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Tuesday, January 24, 2006

January’s second Interview of the Month was with Danny O’Brien of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) on 23 January in IRC.

The EFF is coming off a series of high-profile successes in their campaigns to educate the public, press, and policy makers regarding online rights in a digital world, and defending those rights in the legislature and the courtroom. Their settlement with Sony/BMG, the amazingly confused MGM v Grokster decision by the Supreme Court of the United States, and the disturbing cases surrounding Diebold have earned the advocacy organization considerable attention.

When asked if the EFF would be interested in a live interview in IRC by Wikinews, the answer was a nearly immediate yes, but just a little after Ricardo Lobo. With two such interesting interview candidates agreeing so quickly, it was hard to say no to either so schedules were juggled to have both. By chance, the timing worked out to have the EFF interview the day before the U.S. Senate schedule hearings concerning the Broadcast flag rule of the FCC, a form of digital rights management which the recording and movie industries have been lobbying hard for – and the EFF has been lobbying hard to prevent.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

The leading supplier of school uniforms in the United Kingdom, Lancashire-based manufacturer Trutex, has announced it is “seriously considering” including GPS tracking devices in future ranges of its uniform products after conducting an online survey of both parents and children.

“As a direct result of the survey, we are now seriously considering incorporating a [tracking] device into future ranges” said Trutex marketing director Clare Rix.

The survey questioned 809 parents and 444 children aged nine to 16. It showed that 44% of parents were worried about the safety of pre-teen children, and 59% wanted tracking devices installed in school apparel. 39% of children aged nine to 12 were prepared to wear clothing with tracking devices in them, while teenagers were notably less enthusiastic and more wary of what Trutex has admitted they see as a “big brother” concept.

However, Trutex has claimed the tracking devices would bring about worthwhile benefits, including being a valuable resource for parents who wanted to keep a close eye on where their children were at all times.

“As well as being a safety net for parents, there could be real benefits for schools who could keep a closer track on the whereabouts of their pupils, potentially reducing truancy levels” says Rix.

Each year, Trutex supplies 1 million blouses, 1.1 million shirts, 250,000 pairs of trousers, 20,000 blazers, 60,000 skirts and 110,000 pieces of knitwear to the UK.

It is not the first company to manufacture school uniforms with a central focus on child safety; last week Essex firm BladeRunner revealed it was selling stab-proof school blazers to parents concerned about violence against their children. The blazers were outfitted with Kevlar, a synthetic fibre used in body armour. It has already received orders internationally, including Australia.

If the Trutex tracking devices go ahead, it is unclear where in the uniform they will be located.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

United States Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said it is unlikely that a new bill to reform immigration legislation will receive action by the legislative body this year. The bill, introduced yesterday by Jon Kyl (R,AZ) and John Cornyn (R,TX), would require immigrant workers to apply from their native countries for a visa to remain in the states.

The number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. is estimated to be in the range of 10 to 12 million.

The bill is in contrast to a different measure by Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and John McCain (R-AZ) submitted two months ago. That bill would create a visa category where temporary workers are not tied to any job in particular and would allow them to apply for permanent residence regardless of employment. The bill has republican co-sponsorship from Jim Kolbe and Jeff Flake, both from Arizona where the porous US-Mexican border is an issue.

The Kennedy-McCain bill allows illegal aliens already in the U.S. to petition the government to remain. A position that Kyl in effect calls the equivalent of granting “amnesty”. Kennedy answered that criticism by saying, “The mass deportation of illegal immigrant persons as contemplated by the Cornyn-Kyl bill is not a realistic solution, and won’t solve the security and economic problems we face.”

The Kyl-Cornyn bill proposal is an attempt to tie immigrant status to U.S. employment. The legislation would create a guest worker program that would match immigrant workers with jobs mostly not wanted by American citizens. An immigrant worker would be given five years to come into compliance with an employment order. It calls for 10,000 federal agents, at a cost in the range of 2 to 5 billion, to audit employers who hire undocumented workers. Companies that break a proposed new law to monitor undocumented immigrants would be subject to penalties.

The bill drew criticism from immigration groups which include two leading Hispanic organizations because of the “mandatory departure” requirement. Immigrants who wait five years before leaving the U.S. would pay annual fines totaling $5,000 each year. Or, after making a return trip to their native country, they can again apply from there for a temporary job in the U.S. They would work for two years in the U.S., return home for a year, and then reapply for two more two-year work cycle. The maximum would be six years in the United States. In their home country, they could also apply for U.S. immigrant programs, including the “green card” that grants permanent residency.

Kyl said he believes businesses will not object because his plan would make verifying legal workers easier by reducing the documentation required. The basics of the plan include:

• Requires immigrants to be registered, fingerprinted and checked against criminal and terrorist watch lists.

• Allow immigrants two years under the a temporary-worker visa, after which they would have to return home for a year. Temporary-worker visas could be used three times for a maximum stay of six years total.

• Illegal immigrants now in the U.S. register for a “mandatory departure” program that would give them time to leave voluntarily. They could re-enter through the temporary-worker program, but could not apply for permanent residence while in the U.S.

The bill also calls for replacing the practice currently in place in the U.S. of issuing paper Social Security cards with the issuance of a tamper-proof cards. The Social Security Administration identification card is treated by most states as no form of personal identification at all. A birth certificate is considered a primary form of identification, along with driver’s licenses, passports and other official state or other territory photo-identification cards. The bill proposes that social security cards should be “machine readable” and a primary form of identification.

A terrorism-driven drive to turn driver’s licenses into a national ID card faces hurdles. Peter Costello, treasurer of Australia, said he will not support national ID cards unless there is convincing evidence it fights terrorism.

Sunday, November 21, 2004

European finance ministers at the G-20 meeting which opened Saturday, November 20th, are expected to discuss the current exchange rate of the euro vs. the dollar. The euro is currently trading high against the dollar, so that it takes around $1.34 (as of December 4, 2004) to buy one euro. This has the effect of making exports from Europe to the USA more expensive, increasing the likelihood that US consumers will buy from a non-EU country. The exchange rate is set by the currency markets, although it is heavily influenced by the current account status (ie. the balance of trade between countries).

Some European leaders want the United States to take action to increase the value of its exchange rate. The US though is seen as not wanting to do this, for two reasons:

1. A low dollar relative the euro means that all exports from the US to Europe are cheaper for Europeans to buy, increasing the likelihood that Europeans will buy US items and thus helping the US economy
2. Many actions which governments have done in the past to bolster unnaturally their currency have been fought by the market, and the market won. The most famous example is George Soros’ “breaking of the Bank of England”

One side-issue that this discussion might evoke is that of the exchange rate between the dollar and the Chinese yuan, which is fixed by China. Studies of this exchange rate using the concept of purchasing power parity (ensuring that a dollar traded to Chinese yuan will still buy roughly the same amount in China) show that the Chinese yuan has been around 50% undervalued for the past two years. This makes things from China on average 50% cheaper for a US consumer than they should be. US officials have throughout 2004 repeatedly called for China to end this practice. Normally it would end itself, i.e. even with a fixed exchange rate this process could only go on for so long before the entire Chinese market becomes valued differently. But since the Chinese central bank has been constantly lending money to the United States government (via the purchasing of US treasury bonds), that effect is mitigated.

Monday, July 24, 2006

The auction house Bonhams and Goodman have sold the last privately owned Victoria Cross(VC) awarded at the World War I Gallipoli campaign in Sydney tonight. The medal was awarded to New Zealand-born Australian soldier Captain Alfred Shout. The sale price of $A 1 million surpassed the previous record of $A575,000 set in 2004 for the VC medal awarded to Sergeant Norman Jackson of the RAF 1944.

The Victoria Cross is the highest recognition for valour “in the face of the enemy” that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces and civilians under military command. It is also the highest award in the British Honours system.

The buyer is an Australian businessman, auctioneer Mr Tim Goodman said “I can confirm the buyer is a prominent Australian businessman who is going to work with the RSL to make sure the medals go on display at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.”, after commissions and other charges the successful buyer will pay $A1,214,500.

The addition of this medal will take the display of Victoria Crosses at the Australian War Memorial to 60. The display will include all nine Victoria Crosses awarded to Australian servicemen at Gallipoli.

Sunday, November 20, 2022

Russian Wikinews captured exclusive media of a September 14 talk delivered by Russian traveller and author Viktor Pinchuk on his manual Hobo Tourism, published on English and Russian Wikibooks.

Pinchuk spoke at the 2022 Literary Festival hosted by the Crimean Republican Universal Scientific Library in Simferopol, which was named after I. Y. Franko. The hour-long lecture, delivered in English and Russian, addressed the advice and information given in the manual, including on overnight accommodation, self-sufficiency and Pinchuk’s experience travelling.

The lecture included a question and answer session and exclusive anecdotes, such as his deportation from Fiji.

‘Hobo tourism’ is similar to Western-style backpacking whereby one “[forgets] about comfort and [is] prepared for a few months of [the] difficult, sometimes exhausting life of a vagrant”. Pinchuk’s own experiences chronicled in the book include an overnight imprisonment by Afghan authorities and contracting dengue fever whilst in Malaysia.

• Flyer advertising the talk.

• Attendees seated.

• Pinuchuk answering a question.

• Certification of attendance.

• Pinuchuk speaking.

• Pinuchuk speaking.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Officials from France and Germany have warned people against using Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, citing security holes, and encouraged users to find an alternate browser to surf the Internet.

The government agency Certa, which oversees cyber attacks and security, warned against using all versions of Internet Explorer. Officials from Germany had warned last Friday against the browser when malicious code was published on the Internet.

“Pending a patch from the publisher, Certa recommends using an alternative browser,” Certa said in a statement.

Graham Cluley, from the security firm Sophos, said that the weakness had only been exploited in IE6, but he noted that “Microsoft themselves admit there is a vulnerability, even in IE8.” He noted that, since more information into the malicious code is now available on the internet, hackers could alter the code to make it affect other versions of the browser.

The head of Microsoft’s security and privacy department, however, commented that “the risk is minimal. There are very few of them out there,” adding that in order for a computer to be infected by a virus, it would have to be running IE6 and be on a compromised website. “If you look at other browsers, it’s likely they will have other vulnerabilities,” he said to the BBC. “We feel strongly that IE8 is most secure browser on the market.”

Microsoft encouraged users to upgrade to IE8, which they described as the “most secure browser on the market”.

The firm is working on a patch to fix the problem, however, a spokesman said there wasn’t any specific timeframe for its release.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

A photo of a naked and bloodstained murdered woman was shown on the front page of Turkey’s Habertürk Daily print edition last Friday, causing a social and media uproar.

The article was titled “The last point of violence against women”, and whilst there are daily reports of abuse and ‘honour-killings’, Habertürk has been the first to show a photo so graphic and uncensored. The photograph clearly shows the woman’s identity and the kitchen knife used to kill her that was still planted in her back.

Habertürk has been highly criticized by social media users, readers, celebrities, woman organizations, professional press organisations and even its own staff members, with some claiming violation of journalism ethics rules. Habertürk’s own staff columnist Balcicek Ilter said, “the photo of the violated woman on my newspaper’s front page is violence itself.” Habertürk reported her husband, 45, murdered the woman, 38, in Manisa. A mother of two children, they separated after he was abusive towards her, the paper said.

At a time where campaigns are targeting the issue of violence against Turkish women, Habertürk‘s editor-in-chief, Fatih Altayl?, believes this photo counters reduced sensitivity to violence amongst the public. “I would have used that image even if it was my own mother,” he said. Habertürk firmly believes they made the correct choice in publishing the photograph even when asked by woman’s advocacy groups to apologise. “We demand the resignation of the writer of this news and the person who approved it. We call for journalism in print and on TV that stands for the right perspective,” said Canan Güllü from the Turkish Federation of Women Associations (TKDF).

The Press Council convened Sunday to find a solution to this matter and its Secretary General, Dr. Hasan Sinar states that Habertürk has “ignored the Press Council and the Professional Press Principles” since mid 2009.

While this article has caught a lot of negative attention, there are supporters of Habertürk’s choice in using the photo. Serpil Sancar, head of Ankara University’s Women’s Issues Center agrees stating, “This photograph illustrates the violence women have to face. I don’t think showing the truth is bad. Seeing blood sets the conscience in motion.”

Since talking with Brussels over European Union membership in 2005, Turkey pledged to strengthen human rights and the protection of women. Earlier this year Human Rights Watch reported “Turkey’s flawed family violence protection system leaves women and girls across the country unprotected against domestic abuse.” The rate of female murders has increased 1,400% since 2004.

The Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights, Thomas Hammarberg, is scheduled to be in Turkey currently. A report by Hammarberg earlier this year noted improvements in press freedom, but nonetheless claimed “There is a need for immediate measures to defend these rights [freedom of expression and the media] and support an environment of tolerance to accommodate opposing views.”