MV, Google launch free community shuttle

MV, Google launch free community shuttle: "The city of Mountain View and Google Inc. have partnered to provide a free community shuttle service that will begin as a two-year pilot program.

The daily shuttle is slated to roll out in the fall, with electric shuttles outfitted with bicycle racks.

Both the city and Google have been researching ways to reduce the number of vehicles on the road and promote alternative transit options. Google’s transportation manager, Kevin Mathy, approached the city with the community shuttle concept late last year."



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County moves ahead with plan to house border kids | News | Mountain View Online |

County moves ahead with plan to house border kids | News | Mountain View Online |: "A plan that could allow local residents to house dozens of the Central American children detained at the United States southern border got some preliminary support from the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, while the situation spurred a silent vigil in downtown Mountain View.

Supervisors voted 4-1 to have county administrators iron out a program allowing "host families" to take in the children temporarily. The much-publicized situation of unaccompanied minors attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border spurred 100 members of St. Joseph church to hold a silent vigil in downtown Mountain View on the evening of Friday, August 1."



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U.S. airdrops food aid to Iraqis trapped after fleeing militants - LA Times

U.S. airdrops food aid to Iraqis trapped after fleeing militants - LA Times: "In recent days, thousands of members of the Yazidi sect fled towns in northern Iraq that were taken over by fighters from the Islamic State, the Sunni Arab militant group that has seized control of large parts of northern and western Iraq, as well as about a third of neighboring Syria.

The Yazidis, as well as many Iraqi Christians, moved into Kurdish-held areas of Iraq to escape the militants. But about 40,000 remain trapped on Mt. Sinjar and are in extremely dire circumstances, according to Kurdish officials and international relief groups.

The Islamic State, a breakaway Al Qaeda group, said its forces had overrun more than a dozen towns and other objectives, including the Mosul dam, Iraq's largest, in an offensive that began Saturday. The militants were reported to be engaging Kurdish forces known as peshmerga just 30 miles southwest of Irbil, capital of Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region."



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What It's Like Raising Money As A Woman In Silicon Valley - Forbes

What It's Like Raising Money As A Woman In Silicon Valley - Forbes: "Editor’s note: We don’t publish many anonymous pieces on Forbes.com, but this compelling first-person account of sexism in the startup world merits an exception. I met the author several months ago and was floored by the stories she had to tell about her dealings with mostly male investors. Like many men (as she writes), I knew women in tech faced a certain degree of chauvinism and harassment, but I’d had no idea it was so barefaced and routine, in an industry that thinks of itself as egalitarian and forward-looking.

After much persuading, she agreed to write about her experiences but asked that I omit her name, for several reasons. First (again, as she writes), the startup community is a small one, and founders rely heavily on social capital and goodwill to navigate it. Speaking up carries big risks.

But fear of retribution wasn’t her only concern. While putting an individual human face on an issue, it can also be a way for critics to short circuit the discussion by engaging in ad hominem attacks.  ”I don’t want it to be about me, but about the issue at hand,” the author says. “When we get into a witch hunt around particular personalities, we lose sight of the problem we should be tackling.”"



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BBC News - The Solomon Islanders who saved JFK

BBC News - The Solomon Islanders who saved JFK: "One of two Solomon Islanders who saved the life of John F Kennedy during the war in the Pacific died on Saturday at the age of 93. Eroni Kumana never forgot the man who would become US president and regarded him as his "honorary chief"."



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BBC News - Surrogate babies: Where can you have them, and is it legal?

BBC News - Surrogate babies: Where can you have them, and is it legal?: "The case of Gammy, a baby with Down's syndrome who was born to a Thai surrogate mother and allegedly left behind by the intended Australian parents, has caused international controversy. Where do people go to arrange for surrogate babies, and is it legal?"



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BBC News - Top Khmer Rouge leaders guilty of crimes against humanity

BBC News - Top Khmer Rouge leaders guilty of crimes against humanity: "Two top Khmer Rouge leaders have been jailed for life after being convicted by Cambodia's UN-backed tribunal of crimes against humanity.

Nuon Chea, 88, served as leader Pol Pot's deputy and Khieu Samphan, 83, was the Maoist regime's head of state.

They are the first top-level leaders to be held accountable for its crimes."



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