Violence in Afghanistan has reached its most intense of the eight-year-old war despite record levels of U.S. and NATO troops being sent to fight the Taliban. July and August were the two deadliest months to date for coalition forces, and September is already the 3rd-deadliest, with 38 U.S. deaths - 68 total including all coalition members. With an apparently resurgent Taliban and over 120,000 foreign troops on the ground, and a recent push for the U.S. to consider sending 40,000 more (beyond the additional 21,000 troops still committed but yet undeployed), the situation in Afghanistan could possibly become even more intense in the near future. Collected here is a one-month collection of photos related to Afghanistan for September, 2009.

Released in 1999, Relic Entertainment’s classic Homeworld occupies a place in many gamers’ hearts. So ahead of its time that it remains a complex and fun strategy game today, it spawned two sequels and numerous imitators. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Homeworld’s release, we’ve set up this quick-start kit for new and old players alike. Grab a copy somewhere for a couple bucks (or download the Raider Retreat demo), download the latest patch, and hop into one of the best multiplayer games around.

Rather than a standard aluminum box, the Thermaltake Level 10 would incorporate a central pillar, with individual compartments hanging from it for the motherboard, PSU, optical drives, and hard drives.

PRIVATE health funds paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars for homeopathy last year, triggering calls for a clampdown to prevent taxpayers' money being spent on unproven treatments.

Four of the biggest health funds confirmed yesterday that they pay members for homeopathy to some degree, with more than one-third of that money in turn coming through the federal government's private health insurance rebate.

MBF was the largest supporter of homeopaths, paying members about $230,000 in 2008-09 for homeopathic treatment, or up to $28 a visit. NIB paid out $118,511 in benefits for homeopathy.

Homeopathy "can only work if all of the physics and chemistry that we know today is wrong" and the fact that health funds supported it showed that "marketing and public relations trump science".

Thx Drew

This fullscreen panorama was published in connection with the 50 year anniversary in May 2003, for the first who reached the top of Everest