Tuesday, October 9, 2007

2007 the 33rd Taipei International Electronics Autumn Show (TAITRONICS Autumn), organized by Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufactorers’ Association (TEEMA), started on October 9 -13 at Exhibition Hall 1 and 3 of Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC), and inconjunction with Taiwan International RFID Applications Show (RFID Taiwan) at TWTC Hall 3 and Taiwan International Photovoltaic Fourm & Exhibition (PV Taiwan) at Taipei International Convention Center (TICC). With the 3-in-1 combination, TAITRA and TEEMA hoped this show will integrate upper and lower companies of electronic manufacturers and companies in Taiwan.

This 3-in-1 show is mainly focused on electronics parts and components, RFID solutions, photovoltaic products, and medias on electrical industry. About 1000 exhibitors exhibited with 2100 booths at TWTC Hall 1 & 3 and TICC. In the theme pavilion section, iF Design Award in Hanover Fairs set “iF Design Pavilion” with lots of awarded 3C products in Taiwan first time, also, Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) showed their solutions on home entertainment such as 3D LCD wide screen display and game projector.

Not only ITRI and iF Design, TAITRA and TEEMA also set “Taiwan Innovalue and Branding Taiwan”, “Product Certificates and Testing”, “Cross-Strait Electrical Products”, “Security Products”, and “Broadband Communications” pavilions at this exhibition.

With those pavilions, TEEMA also held lots of seminars and forums on Bluetooth technology, electrical industry, testings and certifications, and International Electrotechnical Commission Quality (IECQ) system. Furthermore, CARTS Asia 2007 is the most welcomed seminar by buyers and exhibitors.

According to TAITRA, this 3-in-1 exhibition opened daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at October 9 to 13, PV Taiwan forum and exhibition will be held only two days on October 11 and 12. For the quality and security issue, minors under 18 ages are not permitted to enter the showground.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Washington, D.C. —When you mix a shopping cart, six team members, bar hopping and bonus points for schmoozing bar hostesses and sabotaging your enemies, you get the annual Washington, D.C. Idiotarod race. On Saturday, this bizarre fund raising event, which originated in San Francisco 13 years ago, pitted teams of “sleds” together to race from bar to bar in Washington, D.C.’s fashionable Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan neighborhoods. Each “sled” consists of a “borrowed” shopping cart and six human dogs to pull the cart. Points are given for originality, the best time and best sabotage of another sled.

The race is held to benefit the Arlington Food Assistance Center and is organized by Ellen Shortill and Kristen Heatherly. Their organization, called “SMASHED” or “Society for Mature Adults Seeking to Help, Entertain and Donate”, takes the position that donating small amounts many times ultimately benefits the smaller charities. Said Shortill, “Our goal is simply to have fun and raise money for those charities that don’t really get any attention.”

The race this year consisted of 22 teams. Although team “Save NOLA” got to the last bar first, teams can win bonus points for (among other things) flirting with bar hosts and hostesses at any of the five bars along the route. The route is approximately 3 miles long, and each team is required to spend at least 20 minutes in each bar. Heatherly noted that “it doesn’t matter who got here first, ultimately its the team with the most credits and the best time that wins.”

Unique among the participants are brothers Pete and Chris Magnuson who are attempting to get on the 10th edition of Amazing Race on CBS. Their team called “Pick Pete and Chris” ran through the streets with t-shirts hawking their website and their fervent desire to be chosen for the next edition of the television show.

“Its not really about who wins, its that we get to have a blast and raise some money,” said Shortill. The charity event raised about $500 and various canned goods for the food pantry.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Israeli military forces today seized a ship claimed to be carrying weapons bound for the Gaza Strip.

The ship, a German-owned and Liberian-flagged freighter named Victoria, had departed from a port in Syria before travelling to Turkey, from where it departed for Alexandria, Egypt. A French company had chartered the vessel, which was intercepted and boarded by Israeli commandos about 200 miles from shore while in international waters.

Victoria was reportedly boarded without incident, and is being taken to Ashdod, a port city in Israel. Three containers of weapons were found on board the ship, though the type or total number are unknown. A further inspection of the cargo will be carried out once the ship reaches Ashdod.

According to Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, “[o]n the boat we discovered many weapons destined for terror groups in the heart of Gaza.” He also claimed that Iran was responsible for shipping the weapons, saying that “[t]he only certain thing is the source of the weaponry was Iran, and there was a Syrian relay station as well.”

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Wikinews extended invitations by e-mail on March 23 to multiple candidates running in the Texas’ 6th congressional district special election of May 1 to fill a vacancy left upon the death of Republican congressman Ron Wright. Of them, the office of Democrat Daryl Eddings, Sr. agreed to answer some questions by phone March 30 about their campaigns and policies. The following is the interview with Ms Chatham on behalf of Mr Eddings, Sr.

Eddings is a federal law enforcement officer and senior non-commissioned officer in the US military. His experience as operations officer of an aviation unit in the California National Guard includes working in Los Angeles to control riots sparked by the O. J. Simpson murder case and the police handling of Rodney King, working with drug interdiction teams in Panama and Central America and fighting in the Middle East. He is the founder of Operation Battle Buddy, which has under his leadership kept in touch with over 20 thousand veterans and their families. He was born in California, but moved to Midlothian, Texas. He endeavours to bring “good government, not no government”. Campaign manager Faith Chatham spoke to Wikinews on matters ranging from healthcare to housing.

An Inside Elections poll published on March 18 shows Republican candidate Susan Wright, the widow of Ron Wright, is ahead by 21% followed by Democrat Jana Sanchez with 17% and Republican Jake Ellzey with 8% with a 4.6% margin of error among 450 likely voters. The district is considered “lean Republican” by Inside Elections and voted 51% in favour of Donald Trump in last year’s US presidential election. This is down from 54% for Trump in 2016’s presidential election, the same poll stated.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Dale Ogden, a 2010 California gubernatorial candidate, talks with Wikinews reporter Mike Morales about his platform.

Ogden is a member of the United States’ Libertarian Party.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

The Kenyan government has dismissed 25,000 striking health workers, mostly nurses, citing failure to heed government orders to recommence work and concern for the welfare of hospital patients. Speaking on behalf of the government, Alfred Mutua stated the workers were dismissed “illegally striking” and “[defying] the directive … to report back to work”, which he called “unethical”. The government asks that “[a]ll qualified health professionals, who are unemployed and/or retired have been advised to report to their nearest health facility for interviews and deployment”, Mutua stated.

The workers, who had been on strike for four days, were wishing to have improvements made to their wages, working conditions, and allowances. The strikes have caused a significant number of Kenyan hospitals to cease operations. According to Kenya Health Professionals Society spokesperson Alex Orina, the average monthly wage plus allowances for health workers in Kenya is KSh25,000 (£193, US$302 or €230) approximately. With an increasing number of reports of patients neglected in hospitals emerging, two trade unions met with the Kenyan government yesterday and negotitated a return to work, although a significant proportion of demonstrators defied the agreement, The Guardian reported.

Orina told Reuters the dismissals were “cat-and-mouse games, you cannot sack an entire workforce. It is a ploy to get us to rush back to work, but our strike continues until our demands are met”. Frederick Omiah, a member of the same society, believed the government’s actions would “make an already delicate and volatile situation worse”, expressing concern that demonstrations may continue in the capital Nairobi, amongst other locations. Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union chairperson Dr. Victor Ng’ani described government actions as “reckless”.

Mutua said the health workers were “no longer employees of the government” and had been eliminated from the payroll. While Ng’ani told the BBC of difficulties with finding other workers as skilled and experienced, Mutua reportedly stated that this would not be an issue. “We have over 100,000 to 200,000 health professionals looking for work today,” Mutua commented. “There will be a lag of a day or two … but it is better than letting people die on the floor, at the gate, or suffer in pain”.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Residents of a Leeds, England neighbourhood have requested help from a council because their neighbourhood is plagued by crime, overcrowding, and community tensions.

Leeds City Council received a request for help from residents of Hyde Park, who said they were worried about the increasing level of anti-social behavior and worsening community relations. A report will be unveiled on Wednesday by a council delegation, highlighting the problems in the area. “The people living in Hyde Park come from widely different population groups… these groups have very different customs, needs and living styles and this can provoke high levels of tension in the area,” the delegation said.

The council claims that because of the 28 per cent ethnic minority population and the 40,000 students living in the neighbourhood, there are tensions between residents. They added, however, that they are actively encouraging people to work together, citing a multi-faith forum, a cricket competition and activities which bring old and young together.

The report says that the council are trying to build relationships between Muslims and police, something which they said is “particularly important after the area’s connection to the London bombings on 7th July 2005.” A local newspaper reported that “the Shebab project introduces young Muslims to role models from sport and culture and also runs scholars’ talks to counter extremist ideologies.”

Crime has increased by 7% in the past year in Hyde Park, and residents noted that anti-social behaviour was getting worse. The council said that an anti-burglary task force had helped to reduce the number of thefts from homes. Residents complained that there was a lack of pride in the area, and at the end of the academic year in the summer, large piles of rubbish were left in streets, yards and alleyways. The report adds that the council operates a recycling scheme aimed towards teenagers, and that rubbish collections have increased.

The Guardian reported on Wednesday that campaigners are attempting to “take control of a derelict school building and transform it into a community hub are appealing for sponsors and partners in a bid to turn their dreams into reality.” They say that the unused building, owned by the council, could be used for meetings and events. A volunteer group of residents have been working on a business plan, and have gained support from local businesses to create “a vision of an open, accessible and valuable resource for all.”

A member of the commitee, however, said he was “frustrated” with the council’s attitude towards the plans. “The RPCC is slightly frustrated with certain communication issues that we’ve had with the council, but we’re working with them and hoping to gain further assistance going forward,” he said. “It’s a shame that certain setbacks could have been avoided.”

The deputation added that “a major factor in Hyde Park’s suffering is its high level of population density”, which they conceded is something they are unable to change. The council responded to complaints that streets are “cheap and unhealthy takeaways, letting agents and boarded-up shop fronts,” by saying that Hyde Park Corner and Headingley are, according to the Yorkshire Post, “thriving shopping areas and work had taken place to ensure a good mix of outlets.”

The report concludes: “The council acknowledges that because of the very particular circumstances which exist in the neighbourhood, Hyde Park faces difficult challenges which affect the quality of life of residents and that ‘normal’ service levels may not be sufficient to tackle some of these. The council will do more to enable local people to influence how services work and how local problems are tackled. Local community and voluntary groups will be invited to play an active role.”