Thursday, October 12, 2006

The Blunkett diaries, being serialised in the Guardian, claim that Gordon Brown opposed the war against Iraq. Only at the last minute did he give in, according to the diaries, when he realised that Blair would sack him otherwise.

Gordon Brown, interviewed by the Guardian, said he did not think Blunkett had ever said such a thing and that, if he was reported as having done so, he was being misquoted.

The diary entries are contemporary with the events and were recorded shortly after the Cabinet meeting on Iraq.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

The government of Peru declared a state of emergency in the vicinity of the Ubinas volcano on Saturday as it began to spew out ash and smoke over a 6km area, indicating a possible eruption in the near future. The civil defense institute has recommended the total evacuation of the 3,500 residents of the district of Ubinas.

The Peruvian military has been ordered to aid in the evacuation of civilians from the area. Aid shipments of tents, water and powdered milk are being sent to the affected area.

Those who decided to evacuate were brought to the town of Querapi by bus. Others who reside near the volcano chose to stay behind to protect their livestock and belongings.

No human deaths have been reported so far, but llamas and alpacas have died after eating grass contaminated by volcanic pollutants. People have reported eye and breathing problems following exposure to the acid-laden ash and smoke.

The 18700-ft. high Ubinas is Peru’s most active volcano, with 23 eruptions recorded since 1550. The current activity follows a 40-year dormant period. Scientists at the Institute of Geophysics have warned that a dome of incandescent lava appears to be building up in the volcanic crater.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Both the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) parties have announce “freebies” as part of their election manifestos in the lead-up to the vote in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Freebies have been a success from the 2006 Tamil Nadu elections when DMK lured voters by announcing free colour televisions to households. That triumph led the major opposition AIADMK to announce similar freebies in their manifesto published Thursday.

DMK has announced free laptops to college students, kitchen appliances and modern networks to rural regions. The AIADMK, publishing their manifesto later, expanded on each of the promises of the DMK, plus offering 4g gold mangalsutra for the poor, monetary help for rural households and fishermen, free rice, and more.

AIADMK manifesto addresses larger issues, such as taking on the near-monopoly of the cable industry television industry, starting new Power generation plants to address power shortages in recent years.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

A Norwegian University of Science and Technology study released Thursday found electric vehicles have a potential for higher eco-toxicity and greenhouse impact than conventional cars. The study includes an examination of the electric car’s life cycle as a whole rather than a study of the electric car’s environmental impact during the use phase.

The researchers conducted a comparison of the environmental impact of electric cars in view of different ratios of green-to-fuel electricity energy sources. In the case of mostly coal- or oil-based electricity supply, electric cars are disadvantageous compared to classic diesel cars with the greenhouse effect impact being up to two times larger.

The researchers found that in Europe, electric cars pose a “10% to 24% decrease in global warming potential (GWP) relative to conventional diesel or gasoline vehicles”.

The researchers suggest to improve eco-friendliness of electric vehicles by “reducing vehicle production supply chain impacts and promoting clean electricity sources in decision making regarding electricity infrastructure” and using the electric cars for a longer time, so that the use phase plays a more important role in the electric vehicle life cycle.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

While nearly all coverage of the 2008 Presidential election has focused on the Democratic and Republican candidates, there are small political parties offering candidates, and those who choose to run without a party behind them, independents.

Wikinews is interviewing some of these citizens who are looking to become the 43rd person elected to serve their nation from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

Our second interview is with Cincinnati, Ohio’s Steve Kissing, a divorced father of two who is a creative director at an advertising agency.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Brooklyn Borough Hall featured a Who’s Who in New York’s literary community during the second annual Brooklyn Book Festival. According to Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, the borough’s zip code 11215 boasts more authors than anywhere else in the country. It appeared to be the case on Sunday. More than 100 authors were featured at the day-long event, including The Basketball Diaries writer Jim Carroll, former M*A*S*H star Mike Farrell, author and illustrator Mo Willems, Jack Kerouac‘s sometime lover and National Book Critics Circle Award recipient Joyce Johnson and PEN American Center President Francine Prose.

This year’s festival made use of Saint Francis College and the Brooklyn Historical Society to accommodate the big jump over last year’s 70 authors in participation to 115 this year. Although there is no official way to keep track of the numbers of attendees, Borough Hall officials estimated between 15,000 and 20,000 people attended.

Markowitz spoke with NY1‘s Inside City Hall host Dominic Carter, who shared stories of his childhood abuse. A lone protester from Develop Don’t Destroy, the group against the development of Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards, held up a sign decrying Markowitz’s support for the project.

A highlight of the festival was recent Heinz Family Foundation award recipient Dave Eggers discussing with Nigerian poet Chris Abani a slide show of Eggers’s trip to Marial Bai, Sudan. Eggers wrote a fictional account of the life of Valentino Achak Deng, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. The book, What Is the What, was a critical success.

One of the featured panels on “soon-to-be-published works of groundbreaking authors” that included Jim Carroll, The Women of Brewster Place author Gloria Naylor and playwright and music journalist Joe Meno, ran into problems. The panel was the final program and started half an hour late. Naylor failed to show, reportedly due to a death in the family. In the middle of Carroll’s presentation he was asked to stop speaking so they could close the courtroom where the event was held in the Borough Hall. Carroll was visibly upset. He asked the audience if they wanted to hear one song, to which they enthusiastically cheered until the festival organizers cut off his microphone to keep to a schedule that required they vacate the premises by a certain time.

Steven Carter and Bernice McFadden also failed to attend; McFadden stated on her blog that she came down with a stomach illness. The Brooklyn Book Festival had no comment.