Wednesday, March 29, 2006The Australian House of Representatives today acknowledged the impact of the recent devastating Cyclone Larry and the efforts of the support given to the residents and communities of north Queensland in order to restore normal life.

Phillip Ruddock (Liberal, Berowra) moved a motion expressing this after Question Time today, which included a description of the devastation wrought on the area, the response by the Australian Government and the Australian Defence Force, and thanked the efforts of people for their “willingness to roll up their sleeves and get on with the job of cleaning up and rebuilding their towns and centres.”

The Leader of the Opposition, Kim Beazley (Labor, Brand) supported the motion, and congratulated the move to put General Peter Cosgrove in charge of operations, stating that soldiers “know how to work through logistics issues…how to work around officialdom or blockages”, praised both local federal and state members of Parliament, and especially the Labor Queensland state premier, Peter Beattie.

Bob Katter (Independent, Kennedy) was more critical in his speech. Katter thanked Beattie for his immediate response, but also described his confrontation with him and said how first responses were “simply not working”, but also praised Beattie’s decision on Cosgrove. Katter also described how the incident was “the worst natural disaster inAustralian history” and how the banana industry in north Queensland was decimated. Katter went on to describe the financial problems of the people in the region, the “huge gap” between the cost of rebuilding and insurance payouts, also asking “Are we going to pay people virtually nothing to sit on their backsides to do nothing or are we going to pay them a decent wage and have them rebuilding our communities for us?”

The debate is set to continue in the Main Committee, as an opportunity for many more members of the House of Representatives to speak to the motion, without taking up further time in the Chamber.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Chinese officials have said that their country’s exports surged last December to edge out Germany as the world’s biggest exporter.

The official Xinhua news agency reported today that figures from the General Administration for Customs showed that exports jumped 17.7% in December from a year earlier. Over the whole of 2009 total Chinese exports reached US$1.2 trillion, above Germany’s forecast $1.17 trillion.

Huang Guohua, a statistics official with the customs administration, said the December exports rebound was an important turning point for China’s export sector. He commented that the jump was an indication that exporters have emerged from their downslide.

“We can say that China’s export enterprises have completely emerged from their all-time low in exports,” he said.

However, although China overtook Germany in exports, China’s total foreign trade — both exports and imports — fell 13.9% last year.

Saturday, September 7, 2019

Adam Kokesh, an Iraq War veteran, activist, radio show host, and currently a candidate for the US Libertarian Party’s 2020 presidential nomination, spoke with Wikinews to discuss his background, political positions, and campaign for President of the United States.

Kokesh, who hails from Arizona, has been active in the anti-war movement since returning home from combat in Iraq. After an initial honorary discharge from active duty with the US Marine Corp in 2006, Kokesh was given a general discharge from the Marine Forces Reserve in 2007 after images of him wearing his uniform while participating in a protest with the Iraq Veterans Against the War were published in The Washington Post. Kokesh has also been involved in demonstrations in support of free speech, gun rights, and marijuana decriminalization. Some of these activities have resulted in his arrest. Kokesh previously hosted a show on RT and currently hosts a show on internet radio.

Politically, Kokesh supported the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns of Ron Paul. He was a featured speaker at Paul’s Rally for the Republic in 2008. Kokesh ran for US Congress as a Republican in 2010 in New Mexico and for US Senate in Arizona in 2018. He announced his 2020 candidacy in 2013 during a jailhouse interview. He has based his campaign on the pledge to begin “dissolving the federal government in a peaceful, orderly manner” and to resign as president and take the title of “Custodian of the Federal Government.”

Other contenders for the Libertarian Party’s 2020 presidential nomination include former Libertarian Party Vice Chairman Arvin Vohra, businessman John McAfee, and New Hampshire state representative Max Abramson. Congressman Justin Amash and former Rhode Island governor and US Senator Lincoln Chafee are both reportedly considering runs. Former New York gubernatorial candidate Larry Sharpe and former Massachusetts governor William Weld were both previously considered potential candidates but Sharpe suggested he would not run and Weld has decided to run in the 2020 Republican Party presidential primaries, challenging President Donald Trump.

With accredited Wikinews reporter William S. Saturn, Kokesh details his background and activism, his thoughts on the Libertarian Party, the Presidency of Donald Trump, and the goals for his campaign and presidency.

Thursday, February 9, 2017

On Monday, scientists from the Stanford University School of Medicine announced the invention of a new diagnostic tool that can sort cells by type: a tiny printable chip that can be manufactured using standard inkjet printers for possibly about one U.S. cent each. Lead researchers say this may bring early detection of cancer, tuberculosis, HIV and malaria to patients in low-income countries, where the survival rates for illnesses such as breast cancer can be half those of richer countries.

Existing methods tend to identify cell types using fluorescent or magnetic labels, which take time to attach, but this platform uses the phenomenon of dielectrophoresis: because different kinds of cells have different levels of receptivity to electrical fields, a trait called polarizability, when an electric potential gradient is activated around the chip, different cells are pulled in different directions at different speeds. This allows doctors to diagnose cancer by determining the number of tumor cells in a patient’s blood sample. Different chips can be printed to diagnose different diseases.

Physically, the scientists say, the system has two parts. Cells are held in a clear microfluidic chamber made of silicone. The chip itself is an electronic strip that can be printed onto flexible polyester. Most lab-on-a-chip devices must be manufactured by professional staff in specialized facilities called clean rooms and can take weeks, but the chip component of this system can be made almost anywhere in as little as twenty minutes. The chips cost approximately one U.S. cent to produce (US$0.01) and can be reused. For comparison, a standard flow cytometry machine can cost US$100,000 to purchase.

“Enabling early detection of diseases is one of the greatest opportunities we have for developing effective treatments,” said lead author and electrical engineer Dr. Rahim Esfandyarpour. “Maybe $1 in the U.S. doesn’t count that much, but somewhere in the developing world, it’s a lot of money.”

Senior author Dr. Ron Davis of the Stanford University Genome Technology Center compared this invention to that of low-cost genome sequencing, which helped lead to personalized medicine.

The findings appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday.

Monday, June 24, 2019

On Friday, on Route 2 in Randolph, New Hampshire, United States, a pickup truck and a group of ten motorcycles collided, the truck catching fire in the process. The incident left seven motorcyclists dead; the official cause of death reportedly was “blunt trauma.” The victims were reportedly members and supporters of the motorcycle club Marine JarHeads MC, which includes both veterans of the United States Marines and their spouses.

According to Coös County Attorney John McCormick on Saturday, the truck driver was identified as commercial driver Volodoymyr Zhukovskyy. The pickup had been towing a flatbed trailer. The deceased victims were officially identified as Michael Ferazzi, Albert Mazza, Desma Oakes, Aaron Perry, Daniel Pereira, and Joanne and Edward Corr. Three other cyclists were hospitalized.

After the names of the victims were released, New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu declared flags would be flown at half-mast on Monday — today — in their honor. A memorial was held for the group as part of a Blessing of the Bikes ceremony this weekend in Columbia, New Hampshire. Marine Corps and United States flags were also left at and near the scene of the crash. As of Saturday the crash was being investigated by both state police and the National Transportation Safety Board, and as of yesterday no arrests nor charges were reported. A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to pay for funeral costs and medical expenses.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Victoria, Australia —

Crime statistics released on Monday by Victoria Police show that Victoria is seeing an increase in fuel theft, much like Sydney has recently experienced.

In the past year, petrol drive-off offences have increased by 41.6%, from 5,038 in 2004-05 to 7,135 in 2005-06. There has also been a large increase in number plate thefts, 31.9% in the past year. These thefts allow concealment of vehicle registration numbers during the commission of drive-off offenses.

Police Chief Commissioner, Christine Nixon, has said that new initiatives are being introduced to control the growing problem. “In particular we have recently introduced the ‘safe plates’ initiative which encourages the use of one-way screws on number plates”, she said.

The slotted head of the screw allows an installer to turn the screw tighter for fastening the license plate in place, but the screw cannot be backed out with a screwdriver because the slot is shorn off in the direction needed to loosen the screw.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

A large forest fire that started on Monday, June 9 is still out of control in the municipality of Froland in southern Norway. The fire is the largest forest fire to occur in Norway since World War II.

The fire has spread extensively and it is estimated that approximately 2,500 acres of forest have been damaged. Approximately 15 cabins are reported to have burned to the ground, but as of yet, no permanent dwellings or farms have been damaged. However, many inhabitants have been evacuated due to the fire threatening their homes, including the entire villages of Mykland and Belland. There have also been some power outages due to power lines being damaged.

Approximately 140 persons, including fire-fighters from several fire departments, and personnel from the Civil Defence and the Home Guard are working to curtail the fire. Four fire helicopters have been deployed. The fire fighting is focused on areas where the fire threatens buildings.

Extremely dry weather, and difficult wind conditions, have caused severe difficulties in fighting the fire. Fire-fighters first had hope of gaining control on the morning of Thursday, June 12, but the wind changed direction during the day, causing a large extension of the fire. There is some hope that the weekend will bring some rain; however, this will likely not be enough to stop the fire. It could take several weeks before the fire is completely extinguished.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Jesse Sullivan has two cybernetic arms, after electrical burns suffered while working as an electrical utility lineman resulted in amputation of both his arms at the shoulder. Claudia Mitchell has a similar cybernetic left arm, after a motorcycle accident resulted in amputation. Sullivan and Mitchell shook hands with these thought-controlled prosthetic arms at an event staged Thursday in Washington, D.C. by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Center for Artificial Limbs at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.

Unlike traditional prosthetic limbs, these are actuated through muscle reinnervation; nerves are grafted onto specific muscles, controlling their contraction, which are then detected by electrode sensors and control the prosthetic limb. “Basically it is connecting the dots. Finding the nerves. We have to free the nerves and see how far they reach,” says Dr. Todd Kuiken, developer of the prostheses and director of neuroengineering at the Rehabilitation Institute. By this chain of communication the prostheses utilize thought-controlled biomechanics. According to Sullivan, “When I use the new prosthesis I just do things. I don’t have to think about it … I do all the yard work. I take out the garbage.”

DARPA, as an agency of the United States Department of Defense, seeks to eventually provide such prostheses for soldiers losing their organic limbs in combat. “We’re excited about collaborating with the military,” said Kuiken. 411 U.S. troops in Iraq and 37 in Afghanistan have had wounds that cost them at least one limb according to the Army Medical Command.