N.Y. Times eliminates most fees for online access



The New York Times will stop charging for access to its Web site, except for some of its archives, effective at midnight Tuesday, reflecting a growing view in the industry that subscription fees cannot outweigh the potential advertising revenue from increased traffic on a free site.

The move comes two years after The Times began TimesSelect, which charged $49.95 a year, or $7.95 a month, for online access to the work of its columnists and to the newspaper's archives.

TimesSelect was free to print subscribers to The Times, and to some students and educators.

In addition to opening the entire site to all readers, The Times will also make available its archives from 1987 to the present without charge, as well as those from 1851 to 1922, which are in the public domain. There will be charges for some material from the period 1923 to 1986, and some will be free.

Good news, Indeed. Thanks for sharing, Hritik Pajee
I remember the days, when i used to subcribe for 1-month free trial membership of TimesSelect when I needed articles from NY Archieve and unsubscribe next week before they could start charging to my credit card for the membership.
I don't need to play the drama anymore.

Scores ill in Peru 'meteor crash'

Some 600 people in Peru have required treatment after an object from space - said to be a meteorite - plummeted to Earth in a remote area, officials say.

They say the object left a deep crater after crashing down over the weekend near the town of Carancas in the Andes.

People who have visited scene have been complaining of headaches, vomiting and nausea after inhaling gases.

A team of scientists is on its way to the site to collect samples and verify whether it was indeed a meteorite.

'Afraid'

"It [the object] is buried in the earth," local resident Heber Mamani told the BBC.

"That is why we are asking for an analysis because we are worried for our people. They are afraid. A bull is dead and some other animals are already sick," he said.

The incident began on Saturday night, when people near Carancas in the Puno region, some 1,300km (800 miles) south of Lima, reported seeing a fireball in the sky coming towards them.

The object then hit the ground, leaving a 30m (98ft) wide and 6m (20ft) deep crater.

The crater spewed what officials described as fetid, noxious gases.

An engineer from the Peruvian Nuclear Energy Institute told the AFP news agency no radiation had been detected from the crater and ruled out the fallen object being a satellite.

Renan Ramirez said: "It is a conventional meteorite that, when it struck, produced gases by fusing with elements of the terrain."

The gases are believed to have affected the health of about 600 people who visited the site.

Most of the victims have been complaining of headaches, vomiting and nausea.

Honorio Campoblanco, one of Peru's leading geologists, called on the authorities to stop people going near the crash site.

He he, yeah, what a relief! I wonder if there will ever come a day when the WSJ will be free ...

Can't wait to catch up on some of Friedman's columns.

Have a good nite NKC praji.

Orathai Boonyarit, 14, hissed like a snake as she kicked and punched her opponent. (Thomas Fuller/International Herald Tribune )

Femininity, with a sharp jab, in Thailand
Obedient and gracious at home, girls hold nothing back in ring

NERN MAPRANG, Thailand: "To be a good girl," says Pannipa Chaiyated, a demure 13-year-old, "you must have manners, speak politely and help with the housework."

That's when she's not slugging her opponents in the ring.

In a country where femininity is highly prized and girls are often told by their parents to be discreet, obedient and gracious, female boxing is now a surprise hit.

Chanin Preechakul, founder of the Women's Thai Boxing Club of Thailand, estimates that more than 100 boxing camps around the country train girls, with a high concentration in Thailand's poor, rice-farming heartland.

"Ten or twenty years ago, there was a saying that any female boxer who had three matches in one year was very lucky," Chanin said. "Now there are matches every weekend."

With its roots in military training, Thai boxing, or muay Thai, is a rough sport that can make Western boxing look courteous.

The sport was once known as nawa arwut, literally "nine weapons," because the goal was to teach soldiers that even if they had no knives or guns they could use two hands, two elbows, two knees, two feet and their head to battle their enemies. The rules have evolved: boxers are no longer allowed to head-butt their opponents and are also barred from biting, spitting, pulling hair, poking at the eyes and sticking out their tongues. But a well-placed knee to the kidney or a kick to the head or neck is fair game - and encouraged.

Muay Thai has for years been popular among martial arts enthusiasts worldwide, both women and men, and has been adopted by the gym crowd for its disciplined workout regimen. But it is only in the past few years that the sport has taken off for girls and women in Thailand, partly because a slowing economy has tightened belts and girls are lured by the cash they receive for fighting.

The sport is also being promoted more aggressively. At the Bangkok Boxing Stadium, one of the three main venues for muay Thai in the capital, fights for girls and women are held every Saturday afternoon.

More here: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/09/13/africa/thai.php

Whoa!! The meteor crash news sounds like the begining of an alien movie. Like the invasion, and stuff. Now the 600 people who are getting headaches, vomiting and nausea are going to belong to an alien species after they finish their transformation! And then they are going to do something to rest of the world... and everyone is going to be mutated!! Except for a scientist who will discover an antibiotic that can cure those mutated beings and bring them back to the original form! He is going to win a Noble Prize and his name is going to be remembered for ever!! LOL