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Monday, March 24, 2014

Community members held a public bake sale fundraiser on Sunday to help the family of a Texas woman slain earlier this month. Alicia Benefield, 19, of DeBerry was killed allegedly by her boyfriend, Rodris Webster. Sharon Jernigan of Panola was the key organizer of the fundraiser.

On Friday, Mrs. Jernigan told Wikinews, “This murder has devastated the entire community.” The fundraiser was held at a small grocery store in the neighboring town of Bethany, which borders the Louisiana–Texas state line. Sunday evening, Jernigan reported, “The bake sale was a big success.”

Webster, 25, was arrested early last week and charged with one count of murder and one count of felon in possession of a firearm. Benefield’s body was found in Marshall, Texas. Upon hearing of the discovery, a family member of the victim posted to his Facebook page, “Struggling to know how someone could do such a horrific thing.” Webster is presently being held on US$1 million bond in the Harrison County jail. Earlier, he was questioned by police on March 16, just two days after Benefield’s car was found at a church near her home, but was released after five hours of questioning.

Tuesday, September 5, 2006

A New Zealand woman who lay down between railway tracks and had a freight train run over her is “incredibly lucky”, sustaining only minor injuries, according to Sue Foley, spokeswoman for the railway company, Toll Holdings.

The driver saw the woman lying in between the tracks while the train was travelling at about 20 km/h. Despite the slow speed of the train, the driver was unable to stop the train before it ran over the woman. “By the time he stopped the train and walked back down the line, she popped out from under the third wagon,” said Mike Lawton, acting sergeant for Feilding police.

The woman was flown to Palmerston North Hospital after complaining about sore elbows and shoulders and receiving minor injuries.

The driver of the train has been offered counselling while he has been taken off driving duties.

Police and the train operator would not comment on why the woman was lying between the tracks.

Friday, February 2, 2007

An advertising campaign for shows on Adult Swim, a programming block on Cartoon Network, which is owned by Turner Broadcasting, gave local and federal law-enforcement a scare when devices were discovered on eight different bridges and roads.

The U.S. city of Boston was snarled in traffic jams January 31 as police investigated devices with flashing lights representing a cartoon character were placed around bridges and other areas throughout the city.

Different governmental agencies were brought in to help deal with the problem, which was later found to be no threat, as described by Boston Police Department spokesperson Eddy Chrispin. A bomb squad was deployed under supervision of the FBI, Boston police, the US Coast Guard, and different federal agencies.

The advertising campaign, for the widely popular program Aqua Teen Hunger Force, featuring characters from that series, was in place for two to three weeks in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and many other major US cities.

Two people have been arrested for alleged participation in this incident.

Turner Broadcasting Systems hired New York marketing firm Interference Inc. which in turn hired individuals in the various cities to place the devices promoting the cartoon’s fifth season, scheduled for a February 23 premiere. Road and rail traffic was disrupted by police as they investigated and removed the devices.

The mostly flat devices resemble two-foot-square Lite-Brites with batteries attached to the bottom and visible wires.

G4TV has dubbed the incident “Aquagate” on its broadcast of Attack of the Show segment The Feed.

It is not known why the devices took police several weeks to notice, nor why the devices were believed to be dangerous.

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Ian Narev, the CEO of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, this morning “unreservedly” apologised to clients who lost money in a scandal involving the bank’s financial planning services arm.

Last week, a Senate enquiry found financial advisers from the Commonwealth Bank had made high-risk investments of clients’ money without the clients’ permission, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars lost. The Senate enquiry called for a Royal Commission into the bank, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Mr Narev stated the bank’s performance in providing financial advice was “unacceptable”, and the bank was launching a scheme to compensate clients who lost money due to the planners’ actions.

In a statement Mr Narev said, “Poor advice provided by some of our advisers between 2003 and 2012 caused financial loss and distress and I am truly sorry for that. […] There have been changes in management, structure and culture. We have also invested in new systems, implemented new processes, enhanced adviser supervision and improved training.”

An investigation by Fairfax Media instigated the Senate inquiry into the Commonwealth Bank’s financial planning division and ASIC.

Whistleblower Jeff Morris, who reported the misconduct of the bank to ASIC six years ago, said in an article for The Sydney Morning Herald that neither the bank nor ASIC should be in control of the compensation program.

Friday, September 26, 2008

On October 14, 2008, Canadians will be heading to the polls for the federal election. New Democratic Party candidate Don Davies is standing for election in the riding of Vancouver Kingsway.

A lawyer, he has spent the last 25 years fighting for human rights. A two-time student government representative, Davies was involved in the anti-apartheid, third world and peace movements. Admitted to the Alberta Bar in 1989, Davies and family moved to Vancouver in 1991, where he became the Director of Legal Resources for Teamsters Canada (Local 31), the next year. He is a long-time volunteer for children’s charity Variety, is Chair of the Parent Advisory Council at Mount Pleasant school, and a Director of the Meridian Cultural Society, among other things.

Wikinews contacted Don Davies, to talk about the issues facing Canadians, and what they and their party would do to address them. Wikinews is in the process of contacting every candidate, in every riding across the country, no matter their political stripe. All interviews are conducted over e-mail, and interviews are published unedited, allowing candidates to impart their full message to our readers, uninterrupted.

The riding is vacant, after Conservative Minister of International Trade David Emerson’s resignation. Emerson was elected in 2004 as a Liberal, serving as the Minister of Industry. Two weeks after re-election in 2006, he crossed the floor to join then-new Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who had won a minority government. Emerson was the first MP in Canadian history to cross the floor before a new government was sworn in. He has stepped down, after pressure from other parties.

Besides Davies, major party candidates include Liberal Wendy Yuan, Conservative Salomon Rayek, and Green Doug Warkentin. Also putting their hat in the ring are Matt Kadioglu (Libertarian), Kimball Cariou (Communist), and Donna Peterson (Marxist-Leninist).

For more information, visit the campaign’s official website, listed below.

This Saturday at 11 am, Davies will host NDP leader Jack Layton in the Commodore Ballroom at “rally4change”.

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

A rupture in the underground stormwater drain system opened a huge sinkhole on February 23, killing three people and bringing down twelve houses in Guatemala City.

Teenagers Irma and David Soyos and their father, 53-year old Domingo Soyos were killed when their house collapsed into the sinkhole. Nearly a thousand people were evacuated from the San Antonio neighborhood after the collapse.

Wikinews interviewed Eric Haddox, a civil engineer who has visited the site of the sinkhole and spoken to the engineers working on fixing the drain. Mr. Haddox, who specialises in the building of earthworks, roads, water supply and sewage systems, and is working as a missionary in Guatemala, visited the site following the collapse to help in the recovery effort.

Mr. Haddox told us that the size of the hole is much smaller than the 330 feet depth originally reported and that the erosion causing the collapse is believed to have happened over a long time, and not just during the recent rains as initially suspected.

There are also concerns that a four-story building less than a metre from the edge of the hole may collapse as the earth under the building continues to be eroded.

Before the collapse, a junction box linked two collector pipes to a 3.5m main pipe leading to a nearby canyon in a system believed to be 20 to 50 years old. The surrounding earth had been filled in artificially to level the ground, but the fill was not well compacted before being built upon. Such leveling of the ground is widespread in Guatemala city.

It is thought that, at some point in the last 20 years, either one of the collector pipes ruptured or was detached from the junction box, possibly because of seismic activity. Water gushing out of the break following rainstorms gradually eroded the loosely compacted soil, creating an expanding cavern around the junction box. On February 23, the roof of this cavern collapsed, creating the sinkhole, 20m wide at the top and tapering out towards the bottom, which is about 60m (204 feet) deep, not 330 feet as originally reported.

“Things like this don’t happen often and there are many interesting engineering lessons to be learned with them”, Mr. Haddox said.

The sinkhole has continued to expand even after the collapse, since the collector pipes continue to carry water, which cascades 15m down the sinkhole to the main pipe, further eroding the sides of the sinkhole. The hole was about 25m wide at the top and 40m wide at the bottom a week ago.

A bypass pipe is being laid to divert the water away from the junction to arrest further erosion. The sinkhole will then have to be drained before repair work can begin.

Authorities are also concerned that similar breakages and undermining may be happening at other locations, Mr. Haddox said. Muddy water has been seen coming out of the main collector pipes, but it is not certain whether this is due to ruptures elsewhere or simply mud from the surface that has been washed into the drainage system.

Friday, July 18, 2008

A fire at a Rexam Plastics factory in China has claimed the lives of three firefighters. Nine more were injured in the accident in Shanghai‘s Fengxian District.

The first emergency call was received by Shanghai Public Security Bureau’s 110 Command Center at 12:20 p.m. and reported the Jinhui Town factory as alight. A total of fifty fire engines and around 300 firefighters were dispatched to the scene of the blaze at the Rexam Plastic Packaging (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. facility.

Shortly after 2 p.m. a fifty-metre-long structural girder collapsed onto a group of firefighters. Those killed were crushed beneath it and died instantly. They were identified as Yao Lei, 20, Shi Jianhua, 31, and Yu Hai, 27. The nine injured were taken to Fengxian District Central Hospital, where one was transferred to Ruijin Hospital with burns and another to Shanghai No. 6 People’s Hospital with suspected injuries to his spine.

All are said to be in a stable condition. There were no other injuries to firefighters or the general public.

The fire was contained by 5:30 p.m. and extuinguished by 8:00 p.m. At its height it covered 2,000 square and smoke was spread over ten kilometres. The area was sealed off as a petrol station was 200 metres from the area, and air and water quality tests are underway. A nearby drinking water plant was shut down as a precaution.

Rexam employees said the fire spread rapidly because flammable raw materials and plastic products were stored in the workshop, which had most of its equipment destroyed. Meanwhile, local authorities say the beam fell due to poor construction. Production at the site is not expected to be affected.

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

On Sunday, Disney’s Zootopia won the Oscars award for the Best Animated Feature Film at the 89th Academy Awards ceremony held at Los Angeles. Pixar’s animated short Piper won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film and Disney’s The Jungle Book won for Visual Effects.

Others competing with Zootopia in the category were Kubo and the Two Strings, My Life as a Zucchini, The Red Turtle, and Disney’s Moana. This was the first Oscar for directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore who were previously nominated for, respectively, Bolt and Wreck-It Ralph.

In the acceptance speech, director Byron Howard said, “About five years ago, almost six now, […] we got this crazy idea of talking about humanity with talking animals in the hopes that, when the film came out, it would make the world just a slightly better place.” The Disney movie addresses several social problems such as racism, sexism, prejudice, stereotyping, and fear. The New York Times said the parental guidance (PG) rated movie was “Funny, smart, thought-provoking — and musical, too.”

Before announcing the award, Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal said, “As a Mexican, as a Latin-American, as a migrant worker, as a human being, I’m against any form of wall that wants to separate us.” The movie was released in March, during the 2016 US presidential race.

In an interview with Variety, the directors of Zootopia said movies about bias and discrimination haven’t been Disney’s main focus, but during its production, “Things were not great in the world. […] It was more like we had our finger on something important right now and we really need to do our best to portray this as honestly as we can. Then with the election and the campaign, the real move towards governing by fear […] I don’t think we could have predicted it any closer with this film.”

With this win, the Walt Disney Company has won nine out of ten Best Animated Feature Film Oscars in the last decade, with Pixar Animation Studio winning six out of them. Zootopia also won Best Animated Film at the Annie Awards and the Golden Globe Awards.

Saturday, May 7, 2005

In chatrooms and on bulletin boards, Macintosh users and the Macintosh-curious are buzzing about Tiger, the newest version of Apple Computer’s Mac OS X, version 10.4. The open-source kernel, or base of the system, “Darwin”, plus all the features of Apple’s proprietary Quartz user interface features, software, and system utilities have passed through their next phase of upgrading and scrutiny, and have been shipping for more than a week now.

Apple reports that Tiger, the code name for this release, includes over 200 new features and new versions of application software such as e-mail client Mail, web browser Safari, and multi-person audio/video/text messaging client iChat. Entirely new features have also been rolled out in this release:

• Spotlight integrates search in the core of the OS, and utilizes meta-data in its algorithm.
• Dashboard provides a sandbox for widgets, handy mini-applicatios like a calculator, sticky notes, and a dictionary, made available at the stroke of a key.
• Automator, a graphical scripting interface that enables non-programmers to automate repetitive tasks.

One user of the new operating system made this comment:

    Amgine> so... how is it?       pHatidic> It's like being in the future.   

Industry analysts have pointed to both the advances and the failures of the new version already. Many of the bigger technology advances have gained high praise, but, they point out, Microsoft Longhorn is also expected to have many of these advantages when it is released, expected in late 2006. And inter-operability, long a strength of Macintosh to work with other operating systems and networks, has had a few bugs—such as reports of issues with Server Message Block (SMB) and Active Directory. Another issue for some is the fact that Cisco System’s VPN does not work with Tiger. Cisco has promised a compatible release before the end of the month.

The biggest technology breakthrough is Spotlight. Using meta-data, searches are fast and easy and very thorough, and the results of the search can be used over and over again and will automatically update and change as you use your system. Search queries on a user’s data can be saved as “Smart folders” without ever moving files on the hard drive, so you can collect all your photos, receipts, and webpages about your summer vacation, for example, while still keeping things ordered on your hard drive. According to a review by PC World, this alone is worth the US$129.

Still, even Macintosh support sites such as Mac News suggest waiting for the first “point” release (10.4.1) before jumping in, which is expected in late May. Apple Computer has been on a semi-regular release pattern since moving to Mac OS X, with four versions released in 5 years. This constant development program has occasionally been accused of being aimed at forcing users to constantly pay out for expensive new software, but the returns of regular releases have been quick bug fixes and leading edge technology.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Wikinews interviewed author Amy Scobee about her book Scientology – Abuse at the Top, and asked her about her experiences working as an executive within the organization. Scobee joined the organization at age 14, and worked at Scientology’s international management headquarters for several years before leaving in 2005. She served as a Scientology executive in multiple high-ranking positions, working out of the international headquarters of Scientology known as “Gold Base”, located in Gilman Hot Springs near Hemet, California.