Blog

  • GM Refuses to Comment on Genii-Spyker Saab Bid

    Although Spyker’s boss promptly denied a possible joint bid for Saab, General Motors refuses to comment on such a possibility and doesn’t give any indication whether it would accept or reject the proposal. However, General Motors officials continue to emphasize that those who are looking to purchase the Swedish unit must hurry as the company continues winding down the brand.

    "Someone has to come up with something or it might be a bit late," a GM spokeswoman said, according to just-a… (read more)

  • Alfa Romeo Giulietta – The Alfa Ego [VIDEO]

    As one of the most anticipated models to have ever come out of Italy, the Alfa Romeo Giulietta featured in a video seemed like the cherry on the cake for an otherwise plain Tuesday. So, we pulled up a chair, maximized the volume on our Macs and waited for the amazing roar of the thoroughbred sports engine of the Giulietta to sweep us off our behinds. And waited. And waited…

    There were one million ways in which a video showing the Giulietta could have gone RIGHT, and only a couple of ways in… (read more)

  • Early Results In for Venture Fund-Raising, OpenCandy Sees Sweet Growth, UCSD B-School Launches Venture Fund, & More San Diego BizTech News

    Bruce V. Bigelow wrote:

    It’s that time of year when young analysts turn to thoughts of venture investments won and lost. We’ve got the early returns, and more details will shake out in coming weeks, so get a head start now.

    —It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Venture investments in cleantech startups nationwide fell by 38 percent in the fourth quarter that ended Dec. 31, compared to the third quarter of 2009, according to ChubbyBrain, a New York firm that tracks data on high-growth private startups. Yet investments in Internet startups soared during the quarter. The overall amount of fourth-quarter venture capital investments declined to $5.5 billion nationwide, compared with $5.9 billion during the fourth quarter of 2008, but ChubbyBrain counted 687 fourth-quarter deals nationwide, the highest number in five quarters.

    —On another front, funds flowing into U.S. venture firms by college endowments, wealthy individuals, and other limited partner investors fell by almost 55 percent in 2009, compared to 2008, according to Dow Jones LP Source. In San Diego, the private equity firm Capital Creek Partners of suburban Rancho Santa Fe raised $50.7 million in the sole funding that showed up last year.

    SAIC (NYSE: SAI), the Virginia-based government contractor that was founded in San Diego, agreed to acquire cybersecurity firm CloudShield Technologies of Sunnyvale, CA. Since its founding in 2000, CloudShield reportedly had raised about $75 million from investors that include D.C.-based Paladin Capital Group; Foundation Capital of Menlo Park, CA; Fuse Capital of Palo Alto and Los Angeles; TPG Ventures of Fort Worth, TX, and San Francisco; and Tektronix of Beaverton, OR. The companies did not disclose financial terms of their deal.

    —San Diego-based OpenCandy, which was founded by six ex-DivX employees in 2007, is growing fast and might consider raising a secondary round of venture capital later this year, according to CEO Darrius Thompson. OpenCandy, which now has 20 employees and is still hiring, raised $3.5 million in Series A funding in late 2008 from Bessemer Venture Partners, O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, and some prominent individual investors. The company’s website helps to connect free software publishers and advertisers.

    UCSD’s Rady School of Management has formed a new source of startup capital for San Diego entrepreneurs. The new Rady Venture Fund plans to make investments that range between $75,000 and $100,000 in a program that’s primarily intended to help MBA students at Rady learn the ropes of venture capital.

    MeLLmo, the Del Mar, CA-based startup that created a mobile business intelligence application for Apple’s iPhone, said South Africa’s Vodacom has selected its Roambi app to provide real-time, critical business information to its workforce.

    SG Biofuels said it has formed a strategic alliance with Life Technologies (NASDAQ: LIFE), the Carlsbad, CA-based maker of genetic diagnostic equipment, laboratory instruments, and other biotech supplies. Using Life Technologies’ genetic analysis tools, SG Biofuels said it will be able to produce improved cultivars of Jatropha, a bushy crop the company is developing as a potential source of biofuels.








  • Google and China in Talks Over Future Prospects

    Google caused an uproar last week when it announced that it might pull out of China if it couldn’t start operating an unrestricted and uncensored search engine in the country. There has been a lot of speculation as to why Google would make such a move ranging from sanctifying Google to much more cynical views suggesting the bottom line is the mai… (read more)

  • Beirut City Center

    Beirut City Center…. any information ? renderings? anything !
  • VIA EPIA-T700 Is Smallest Computer-On-Module Money Can Buy [Motherboards]

    Measuring 6cm x 6cm, VIA’s EPIA-T700 is the first chip launched in the new Mobile-ITX series which is actually the smallest computer-on-module available, even 50 per cent smaller than VIA’s small-sounding Pico-ITX. That sounds, err, small.

    VP of VIA Embedded Platform Division, Daniel Wu, claims:

    “The VIA EPIA-T700 takes advantage of the modular design principles inherent in our Mobile-ITX form factor specification, making it easier than ever before to create astonishingly compact x86 devices that don’t compromise on features”

    The EPIA-T700 will primarily be used in medical, miltary and in-vehicle devices. Carrier boards are joined up with 3mm connectors, and is powwered by a 1GHz VIA Eden ULV processor and VIA VX820 MSP. There’s 512MB of DDR2 RAM, a Chrome9 DX9 graphics core, Chromotion video engine that supports MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV9 and VC1video format. It also supports eight HD audio channels with the VIA Vinyl HD Audio technology. It can be connected to TTL LCD and CRT monitors thanks to the multi-configuration transmitter, and also compatible with PCI Express and Ultra DMA.






  • Viral Video: Pants May Be on the Ground–But Web Views Are Way Up! [BoomTown]

    *Jan 18 - 00:10*

    The bizarre but catchy “Pants on the Ground” rap performance by Atlanta’s Larry Platt, during an audition for “American Idol,” now has two million views on YouTube and has spurred a plethora of comic knock-offs.

    You can see the original below, as well as Jimmy Fallon’s version, in which he channels Neil Young. Surprisingly, it’s pretty decent.

    Here are the videos:

    Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]

    Read Original Article

  • If Saints Win Super Bowl, Reggie Bush Will Marry Kim Kardashian

    Socialite Kim Kardashian may be rooting for the New Orleans Saints to strike Super Bowl gold harder than anyone. The reality star, 29, and NFL-starring beau Reggie Bush have struck a deal: If the Saints win the Super Bowl, Bush and Kardashian will get engaged, The New York Post reports.


  • M. Basketball: Card come back, but ultimately fall to Cougars

    Stanford played a nearly perfect second half Saturday afternoon at Washington State, but it wasn’t enough to make up for its slow start in the first in a 77-73 loss to the Cougars.

    Vivian Wong/The Stanford Daily

    Vivian Wong/The Stanford Daily

    Washington State (13-5, 3-3 Pac-10), led by Klay Thompson’s 27 points, jumped out to a 46-26 lead going into the locker room and held on with 7-of-8 free-throw shooting from Reggie Moore in the game’s final minute. The Cardinal (8-9, 2-3 Pac-10) got within two points twice in the last minute, but Moore responded with two made free throws each time, never giving Stanford a shot to tie the game.

    The loss moved Stanford to 0-6 on the road this season.

    “On the road, you have to play defense and you’ve got to take care of the ball,” said senior Landry Fields to the San Jose Mercury News. “Each game that we’ve lost, we showed a lack of defense and a lack of taking care of the ball.”

    “I think it’s [a lack of] togetherness as well as communication,” said sophomore Jeremy Green. “We show it at home. We show sparks of it on the road.”

    Fields and Green carried the offensive load once again for the Cardinal, with Green scoring 24 points on 9-of-22 shooting. Fields had 18 points and 10 rebounds but on only 6-of-17 shooting, while sophomore center Jack Trotter and senior point guard Drew Shiller had 12 and 10 points, respectively. Trotter also finished with eight rebounds.

    The box score essentially tells the story. The two teams were very close in most of the significant categories, except for one: field-goal percentage. The Cardinal’s atrocious first half shooting the ball (26 percent) proved to be the difference, while the Cougars were steady throughout the game with 51 percent shooting.

    Still, Stanford’s second half comeback was backed by 6-of-12 shooting from three-point range, while the Cougars were 0-for-7 in the same category for the second half.

    The Cardinal systematically lowered the deficit throughout the half, cutting down Washington State’s lead to single digits with less than ten minutes to go. The Cougars also played complacently with their lead<\p>–<\p>trying to hold on to it instead of increasing it<\p>–<\p>which may have helped the Cardinal back into the game. Stanford was pretty much on pace for a road comeback of epic proportions, but it simply was not meant to be in the end.

    “I give my kids credit,” said Head Coach Johnny Dawkins. “They fought. They tried to make a great comeback<\p>.<\p>.<\p>.<\p>We didn’t have enough time and [Washington State] executed at the end.”

    Stanford will now return to the friendly confines of Maples Pavilion, where it is 7-2 this season. This week’s games will be very important for the Cardinal, which is only a game and a half back from first place in the Pac-10 standings, but happens to be tied for last place in the conference. There is currently a complete logjam in the conference, which is experiencing one of its worst years in decades<\p>–<\p>the top record is 4-2 (held by Arizona State) while the worst is 2-3 (held by each Oregon State, Oregon, UCLA and Stanford).

    In any case, this week’s games will be huge for a Cardinal team that always seems to save its best for home. The matchups against the Beavers and Ducks are both very winnable games and a weekend sweep would put Stanford above .500 in both overall and league play.

  • Broadly Speaking: The Hidden Joys of Third-Tier Housing

    Let me apologize up front. I’m admitting the inspiration for this forthcoming column came to me approximately 37 seconds ago after a 45-minute run around Campus Drive Loop while listening to “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga on repeat.

    I’m apologizing, secondly, because while writing this forthcoming column I’m still listening to “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga on repeat, lest I forget what I wanted to say (my condolences, Faisan third floor).

    But that’s exactly where the idea for this piece originated, the same third floor of Faisan that will continue to suffer through the next 25 minutes of the Lady herself as I pump the adrenaline out of my veins and onto my pink keyboard-covered MacBook.

    I’m a junior coming back from a fabulous quarter abroad in Madrid, and like most of my fellow returners, I was dropped into third-tier upperclass housing like it’s hot, in a complex I lovingly refer to as the “Flo.” Although I was a little nervous about doing a second year in Florence Moore Hall (I partied with Mirlo sophomore year), I vowed to go into my Faisan homecoming disregarding the less-than-encouraging insights of my fellow jaded juniors.

    But what a homecoming it was. Third day back on campus and I had what seemed like every freshman in EastFlo smiling, waving and shouting, “Hey, Molly!” at me in the hallways. Now I’m notoriously bad with names, but their enthusiasm and genuine interest in getting to know me and welcoming me into their freshman community instilled in me an equally genuine interest in wanting to learn more about them.

    I remember something my freshman year RA in J-Ro, Laura Holmes ’08, told me: “I love living with freshman,” she said. “My friends are all so jaded and wrapped up in their own personal concerns, but you guys have so much enthusiasm. It’s so refreshing.”

    I hate to sound like a naïve idealist, but this was not the only thing Laura ended up being right about (but isn’t that the point of freshman dorm RAs? They’re right about EVERYTHING). What happened to that freshman enthusiasm we seemed to imbibe at nearly every new prospect of Stanford discovery? Participation at class events has been shown to steadily decrease every year and it is a constant struggle for the class cabinet to keep up interest at these events. As a result, you have events leaning steadily toward those that can reel the most people in (like free In-n-Out during finals week) and less toward those with actual substance, like class-wide community service events or academic workshops. And I understand it. If you have similar events you attend with groups you’re more dedicated to, why would you choose to participate in something with random people you don’t know in the Class of Oh-Leven?

    Is it, as my beloved editor Zachary Warma put in his Jan. 11 column, that we have just realized that all of those Stanford traditions that were so unique to our class and our class only have been repeated in almost the exact same fashion every year since? Was the inception of our cynicism marked at the first moment we heard Dean Julie tell the Class of Oh-Twelve that THEY were the best class ever, after having heard nothing but the same about the Class of Oh-Leven for the entirety of the year before? Did we get so preoccupied with finishing cover letters for McKinsey’s Summer Business Analyst internship that we’ve lost a genuine interest in each other?

    It’s not that we need to be coddled, and I don’t need someone to hold my hand and tell me how special I am every day; I have a mom who does that practically every hour. But something has got to be said for these SLE freshmen, with arguably the worst stereotypical reputation on campus, who go out of their way to welcome an old, jaded, Lady Gaga-loving stranger into their perfect, solidified, third-floor community (and as a former energetic, bright-eyed freshman, you KNOW how strong freshman communities are).

    It’s time to go back to the basics. I’m not asking you to de-pledge Pi Phi or boycott your Stanford in Government meetings, but merely to step back and realize that there are about 15,894 other groups on campus that still might be able to enrich your life outside of your entrenched comfort zone, even if you think you don’t need them. You may not need them, but I sure as hell know that a little nudge out of my comfort zone garnered me about 45 new friends and that same freshman-inspired, revitalized enthusiasm I thought I had lost. But in all honesty, the latter just might be the adrenaline talking.

    I’ll see you at Junior Formal, Oh-Leven.

  • Let us find out the tallest structure in Turkey

    I believe that the tallest man-made structures in Turkey are the mast of Polatli longwave transmitter ( http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=39.756…4&z=16&l=5&m=b ) and that of Bafa VLF transmitter ( http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=37.411…7&z=15&l=5&m=b ), but there are no information on the height of them available. Perhaps one can find it out by using http://www.ans.dhmi.gov.tr/tr/AIP1/main.html . However a registration, which is obviously not online possible is required.
  • The SEED Project – from unused shipping container to sustainable emergency housing

    The SEED Project is developing a method to convert unused shipping containers into sustain...

    Aside from tragic loss of life and incomprehensible destruction, events like last week’s devastating earthquake in Haiti create a myriad of problems in their wake, not least of which is homelessness. With over 30 million shipping containers the world over currently lying dormant, a team of researchers at Clemson University in South Carolina are working to help solve the issue of accommodation in disaster affected areas by developing a method to convert the unused containers into sustainable emergency housing.

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  • Ultimate Ears six driver per ear monitors

    The six driver per ear UE 18 Pro in-ear monitors from Ultimate Ears

    Logitech’s in-ear monitor maker, Ultimate Ears, has announced the forthcoming release of a new member of its professional audio family – the UE 18 Pro six high fidelity speakers per bud, noise canceling monitors. Aimed at professional musicians or dedicated quality-at-any-cost music lovers, the earphones on steroids are claimed to give the user crystal clear sounds across the whole frequency range…

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  • Brits Show Their Love of Booze With iPint Being Most-Downloaded iPhone App in UK [IPhone Apps]

    Over in Europe, the most downloaded iPhone app is the music-detecting Shazam. In the US, it’s the Facebook app. And those soggy Brits…?

    In the UK, the Carling branded iPint has snagged the crown of most downloaded app, according to ComScore’s Alistair Hill’s presentation at the Mobile Games Forum in London. Hic! [Mobile-Ent]

    Image Credit: Robinbyles






  • It Adventures in Academia: American Exit Exams, How Low Can You Go?

    I cried a little when I read this story.

    The New York Times ran an article last week titled, “As School Exit Tests Prove Tough, States Ease Standards,” in which the reporter notes the typical cycles in exit exam difficulty. When exit exams are first released, they legitimately cover the knowledge expected of a high school graduate. As poor test scores roll in, legislatures quickly work to ease the difficulty of the test to ensure high graduation rates.

    This trend is certainly nothing new. What particularly struck me was this paragraph: “Critics of Arkansas’s [exit exam] system say it fails to show true math proficiency because students have only to score 24 out of 100 to pass the test and those who fail will be granted two additional chances to take the test. After that, they can take a computerized tutorial that is followed by a test.” Our standard for graduating seniors is less than one in four correct on content from Algebra I.

    Where are the politicians and education leaders when the discussion of a knowledge-based economy comes up? Economists, labor leaders and corporate heads have all identified the most significant paradigm shift in centuries. Education is not just a hobby for the bourgeoisie; it is a prerequisite for every single citizen of this country to find a basic job to put food on the table.

    We need to radically reconsider our notions of what an education is if we are to thrive–nay, survive–in the 21st century. We have lowered our expectations, lowered our bars and lowered our standards to the point where the goal of high schools in America is getting students to count and read a sentence, and yet, we still can only push three out of four to a diploma. That is a humiliating disgrace for a nation that prides itself on the advanced state of its science and technology.

    If you believe the leaders of our states, the solution to this situation is to cut funding to education. To a certain degree, I do not blame them.  It is hard to imagine a system that could so clearly fail as much as education and yet continue to be handed funding. Nonetheless, it is a painfully short-term decision, made by politicians who will be out of office before their damage is realized.

    To reform education, politicians must reduce the power of three groups: teachers unions, supporters of teachers colleges and hovercraft parents. Teachers unions, more than any other force, are killing American education. New York Public Schools are forced to retain teachers who abuse children and fail to teach their subject in a special Rubber Room because of their union contracts. Education is not about the teachers; it is about the students. Bad teachers should be fired. Period.

    We need to vastly reform teacher colleges and the licensing system. Teachers need to learn their future subjects, not learn the psychology of teaching. Instead, schools should offer mentoring opportunities and better on-the-job training for new teachers while also encouraging further study in their academic discipline. This system will also open the door to students who never considered teaching, but may be open to pursuing it as a career.

    The final group that needs to be targeted are hovercraft parents. When a son or daughter comes home with a bad grade, parents swoop in and demand gold stars to make them feel good. They then go to the polls and ensure that politicians who are elected share their mindset. These are the same parents attempting to eliminate homework because it takes away from sports practice. We need to demand more, not less, of our students.

    Reducing the power of these three groups will not be easy, but to create these higher standards, every one of them will need to be involved. They need to agree to a set of common standards that every high school senior should know. And then they need to test to those standards and hold the line.

    What can we do? Talk about your experience and passion for learning to every young person in your family and encourage them to seek out the very best education they can find. Fight against apathy, anti-intellectualism and the rugged individual notion that education does not matter. When someone tells you, “Oh, math is not really my thing,” respond back, “And working at McDonald’s isn’t mine.”

    I am not willing to hear that students in America are incapable of handling a harder workload and more advanced coursework. These critics are wrong and I do not believe them. I believe in programs like KIPP, in which even the most unprepared students have been developed and sent to college. We need to raise standards throughout our country and hold them there. Our future depends on it.

  • The highest and lowest depreciating cars of 2009

    The highest and lowest depreciating cars of 2009

    There’s no question that picking up a new car makes for a very special day, if for no other reason that the value that disappears when you drive your pride and joy off the showroom floor makes it one of the most expensive days of your life. The latest edition of Parker’s annual depreciation report surveys 300 model ranges in the UK market, and lists their value in good condition with 10,000 miles on the clock one year later. Accordingly, the depreciation cost of one year for every model can be calculated, and the most and least expensive cars are hereby presented:..

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  • ASSU teams for Haiti aid

    A week after a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the island country of Haiti, several on-campus groups have their fundraising machines up and running. Coordinating these efforts, the ASSU Executives, in conjunction with Partners in Health (PIH), unveiled a nationwide college fundraising challenge on Sunday night in an e-mail to the student body.
    With the announcement, the ASSU is joining the ranks of the nonprofit FACE AIDS, Stanford’s School of Medicine, Stanford Hospital and Clinics and Dance Marathon in raising funds for relief efforts.
    “We thought the best way to get the most people involved is through a competition across the country,” said ASSU President David Gobaud. “We thought if we set up a dashboard to track donations between universities, it would motivate more people.”
    So far, seven schools, including UC-Berkeley and Caltech, have signed onto the ASSU-led challenge, which will run through Wednesday. The ASSU is also running another challenge between dorms and residences on Stanford’s campus.
    In total, participating universities have raised over $40,000, including around $10,000 from Stanford and $27,000 from Dartmouth, who began their challenge a day earlier, on Saturday.
    Temporarily, the money donated to Stanford’s campaign is being redirected to FACE AIDS, who announced Saturday that they will match dollar-for-dollar any funds raised by chapters nationwide, up to $50,000. The FACE AIDS amount is being matched through a donation from Sterling Stamos, a private investment firm.
    As of press time, FACE AIDS has raised $22,220, much of the funds coming from Stanford University, according to FACE AIDS Executive Director Julie Veroff ‘07.
    Founded by Stanford students in 2005 and based in Palo Alto, FACE AIDS has chapters in more than 200 universities and high schools across the nation. Though their primary focus is to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Rwanda, Veroff said the magnitude of the crisis in Haiti demanded action.
    “We felt that as a group of young people passionate about global health and social issues, [the Haiti earthquake] was something we could not ignore,” she said.
    Veroff hoped that this challenge would also be a way for more young people to become involved in global issues. High school chapter leaders will be holding awareness events, such as movie screenings, in the coming weeks.
    Both the money donated to FACE AIDS and the ASSU will go toward PIH’s Haiti earthquake relief and reconstruction efforts.
    Founded in 1987, PIH is a health care nonprofit that operates in ten countries and provides medical care to poor communities. With over 20 years of experience in Haiti, PIH operates nine hospitals in the country, along with a triage center recently set up for earthquake victims.
    Also working with the ASSU is Dance Marathon, the annual Stanford fundraiser that donates the majority of its proceeds to PIH’s efforts in Rwanda. In light of the earthquake, the Dance Marathon coordinators have removed earmarks from the event this year, allowing PIH to utilize funds wherever needs are most pressing.
    “We spoke with Partners In Health and our first reaction was, ‘Let’s change beneficiaries completely’ and give 100 percent of what we get to Haiti, but PIH asked us specifically not to do that,” said Dance Marathon Campus Director Bill Loundy ‘10. Dance Marathon gives a reliable sum of money every year to Rwanda, and PIH wanted to maintain that, according to Loundy.
    In an e-mail to Dance Marathon participants, however, he said PIH will most likely still use the Dance Marathon donations in Rwanda.
    “We’ve encouraged those who want to give directly to Haiti in a time sensitive way to go through the ASSU,” he said.
    Other groups helping the ASSU with outreach efforts include the Caribbean Students Association (CSA) and the Student Red Cross.
    Stanford School of Medicine, Department of Medicine and Stanford Hospital and Clinics is running a separate fundraising effort, announced Thursday, Jan. 14. The Hospital will match up to $25,000, with funds going to the Hopital Albert Schweitzer (HAS) in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.
    Individuals have also been motivated to raise funds on their own.
    Timothy Tam ’12, a member of the Stanford cycling team, is also offering to fix students’ bikes for $5 to $10, with proceeds going to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.
    Donating money remains the best way for people to provide assistance to Haiti earthquake victims, said Patricia Arty ’10, who has family in Haiti. Arty is the development director for FACE AIDS and the public relations executive for Dance Marathon.
    “What I’ve heard from my relatives is if people could just donate one to two dollars <\p>–<\p>anything you have<\p>–<\p>it is a huge help, especially in Haiti,” she said. “A hot meal in Haiti costs 25 cents U.S.
    “It’s still a stressful situation. Our country has to think about rebuilding all over again,” she added.
    Donations through the ASSU Web site can be made at assu.stanford.edu/haiti. Funds for HAS should be donated through hashaiti.org/C1a_w1.html, marking ‘Stanford University School of Medicine’ as the matching organization. Contact Tam for bike repairs at [email protected].

    A week after a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the island country of Haiti, several on-campus groups have their fundraising machines up and running. Coordinating these efforts, the ASSU Executives, in conjunction with Partners in Health (PIH), unveiled a nationwide college fundraising challenge on Sunday night in an e-mail to the student body.

    With the announcement, the ASSU is joining the ranks of the nonprofit FACE AIDS, Stanford’s School of Medicine, Stanford Hospital and Clinics and Dance Marathon in raising funds for relief efforts.

    “We thought the best way to get the most people involved is through a competition across the country,” said ASSU President David Gobaud. “We thought if we set up a dashboard to track donations between universities, it would motivate more people.”

    So far, seven schools, including UC-Berkeley and Caltech, have signed onto the ASSU-led challenge, which will run through Wednesday. The ASSU is also running another challenge between dorms and residences on Stanford’s campus.

    In total, participating universities have raised over $40,000, including around $10,000 from Stanford and $27,000 from Dartmouth, who began their challenge a day earlier, on Saturday.

    Temporarily, the money donated to Stanford’s campaign is being redirected to FACE AIDS, who announced Saturday that they will match dollar-for-dollar any funds raised by chapters nationwide, up to $50,000. The FACE AIDS amount is being matched through a donation from Sterling Stamos, a private investment firm.

    As of press time, FACE AIDS has raised $22,220, much of the funds coming from Stanford University, according to FACE AIDS Executive Director Julie Veroff ‘07.

    Founded by Stanford students in 2005 and based in Palo Alto, FACE AIDS has chapters in more than 200 universities and high schools across the nation. Though their primary focus is to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Rwanda, Veroff said the magnitude of the crisis in Haiti demanded action.

    “We felt that as a group of young people passionate about global health and social issues, [the Haiti earthquake] was something we could not ignore,” she said.

    Veroff hoped that this challenge would also be a way for more young people to become involved in global issues. High school chapter leaders will be holding awareness events, such as movie screenings, in the coming weeks.

    Both the money donated to FACE AIDS and the ASSU will go toward PIH’s Haiti earthquake relief and reconstruction efforts.

    Founded in 1987, PIH is a health care nonprofit that operates in ten countries and provides medical care to poor communities. With over 20 years of experience in Haiti, PIH operates nine hospitals in the country, along with a triage center recently set up for earthquake victims.

    Also working with the ASSU is Dance Marathon, the annual Stanford fundraiser that donates the majority of its proceeds to PIH’s efforts in Rwanda. In light of the earthquake, the Dance Marathon coordinators have removed earmarks from the event this year, allowing PIH to utilize funds wherever needs are most pressing.

    “We spoke with Partners In Health and our first reaction was, ‘Let’s change beneficiaries completely’ and give 100 percent of what we get to Haiti, but PIH asked us specifically not to do that,” said Dance Marathon Campus Director Bill Loundy ‘10. Dance Marathon gives a reliable sum of money every year to Rwanda, and PIH wanted to maintain that, according to Loundy.

    In an e-mail to Dance Marathon participants, however, he said PIH will most likely still use the Dance Marathon donations in Rwanda.

    “We’ve encouraged those who want to give directly to Haiti in a time sensitive way to go through the ASSU,” he said.

    Other groups helping the ASSU with outreach efforts include the Caribbean Students Association (CSA) and the Student Red Cross.

    Stanford School of Medicine, Department of Medicine and Stanford Hospital and Clinics is running a separate fundraising effort, announced Thursday, Jan. 14. The Hospital will match up to $25,000, with funds going to the Hopital Albert Schweitzer (HAS) in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.

    Individuals have also been motivated to raise funds on their own.

    Timothy Tam ’12, a member of the Stanford cycling team, is also offering to fix students’ bikes for $5 to $10, with proceeds going to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

    Donating money remains the best way for people to provide assistance to Haiti earthquake victims, said Patricia Arty ’10, who has family in Haiti. Arty is the development director for FACE AIDS and the public relations executive for Dance Marathon.

    “What I’ve heard from my relatives is if people could just donate one to two dollars –anything you have–it is a huge help, especially in Haiti,” she said. “A hot meal in Haiti costs 25 cents U.S.

    It’s still a stressful situation. Our country has to think about rebuilding all over again,” she added.

    Donations through the ASSU Web site can be made at assu.stanford.edu/haiti. Funds for HAS should be donated through hashaiti.org/C1a_w1.html, marking ‘Stanford University School of Medicine’ as the matching organization. Contact Tam for bike repairs at [email protected].

  • Conan O’Brien Invited To Compete On “Dancing With The Stars”

    On The Tonight Show Monday, NBC’s Conan O’Brien invited viewers to vote on his next career move, amid reports that he will resign as host of late night show later this month.

    “This is real. I have been invited to compete on ‘Dancing with the Stars,” he said. “There are so many jobs to choose from. I don’t know which one to do. I thought, why not let the viewers decide. Go to TonightShow.com and register your vote. My future is literally in your hands.”

    Conan also thanked fans for the “I’m With Coco” Rallies that were held around the country on Monday to support him.

  • Kyle Busch Signs Multi-Year Extension with Joe Gibbs Racing

    Kyle Busch might have failed to take his Joe Gibbs Racing-prepared car to the play-offs last season, but that seems to have had no negative consequences on his future deal with the team whatsoever. As announced by the team earlier today, the two parties have signed a long-term extension to Busch’s current deal with the organization.

    According to the very owner of the team, Joe Gibbs, the duration of the new contract is for less than seven and more than three years, as reported by the NASCAR o… (read more)