Thursday, January 4, 2007

Toxic chemicals were found in four Canadian politicians after they volunteered to have their blood tested as part of Environmental Defense’s report titled Toxic Nation on Parliament Hill.

The federal politicians that were tested are:

• Environment Minister Rona Ambrose,
• Health Minister Tony Clement,
• NDP Leader Jack Layton, and
• Liberal Environment Critic John Godfrey.

Godfrey at number 55 had the highest total number of pollutants followed by Health Minister Tony Clement and Jack Layton at 54 and Environment Minister Rona Ambrose at 49.

They were tested for a total of 103 chemicals, which are related to cancer, developmental problems, respiratory illnesses, and nervous system damage. The chemicals found in them were mainly from household items which can cause cancer. In total, 54 carcinogens, 37 hormone disruptors, 16 respiratory toxins, 54 reproductive or developmental toxins, and 33 neurotoxins were found within the four politicians.

According to Dr. Rick Smith, Environmental Defence’s executive director, the politicians are more contaminated than the ordinary citizens tested last year.

“Our tests show that pollution affects everyone. From Parliament Hill to kids in Vancouver and Saint John, harmful pollutants are contaminating the bodies of Canadians no matter where they live, how old they are or where they work, play or go to school,” said Dr. Rick Smith. “I don’t know why that is. Maybe it has to do with their strange lifestyle — eating out a lot and a high-stress existence,” he said.

“Maybe its attributable to the unique lifestyles these guys lead,” Mr. Smith said. “Politicians have a very strange, very stressful lifestyle that results in them grabbing a bite to eat when they can and eating a lot of junk food.”

All four politicians were more polluted than child and adult volunteers that participated in a survey released last June for pollutants in families.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

United States officials have unveiled new plans which require air traffic controllers to have longer rest periods between shifts after a spate of controllers fell asleep while on duty at airports across the country. Announcing the plans, transport secretary Ray LaHood said he was “outraged” by the incidents.

The new plans, which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the U.S. government agency responsible for aviation, said would be implemented immediately, come after another controller was suspended this week when they fell asleep while directing aircraft near Miami. The incident was the sixth this year; controllers have fallen asleep in Nevada, Washington D.C., and Tennessee. In one incident, two commercial passenger jets landed without any direction from the control tower because the controller on duty had fallen asleep.

LaHood said controllers would be required to have a minimum of nine hours rest between shifts, an increase of an hour, and more supervisors would be required during night shifts, and they will be restricted in what shifts they can swap with colleagues. “I don’t know when I’ve ever been madder,” LaHood said in a television interview on Fox News Sunday. “We’re not going to stand by and let that happen.”

“We’ve taken steps, as of this morning, to begin changing schedules for controllers, to change schedules for managers, and to make sure that controllers cannot switch in and out of their schedules in order for the convenience of them if they are not well-rested,” LaHood said. He vowed that he would ensure any controllers falling asleep on duty would face consequences. “On my watch, controllers will not be paid to take naps,” he said. “We’re not going to allow that.”

Earlier this week, Hank Krakowski, the head of air traffic organization at the FAA, resigned from his position after LaHood said the crisis in U.S. control towers was “unacceptable”, and vowed to resolve the issue. “I am totally outraged by these incidents,” LaHood said. “This is absolutely unacceptable. The American public trusts us to run a safe system.”

The results of a study on how fatigue affects controllers will soon be published and the FAA may make changes. But LaHood insisted controllers had to “take personal responsibility” for the safety of aircraft over the U.S., and they should not make irresponsible shift changes which will make them tired and put passengers at risk. He said all the controllers involved in the incidents had been suspended, and could ultimately be sacked. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, a labor union representing controllers in the U.S., said the FAA had their “full support” in implementing the new steps to tackle fatigue.

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.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

The Hospitality Club became the first hospitality exchange network to pass the 100,000 members milestone on January 11, 2006. Its closest competitors, CouchSurfing and GlobalFreeLoaders, have 40,000 and 30,000 members.

Hospitality exchange organisations are dedicated to putting travellers in contact with locals offering to host them in their house for free, or simply offer them a tour of their city or share a meal with them. Besides the obvious financial advantage, the Hospitality Club believes that “bringing people together and fostering international friendships will increase intercultural understanding and strengthen peace.”

Servas Open Doors, the oldest network, in fact formally views itself as a peace initiative, and there are also a number of smaller hospitality exchange networks which focus on specialized audiences, such as Agritourism.

w:Veit Kühne from Dreseden, Germany, who founded the Hospitality Club in 2000 while he was still a student, believes that “one day, everyone will have the opportunity to visit any country knowing that someone will be waiting to receive them with open arms. People will travel in a different way, meet each other and build intercultural understanding through personal contact.”

“There will be many members in places like Israel and Palestine, Northern Ireland, the Balkans, Chechnya, Rwanda, or Timor who will exchange hospitality with each other, and in small steps the Hospitality Club will have helped making peace a lasting vision for our wonderful planet,” he adds.

Hospitality Club was the first online organisation to offer on a major scale the possibility for travellers to find and contact locals open to cultural exchange. The whole system is entirely free, and hosting fees are supported by Google advertisements. The safe and efficient operation of the 30+ languages website and its database, forum, and chatroom depends on the work of hundreds of volunteers from around the world.

Anybody can become a member, but they must provide their full name and address, for security reasons. All members have a profile they can fill with information about themselves and their preferences, to help prospective visitors contact the person most likely to welcome them.

The most often mentioned drawback of the system is lack of security. The main difference between hospitality exchange networks and other social networking platforms such as Orkut or LiveJournal is that the former’s ultimate objective is to allow for face-to-face meetings. Users should realise that there is a risk involved, although according to Frenchman Jean-Yves Hégron, main software developer of the Hospitality Club, “By using the Club you have the same level of risk as the one you face whenever you get out from your home.”

Discussion about strategic or security issues is not allowed on the website’s forum, hence critics often mention lack of transparency in how they perceive decisions are taken by volunteers in Hospitality Club. Another point of critique is the fact that there is no legal organisation behind Hospitality Club, and the domain name is registered to the founder of the Club himself. Messages containing links to other hospitality exchange networks were at some point deleted without further notice though this policy has since then been reverted. Exponential growth of the network has also caused server failures alike to those observed in Wikipedia until recently.

The idea of free hospitality exchange is not new. Servas was the first organisation to develop it, right after World War II. It still exists to this day, with over 15,000 members, and is represented as an NGO in the United Nations. Because democratic, paper-based Servas is perceived as bureaucratic by some, Hospex was created as the first online network in 1991.

Hospitality Club succeeded to Hospex in August 2000, introducing innovative security features ranging from spam protection to passport control and a sophisticated feedback system, thus making online hospitality exchange available to travellers with higher safety concerns. From 1000 members in July 2002 to 10,000 in February 2004, it quickly grew to 100,000 on 11 January 2006 and is expected to reach the million in about two years.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Controversy has arisen over the reported presence of blue asbestos on the MV Freewinds, a cruise ship owned by the Church of Scientology. According to the Saint Martin newspaper The Daily Herald and the shipping news journal Lloyd’s List, the Freewinds was sealed in April and local public health officials on the Caribbean island of Curaçao where the ship is docked began an investigation into the presence of asbestos dust on the ship. Former Scientologist Lawrence Woodcraft supervised work on the ship in 1987, and attested to the presence of blue asbestos on the Freewinds in an affidavit posted to the Internet in 2001. Woodcraft, a licensed architect by profession, gave a statement to Wikinews and commented on the recent events.

According to The Daily Herald, the Freewinds was in the process of being renovated by the Curaçao Drydock Company. The article states that samples taken from paneling in the ship were sent to the Netherlands, where an analysis revealed that they “contained significant levels of blue asbestos”. An employee of the Curaçao Drydock Company told Radar Online in an April 30 article that the Freewinds has been docked and sealed, and confirmed that an article about asbestos ran in the local paper.

Lloyd’s List reported that work on the interior of the Freewinds was suspended on April 27 after health inspectors found traces of blue asbestos on the ship. According to Lloyd’s List, Frank Esser, Curaçao Drydock Company’s interim director, joined Curaçao’s head of the department of labor affairs Christiene van der Biezen along with the head of the local health department Tico Ras and two inspectors in an April 25 inspection of the ship. “We are sending someone so that they can tell us what happened, where it came from, since when it has been there,” said Panama Maritime Authority’s director of merchant marine Alfonso Castillero in a statement to Lloyd’s List.

The Church of Scientology purchased the ship, then known as the Bohème, in 1987, through an organization called Flag Ship Trust. After being renovated and refitted, it was put into service in June 1988. The ship is used by the Church of Scientology for advanced Scientology training in “Operating Thetan” levels, as well as for spiritual retreats for its members. Curaçao has been the ship’s homeport since it was purchased by the Church of Scientology.

According to his 2001 statement, Lawrence Woodcraft had been an architect in London, England since 1975, and joined Scientology’s elite “Sea Organization” (Sea Org) in 1986. He wrote that he was asked by the Sea Org to work on the Freewinds in 1987, and during his work on the ship “noticed a powdery blue fibrous substance approximately 1 ½” thick between the paint and the steel wall,” which he believed to be asbestos. He also discovered what he thought was blue asbestos in other parts of the ship, and reported his findings to Church of Scientology executives. Woodcraft discussed his experiences in a 2001 interview published online by the Lisa McPherson Trust, a now-defunct organization which was critical of the Church of Scientology.

Church of Scientology spokeswoman Karin Pouw responded to Radar Online about the asbestos reports, in an email published in an article in Radar on May 1. “The Freewinds regularly inspects the air quality on board and always meets or exceeds US standards,” said Pouw. She stated that two inspections performed in April “confirmed that the air quality is safe,” and asserted that the inspections revealed the Freewinds satisfies standards set by the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Clean Air Act.

Pouw told Radar that “The Freewinds will be completing its refit on schedule.” The Church of Scientology-affiliated organization Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) had been planning a cruise aboard the Freewinds scheduled for May 8, but according to Radar an individual who called the booking number for the cruise received a message that the cruise had been delayed due to ongoing work on the ship. Citing an article in the Netherlands Antilles newspaper Amigoe, Radar reported on May 6 that a team from the United States and supervised by an independent bureau from the Netherlands traveled to Curaçao in order to remove asbestos from the Freewinds.

“I stand by everything I wrote in my 2001 affidavit,” said Lawrence Woodcraft in an exclusive statement given to Wikinews. Woodcraft went on to state: “I would also comment that if the Church of Scientology claims to have removed the blue asbestos, I just don’t see how, it’s everywhere. You would first have to remove all the pipes, plumbing, a/c ducts, electrical wiring etc. etc. just a maze of stuff. Also panelling as well, basically strip the ship back to a steel hull. Also blue asbestos is sprayed onto the outer walls and then covered in paint. It’s in every nook and cranny.”

Many Scientologist celebrities have spent time aboard the Freewinds, including Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, John Travolta, Kelly Preston, Chick Corea, Lisa Marie Presley, Catherine Bell, Kate Ceberano, and Juliette Lewis. Now magazine reported that Tom Cruise has been urged to seek medical attention regarding potential asbestos exposure, however a representative for Cruise stated he has “absolutely no knowledge” of the recent asbestos controversy. Cruise, Holmes, Travolta and Preston have celebrated birthdays and other events on the Freewinds.

In a May 15 statement to the United Kingdom daily newspaper Metro, a representative for the Church of Scientology said that “There is not now and never has been a situation of asbestos exposure on the Freewinds.” The Asbestos and Mesothelioma Center notes that agencies have recommended anyone who has spent time on the Freewinds consult with their physician to determine if possible asbestos exposure may have affected their health.

Raw blue asbestos is the most hazardous form of asbestos, and has been banned in the United Kingdom since 1970. Blue asbestos fibers are very narrow and thus easily inhaled, and are a major cause of mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a form of cancer which can develop in the lining of the lungs and chest cavity, the lining of the abdominal cavity, or the pericardium sac surrounding the heart. The cancer is incurable, and can manifest over 40 years after the initial exposure to asbestos.

“This is the most dangerous type of asbestos because the fibres are smaller than the white asbestos and can penetrate the lung more easily,” said toxicologist Dr. Chris Coggins in a statement published in OK! Magazine. Dr. Coggins went on to note that “Once diagnosed with mesothelioma, the victim has six months to a year to live. It gradually reduces lung function until the victim is no longer able to breathe and dies.”

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Members of Australia’s Health Services Union (HSU) will go on strike in Victoria next week in a dispute over stalled wage and career structure negotiations. Over 5000 physiotherapists, speech pathologists and radiation therapists will walk off the job next week, effectively closing the state’s 68 largest health services.

The strike will force the closure of intensive care units and emergency departments across the state.

It is feared the strike could continue into Easter.

National secretary of the HSU, Kathy Jackson said admissions would be crippled, while intensive care patients would have to be evacuated to New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia as hospitals will not be able to perform tests or administer treatment.

“When an ambulance shows up you can’t admit a patient without an X-ray being available, you can’t intubate them and you can’t operate on them,” she said.

“If something goes wrong in an ICU you need to be able to X-ray, use nuclear medicine or any diagnostic procedure,” said Ms Jackson.

Ms Jackson said the HSU offered arbitration last year, but the state government refused. “They’re not interested in settling disputes, they hope that we are just going to go away.”

“We’re not going away, we’ve gone back and balloted the whole public health workforce in Victoria, those ballots were successful, 97 percent approval rating,” she said.

The HSU is urging the government to commence serious negotiations to resolve the dispute before industrial action commenced.

The government has offered the union a 3.25 per cent pay increase, in line with other public sector workers but the union has demanded more, but stopped short of specifying a figure.

Victorian Premier John Brumby said the claim would be settled according to the government’s wages policy. “The Government is always willing and wanting to sit down and negotiate with the relevant organisations . . . we have a wages policy based around an increase of 3.25 per cent and, above that, productivity offset,” he told parliament.

The union claims it is also arguing against a lack of career structure, which has caused many professionals to leave the health service. Ms Jackson said wages and career structures in Victoria were behind other states.

Victorian Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu said he was not in support of the proposed strike and called on the government to meet with unions. “There could not be a more serious threat to our health system than has been announced today.”

“We now have to do whatever is possible to stop this strike from proceeding,” he said.

The opposition leader will meet with the union at 11:30 AM today.

Victorian Hospitals Industry Association industrial relations services manager Simon Chant said hospitals were looking at the possible impact and warned that patients may have to be evacuated interstate if the strike goes ahead.

[edit]

Friday, February 19, 2010

The 2010 BRIT Awards, presented by the British Phonographic Industry, is an annual award ceremony for music artists. This year, the competition took place in the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London, England. The event started taking place in 1980, with this year’s event being the 30th BRIT Awards. This year, the programme was broadcast live – although with a short delay to allow censorship of strong language – on ITV1 from 2000-2200 GMT on Tuesday. 5.8 million viewers watched it, which was an audience share of 21.9%.

The main presenter of the programme was British comedian Peter Kay, although various other celebrities also presented awards, including actor Andy Serkis, musician Melanie Brown, singer Shirley Bassey, television and radio presenter Jonathan Ross, actor Idris Elba, singer Geri Halliwell, television presenter Cat Deeley, comedian Alan Carr, singer Mika, fashion designer and film director Tom Ford, former glamour model Samantha Fox, musician Noddy Holder and musician and actress Courtney Love. Fearne Cotton was also a backstage presenter during the event. There was also an after show highlights programme broadcast on ITV2, immediately after the programme on ITV1 had finished, from 2200-2300 GMT. Presenting on the programme was Rufus Hound and Caroline Flack. BBC Radio 1 also had continuous official coverage on the station throughout the day of the awards, with disc jockeys Scott Mills and Greg James hosting a programme on the station at around the time of the award ceremony.

Various artists, all of which were BRIT Award nominees, performed during the ITV1 programme. Lily Allen, JLS and Kasabian were amongst the performers. American musician Lady Gaga said that “[t]his is for Alexander McQueen“, who died on February 11, 2010, before performing two of her tracks – Telephone and Dance in the Dark. Dizzee Rascal and Florence and the Machine performed a duet entitled You’ve Got the Dirtee Love, which was a merger of two songs – You’ve Got the Love, which was originally recorded by The Source and Candi Staton – and later covered by Florence and the Machine – and Dirtee Cash, which was originally performed by Dizzee Rascal.

After Jay-Z and Alicia Keys performed their song Empire State of Mind, Cheryl Cole performed her track, Fight For This Love, although the performance featured excerpts from Show Me Love, a track that was originally recorded by Robin S.

Lady Gaga won all three awards that she was nominated for, including “International female solo artist”, “International breakthrough act” and “International album”, the latter being for The Fame. In one of her acceptance speeches, she said: “Thank you, thank you so so much. I love my fans. Thank you. My fans in the UK, thank you.”

When accepting the award for “British male solo artist”, rapper Dizzee Rascal stated: “It’s about time as well.” Music group JLS were nominated for three awards and won two of them – “British breakthrough act” and “British single”. Group member Oritsé Williams stated in the acceptance speech: “We never ever thought this would happen, you’ve made our dreams come true.” Kasabian was given the award for “British group”. Lily Allen, who was wearing an orange wig during the award ceremony, received the award for “British female solo artist”. In her acceptance speech, she declared: “Oh my god. I only wore this orange wig ’cause I though it’d make it harder for them to find me, the cameramen, and catch my disappointed face.”

British group Florence and the Machine won the “Mastercard British album” award for the album Lungs. Florence Welch of the group accepted the award, stating: “Thanks so much for having me back. Cheers! […] There are so many people that help me make this album and so many people who supported it, people like you.” The award for “BRITs performance of 30 years” went to former group the Spice Girls for their performance of Wannabe/Who Do You Think You Are. The award for “International male solo artist” went to rapper Jay-Z.

Former British group Oasis were awarded with the honour of “BRITs album of 30 years”, for their album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?. Former group comrade Liam Gallagher came onto the stage to accept the award and told the viewers: “Listen kids. I wanna thank Bonehead, Quiggs, Alan White… the best fucking fans in the world. Live forever.” He then threw his microphone and the trophy into the crowd and walked off the stage. Presenter Peter Kay then came on and said about Gallagher: “What a knobhead.”

At one point during the programme, a pre-recorded video with Prince Harry of Wales in it was shown. In the video, Prince Harry said: “You’ll be pleased to know that I’m not gonna sing, but only because I don’t want to show up the next act. The BRITs is a celebration of all that is totally outstanding and unique about British music. But what’s less well known about the BRITs is the fantastic work it does raising millions of pounds for the BRIT trust which has benefited thousands of young people to develop their talents and generally enrich our society. Well done on all you’ve achieved. I hope you have a fantastic evening.”

The “Critic’s choice” award was given to British music artist Ellie Goulding. The “Outstanding contribution award” was won by British musician Robbie Williams, who performed a medley of thirteen of his songs at the end of the programme – Let Me Entertain You, Supreme, Millennium, Feel, Everything Changes (originally performed by Take That, the group that Williams was formerly a member of), Angels, No Regrets, Bodies, Come Undone, Morning Sun, Rock DJ and Rudebox.

Below is a complete list of the recipients of the awards on Tuesday night. Please note that the awards list is not in order of when they were given out.

• British male solo artist – Dizzee Rascal
• British female solo artist – Lily Allen
• British breakthrough act – JLS
• British group – Kasabian
• Mastercard British album – Florence and the Machine – Lungs
• British single – JLS – Beat Again
• BRITs performance of 30 years – Spice Girls – Who Do You Think You Are
• International male solo artist – Jay-Z
• International female solo artist – Lady Gaga
• International breakthrough act – Lady Gaga
• International album – Lady Gaga – The Fame
• BRITs album of 30 years – Oasis – (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
• Critic’s choice – Ellie Goulding
• Outstanding contribution award – Robbie Williams

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Glasgow International Airport in Renfrewshire, Scotland was evacuated after a green Jeep Cherokee struck the airport’s terminal building and burst into flames at 1511 BST.

An eyewitness told the BBC that “[A] man was on fire.” All flights are grounded, and two men have been arrested and the United Kingdom has raised the national threat level to “critical” which means another terror attack is imminent.

Eyewitnesses described a Jeep speeding toward the building with flames coming out from underneath. They also reported seeing two Asian men in the car, one of whom was on fire.

The BBC quoted an eyewitness as saying that two attempts were made to ram the Jeep through the wall, and that the passenger was holding a lit Molotov Cocktail and made several attempts to throw the bottle.

The Strathclyde Police Chief announced that the event is being linked to the earlier attempted car bombings in London, and as such is being treated as a terrorist investigation.

Eyewitnesses are now saying that one of the two men was pouring bottles of petrol into the car’s interior and onto himself, before running from the car, on fire, into the main terminal building. Witnesses have also reported that gas cylinders were removed by bystanders from the burning vehicle.

According to the BBC, the driver of the vehicle put up a violent struggle before being overpowered by the police and public. One person who tackled him was Stephen Clarkson, a member of the public.

Richard Gray, an eyewitness to the event, stated “There was an Asian guy who was pulled out of the car by two police officers.”

Seven people have been taken to local hospitals with injuries.

Police said that this incident was a deliberate attempt and not a road accident. Officials have also said that the incident is connected to earlier attempted car bombings in London the day before.

Two people have been arrested, one of whom was badly burned. Seven known casualties, including the Asian male have been taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley.

While the suspect was being treated in the hospital, a suspect device was discovered in the hospital, resulting in the partial evacuation of the building while the device was moved to a safe area. This object later turned out to be mundane, although initial reports believed it to be a suicide belt.

The BBC announced that the Prime Minister is being kept fully informed. He chaired a meeting of Civil Contingencies Committee (COBRA) at 1900 (BST), after which the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, announced that the national threat level been elevated from “Severe” to “Critical”, meaning another attack is expected “imminently.”

Officials at Edinburgh Airport have said that all cars are being turned away from the airport, and at Heathrow in London, passengers are being advised not to bring private cars near to the terminal buildings. Some passengers were kept waiting in planes while the area was secured.

The first bomber, who was taken to Govan high security prison, has now been interviewed, though no further statements from Strathclyde police have been forthcoming. The second bomber, who was taken to the Royal Alexandria hospital in Paisley, is listed in critical condition tonight, and is being kept under 24-hour guard.

2,300 passengers who were due to set off from Glasgow Airport today have been driven by coach to a conference centre, where a reception area has been set up for them.

Two people were arrested by The Metropolitan Police Anti-Terrorist Branch on the M6 motorway in Cheshire in connection with the Glasgow International Airport attack and attempted London car bombings.

The Prime Minister Gordon Brown is expected to hold another COBRA meeting with other members of the Cabinet today. This will be the fifth COBRA meeting in 48 hours.