The time is 22:00 (UTC) on January 4, 2007, and this is Audio Wikinews News Briefs.
Saturday, December 3, 2005
A U.S. federal judge ruled on Nov. 28 that 17-year old Charlene Nguon can sue her high school principal who revealed to her mother that she is lesbian.
The lawsuit, brought in September by a high school senior in California, claims she was unfairly disciplined by the school for kissing her girlfriend. She also alleges that her sexuality caused the school to suspend her when there was no specific policy addressing displays of public affection in the student handbook, and that her privacy rights were violated when the school principal revealed to her parents that she was lesbian.
The school district sought to have the charges dismissed by arguing in part that Nguon was openly gay on campus, and therefore had no right to privacy on the matter.
Judge James V. Selna of the Central District Court of California found that the school district was immune from the plaintiff’s claims in a 13-page finding issued on Monday. However, the individual administrators, the school principal and superintendent, did not qualify for immunity. In his findings he noted that the administrators did not take “action to stop or remedy the alleged harassment and discrimination”, and did not enact an “adequate formal or informal policy to ensure that Santiago High is providing a learning environment free from discrimination”, which is a requirement of the California Education Code.
In allowing the lawsuit to move forward, Judge Selna found that Nguon had “sufficiently alleged a legally protected privacy interest in information about her sexual orientation.”
Nguon is seeking unspecified damages and is being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.
“This is the first court ruling we’re aware of where a judge has recognized that a student has a right not to have her sexual orientation disclosed to her parents,” said Christine Sun, Nguon’s lawyer.
Nguon was found in the hallway openly kissing and hugging her girlfriend, actions permitted between heterosexual students at the Santiago High School in Garden Grove, California. The school principal, Ben Wolf, told Nguon’s mother about her daughter’s sexuality after the student failed to stop the displays of affection between her and her girlfriend. During this time, Nguon was suspended numerous times for ignoring the requests, and was ultimately forced to temporarily change schools.
No trial date is set. The parties are scheduled to return to court on Jan. 23.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Two weeks ago, on February 1st, it was the second day of the national environmental Focus the Nation teach-in. One of these events, which took place at the same time at other educational institutions across the country, took place in the city of Lynn at the campus of North Shore Community College.
Wikinews accredited reporter Patrick Mannion was there in attendance along with Congressman John F. Tierney of Massachusetts’s 6th congressional district and Lynn’s State Senator Thomas McGee. One of Lynn’s two representatives, Robert Fennell, also attended; the other representative Steven Walsh sent an aide. The representatives for the nearby cities of Salem and Beverly, John Keenan and Mary Grant along with various local area mayors and city councilors also attended the event.
John F. Kerry, the senator for Massachusetts was supposed to attend but could not due to voting on the economic stimulus package in Washington D.C.. However, Senator Kerry did record a video statement DVD for the event in which he addressed the gathered crowd. North Shore’s president, Wayne M. Burton, hosted the event.
Senator McGee started things off by talking about the need to recreate the North Shore Technical High School to include a focus on environmental jobs and the need to improve the Essex Agricultural and Technical High School which is deteriorating, but is known for it’s agricultural teaching which would help to save the dwindling farming areas north of Boston.
McGee urged people that should get more involved with their local farming co-ops and that farmland needs to be recognized and redeveloped. He noted that obesity in young people is a problem and that schools are developing partnerships with local farms to provide more healthy meals and to show students whats going on at their local farm.
Representative Keenan commended the college for holding this dialogue and Al Gore along with his movie, An Inconvenient Truth. Keenan noted the need for Salem’s coal-fired power station for the need to switch to clean coal.
Walsh aide’s brought up the fact he is committed to ending paper waste at the Massachusetts State House.
| Global warming does not recognize boundaries. | ||
The city council president from Chelsea, Roseann Bongiovanni, who is also the associate executive director of the local community organization, the Chelsea Collaborative, asked the various reasons for the crowd in why they became concerned about global warming. The audience noted the melting of ice sheets, air quality, Hurricane Katrina and Al Gore.
Bongiovanni then noted that Chelsea and neighboring East Boston have no green space or waterfront due the industrialization of both areas, noting that 100% of the jet fuel for planes at Logan Airport, 70% to 80% of heating oil and that the trucks delivering the oil are spewing diesel. She also noted the large salt pile in Chelsea used for the deicing of highways in the Commonwealth and said that it is located there “illegally.”
She further noted the company, Energy Management Inc., behind the controversial Cape Wind project, proposed building a diesel power plant across the street from a Chelsea elementary school and that air quality in Chelsea is bad. She closed her dialogue by noting that “Global warming does not recognize boundaries.”
Mary Grant said she was interested in hearing ideas and noted the redeveloping of Beverly’s high school to include more solar panels and a new wind turbine and that the school would be powered by 50% of it.
One person asked the need to lower the level of bureaucracy in government as she was “running aroundcity government” in order to have a bee farm in her backyard.
Robert Fenell, the owner of Lynn’s Capitol Diner who is notable for keeping chickens at the establishment located in downtown Lynn just two blocks away from the college noted that people should start going organic and going back to nature, that people should switch to more energy efficient lighting and grow gardens in their backyard.
After Fennell spoke it was time for questions and answers, and questions were given by various audiences members including Mannion himself, who asked about the MBTA‘s Blue Line and rapid transit and others asking various questions such wither or not to include a green curriculum in state education or asking for the politicians to talk more on some of their positions.
After questions and answers finished, the video statement from John Kerry began to play. Kerry noted that there are still skeptics of global warming and climate change in Congress who “test the science” despite the efforts and research of Al Gore and the United Nations and noting that “the White House is the last place for change.”
He then went on to say that the world needed a new international treaty on climate change and noted that America is horrendous when it comes to energy efficiency. Kerry also noted that the Bush administration resisted the change and the points of the climate conference in Bail; “Luckily, time is almost up,” added Kerry.
Kerry went on to mention the need for massive new research on new energy and capturing carbon and noted he was working with Alaska’s senator, Ted Stevens on pushing for sequestering plants.
Kerry continued the theme of environmental conservation and change by topping off his statement by reminding the crowd of first Earth Day and how it lead to the creation of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and the Environmental Protection Agency and it noted it happened because of people’s actions.
Tierney finished off the speech by noting the need for high risk energy research in the style of DARPA so we can better compete against the “Chinas and Japans.” He also called for more green-collar jobs and noted his work on last year’s Green Jobs Act.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
The online payment service PayPal has received a banking licence in Luxembourg, promoting it to the status of a bank. As a consequence PayPal will move their headquarters to Luxembourg.
Since 2004 PayPal had the status of an Electronic Money Issuer supervised by the U.K. Financial Services Authority. Having an official bank status opens new prospects for the company: “This will allow us to actively scout retailers in different European countries. With our British licence, we could only do that in the U.K. itself, and in other countries we could only react to requests of the retailers themselves,” Christopher Coonen, General Manager of PayPal Southern Europe and Benelux, explained.
The change will not affect existing customers dramatically, says Coonen: “We are going to inform them of the new status, and they will have to accept our terms of service again.” He also said that for now, there were no plans to use the new licence to offer traditional banking services, but the possibility was being evaluated by PayPal. Working with local partners would be an option to accomplish this, according to Coonen.
The British newspaper The Daily Telegraph speculates that the move is part of a strategy to compete with Google’s payment service Google Checkout, which launched in the U.K. last month.
PayPal has 130 million users worldwide, and 35 million customers in Europe. Payments via its mother company eBay continue to make up 60% of PayPal’s revenues. More than half of Britain’s internet users have a PayPal account.
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byAlma Abell
One of the easiest ways to add to the value of your home is to replace and upgrade your front door. A high-quality front door will go a long way in adding to the value of a house. When people walk through a beautiful exterior wrought iron door, or any other type of well-made door, it will give them reason to appreciate the beauty of your home. It also adds tangible value to your home when you install something valuable that will last forever like an exterior wrought Iron door.
There are so many ways that a good exterior door can improve your home. In the rest of this article, we will talk about what you should look for when you are searching for a new exterior door.
Establish Your Budget
Exterior doors have a wide range of prices. You can find them for as little as $100 or as much as several thousand dollars. If you start your search without a budget in mind, it can become too difficult to sort through and truly find what the best option if for you. Establishing your door budget before you start to look at doors is the easiest way to narrow down your search quickly.
Decide the Type of Door
Exterior doors are made in a variety of material types. Our top picks are wooden doors, fiberglass doors and iron doors. Each door will offer their own strengths and weaknesses.
The iron door is the strongest and many people prefer the look of it over the other types. A wooden door is versatile but will require more upkeep. A fiberglass door has its own unique look that many people like. No matter what type of door you like the best; it is hard to go wrong. We would recommend looking at each door style to figure out the type that you want.
Will It Fit Your House?
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Friday, June 20, 2008
The third annual Taste of Taiwan Cuisine opened on Wednesday of June 18, 2008 and runs until June 21. Organized by Taiwan External Trade Development Council to promote the culinary culture of Taiwan, the tradeshow featured three main shows for food and food packaging industries: “Food Taipei”, “Foodtech Taipei”, and “Taipei Pack”.
Twenty-seven countries including United States, South Korea, Canada, Japan, Sri Lanka, Austria, Philippines, Chile, Malaysia, Spain, Fiji, Poland, and six nations from Africa, grouped their own national pavilions for sourcing and procurement. In addition, the Taiwan Pavilion featured sections on culture, product image, brand design, and agriculture verification in Food Taipei.
Industrial solutions including medical applications, packaging machines, food CNCs, and bar-code printers are showcased in the “Foodtech Taipei” and “Taipei Pack”. Seminars and forums from security, global marketing, and policies for food, machinery, and packaging industries are also held during show hours.
After the 3-in-1 show in Taipei, the Kaohsiung International Food Show will be scheduled for November.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
PRS for Music is the UK’s music royalty collection society tasked with working on behalf of copyright holders, specifically authors and music publishers. Founded in 1914, the PRS is a non-profit organisation with 350,000 UK businesses holding PRS licenses. The society works in conjunction with PPL which collects fees on behalf of the copyright holders of the actual recording.So, if a cover version of a song is played on UK radio, PRS collect a fee on behalf of the original writer and publisher, whilst PPL collect a fee on behalf of the record company of the cover. In a recent Wikinews interview, Paul Campbell, founder of Amazing Radio, an unsigned UK radio station, lambasted PRS for their “barmy standard contract” and their outdated equipment. That interview can be found here.
| The music industry is changing and the way we use music is continually changing | ||
Wikinews reporter Tristan Thomas interviews PRS, following up on Campbell and others’ criticism as well as finding out about future plans.
((Wikinews)) Firstly, thank you for the time in doing this interview.
((WN)) Last year, you were involved in a high profile dispute with YouTube. Can you briefly explain to our audience what that was all about and the final outcome of it?
((PRS)) PRS for Music was the first collecting society in the world to license the YouTube service, meaning if music videos were watched online then our members – who created them – would receive a small royalty payment. When we went to renew the licence that YouTube held we couldn’t agree as to how much should be paid and exactly what should be covered within it. We believed that music had become a much larger part of the YouTube service and that YouTube/Google should reflect the increased use of our members’ creative talent in the amount they paid.
The great thing is that we kept talking to YouTube throughout the dispute and managed to reach an agreement in September which meant that the videos could be accessed again by UK YouTube users and that our 65,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members would be paid.
((WN)) How many artists do you represent and how much did you collect during 2009 for them?
((PRS)) We represent 65,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. We haven’t released our 2009 figures yet but in 2008 we collected over £600m for them. The main sources of revenue come from recorded media (CDs, DVDs etc), international use, public performance use and use in television, radio and online.
((WN)) Paul Campbell in a recent interview with us said the following:“PRS has a barmy standard contract for using their members’ music online. It requires us to pay them a fixed percentage of ALL revenue from that website – whether or not the revenue is derived from their members’ work. So if we had 100,000 songs from non-PRS artists on amazingtunes.com, and one song from a PRS artist, we’d have to pay them a percentage of the revenue from ALL 100,000 songs. I.e., we’d have to take money out of the pockets out of non-PRS artists to pay to PRS. That would be immoral.”How do you respond to that?
((PRS)) Anyone using music in a commercial way – such as a radio station – is required to obtain the permission of those that created the music. This could be numerous writers, publishers and a record label for each song, possibly in different countries around the world. By obtaining a PRS for Music and PPL licence in the UK you are ensuring you have those permissions for over 10million musical works. Obviously much of the music used on radio comes from non-UK writers who may not be members of PRS for Music. Radio and television stations give us almost 100% accurate reports of their music use through their own playlists; this data then enables organisations such as ours to work out who should be paid and how much. PRS for Music has 144 agreements in place with similar societies around the world, resulting in us representing almost 2 million writers worldwide. If French, American, Spanish, Australian or any other writer’s music is used we will pay the respective societies so they can pay their members.
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Similarly a writer of musician may be ‘unsigned’ by that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t earn from their music when it is used by others. Many bands, writers and performers are currently unsigned but by being members of PRS for Music they ensure that they can begin earning vital royalties that allow them to continue with their musical career.
((WN)) How does the PRS ensure that artists outside the UK are properly compensated when their music is used within the UK, such as Thai or Chinese restaurants paying their PRS dues and exclusively using music which is from outside Europe?
((PRS)) As mentioned before PRS for Music has agreements in place in over 90 countries around the world to ensure that when music is used the right creators are rewarded. The system – built up over the last century – works both ways and when UK music is used internationally, PRS for Music receives royalties from foreign societies so we can pay our members. In 2008 £139.8m was collected from UK music use abroad, with the UK being one of only a few net exporters of music in the world.
((WN)) There have been a few cases in which PRS have been forced to apologise, exemplified by the threat of prosecution and a fine towards “singing granny” Sandra Burt, a shelf-stacker who sung to herself whilst stacking shelves. How has PRS moved forward from these incidents in order to ensure they do not happen again?
((PRS)) If we have made mistakes we will of course put our hands up and say so. For example when we were approached about the Sandra Burt case – by a journalist incidentally and not Sandra – we did give out slightly incorrect advice, although the questions were a little ambiguous. Once we realised our mistake we contacted Sandra to explain that she wouldn’t need a licence to sing to her customers and offered our sincere apologies. As an organisation we are very quick to admit where we get things wrong and ensure they are put right. We’re proud of our record with our customers and currently have 350,000 businesses choosing to use music in the UK.
| Once we realised our mistake we contacted Sandra | ||
To put the complaints in context we have only have 1 for approximately every 5,000 customer contacts we make. This is an exceptionally low ratio and there are many firms who would be envious of a record like this. During 2009 our complaints fell by 50% and we appointed an independent ombudsmen who could handle any complaints if they were not resolved internally. As of January 2010 no complaints have needed to be passed on to the ombudsmen.
((WN)) How does the PRS work with musicians who are not signed to major labels, may make music available for download via their own websites or MySpace, and do not have the financial resources to protect their copyright?
((PRS)) Many of the PRS for Music membership is not signed to a major record label and we represent creators from all genres of music in the UK and abroad. By joining PRS for Music, which only costs £10 deferred to your first royalty payment, you ensure you can begin earning royalties whenever your music is played, performed or reproduced. We have worked hard to license such sites as YouTube, MySpace, Spotify and Sky Songs to name a selection to ensure our members can be rewarded when their work is used.
Our membership team also work hard to support our creators holding showcase events, offering advice of how to get their music used as well as legal and financial advice.
((WN)) Finally, what future plans do you have as an organisation in order to further protect and enhance your members work as new technologies emerge over the next few years?
((PRS)) PRS for Music will continue to be at the forefront of licensing new digital and online services to ensure creators are paid. We aim to get the balance right to ensure new products and music services can launch and develop, but that also they pay for the music they use.
The music industry is changing and the way we use music is continually changing (it always has) but we’ll still be at the forefront enabling people to use music whenever they want, and rewarding those that have created that music.
((WN)) Thank you for taking the time out for this interview. Good luck for 2010.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
A series of large explosions have occurred close to Hemel Hempstead Hertfordshire, UK. The source of the explosions has been confirmed as the Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal (HOSL), Hemel Hempstead, known locally as the Buncefield complex. Up to 150 fire fighters are reported to be at the scene with 10 fire appliances and 1 specialist foamer.
The first ‘blast’ was heard near Hemel Hempstead on Sunday 11 Dec at 6 am. Further smaller explosions followed at 6:24am , 6:26am, 6:30am. BBC News 24 reported an additional, fourth large explosion. Hertfordshire Police Constabulary are currently treating the explosion as an accident.
Reports say the explosion, which registered 2.4 on the Richter scale, was heard as far away as Oxford, and Whitehall, Central London which is 60km (38 miles) away. Eyewitness statements report that the explosion was heard from at least 160km (100 miles) away and as far away as France and The Netherlands. Pilots reported noticing the blast from the North Sea and the West Country area of the UK. The M1 motorway which runs close by has been closed in both directions near the blast which is causing travel chaos as other roads become congested.
Malcom Stewart, a BBC News24 eyewitness who is a tanker driver for the site has reported that the site supplies several oil companies and is a joint operation between Total UK and Texaco, it is also used by BP, Shell and the British Pipeline association. The complex is not a refinery but a storage facility for refined petroleum awaiting distribution to airports and filling stations. The eyewitness reports that the depot has approximately 20 tanks which can hold about 3 million gallons (11 million litres or 70,000 barrels) each. Another News24 eyewitness has just reported that he has seen at least 5 of these tanks on fire.
The depot operates on a 24 hour basis and is split into 2 parts – aviation fuel and domestic fuel. A number of eyewitnesses have reported on UK news that the aviation fuel side appears to be the part of the site that has been affected.
Local authorities were not immediately available for comment but there have been reports of casualties.
Some reports on live television state that, “Several other neighbours said they did see a plane go into the depot.” BBC News 24 were also discussing the idea a possible plane crash as the cause of the explosions. Hertfordshire police have now gone on the record to say that there is no plane involved (BBC News24).
The police have issued a contact number 0800 096 0095 and asked that people do not call the emergency services in Hertfordshire directly unless it is an emergency.
In addition to being an oil storage depot, it is a major hub on the UK oil pipeline network with pipelines to Killingholme Lindsey Oil Refinery (LOR), Humberside (10 inch), Merseyside (10 and 12 inch), Coryton on the Thames Estuary (14 inch) and Heathrow (6 and 8 inch) and Gatwick airports radiating from it.
The disaster is believed to be the worst explosion at a petrochemical plant in the UK since the Flixborough disaster of 1974.Hertfordshire’s Chief Fire Officer Roy Wilsher said: “This is possibly the largest incident of its kind in peacetime Europe.”
A firefighting press officer said that they are stock piling foam from neighboring regions for a prolonged attach which they hope will stop the spread of the fire, however, the inferno itself will have to burn out which could take between 24 hours and a few days.
Despite the authorities saying that there is no need to panic buy petrol, filling stations have had above average queues since this morning and some small garages have ran out.
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has visited the scene.
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byAlma Abell
Flags have been an important device used throughout history as a means of identification. In many countries, the national flag flew first over the merchant and naval vessels before appearing outside government and political buildings. These custom outdoor flags have appeared in the hands of the military forces in every country during every era of recorded time. Flags have flown to denote loyalty to a country, a tribe, an individual, a culture or a social or religious entity.
Noted Flags and Their Myths
When it comes to easily-recognized symbols, some bolstered by their appearance in television shows and movies, three stand out as icons of the military and political powers of the time. These flags include:
* The Crusader Flag
* Confederacy Battle Flag
* Flag of the United States of America
The Crusaders Flag
The design of this device is simple. The flag features a simple cross. In many cases, the cross is red, however, in the 12th century, Flanders was supposed to carry a green cross while France had a red cross and England a white one. Yet, the countries party to this agreement did not seem to hold to it. As a result, red crosses on a white background were common for all the armies fighting in the Holy Crusades. The typical Hollywood image is of a white field sporting a red cross
Confederacy Battle Flag
This iconic image of a Southern or St. Andrew’s cross is indicative of the American Civil War (1861–1865). While the tendency is to think of a single flag, this is a fallacy. Each battle unit stars, this is the stereotype. Many battlefield flags, whether at sea or on land often feature modifications of or even inverted color schemes of the national flag.
In the case of the Battle Flags of the Confederate Armies, some had a blue Southern Cross containing 13 stars against a red field. Others posted the Southern Cross in the Hoist corner. Overall, there are approximately 31 different Battle Flags for the American Confederacy. Many soldiers marched under flags that reflected the preference of their commanding officer.
The confederate Naval forces also used a variation on the Southern Cross theme, but some did not actually feature the Southern Cross.
Flag of the United States of America
If ever a flag was a custom outdoor flag is it this one. Some closely resemble the National Flag of the time but others offer distinct variations. Compare the famous flag that flew over Fort Sumpter, analogous to the National Flag, with the very personal battle flags of the Irish Brigade or the 2nd Regiment of Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. The latter features a federal Eagle, stars and regimental banner against a blue background.
In this sense, the battle flags of the Union during the American Civil War, are as varied as those of the Southern States’ battle flags. It is a mistake to assume that solders from both the South and the North all marched under a single national flag representing their country.
Custom outdoor flags from around the world come in many different designs. Battle flags follow this pattern. While many perceive a certain flag as symbolic of a battle or major event, this is rarely the case. Battle flags were not singular. They were personal expressions of the individual leaders and/or regiments involved in this clash of military power and personal, ethical, religious and/or economic beliefs.
If you are looking to know more information about custom outdoor flags, Visit the website Custommadeflags.com.
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Businessman Rocky De La Fuente took some time to speak with Wikinews about his campaign for the U.S. Democratic Party’s 2016 presidential nomination.
The 61-year-old De La Fuente resides in San Diego, California, grew up in Tijuana, and owns multiple businesses and properties throughout the world. Since getting his start in the automobile industry, De La Fuente has branched out into the banking and real estate markets. Despite not having held or sought political office previously, he has been involved in politics, serving as the first-ever Hispanic superdelegate to the 1992 Democratic National Convention.
De La Fuente entered the 2016 presidential race last October largely due to his dissatisfaction with Republican front-runner Donald Trump. He argues he is a more accomplished businessman than Trump, and attacks Trump as “a clown,” “a joke,” “dangerous,” and “in the same category as Hitler.” Nevertheless, De La Fuente’s business background begets comparisons with Trump. The Alaskan Midnight Sun blog described him as the Democrats’ “own Donald Trump.”
While receiving only minimal media coverage, he has campaigned actively, and according to the latest Federal Election Commission filing, loaned almost US$ 4 million of his own money to the campaign. He has qualified for 48 primary and caucus ballots, but has not yet obtained any delegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Thus far, according to the count at The Green Papers, De La Fuente has received 35,406 votes, or 0.23% of the total votes cast. He leads among the many lesser-known candidates but trails both Senator Bernie Sanders who has received nearly 6.5 million votes and front-runner Hillary Clinton who has just shy of 9 million votes.
With Wikinews reporter William S. Saturn?, De La Fuente discusses his personal background, his positions on political issues, his current campaign for president, and his political future.
