Hey, want to hear three ridiculous stories?

Countries placed on list with Iran and North Korea

This article was written and reported by Lauren McCombs, Jessica Elford, and Pasquale Augustine.
In a last minute change in posture, President Barack Obama recently decided to go to Russia to “reset” the generally confusing political relationship between Russia and the United States.
Outsiders could perceive that the U.S. State Department attitude has been that Russia can [...]

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization — What are China and Russia Up To?

• The new head of the FCC is an internet expert who is a strong advocate for net neutrality and cheaper broadband access.

As anticipated, Julius Genachowski has been tapped by President Barack Obama to head the Federal Communications Commission.

The move is another indication that incoming leadership in Washington will move decisively to protect the free flowing Internet from those seeking to become gatekeepers to new media.

It also fulfills Obama’s promise made on the campaign trail to appoint an FCC chair who shares his support for Net Neutrality.

• Obama’s secret letter to Russia purportedly said if Russia helps with Iran, the European missile defense system will no longer be needed.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Tuesday he wanted to work with Russia to resolve a nuclear stand-off with Iran but denied reports he had offered to slow deployment of a missile defense shield in exchange for Moscow’s help.

The New York Times reported that Obama had sent a letter to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev suggesting he would back off deploying a system in eastern Europe to intercept and destroy missiles, a move Russia sees as a military threat, if Moscow helped stop Iran from developing long-range weapons.

• Department of Justice halts a death penalty case.

SAN FRANCISCO — President Obama’s Justice Department halted the death penalty trial of an alleged San Francisco gang leader Monday by accepting a 40-year prison sentence that the Bush administration had vetoed.

The plea agreement for Emile Fort remained on hold after a federal judge heard a tearful plea from a murder victim’s mother for a life sentence and summoned prosecutors to a closed-door session to describe their case against Fort.

• The days of no bid government contracts are now over.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Wednesday ordered an overhaul of the way the U.S. government awards contracts for private sector work, reversing a Bush administration policy that in some cases led to federal investigations of procurement practices and no-bid contracts.

Obama joined Republican Sen. John McCain, his presidential campaign rival, and other congressional figures to announce an executive memorandum that commits his administration to a new set of marching orders for awarding contracts. Obama said “the days of giving government contractors a blank check are over” and said changes could save up to $40 billion a year.

Rising Star Media, in a joint venture with National Amusements, Inc. and Soquel Ventures, announced Wednesday that the company will be installing an IMAX theater in Moscow, in an effort to meet the demand on European exhibitors.
The new theater will be built in the Mega Belyadacha regional mall, located in Moscow’s Lyubertsy district, and will [...]

When you think of sipping drinks, vodka rarely comes to mind. Odorless, tasteless alcohol isn’t supposed to be enjoyed, right? We laugh at ads proclaiming a certain fowl-branded vodka to be “the world’s best tasting vodka.”
In comes Zyr Vodka, not only claiming to be a “sipping” vodka, but actually claiming to be the best Russian [...]

A pair of Russians, workers at the Alscon aluminium plant, were kidnapped Saturday in Ikot Abasi, Nigeria, on the Niger River Delta.
“Today in the morning, an armed attack was made on a settlement in the south of the city of Ikot Abasi in Nigeria where RUSAL employees are living. They were working at the Alscon [...]

The world is indeed watching today.
Despite the United States recent economic woes, there is no doubt amongst serious observers that the country is still, by far the most powerful nation in the world. The United States military budget – which, I think it is fair to say, gets quite a bit of use – is [...]

The first American review.

Here’s the research they did for A Stroke of Fate.

The latest art releases from Akella.

Lighthouse Interactive and its project partners, developer Discus Games and Graviteam announced Monday that their upcoming WWII tank simulation game, Steel Fury: Kharkov 1942, will hit shelves across North America in early November and set a firm date of November 7 for European stores.
Steel Fury is known in previews as a historically accurate and thickly detailed [...]

KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces have advanced further into Georgian territory in the country’s northwest separatist enclave of Abkhazia, where reports say their forces have crossed the breakaway republic’s border and are occupying a town in Georgia proper. [...]

Russian developer Akella is showing off an impressive-looking driving title at E3 this year.