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Thursday, January 17, 2008

Two days before Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography, a biography of actor Tom Cruise written by journalist Andrew Morton, was released in the United States, a video showing Cruise promoting Scientology was leaked to the Internet. The promotional video appeared on video-sharing sites including YouTube, Gawker.com and radar online.com, and clips from the video were also shown on Wednesday morning talk shows in the United States.

In the 9-minute video produced by the Church of Scientology, Cruise is seen discussing his beliefs while the theme from his Mission: Impossible films plays as background music. Cruise appears wearing a black turtleneck sweater, speaking about his dedication to changing people’s lives. The format of the video appears to be an interview with Cruise, and it is edited with questions cut out. Some of Cruise’s responses end abruptly.

Throughout the video, Cruise uses Scientology jargon terms such as “KSW”: “For me, it’s all about KSW.” The term stands for Keeping Scientology Working, which refers to a 10-point letter written by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard in 1965 to ensure the organization’s survival. Cruise also discusses “SPs”, or Suppressive Persons, “PTSPs”, a “potential trouble source” influenced by a Suppressive Person, and the need to “confront and shatter suppression”.

Cruise makes assertions about programs which use Hubbard’s teachings such as Criminon and Narconon “We’re the authorities on getting people off drugs. We’re the authorities on the mind. We’re the authorities on improving conditions. We can rehabilitate criminals. Way to happiness. We can bring peace and unite cultures.” Of the manner in which he wishes to spread Scientology’s message, he says “You’re in the playing field or out of the arena.” Cruise also expresses his disdain for psychiatrists, “Crush these guys [psychiatrists]! I’ve had it! Psychiatry doesn’t work. No mercy! None! Go to guns!”

The video concludes with Cruise laughing, and then a voiceover says: “Scientology can be defined by a single question: would you want others to develop the knowledge you have? In answering that question, Tom Cruise has introduced LRH [L. Ron Hubbard] technology to more than 1 billion people on earth. And that is only the first wave he has unleashed. That is why the story of Tom Cruise, Scientologist, has only just begun.”

According to Reuters, the Church of Scientology stated that the video was shown at a 2004 meeting of the International Association of Scientologists. In a statement, the Church of Scientology said that the video was Cruise’s acceptance speech after he had been given the organization’s “Freedom Medal”, and was shown “before an audience of 5,000 church parishioners and their guests.” The statement also called the video that appeared on the Internet a “pirated and edited version.” A representative for Cruise confirmed the Church of Scientology statement: “The video is of Mr. Cruise making an acceptance speech to fellow parishioners at a private church event in 2004.” David Miscavige, head of the Church of Scientology, had presented Cruise with the “Freedom Medal of Valor” at the 2004 ceremony. Eighty Scientologists have received the “Freedom Medal” since the award’s establishment in 1985, but Cruise is the only recipient of the Freedom Medal of Valor. Andrew Morton’s Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography characterizes Cruise as the second most powerful individual within the organization.

The video first appeared on the Internet on Sunday, and disappeared after the footage was linked to from Gawker.com and The Huffington Post. Gawker.com posted a copy of the video Tuesday morning, and said that the video had “been passed around privately by reporters and writers investigating Cruise’s ties to Scientology.” Gawker.com noted that a smaller video clip which had previously been available on YouTube “is no longer available, most likely after the Church of Scientology sent in a copyright infringement notice.” Gawker.com has stated that the video will stay up on its site, and has reprinted correspondence with Ava Paquette, an attorney with Moxon & Kobrin, a law firm representing the Church of Scientology. Nick Denton of Gawker.com commented on the posting of the video “It’s newsworthy, and we will not be removing it.”

Investigative journalist Mark Ebner is helping to post more than two hours of additional footage related to the Cruise video, and called it “the most unintentionally hilarious footage you’ve ever seen,” and characterized it as “better than” when Cruise jumped on Oprah’s couch during a May 23, 2005 appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and the South Park parody of Cruise in the controversial episode “Trapped in the Closet“. Ebner appeared on The Today Show on Wednesday, and discussed the video’s appearance on the Internet. In response, the Church of Scientology called Ebner a “fraud”. Ebner told the New York Daily News that “These tapes were made for purposes of recruitment.”

Attempts by the Church of Scientology to stop distribution of the video via the Internet “seem to have backfired spectacularly,” according to The Press Association, and by Thursday the video was viewable on websites other than Gawker.com, including the New York Post, Independent Television News and the BBC. For websites based in Britain usage of the video is protected under copyright laws, specifically for reporting news and current affairs. Still other reports on the video linked to locations where it could be watched, including a report in The Times. Copies of the video were not available on Google Video on Thursday, but were still available on YouTube.

Attorney Mark Stephens of London-based firm Finers Stephens Innocent commented on the Church of Scientology’s attempts to remove the video from the Internet: “The Scientologists, by taking action to enforce their copyrights, have made it a news story. The mistake was not to foresee that a news story has special protection in copyright law in reporting news and current events.”

Friday, January 10, 2020

At about 15:30 local time (1430 UTC) on Tuesday a fire was reported in the “Kiss & Fly” section of a parking structure at Stavanger Airport, Sola in Norway. The structure has over 3000 parking spaces; reports said more than half of those were filled. The airport was quickly closed to air traffic.

It was initially reported the fire started in an electric vehicle, but news broadcaster NRK later reported the fire started in a recalled 2005 Opel Zafira. The car was recalled after a similar fire in Cork, Ireland in August last year, causing damage to about 60 cars. Police said they questioned the car’s owner.

The fire produced heavy smoke, and local officials said there was danger the building might collapse. Nils-Erik Haagenrud of Rogaland Fire and Rescue said late on Tuesday no personnel would be sent into the building. Rogaland Fire and Rescue requested support and equipment from other fire departments. The airport and nearby hotel were both evacuated and local police warned people in the general vicinity to stay inside and close exterior vents and windows. Through Tuesday evening the fire was reduced and the order for a fire extinguisher robot from Oslo Fire and Rescue was canceled.

The airport closure also led to Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg being stranded after a visit to the Johan Sverdrup oil field. Solberg posted on Twitter asking for places to eat for the seven hour drive from Stavanger to the capital of Oslo.

Reports as of Wednesday said an estimated two to three hundred vehicles had been damaged or destroyed, but no humans had been hurt.

By about 22:00 local time (2100 UTC) on Tuesday the flames were under control. Local firefighters planned to continue to monitor the situation and work to prevent further damage. It was also discovered the structure was built without sprinklers. Stavanger Airport, Sola was to open on Wednesday morning, but returning to normal service was expected to take longer. Affected travelers were advised to contact their airlines for rebooking.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer on Friday announced it has signed a firm order with Air Moldova for one Embraer 190 jet, to be delivered in March 2010. The contract includes an option on another plane of the same model, Embraer said in a statement. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

At present, renowned companies such as Air France, Lufthansa group and Spanish Iberia Airlines own Embraer 190 jets, specified the representative of Air Moldova. The same source specified that Embraer 190 jet is one of the most economic and optimal aircrafts for operation, and it will be configured in a single-class cabin with 114 seats.

Air Moldova, which links the Moldovan capital, Chi?in?u, to cities in Europe and the Middle East, intends to use the new plane to open new markets.

The Embraer 190 is one of the four members of the E-Jets family. On December 31, the Embraer 170/190 E-Jets had logged 764 firm orders and 786 options.

Embraer is the world’s fourth-largest commercial plane maker. It finished 2007 with a firm order backlog of US$18.8 billion.

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

In February 2017, the Iranian Chess Federation announced two teenage chess players, Dorsa Derakhshani and her younger brother Borna Derakhshani, were banned from representing the national team. The federation announced their decision although Dorsa Derakhshani had previously decided and informed the chess federation she did not wish to play for Iran.

Dorsa Derakhshani is currently 21 years old and holds the International Master (IM) as well as Woman Grand Master (WGM) titles. Her brother, Borna, plays for the English Federation and holds the FIDE Master title.

Dorsa Derakhshani was banned since she did not wear a hijab, an Islamic headscarf, while competing at the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival in January 2017. Under the laws of Islamic Republic of Iran, hijab is a mandatory dress code. Her brother Borna Deraskhsani was banned for playing against Israeli Grand Master (GM) Alexander Huzman at the same tournament. Iran does not recognise the existence of Israel, and previously, Irani athletes have avoided playing against Israeli athletes.

Mehrdad Pahlavanzadeh, the president of the country’s chess federation, explained the decision to ban the players saying, “As a first step, these two will be denied entry to all tournaments taking place in Iran and in the name of Iran, they will no longer be allowed the opportunity to be present on the national team.” ^{((fa))Farsi language: ?????? ????? ?? ??? ??? ?? ??? ????? ?? ?? ???? ???????? ?? ?? ????? ? ?? ??? ????? ?????? ??????? ????? ??????? ? ???? ???? ???? ?? ??? ??? ?? ??????? ????.} He further stated, “Unfortunately, something that should not have happened has happened and our national interest is paramount and we have reported this position to the Ministry of Sports.” ^{((fa))Farsi language: ????????? ?????? ?? ????? ????????? ?????? ??? ? ????? ??? ?? ?? ?? ???? ?????? ???? ? ?? ??? ???? ?? ?? ????? ???? ?? ????? ?????.}

IM Dorsa Derakhshani, who currently studies at Saint Louis University in the United States and plays for the United States Chess Federation, discussed her chess career, time in Iran and the 2017 controversy, and her life in Saint Louis with a Wikinews correspondent.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Yesterday, authorities in the United Kingdom and the United States announced that 337 suspected users in 38 countries were arrested following an investigation of a dark web child pornography site. The website was based in South Korea and accepted cryptocurrency as payment. Law enforcement agencies from Germany, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States were part of the international task force. The current phase of investigation and arrests began in 2018.

At the center of the case was a website known as “Welcome To Video” and its alleged operator Jong Woo Son from South Korea. According to authorities, the site hosted a quarter million video clips containing sexual abuse of children, including toddlers and infants. The site was said to have begun operations in June 2015. Authorities shuttered and seized the site in March 2018.

Jong Woo Son is already in prison in South Korea, but yesterday the United States Department of Justice unsealed further charges against him. United States Attorney Jessie K. Liu said, “Children around the world are safer because of the actions taken by U.S. and foreign law enforcement to prosecute this case and recover funds for victims […] We will continue to pursue such criminals on and off the darknet in the United States and abroad, to ensure they receive the punishment their terrible crimes deserve.”

Nikki Holland of the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) said, “Dark web child sex offenders — some of whom are the very worst offenders — cannot hide from law enforcement. They’re not as cloaked as they think they are, they’re not as safe as they think they are.” It was the NCA’s investigation of Matthew Falder which led to the discovery of the South Korean website.

Jong was arrested in March, 2018, but South Korea’s National Police Agency when announcing the arrest in May, 2018 identified him only as “Mr. A” as the international investigation continued. Some of the site’s users already pleaded guilty or were convicted before yesterday’s announcements. Allegedly, Jong processed ?7300 in membership fees and video purchases. As of this writing, one bitcoin is worth approximately US$8000 or €7000. The site also allegedly made use of Tor, a layered network designed to keep users anonymous.

US authorities claimed the site was the largest child pornography site in the world and that more than twenty active victims were rescued. Listed US states as having members from the site were: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Washington, D.C. They also stated arrests were made in Australia, Brazil, Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

Despite the lengthy lists provided, neither US nor British authorities delivered a complete list of the 38 countries they said were involved.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Just days away from Halloween, Wikinews interviewed Kristian Hanson, producer-director of independent slasher film Sledge. The film has been a recent source of discussion in horror fan circles, primarily due to its production budget of only US$800. Sledge is Hanson’s fourth film to direct, according to Internet Movie Database.

Sunday, May 29, 2005

Brazil —Denunciations of political corruption threaten the Brazilian government. The most recent case involves a deputy of the political party PTB (who supports the government of the Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva) in a scandal of the services of post office.

Lula’s government representatives said that they will investigate all the denunciations and affirmed that the government is a victim of political enemies.

Thursday, April 11, 2019

In two studies presented on Monday at the annual meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in Orlando, Florida in the United States, scientists have disclosed new steps toward using natural adhesives made by the dusky Arion slug (Arion subfuscus) in medical applications such as in closing skin wounds and reducing scarring.

When threatened, the dusky Arion slug secretes an unusual glue, making itself a difficult target for predators. This glue remains both sticky and flexible and works even when the surface the slug is on is wet. Previous studies have shown that, unlike many artificial adhesives, Arion slug glue is non-toxic to mammalian tissue.

Scientist Rebecca Falconer, an Ithaca College undergraduate who led one of the two studies, said “Typical sutures like staples and stitches often lead to scarring and create holes in the skin that could increase the chance of infection after surgery […] Understanding the roles of adhesive proteins in the slug glue would aid in the creation of a medical adhesive that can move and stretch yet still retain its strength and adhesiveness.”

In her set of experiments, Falconer observed eleven proteins found only in slug glue and used DNA recombination to produce usable amounts of each of these proteins. Specifically, she produced complementary DNA sequences (cDNA) for each protein, which are stretches of DNA with all the pieces not necessary for producing the protein removed. She then spliced these into circular DNA sequences called plasmids, which she inserted into bacteria, whose natural cellular machinery began to produce the proteins in quantity. She then analyzed the three-dimensional structures that the protein molecules form with each other and with other substances that make them work.

Christopher Gallego-Lazo, also an Ithaca undergrad, evaluated glue from the dusky Arion slug by focusing on the chemical bonds within the glue and the way they affect the glue’s deformability. Gallego-Lazo found that slight changes in these chemical bonds could alter the strength of the slug glue.

Gallego-Lazo said, “Few studies on biological adhesives have identified the exact nature of the bonds holding the glue together […] This knowledge can guide the development of an organic synthetic adhesive that would reduce the risk of infection and scarring compared to stitches and staples and could be applied rapidly and simply.”

Falconer and Gallego-Lazo both performed their research in the laboratory of Dr. Andrew Smith.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Yesterday, United States President Barack Obama signed into law a five-year benefit package to provide healthcare treatment for emergency workers including police, firefighters, and rescue workers affected by illness and respiratory problems contracted while working at the site of the World Trade Center attacks in New York City on September 11, 2001.

The bill—the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which is named after a police officer who died of a respiratory illness he got during a rescue operation at the World Trade Center — will provide $4.2 billion over the next five years. This money will be raised by increasing a levy on foreign companies that win procurement contracts from the United States government.

The new legislation also provides new funding for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, a federal program for victims of the attacks.

President Obama signed the bill in Kailua, Hawaii, where he is staying on vacation. In a statement, Obama said: “We will never forget the selfless courage demonstrated by the firefighters, police officers and first responders who risked their lives to save others. I believe this is a critical step for those who continue to bear the physical scars of those attacks.”

The law was the only one that passed through Congress during the lame-duck session in December, with some Republican opposition. New York Senators and Congressmen have praised the passage of the measures.

“The heroes who rushed to Ground Zero in the hours and days after the attacks will not be forgotten. These first responders were like veterans, and this law keeps with a time-honored tradition of standing by our veterans when they get harmed answering the call.” said Charles Schumer, Democratic Senator from New York. He also vowed to “begin work immediately to make sure this law gets renewed for another five years”.

New York Republican congressman Peter T. King said that “Justice is finally being served”, and that the passing of the law marked “A great day for America.”

Democratic congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney said that “The Zadroga law will save lives and fulfills our moral obligation to care for those who rose to the defense of America in a time of war.”

Tuesday, April 4, 2006

Iran has successfully tested the Kowsar land-to-sea missile, and a “flying boat”, Iran state media report.

According to the country’s state television service, “A super-modern flying boat was successfully tested in the ‘Great Prophet’ war game in Persian Gulf waters. Because of its hull’s advanced design, no radar at sea or in the air can locate it. It can lift out of the water. It is wholly domestically built and can launch missiles with precise targeting while moving.”

Iran says that the Kowser missile can be used to sink enemy ships in the Gulf. Iran also announced that the missile’s onboard systems could not be scrambled by enemy action.

Brian Whitman, a spokesman for the Pentagon in the United States, said, “We know that the Iranians are always trying to improve their weapons system by both foreign and indigenous measures. It’s possible that they are increasing their capability and making strides in radar-absorbing materials and technology. [However] the Iranians have also been known to boast and exaggerate [in] their statements about greater technical and tactical capabilities.”

On Friday, Iran tested its Fajr-3 missile, which Iran says can evade radar and can carry many warheads. On Monday, Iran tested in the Straits of Hormuz a torpedo that the country claims can evade sonar.

It is estimated that at least 1500 ships and aircraft, and at least 17,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guard troops, are participating in a week-long war games exercise in the Gulf.