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Tuesday, January 3, 2017

The Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, California was modified to read “Hollyweed” on Sunday. Security camera footage shows the perpetrator was dressed all in black, said Sergeant Robert Payan.

Christopher Garcia, a spokesperson of the Los Angeles Police Department, said the suspected male offender is being investigated for trespassing rather than vandalism. The sign was not physically damaged; the modification was done using black tarpaulins decorated with signs of peace and heart to alter the “O” to read lowercase “e”.

Betsy Isroelit, a Hollywood Sign Trust spokesperson said, “There was obviously recent legislation in California that may have inspired people. But to me, it looks more like a New Year’s Eve prank.” On November 9, legislators voted in favor of a ballot for legalising recreational use of marijuana in California for the age group of 21 and above.

Previously, on January 1, 1976, Daniel Finegood had vandalised the sign using curtains in a similar manner to read “Hollyweed”. As a college student, Finegood had modified the sign for an assignment in art class. Finegood, in 1990, had modified the sign again, signifying a political issue, modifying the sign to read “Oil War” to protest the Persian Gulf War.

The sign was vandalised in 1992 before the US presidential election. Supporters of presidential election candidate Ross Perot altered the sign to read “Perotwood”.

The law legalising recreational marijuana is due to come into effect in 2018.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

“Georgia will become a NATO member if it wants to, and it does want to,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in an apparent change in Germany’s position during her Sunday visit to Tbilisi, Georgia.Merkel’s statement of support for Georgia’s NATO membership was one of the strongest yet.Tbilisi’s bid to join NATO is fiercely opposed by Moscow.

During her meeting with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, Merkel stated that Georgia’s territorial integrity and its independence have to be respected. After the meeting Merkel said she expected a ‘very prompt’ withdrawal of Russian forces from Georgia.

In a telephone conversation with French president Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev declared that Russian troops would start their pullout from Georgia on Monday. Medvedev explained that Russian troops would be withdrawing to a buffer zone and then to the breakaway province of South Ossetia. It remains unclear how long the withdrawal will take. Sarkozy warned Medvedev on Sunday of serious consequences and damage to the Russian relations with the EU, if Russia failed to fully implement the peace plan it signed. Earlier this week, Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband stated that the EU should reassess its relations with Russia after its aggressive actions in Georgia.

A Russian lawmaker has compared the situation in Georgia to Iraq and the U.S. presence there. Konstantin Kosachev, chair of the Russian parliament’s security committee told reporters when asked about the withdrawal plan: “If I would ask you in response to the same question how fast the American forces can leave Iraq, for example, the answer would be as soon as we have guarantees for peace and security there.”

At the same time, according to Georgian sources, the Russian troops were occupying 13 Georgian villages, pushing the border of Abkhazia into Georgia proper. Russia’s Defence Ministry spokesman denied the report, saying that “Russian peacekeepers have been given no orders to move to these populated areas,”. There have also been reports of Russian helicopters setting fire to Georgian National Park near Borzhomi. The Russian Defence Ministry’s spokesman expressed his surprise and declared that Russian troops were ready to provide assistance in extinguishing the fire if Georgia made an official request. “It is understandable to us that the Georgian authorities are ready to blame the Russian side for any natural disasters on the territory of Georgia,” he said.

Russian troops are still occupying the key towns of Gori, north of Tbilisi, and Senako in the west of Georgia. Far from pulling out, Russian military units are entrenching themselves in new positions deeper into Georgia, according to Daily Telegraph. They have also blown up a strategic Georgian Kaspi railway bridge on the main line connecting the country to its neighbours, essentially severing the last route for freight and trade after Russian soldiers also took control of the Georgian main east-west highway.

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

On Monday, Ukrainian towboat “Chelyabinsk” ^{((uk))Ukrainian language: ???????????} ran its barge caravan into a bridge pillar on the river Danube at Baja, Hungary. The caravan broke up, but it continued its way downstream later that day. According to multiple sources, no casualties were reported.

The caravan consisted of six grain barges pushed by Chelyabinsk, a towboat of the Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company. Its downstream route crossed the rail-road bridge at Baja over the Danube at about marker 1480.

The caravan moved too far left from the navigable passage and hit a pillar of the bridge around 12:54 CET (1154 UTC) while trying to turn right. Gyula Szabó, a nautical expert interviewed by TV2, attributed the event to pilot error. An eyewitness told TV2 heavy winds were a contributing factor.

The caravan broke up after the collision. Boats anchored at Baja caught the barges. A police inspection found no leaks on them and the re-assembled caravan left the scene the same day.

Talking to RTL Klub, another helmsman, Dávid Peth?, pointed out this section is hard to navigate through with this kind of setup: “[This was] a caravan of about 200 meters in length [and] 33 meters in width with a mass, together with its cargo, of about 10 thousand metric tonnes. Keeping in mind that the horizontal clearance [under] the Baja bridge averages at only 60 metres, this is very large and very bulky.” ^{((hu))Hungarian language: ?Kb. 200 méteres karaván, 33 méter a szélessége, és kb. 10 000 tonna az ? tömege, így megrakottan. Ez egy hatalmas nagy méret és egy hatalmas nagy súly ahhoz képest, hogy a bajai hídnak az átlag hajózó szélessége csupán 60 méter.} Peth? also told RTL Klub this bridge-crossing manoeuvre starts three kilometres upstream from the bridge, with no room for error.

No significant damage was reported on the bridge, and cross-river traffic did not halt. The police categorised the case as an administrative offence.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

NASA’s Cassini–Huygens spacecraft has discovered evidence for a large-scale saltwater reservoir beneath the icy crust of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. The data came from the spacecraft’s direct analysis of salt-rich ice grains close to the jets ejected from the moon. The study has been published in this week’s edition of the journal Nature.

Data from Cassini’s cosmic dust analyzer show the grains expelled from fissures, known as tiger stripes, are relatively small and usually low in salt far away from the moon. Closer to the moon’s surface, Cassini found that relatively large grains rich with sodium and potassium dominate the plumes. The salt-rich particles have an “ocean-like” composition and indicate that most, if not all, of the expelled ice and water vapor comes from the evaporation of liquid salt-water. When water freezes, the salt is squeezed out, leaving pure water ice behind.

Cassini’s ultraviolet imaging spectrograph also recently obtained complementary results that support the presence of a subsurface ocean. A team of Cassini researchers led by Candice Hansen of the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, measured gas shooting out of distinct jets originating in the moon’s south polar region at five to eight times the speed of sound, several times faster than previously measured. These observations of distinct jets, from a 2010 flyby, are consistent with results showing a difference in composition of ice grains close to the moon’s surface and those that made it out to the E ring, the outermost ring that gets its material primarily from Enceladean jets. If the plumes emanated from ice, they should have very little salt in them.

“There currently is no plausible way to produce a steady outflow of salt-rich grains from solid ice across all the tiger stripes other than salt water under Enceladus’s icy surface,” said Frank Postberg, a Cassini team scientist at the University of Heidelberg in Germany.

The data suggests a layer of water between the moon’s rocky core and its icy mantle, possibly as deep as about 50 miles (80 kilometers) beneath the surface. As this water washes against the rocks, it dissolves salt compounds and rises through fractures in the overlying ice to form reserves nearer the surface. If the outermost layer cracks open, the decrease in pressure from these reserves to space causes a plume to shoot out. Roughly 400 pounds (200 kilograms) of water vapor is lost every second in the plumes, with smaller amounts being lost as ice grains. The team calculates the water reserves must have large evaporating surfaces, or they would freeze easily and stop the plumes.

“We imagine that between the ice and the ice core there is an ocean of depth and this is somehow connected to the surface reservoir,” added Postberg.

The Cassini mission discovered Enceladus’ water-vapor and ice jets in 2005. In 2009, scientists working with the cosmic dust analyzer examined some sodium salts found in ice grains of Saturn’s E ring but the link to subsurface salt water was not definitive. The new paper analyzes three Enceladus flybys in 2008 and 2009 with the same instrument, focusing on the composition of freshly ejected plume grains. In 2008, Cassini discovered a high “density of volatile gases, water vapor, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, as well as organic materials, some 20 times denser than expected” in geysers erupting from the moon. The icy particles hit the detector target at speeds between 15,000 and 39,000 MPH (23,000 and 63,000 KPH), vaporizing instantly. Electrical fields inside the cosmic dust analyzer separated the various constituents of the impact cloud.

“Enceladus has got warmth, water and organic chemicals, some of the essential building blocks needed for life,” said Dennis Matson in 2008, Cassini project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

“This finding is a crucial new piece of evidence showing that environmental conditions favorable to the emergence of life can be sustained on icy bodies orbiting gas giant planets,” said Nicolas Altobelli, the European Space Agency’s project scientist for Cassini.

“If there is water in such an unexpected place, it leaves possibility for the rest of the universe,” said Postberg.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

On the third day of the 2007 Taipei IT Month in Taiwan yesterday, notebook computers and desktop computers built with AMD’s Phenom processor and Intel Penryn processor openly battled for the consumer-market after each company launched their quad core processors.

Intel with partners like Acer, Genuine, ASUS, and Lenovo promoted their desktops with Core 2 Quad and notebooks with Centrino Duo, even though Intel didn’t plan to exhibit in IT Month. Intel’s Taiwan division is holding two road shows for DIY experts. One was on December 1 while the second will be on December 8.

AMD, on the other hand, put on a showcase for IT Month with a “Bee Movie“ booth-style exhibit at halls 1 and 3 of the Taipei World Trade Center. AMD’s subsidiary company ATI showcased HDMI and Full HD with a demonstration of a new graphic card named “Radeon HD2000”.

As the two rivals postured over factors like performance and high-definition, Wikinews reporter Rico Shen interviewed some of their partners. BenQ and Micro-Star International both said: “No matter whether the consumer chooses a computer with AMD or Intel, the consumer should consider it based on functionality and practically before purchasing. For example, some low-price notebook computers (EeePC, OLPC) were launched before the show because notebook computer manufacturers had considered and evaluated what a consumer really want. Sincerely, I recommend a consumer not be fooled by a its price but to consider its functionality first!”

Monday, June 25, 2018

On Sunday, R Praggnanandhaa became the youngest Indian chess player to earn the title of Grand Master. At the age of twelve years, ten months and thirteen days, Praggnanandhaa was the second youngest person to earn the title.

Praggnanandhaa earned his third norm on Sunday as he faced Dutch Grand Master Roeland Pruijssers with Elo rating of 2514 at the fourth Gredine Open in Italy. Having won the first norm in November and second in April, Praggnanandhaa had to face a player with at least 2482 Elo rating for the third norm. For the Grand Master title, a player requires three norms and Elo rating of at least 2500.

Praggnanandhaa with Elo rating of 2529 finished second at the competition, losing the tie-breaker for the winning spot. In 2016, at the age of ten years, ten months and nineteen days, Praggnanandhaa became the youngest player to receive the title of an International Master.

In 2002, at the age of twelve years and seven months, Ukraine’s Sergey Karjakin became the youngest recipient of the Grand Master title. Previously, India’s Parimarjan Negi was the youngest Indian to earn the Grand Master title.

Friday, January 19, 2007

On one of the very crowded streets of Istanbul, Turkey, an elderly homeless man died of burns thought to have been caused by a fire he lit to warm himself. The police officers who came to help could not extinguish the fire with the small bottles of water which they had.

The man was seen earlier in one of the most crowded streets of Istanbul screaming “I do not have a blanket, someone stole my blanket!”. He was offered a cookie and a coat by two passers-by before someone called an ambulance. He was refused admittance to two different hospitals because he lacked identification, and the ambulance eventually left him where he was picked up.

Monday, November 2, 2020

The following is the sixth and final edition of a monthly series chronicling the 2020 United States presidential election. It features original material compiled throughout the previous month after an overview of the month’s biggest stories.

This month’s spotlight on the campaign trail: the Free and Equal Elections Foundation holds two presidential debates, three candidates who did not participate in those debates give their final pleas to voters, and three political pundits give their predictions on the outcome of the election.

Friday, February 17, 2006

Buffalo, New York —Savarino Construction Services Corp. has proposed a $7 million hotel project at the Forest and Elmwood Avenue intersection, according to The Buffalo News. The proposal calls for a 5-story, 45,000 square-foot 80-room hotel with underground parking for at least 50 vehicles, and 4,500 square-feet of retail space on the lower level.

Hans Mobius, the owner of the five properties to be purchased in the plan (1109 to 1121 Elmwood), reportedly signed a contract with Savarino to assemble the development.

“We saw a huge opportunity to bring something to the Elmwood Village that will make sense and bring a service that’s currently not available,” said Eva Hassett, vice president of Savarino. “Elmwood is such a wonderful place to eat, shop, walk and spend time. We believe this project will add to that vibrant environment.”

Some business owners in the area see it differently. Wikinews interviewed 2 of the 4 owners whose business’s would be demolished if the development goes through.

Nancy Pollina, of Don Apparel at 1119 Elmwood, who found out about the development only yesterday, said she is “utterly” against the proposal. Her apparel shop has stood at the same location for nearly 14 years. She has volunteered in the community, and helped create several gardens around bus shelters in the city, and served on Forever Elmwood Board for six years as head of Beautification. Patty Morris co-owns Don Apparel with Pollina.

“To say this is a good looking project, I want to say the emperor has no clothes. This [project] does not take into consideration the needs of the college students. I have been told by college students, these shops here, are the reason they leave the campus,” said Mrs. Pollina.

Buffalo State College is 500-feet from the intersection.

Michael Faust, the owner of Mondo Video said, “Well, I do not really want to get kicked out of here. The landlord was very open, and the deal he made with me when I moved in here was ‘the rent is cheap and I [the landlord] will not fix anything and that will not change.'” Faust said he first learned of the development plan, “about 48 hours ago. I found out on Tuesday when the Buffalo News called and asked for my opinion on this.” Faust has not said if he will make plans to relocate. “We have to see if this [house] is going to get knocked down first,” said Faust.

An “informational” meeting, where citizens can voice opinions and learn about the proposal, will be held on Tuesday February 21, 2006 at 5:00pm (eastern), at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center Gallery at Buffalo State College, Rockwell Hall.

Executive director of Forever Elmwood Corporation, Justin P. Azzarella would not comment on whether or not the organization supports the development, saying, “you will just have to come to the meeting.”

Forever Elmwood Corp. is designed to preserve and protect the unique and historic nature of Elmwood Avenue and its surrounding neighborhoods and encourage neighborhood commercial revitalization. The organization was founded in 1994.

Nearly two years ago, the Forever Elmwood Corp. assisted in the blocking of the demolition of the Edward Atwater house at 1089 Elmwood next to Pano’s Restaurant which is at 1081 Elmwood. Owner Pano Georgiadis wanted to expand his restaurant onto the property where the house now stands, but the Common Council denied his permit to demolish saying the house is a historical landmark and needs to be protected. Georgiadis, who has a bleeding ulcer, said that all the court cases landed him in the hospital. “I got a bleeding ulcer, and since then, I don’t care about this house anymore, or this city. I just go to work every day. I think [preservationists] are parasites,” said Georgiadis.

Georgiadis will not be attending Tuesday’s meeting saying, “I will be out of town.”

In 1995 Hans Mobius proposed a plan to develop a Walgreens, that was to be placed in the same location, but residents and business owners shot down the proposal. Walgreens eventually withdrew its request for a variance after pressure from the community.