Friday, January 27, 2017

On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet announced Germany is to drop the ‘lese majeste’ law which protects foreign leaders from insult. This law is to come under effect in January 2018.

German justice minister Heiko Maas called this law redundant and said, “the idea of lese majesty arose in an era long gone by. It no longer belongs in our criminal law”.

A year ago, German satirist Jan Böhmermann presented a poem on the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdo?an. In the poem he said Erdo?an “kicks the Kurds, smacks the Christians, all while watching child pornography”, National Public Radio reported. Böhmermann also called the Turkish leader “stupid, cowardly and uptight”.

In April, Böhmermann faced investigation, authorised by Merkel. Judges in Hamburg called the poem abusive. In October, the investigation was dropped on grounds of insufficient evidence of a crime. A final hearing on an injunction against Böhmermann is scheduled for February 10 in Hamburg.

If the measure passes, German citizens would not be prosecuted by their government specifically for dishonouring foreign leaders. However, Maas says foreign leaders have the same right as any other plaintiff to file a civil defamation suit.

The change to the law would require action by the German Bundestag.

Friday, July 22, 2005

The British Parliament approved the first stage of the new Crossrail underground railroad through London as a £15 billion construction project earlier this month. Crossrail is the first major new train line to be built in London in decades.

The rail line being implemented as a hybrid bill in Parliament. After a second reading in Parliament, it was voted upon and decided that the government will commit to the project so that the line will be built.

The next issue before Parliament of to ensure that the implementation of the bill so it is consistent with private interests of neighborhoods to be affected by Crossrail. This is when residents can petition Parliament to change the way the line is constructed.

As a result of construction of the Crossrail line, hundreds of homes will have new tunnels excavated beneath them.

On contacting Crossrail, they have indicated approximately £50 will be offered to each landowner to buy all the land rights-of-way to build the train tunnel more than 9 meters below the residential buildings. The average value for properties in the affected areas is £350,000.

Under UK compulsory purchase laws to be used in this bill, the residents are entitled to the difference in the value of the whole property with and without a tunnel under it. If the offer given by Crossrail is not accepted by any of the residents, the residents can take the case to the Land Tribunal, where the fair value will be established.

This however, could be cost prohibitive. Crossrail does not indicate that it will attempt to assign a fair value in the original offer and instead is only going to offer around £50 per property in the hope that not many people take the matter to the Land Tribunal.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Peter Ormond is running for the Green Party of Ontario in the Ontario provincial election, in the Hamilton Centre riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed him regarding his values, his experience, and his campaign.

Ormond did not answer three questions: “Which of your competitors do you expect to pose the biggest challenge to your candidacy? Why? What makes you the most desirable of all candidates running in the riding?”, “Are the property taxes in your riding at a fair level for the amount of services received in the municipality?”, and “Of the decisions made by Ontario’s 38th Legislative Assembly, which was the most beneficial to your this electoral district? To the province as a whole? Which was least beneficial, or even harmful, to your this riding? To the province as a whole?”

Stay tuned for further interviews; every candidate from every party is eligible, and will be contacted. Expect interviews from Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, New Democratic Party members, Ontario Greens, as well as members from the Family Coalition, Freedom, Communist, Libertarian, and Confederation of Regions parties, as well as independents.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

A resident of Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound his whole life, Correctional Services officer Paul Johnstone is running for the Ontario New Democratic Party in the Ontario provincial election. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed him regarding his values, his experience, and his campaign.

Stay tuned for further interviews; every candidate from every party is eligible, and will be contacted. Expect interviews from Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, New Democratic Party members, Ontario Greens, as well as members from the Family Coalition, Freedom, Communist, Libertarian, and Confederation of Regions parties, as well as independents.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

On Tuesday, Microsoft launched BizTalk Server 2006 R2 with Radio-frequency Identification (RFID) technology in Taiwan. Microsoft Taiwan held a launch seminar with “Pulse the Operations with the Communication of Enterprises” topic and invited hardware and software companies to highlight the integration of RFID, SOA, and EDI with BizTalk Server 2006 R2.

At the press conference, Steven Martin (Director of Product Management for BizTalk® Server Product Group at Microsoft Corp.) mentioned the improvements to BizTalk Server 2006 R2 and the lower costs, which could increase the opportunities for enterprises. Martin also praised Taiwan for having an environment conducive to the development of RFID technology, and suggested that was the reason Microsoft Global Headquarters chose Taiwan as the first location for the product launch.

Aside from seminars and exhibitions, Microsoft Taiwan also welcomed Chang Jung Christian University, Telecommunication Laboratories of Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd., Tekho Inc., Formosa Petrochemical Co., Ltd., and Quanta Computer lnc. to introduce their solutions from their earlier integration and show the strength of RFID technologies in Taiwan.

After the launch series in Taiwan, Microsoft Global Headquarters announced that the next launch for BizTalk Server 2006 R2 would be Sydney, Australia on September 13, followed by Chicago, United States on October 2.

Friday, September 26, 2008

On October 14, 2008, Canadians will be heading to the polls for the federal election. New Democratic Party candidate Michael McMahon is standing for election in the riding of Prince Edward—Hastings. McMahon moved to Windsor in 1951, getting a degree in education, teaching locally and in Papua New Guinea. He served as Branch President of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF), served on multiple of their major committees, and recently retired from the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board.

Wikinews contacted Michael McMahon, to talk about the issues facing Canadians, and what they and their party would do to address them. Wikinews is in the process of contacting every candidate, in every riding across the country, no matter their political stripe. All interviews are conducted over e-mail, and interviews are published unedited, allowing candidates to impart their full message to our readers, uninterrupted.

Since being redefined in 2003, the riding includes the County of Prince Edward and the County of Hastings (except the City of Quinte West). Conservative Party member Daryl Kramp currently represents the riding, after beating a Liberal in 2004. Ken Cole of the Liberals and Alan Coxwell of the Greens are also running in the riding.

For more information, visit the campaign’s official website, listed below.

Thursday, October 22, 2020

2020 Melbourne Lord Mayor candidate Wayne Tseng answered some questions about his campaign for the upcoming election from Wikinews. The Lord Mayor election in the Australian city is scheduled to take place this week.

Tseng runs a firm called eTranslate, which helps software developers to make the software available to the users. In the candidate’s questionnaire, Tseng said eTranslate had led to him working with all three tiers of the government. He previously belonged to the Australian Liberal Party, but has left since then, to run for mayorship as an independent candidate.

Tseng is of Chinese descent, having moved to Australia with his parents from Vietnam. Graduated in Brisbane, Tseng received his PhD in Melbourne and has been living in the city, he told Wikinews. Tseng also formed Chinese Precinct Chamber of Commerce, an organisation responsible for many “community bond building initiatives”, the Lord Mayor candidate told Wikinews.

Tseng discussed his plans for leading Melbourne, recovering from COVID-19, and “Democracy 2.0” to ensure concerns of minorities in the city were also heard. Tseng also focused on the importance of the multi-culture aspect and talked about making Melbourne the capital of the aboriginals. Tseng also explained why he thinks Melbourne is poised to be a world city by 2030.

Tseng’s deputy Lord Mayor candidate Gricol Yang is a Commercial Banker and works for ANZ Banking Group.

Currently, Sally Capp is the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, the Victorian capital. Capp was elected as an interim Lord Mayor in mid-2018 after the former Lord Mayor Robert Doyle resigned from his position after sexual assault allegations. Doyle served as the Lord Mayor of Melbourne for almost a decade since 2008.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Top broker and Wall Street adviser Bernard L. Madoff, aged 70, was arrested and charged by the FBI on Thursday with a single count of securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud. He allegedly told senior employees of his firm on Wednesday that his $50 billion business “is all just one big lie” and that it was “basically, a giant Ponzi scheme (since at least 2005).” Mr. Madoff faces up to 20 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $5 million. FBI agent Theodore Cacioppi said Mr. Madoff’s investment advisory business had “deceived investors by operating a securities business in which he traded and lost investor money, and then paid certain investors purported returns on investment with the principal received from other, different investors, which resulted in investors’ losses of approximately $50 billion dollars.”

The former chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Market is also the founder and primary owner of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, the closely-held market-making firm he launched in 1960. The firm is one of the top market maker firms on Wall Street. He founded his family firm with an initial investment of $5,000, after attending Hofstra University Law School. He saved the money earned from a job lifeguarding at Rockaway Beach in Queens and a part time job installing underground sprinkler systems.

A force in Wall Street trading for nearly 50 years, he has been active in the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), a self-regulatory organization for the U.S. securities industry. His firm was one of the five most active firms in the development of the NASDAQ, having been known for “paying for order flow,” in other word paying a broker to execute a customer’s order through Madoff. He argued that the payment to the broker did not alter the price that the customer received. He ran the investment advisory as a secretive business, however.

Dan Horwitz, counsel of Mr. Madoff, in an interview, said that “he is a longstanding leader in the financial-services industry with an unblemished record; he is a person of integrity; he intends to fight to get through this unfortunate event.” Mr. Madoff was released on his own recognizance on the same day of his arrest, after his 2 sons turned him in, and posting $10 million bail secured by his Manhattan apartment. Without entering any plea, the Court set the preliminary hearing for January 12.

Madoff’s hedge fund scheme may rank among the biggest fraud in history. When former energy trading giant Enron filed for bankruptcy in 2001, one of the largest at the time, it had $63.4 billion in assets. The scheme would dwarf past Ponzis, and it would further be nearly five times the telecommunication company WorldCom fraud and bankruptcy proceedings in 2002.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a separate civil suit on Thursday against Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities and its eponymous founder Mr. Madoff. It was docketed as “U.S. v. Madoff,” 08-MAG-02735, by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan). SEC, New York associate director of enforcement, Andrew M. Calamari, asked the judge to issue seizure orders on the firm and its assets, and appoint a receiver. The SEC pleads, among others, that “it was an ongoing $50 billion swindle; our complaint alleges a stunning fraud that appears to be of epic proportions.” It further accused the defendant of “paying returns to certain investors out of the principal received from other, different investors” for years. Madoff’s hedge fund business had previously claimed to have served between 11 and 25 clients and had $17.1 billion in assets under management. But virtually all of the assets were missing.

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York Louis L. Stanton on Thursday appointed Lee Richards, a Manhattan lawyer, as the firm’s receiver. A hearing is set for Friday, for a ruling on the SEC’s petition to grant plenary powers to the receiver over the entire firm, and an absolute asset sequestration.

Doug Kass, president of hedge fund Seabreeze Partners Management said that “this is a major blow to confidence that is already shattered — anyone on the fence will probably try to take their money out.”

Thursday, November 19, 2009

On Monday Daimler AG announced a deal to buy a 75.1% stake in Brawn GP.

As a result, the team who won both the 2009 Drivers’ and Constructors’ championships this year with Mercedes-engined cars, would be rebranded as Mercedes Grand Prix from 2010 Formula One Season onwards. The team could possibly use its legendary ‘Silver Arrows’ livery again since a crash at Le Mans in 1955, ending Mercedes’ 55 year absence in the sport as a sole team.

Daimler purchase went in partnership with Aabar Investments, who now own 30% of the shares. The rest of the shares will stay for Ross Brawn, who will remain as team principal, and Nick Fry.

The team still will be headquartered in Brackley (United Kingdom) which is close to Mercedes F1 engine plant at Brixworth, led by Norbert Haug, Vice-President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport.

Mercedes will also continue to supply McLaren with engines until at least 2015, but sell its 40% stake in two years.

Mercedes is now up to decide their drivers for the next season as Rubens Barrichello already signed a contract with Williams and Jenson Button could run for McLaren together with Lewis Hamilton.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Public officials and other experts gave presentations earlier this week regarding lessons learned during the aftermath of an explosion which struck the small town of West, Texas in April of this year. The event, which was live-streamed to various locations across Texas, was sponsored by the Texas Department of State Health Services as a part of its Grand Rounds seminar offerings. Three officials, each of whom were heavily involved in responding to the event, gave individual presentations.

Frank Patterson, Emergency Management Coordinator for the city of Waco and McLennan County, was the first to speak. Early on, Patterson commented about injuries sustained by citizens of West who lived in the neighborhood surrounding the chemical plant where the explosion occurred. He also said 113 different agencies responded to the event. Specifically, Patterson said, “This was the first time I didn’t have to request federal [agency] support. They just showed up.” He also presented a broad array of photos taken from the blast site and the surrounding neighborhood, pointing out that debris was found as far as 2.5 miles away from the chemical plant. Regarding lessons learned during the days following the explosion, Patterson said all such incident teams need a social media person on-site. He also said, “Stress will take its toll on all involved.”

Dana Lafayette represented the local mental healthcare provider for the county. She explained mental health professionals offered assistance following the blast, but avoided being too intrusive with citizens. Lafayette clarified, “We would walk through [the area] and hand [survivors] water, along with the information cards and say, ‘If you need us, we’re here.'” She also stated, “It was interesting to see the amount of resiliency within the community.”

Kelly Craine, Public Information Officer for Waco-McLennan County Public Health District, also spoke. She indicated her agency’s primary focus was to “create some sort of ‘safe haven’ for victims of the blast.” Craine’s agency used a local church as a gathering place for citizen displaced from their homes as a result of the incident. Notably, speaking about her agency’s after action report, Craine said, “This [event’s] after action report is so big, we’re still working on ours.”