’s lives would be bizarrely and unfathomably endless.

Partly because the idea is so uncomfortably strange, it’s dismissed as sci-fi by many critics. But there are also many credible, respected proponents of the theory—a group that is continuously gaining new adherents as new research unveils new evidence. The new research stemming from Oxford now—for the first time—offers a mathematical answer that sweeps away one of the key objections to the controversial idea. Their research shows that Dr Everett, a Phd student at Princeton University back was indeed on the right track when he came up with his multiverse theory.

Dr Andy Albrecht, a physicist at the University of California at Davis commented, “This work will go down as one of the most important developments in the history of science.”

According to quantum mechanics, nothing at the subatomic scale can really be said to exist until it is observed. Until then, particles occupy uncertain “superposition” states, in which they can have simultaneous “up” and “down” spins, or appear to be in different places at the same time. The mere act of observing somehow appears to “nail down” a particular state of reality. Scientists don’t yet have a perfect explanation for how it works, but that hasn’t changed the fact that the phenomenon appears to be real.

According to quantum mechanics, unobserved particles are described by “wave functions” representing a set of multiple “probable” states. When an observer makes a measurement, the particle then settles down into one of these multiple options, which is somewhat how the multiple universe theory can be explained.

The Oxford team, led by Dr David Deutsch, showed mathematically that the bush-like branching structure created by the universe splitting into parallel versions of itself can explain the probabilistic nature of quantum outcomes.

The work has another very strange implication. The idea of parallel universes would apparently sidesteps one of the key complaints with time travel. Every since it was given serious credibility in 1949 by the great logician Kurt Godel, many eminent physicists have argued against time travel because it undermines ideas of cause and effect to create paradoxes. An example would be the famous “grandfather paradox” where a time traveler goes back to kill his grandfather so that he is never born in the first place.

But if parallel worlds do exist, there is a way around these troublesome paradoxes. Deutsch argues that time travel shifts happen between different branches of reality. The mathematical breakthrough bolsters his claim that quantum theory does not forbid time travel. “It does sidestep it. You go into another universe,” he said. But he admits that there will be a lot of work to do before we can manipulate space-time in a way that makes “hops” possible. While it may sound fanciful, Deutsch says that scientific research is making the theory sound much more believable.

“Many sci-fi authors suggested time travel paradoxes would be solved by parallel universes but in my work, that conclusion is deduced from quantum theory itself.”

President-elect Barack Obama unveils his Cabinet Picks

President-elect Barack Obama unveiled his national security team at a press conference in Chicago on Monday. Obama said, “The time has come for a new beginning, a new dawn of American leadership to overcome the challenges of the 21st century. We will strengthen our capacity to defeat our enemies and support our friends. We will renew old alliances and forge new and enduring partnerships.”

Introducing the Nokia N97

The Nokia N97 is the first high-end device powered by Symbian S60 OS. With a 3.5-inch touchscreen display and tilting QWERTY keyboard, it’s also loaded with Triband HSDPA & quadband GSM, 32GB of internal memory, 5 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, GPS, touch-enabled Nokia Maps with a digital compass, an accelerometer & 3.5mm audio jack.

The N97 should bow Q2 2009.

Double the Tragedy on Black Friday..

NEW YORK (AP) — A Wal-Mart worker was killed Friday when “out-of-control” shoppers desperate for bargains broke down the doors at a 5 a.m. sale. Other workers were trampled as they tried to rescue the man, and customers shouted angrily and kept shopping when store officials said they were closing because of the death, police and witnesses said.

At least four other people, including a woman who was eight months pregnant, were taken to hospitals for observation or minor injuries, and the store in Valley Stream on Long Island closed for several hours before reopening.

Shoppers stepped over the man on the ground and streamed into the store. When told to leave, they complained that they had been in line since Thursday morning.

Nassau police said about 2,000 people were gathered outside the store doors at the mall about 20 miles east of Manhattan. The impatient crowd knocked the man, identified by police as Jdimytai Damour of Queens, to the ground as he opened the doors, leaving a metal portion of the frame crumpled like an accordion.

PALM DESERT, Calif. (AP) — Two men were shot to death in a crowded toy store Friday in a confrontation apparently involving rival groups, city officials said. The officials said they were told the men shot each other, but investigators remained tight-lipped.

The violence erupted on Black Friday, the traditional post-Thanksgiving start of the holiday shopping surge, but authorities indicated it was not prompted by a shopping frenzy.

The Palm Desert Police Department received calls of shots fired just after 11:30 a.m. and found the two men dead.

Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez confirmed there was a fight but said it was not over a toy.

He released little information at a news conference five hours after the shooting but emphasized there were no outstanding suspects and that no one was arrested. Detectives were reviewing security video and interviewing witnesses, he said.

Canadian government heading towards collapse?

OTTAWA: The minority government of Canada teetered on the edge of collapse Friday, just six weeks after its re-election, as opposition parties discussed the formation of a coalition to replace the governing Conservatives.

The three opposition parties – the Liberals, New Democrats and Bloc Québécois – said the move had been prompted by a fiscal update presented Thursday by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. The update did not contain needed stimulus for an economy hit by the global crisis, they said.

If neither side backs down in the confrontation, the government will probably fall, perhaps as early as Monday, and Canada would either head into a snap election or into some sort of coalition led by the Liberals.

To form a coalition they would need to defeat the ruling Conservatives and then persuade the governor general, who represents Canada’s head of state, Queen Elizabeth, that they could govern together despite their differences.

To make matters more complicated, the Liberals and the New Democrats – who together have only 114 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons – would be unlikely to create a formal coalition with the separatist Bloc.

If it wasn’t for the fact that they’re creating so much hype, and perhaps backing themselves into a corner,” said Steve Patten, a political scientist at the University of Alberta, “I would just say the hurdles are too big.”

Carnage In Mumbai – 195 Killed, Nearly 300 Wounded [update 4]

(CNN) – Gunmen rampaged through a series of targets in the Indian city of Mumbai killing indiscriminately and taking hostages at two luxury hotels.

Mumbai police spokesman Satish Katsa said gunmen have taken over the Taj Mahal Hotel and Hotel Oberoi, and were holding hostages on multiple floors.

Flames and smoke poured from the Taj early Thursday, and several explosions were heard at the building.

At the Oberoi the military reportedly entered the building and a large explosion was heard shortly afterwards.

Mumbai police spokesman Satish Katsa put the death toll at 87 and more than 900 wounded, with nine of the attackers killed.

More than six hours after the attacks, fighting was still reported in the Taj Mahal Hotel, the Hotel Oberoi and Colaba Market, site of a number of restaurants, he said.

Vilasrao Deshmukh, chief minister of Maharashtra state, where Mumbai is located, told reporters that a total of 10 locations were attacked, including a railroad station.

Indian government has decided to keep the Mumbai Stock Exchange (MSE) closed Thursday, due to the horrific night that saw the most horrible ever known deadly terror strike through to morning in Mumbai, the financial capital of India. The Government had already announced for the schools and colleges to remain closed as well.

update 1 [13:04 EST]: India’s Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, has vowed to take “whatever measures are necessary” to track down those responsible for the Mumbai attacks. He also said the perpetrators were based “outside the country” and India would not tolerate “neighbours” who provide a haven to militants targeting it.

Gunmen targeted at least seven sites in Mumbai late on Wednesday, killing at least 101 people and injuring 300. An Indian general said 10-12 gunmen were still holed up at three sites.

Elite commandos had begun an operation to free hostages at the hotel, where dozens of people are said to remain trapped or held hostage, reports said. A home ministry official said between 20 and 30 people at the hotel might still be hostages, while the owners said some 200 people may still be trapped inside.

I’m not sure the would have such a speculative number of wounded individuals, I’m just glad it’s not as much as was originally thought. These attacks in my opinion are very well thought out and orchestrated as well, like something out of a movie, though the results were very deadly.

Update 2 [00:50 EST]: The most recent casualty count: 125 dead and 327 wounded, according to news services. Indian authorities say at least nine gunmen are dead. However, like much else about these attacks, these figures remain uncertain. Security forces are still clearing gunmen from two luxury hotels, more than a day after attacks. About 30 more people have been rescued from the Oberoi Trident hotel – the majority are said to be foreigners.

At first light helicopters swooped over the building in the Nariman business and residential complex in south Mumbai. Commandos initially dropped “thunder flashes” or smoke bombs to create confusion and then several troops abseiled down ropes to secure the roof. As many as 30 hostages still remain, as all but one gunmen have been either taken down or taken into custody.

This leads the world to ask the question: Is al-Qaeda behind this? Or a brand new organization?

Eyewitnesses at the hotels said the attackers were singling out British and American passport holders, which our security correspondent Frank Gardner says implies an Islamist motive – attacks inspired or co-ordinated by al-Qaeda.

update 3 [11.28, 21:04]: The standoff in the Indian commercial capital of Mumbai narrowed to a final running battle between commandos and at least one gunman who was still roaming the charred corridors of a luxury hotel, the Taj Mahal, but the murderous assault on this city continued to shake the nation and ratcheted up tensions with neighboring Pakistan.

A commando unit discovered a gunman’s backpack, which contained dried fruit, 400 rounds of AK-47 ammunition, four grenades, Indian and American money, and seven credit cards from some of the world’s leading banks. They pack also had a national identity card from the island of Mauritius, off Africa’s southeastern coast.

update 4 [11.29, 15:48]: After nearly 3 days, this massacre has finally ended, with 195 dead, . On Friday, commandos killed the last two gunmen inside the luxury Oberoi hotel, where 24 bodies had been found, authorities said. This was the deadliest attack since the 1993 serial bombings in Mumbai, when 257 were killed. Officials said they believe just 10 well-prepared gunmen were behind the attacks that brought the city of 18 million to its knees for three days.

Scientists shed light on causes of epilepsy

LONDON (Reuters) – A breakdown in a reaction between immune cells and blood vessels in the brain appears to play a key role in epilepsy, Italian researchers said on Monday.

The discovery could mean that some modern antibody-based drugs designed to modify the immune system used in other diseases may one day help fight the debilitating disorder.

A study of mice showed how immune cells sticking to blood vessels in the brain caused inflammation that contributed to epileptic seizures, Gabriela Constantin of the University of Verona in Italy and colleagues reported.