BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

AND WHITHER GOETH GILAD SHALIT? With Goldwasser and Regev most probably dead, hopes for the safe return for Gilad Shalit remain. Barghouthi's ego continues to see his release as the best hope for the Palestinians. I continue to pray for Shalit and his parents. An interview with Marwan Barghouthi in Yedioth Ahronoth ‘The moment that Abbas officially announces his resignation, even if I am in prison, I will put forward my candidacy for President (of the Palestinian Authority) and I will win.’ This is what Marwan Barghouthi said from his cell - number 28, section 3 - during an exclusive interview with Yedioth Ahronoth, later republished in the Al-Quds newspaper as its lead story. The imprisoned Palestinian leader has spent 5 years in an Israeli prison and there are many awaiting his announcement [to run as President of the Palestinian Authority]; not just in Ramallah, Gaza or Nablus, but in wider circles, including within the office of Ehud Olmert, Prime Minister of Israel. Barghouth...

TAKING THEIR GRIEF TO THE INTERNET By Taylor Gandossy For one Virginia Tech sophomore, the terrible news didn't come through a conversation with a friend or from the authorities, or even over the phone. He learned of his friend Ross Alameddine's death through an AOL instant message with another friend. "He was a really good friend of mine," the student, who didn't wish to be named, said through instant message, adding that they had grown apart before the shootings. As their campus churned with chaos, many Virginia Tech students, grief-stricken and bewildered, turned to the Internet to share information and stories, ask questions and comfort each other. On Facebook.com, a members-only social Web site popular among college students, dozens of groups were created, starting moments after the shootings. Students updated information within existing groups, and created additional groups long into the night, and into Tuesday. As the number of confirmed deaths climbed from...