Brooke Bellah

International:
New iPods announced.
From: Newsweek

The new iPod lineup was unvieled recently, and it looks like they will still be the monopoly of mp3 players. There are four different varieties to choose from: the iPod shuffle, iPod nano, iPod classic, and iPod touch. The last three are the three that had the most exiting upgrades. The nano now comes with a screen that can display videos, movies, and TV shows, and now holds more memory then previous iPod nanos. It is also smaller. The iPod classic holds more memory then 20 iPhones can. The intrpduction of the iPod touch, however, will create the most buzz. It works just like the iPhone, only costs $200 less. Of course, it has less features (no internet, no phone, no navigational system) but it does allow you to connect to iTunes from your iPod, and download music anywhere.
Opinion:
Macintosh is and will continue to be the forerunner of music devices, for years to come. More and more people will be buying iPods and iPhones, as well as iMac computers instead of PC's. If I had money, I would invest my money in Apple stock....now.

International:
Bin Laden will release new video
From: Newsweek

Bin Laden is suspected to release a recent video of himself on September 11th of this year. Bin Laden has been silent since Jan 2006, and has not released a video in over three years. Usually, Al Queda makes a big hype about September 11th, using it as a way to pump up its followers. Recently, it was announced on a terrorist website that bin Laden would be producing the video himself. He has been known in the past to use coded messages (i.e. the color of his clothes) to send commands to Al Queda followers. If in fact a recent video is released, and it proves to be authentic, that would silence rumors about his death which have been circling as a result of his long absence from the public.
Opinion:
If Bin Laden does release a new video of himself, the purpose would probably be to rally his remaining supporters. I believe it may be a last-ditch effort to regain some of his former power. Hitler did something very similar in his last days while inside of a bunker--he sent a message to the German citizens to unite and defend their country. I suspect Bin Laden's video will contain a similar message. However, seeing Bin Laden, if it proves to be him and not an impersonater, would also rally the troops in Afghanistan, and possibly give us clues as to his whereabouts.