Yes, it's that time again: time for the root of all Debian-based distributions — that'd be Debian, of course — to pick a fresh face from its ranks to take on the mantle of the powers-that-be.

Last week, Breaking News brought LinuxJournal.com readers the sad and sordid news of Flash-memory manufacturer Spansion's decision to drop 35% of their workforce, while simultaneously rescinding a 10% pay cut on top executives, and granting the company's new CEO a massive pay package including non-refundable advances. Apparently, however, cutting more than a third of the workforce wasn't enough to cover the costs of retaining top executives, forcing the company to file for protection under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.

Following up on Friday's look at the Linux Foundation's plans for the 2009 Collaboration Summit, Breaking News has now learned that one of the events taking place during the third-annual summit will be the kick start of a new Linux Foundation program aimed at training developers to meet the continuing need for Linux-capable talent.

The Linux Foundation — the not-for-profit that keeps Linus in keyboards, and most recently, has been looking to glam things up a bit — earlier this month provided a first glimpse into its plans for the 2009 Collaboration Summit, to be held April 8-10 in San Francisco.

Exciting news from the LinuxDNA project, which earlier this month successfully compiled a recent Linux kernel with the Intel C/C++ compiler (ICC).

It seems as though layoffs and cutbacks are omnipresent these days, as more and more companies make the difficult decision to scale down in order to better compete in the recessed economy. Such decisions are not easy or popular, but are nonetheless necessary — one is left to accept with great sadness that such things should come to pass. That is until the rustling of countless cardboard boxes is muffled by the unmistakable sound of slot machines paying out the jackpot.