Wednesday, March 1, 2006

A suspected case of BSE, better known as mad cow disease, has been discovered in Sweden at a farm near Västerås some 80 kilometres west of Stockholm.

The affected farm has been quarantined and no ruminants from the farm are allowed to be sold or transported. The cow was destroyed earlier after symptoms of calving paralysis had been discovered, and the tests where carried out in accordance to rules set by the European Union (EU).

The Swedish Board of Agriculture (Jordbruksverket) analysed a specimen from the cow at the farm this weekend. The tests confirmed the presence of BSE and the specimen was sent for further analysis at a United Kingdom laboratory.

If the British analysis confirms BSE in the specimen, it will be the first case of BSE in Sweden. The affected farmer told the Swedish public service radio: “As my father said, if we have to make history it would be a pity to do it this way.”

BSE isn’t transmitted directly between animals, but rather from feedstuffs containing tainted tissues from infected ruminants to healthy animals. Such cattle feeds have been prohibited in Sweden for many years, but as the affected cow was born in 1994 she might have been given such food in her early life.

The disease has been declining in the EU after restrictions and regulations were put in place or tightened following an epidemic of the disease in humans in the UK. In that outbreak 150 people died.

Sweden has been considered a low-risk country. Ten previous tests have all proven to be false alarms.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

In a Rolling Stone magazine interview on Wednesday, United States President Barack Obama responded to recent backlash over his alleged policy shift on medical marijuana.

In January 2004, then-Illinois Senator Obama said, “The war on drugs has been an utter failure. We need to rethink and decriminalize our nation’s marijuana laws.” Since he took office as president, over 170 raids have been conducted on medical marijuana facilities across the U.S.

In the U.S. certain states have voted to allow for the use of marijuana for medical purposes, although it is still illegal to possess and consume under federal law. This has led to the recent raids and seizures on dispensaries by authorities with the federal government.

“What I specifically said was that we were not going to prioritize prosecutions of persons who are using medical marijuana,” President Obama said. “I never made a commitment that somehow we were going to give carte blanche to large-scale producers and operators of marijuana – and the reason is, because it’s against federal law. I can’t nullify congressional law.”

On April 2, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) raided Oaksterdam University in Oakland, California. Oaksterdam provides courses in which students can learn about the horticulture and business aspects of the medical marijuana industry, but does not distribute marijuana. Authorities confiscated marijuana plants, records, computers and seized bank accounts held by that department of the university.

“In many respects [the raids in California] are not a surprise considering that these dispensaries and cultivation centers are in violation of federal law, and always have been.” said Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). Along with the advocates at NORML, multiple lawmakers have written letters to President Obama criticizing his alleged shift on policy. The lawmakers have also called for the federal government to allow states to regulate themselves.

While medical marijuana is legal in California, as well as sixteen other states including Washington D.C., the Controlled Substances Act classifies marijuana as an illegal substance. California state law requires dispensaries to run as non-profit, and those who do make a profit are subject to getting raided by federal and local authorities. “If you grow a small amount at home or buy some off the street then he doesn’t care, that’s what they’ve said,” St. Pierre said.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Today, at 12:00 p.m. EDT (UTC-4) the Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) staged a “naked” protest in White Plains, New York. The target of the protest was British fashion house, Burberry, and their fur practices.

Two “naked” female PETA members, wearing nothing but bikini bottoms and body paint held billboards with the slogan, “When plaid goes bad.” The body paint was done in the trademarked Burberry Check plaid design.

Two other PETA members were there handing out leaflets and showing a video presentation. The painted protesters were spattered with far less fake blood than other documented PETA protests in this campaign.

PETA is protesting Burberry for the company’s use of fur in its products and how it is obtained. The group has staged similar protests around the world in its ongoing “BloodyBurberry”-campaign.

The protest took place at the intersection of Westchester Avenue and Bloomingdale Road in front of the The Westchester, an upscale shopping mall owned by Simon Property Group. Burberry has a retail store in the mall.

This corner is far from the mall’s entrances and sees little pedestrian traffic. However, it does see heavy traffic by motorists, before whom the protestors were in plain sight. While Wikinews was on the scene, police and news media were the only other pedestrians.

The police presence was significant, numbering at least two vehicles and two mounted police officers. But since there was no crowd to control, they just hung back. Media was also there in numbers. At least two television crews could be observed.

As far as Wikinews can tell, Burberry has yet to make any public comment about any of the “BloodyBurberry” protests.

Sunday, September 5, 2021

Since June 2019, the people of South Gippsland Shire, located at the southernmost tip of Australia, have been without a local council, after a state government inquiry found “high levels of tension” within the council. Administrators were appointed by the Victorian state government in July 2019, who have governed the shire since then. However, South Gippsland’s council is scheduled to be restored with an election to be held via post from October 5-22, 2021.

Wikinews interviewed one of the candidates standing in this election, Mat Morgan. He is running as a candidate in the Coastal-Promontory Ward, and is endorsed by the Australian Greens. The Coastal-Promontory ward covers towns such as Venus Bay, Waratah Bay, Yanakie, Foster, Port Welshpool, and Toora, and elects three councillors to the South Gippsland Shire Council.

Monday, December 19, 2005

Larry Robinson resigned as coach of the New Jersey Devils on Monday afternoon because of stress-related health issues. Devils president and general manager Lou Lamoriello will take over the coach position temporarily until the new coach would be brought “as soon as possible”.

“Stress is a killer,” Mr. Robinson said during the announcement. “I lost a dear brother last year and that changed my thoughts about life a lot. My parents are no longer around. I want to be able to enjoy my kids. I worked and I played for 20 years so I could give everything I wasn’t able to have for myself to my children, and they suffered for my absence.”

Robinson, who coached Devils to 2000 Stanley Cup championship and 2001 Stanley Cup Finals, returned to coach the Devils last July after Pat Burns was diagnosed with cancer.

“A lot of things were getting to me. I want this team to be successful, but if I can’t be at my best and it’s bothering me healthwise, I can’t do that,” Robinson said.

Robinson’s resignation is the second NHL coaching change this season, following Eddie Olczyk’s dismissal by the Pittsburgh Penguins last week.

54-year-old Robinson missed 2 games this month with flu and sinus problems, he said that he already underwent tests, including an CAT test because of continuing “horrible headaches”.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007File:Nadine Strossen 5 by David Shankbone.jpg

There are few organizations in the United States that elicit a stronger emotional response than the American Civil Liberties Union, whose stated goal is “to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States”. Those people include gays, Nazis, women seeking abortion, gun owners, SPAM mailers and drug users. People who are often not popular with various segments of the public. The ACLU’s philosophy is not that it agrees or disagrees with any of these people and the choices that they make, but that they have personal liberties that must not be trampled upon.

In Wikinews reporter David Shankbone’s interview with the President of the ACLU, Nadine Strossen, he wanted to cover some basic ground on the ACLU’s beliefs. Perhaps the area where they are most misunderstood or have their beliefs most misrepresented is their feelings about religion in the public sphere. The ACLU categorically does not want to see religion disappear from schools or in the public forum; but they do not want to see government advocacy of any particular religion. Thus, former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore’s placement of a ten ton monument to the Ten Commandments outside the courthouse is strenuously opposed; but “Lone Ranger of the Manger” Rita Warren’s placement of nativity scenes in public parks is vigorously defended. In the interview, Strossen talks about how certain politicians and televangelists purposefully misstate the law and the ACLU’s work in order to raise funds for their campaigns.

David Shankbone’s discussion with Strossen touches upon many of the ACLU’s hot button issues: religion, Second Amendment rights, drug liberalization, “partial-birth abortion” and whether or not George W. Bush should be impeached. It may surprise the reader that many ideas people have about the most visible of America’s civil libertarian organizations are not factually correct and that the ACLU often works closely with many of the organizations people think despise its existence.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported that Toyota is poised to recall 270 thousand gas-and-electric Prius vehicles (model ZVW30) sold in the US and Japan between May and December 2009, due to a flaw in the car’s anti-lock braking system.

Takayuki Fujimoto, a transport ministry official, said the government has yet to receive a recall notice from Toyota. “Nothing has been decided on whether we will recall or not”, he stated. Toyota cannot announce a recall in Japan until it notifies the ministry, but said it was currently discussing how to deal with the issue with Japan’s transport ministry and U.S. safety authorities.

Toyota has faced a US lawsuit alleging it covered up safety problems. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched a formal investigation into the braking problems on Thursday after 124 complaints from consumers.

Since May 2009, two hundred thousand new Prius cars (model ZVW30) have been sold in Japan and another 103,200 in the United States.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

At least ten attackers with knives, dressed in black, attacked a train station in Kunming, China yesterday. At least 28 victims were killed, with 113 more wounded by knives, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported. The local municipal government accuses “Xinjiang separatist forces” for the attack. Xinhua called the attack “an organized, premeditated violent terrorist attack”. One suspect was arrested, while four or five suspects were shot dead.

Yang Haifei, a local resident, told Xinhua the attackers rushed in and began attacking people while he was buying a ticket. “I saw a person come straight at me with a long knife and I ran away with everyone,” he said, while people who were slower were attacked and “fell on the ground”.

Preparations are underway for an annual legislature meeting, at which president Xi Jinping as well as his government are to deliver their first one-year work report on Wednesday. Xi Jinping states there should be “all out efforts” to apprehend the attackers, while the Ministry of Public Security’s Security Management Bureau stated law enforcement will “crack down the crimes in accordance with the law without any tolerance.” He calls for severe punishments “in accordance with the law”, as well as to “crack down on those who have been swollen with arrogance”.

China has also blamed a suicide attack in Tiananmen Square late last year, in Beijing, on the separatists.