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Friday, June 13, 2008

Buffalo, New York —Reports say that a large three-story stable which partially collapsed in Buffalo, New York on June 11, and caused as many as five home to be evacuated, is likely to be demolished.

During the early afternoon hours on June 11, the Buffalo Fire Department was called to 428 Jersey Avenue after residents called 911 stating that part of the building had collapsed. Material from the building fell into the yards of at least three neighboring houses. Some of the bricks landed inside the building, while some fell into the yards of some houses behind homes on Richmond Avenue, leaving a ‘V’ shape.

The city’s preservation board held an emergency meeting today to discuss the issue. Wikinews has learned that the owner of the building, Bob Freudenheim, gave the city permission to demolish the building because he would not be “rehabilitating the building anytime soon.” Freudenheim was part-owner of the Hotel Lenox at 140 North Street in Buffalo and was also an advocate to stop the Elmwood Village Hotel from being built on the corners of Forest and Elmwood Avenues in 2006 and 2007, which Wikinews extensively covered. He also financially supported a lawsuit in an attempt to stop the hotel from being built. Though it is not known exactly how long Freudenheim has owned the stable, Wikinews has learned that he was the owner while fighting to stop the hotel from being built.

Freudenheim has been facing housing violations due to the poor conditions of the building.

“We had a letter of violation against him. He was supposed to have started work to stabilize the brick this Monday. We all hope this building could be saved. But we’ve got five houses evacuated and we cannot tolerate any further delay. We’ve got to get people back into their homes in a safe condition,” said Richard Tobe, Commissioner of the city’s Permit and Inspection Services.

Demolition on the building is expected to begin next week, but area residents are not happy and say they will fight to keep the building in place.

“They’re going to have to trash our backyard to do it. So I hope they have to have our permission, because we’re not going to give it lightly. I’m sure it’s the biggest and architecturally significant livery stable still standing. I can’t see any reason to take it down just because of one hole,” stated Joe Murray, a resident on Richmond and Jersey who lives behind the collapsed portion of the building.

Mike Lombardo, the Commissioner for the Buffalo Fire Department, believes that the building was built in 1812 or 1814, making it nearly 200 years old. It is one of only three stables still standing in the city.

If the building is to be demolished, Freudenheim will end up paying the city nearly US$300,000 to get the job done.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Wikinews held an exclusive interview with Wayne Allyn Root, one of the candidates for the Libertarian Party nomination for the 2008 U.S. presidential election.

Root is the founder and chairman of Winning Edge International Inc., a sports handicapping company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. In addition, he is an author and a television producer, as well as an on-screen personality both as host and guest on several talk shows.

Root, a long-time Republican, declared his candidacy for the Libertarian Party on May 4, 2007.

He says he is concerned about the qualities of many who run for president, and fears that they do not know the needs of American citizens. He also says that they cater to big businesses instead of small ones.

He has goals of limiting the federal government and believes that the US went into Iraq for wrong reasons. A strong supporter of the War on Terror, he feels that it was mishandled. He has conservative values and came from a blue collar family in New York. He graduated from Columbia University with fellow presidential hopeful Barack Obama in 1983.

Root believes that America is in trouble and hopes to change that if elected.

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Chelsea survived a Champions League scare today after coming back from 1-0 down to defeat Portuguese side Porto at Stamford Bridge in London. The first leg of the match ended 1-1, giving Chelsea the advantage thanks to the away goals rule, and Porto needed a win or a draw of 2 all or higher to advance to the next round. Porto fielded a defensive side, leaving Portuguese international striker Helder Postiga out of the starting lineup, while Chelsea featured Andriy Shevchenko and Didier Drogba on attack.

Shevchenko almost opened the scoring early in the game, having a poweful shot from 20 yard fly just over the bar and out of play. The early attack did little to inspire Chelsea though, as they looked sluggish for the first parts of the game. Porto took advantage of Chelsea’s poor start, and scored in the 15th minute on a counter attack. Lopez quickly passed the ball up to Gonzales in the center of the pitch, who split the defence with a well aimed ball that released Quaresma on a break away. The Portuguese player made no mistake about his shot, and slid it neatly past Petr Cech to give the visiting team the lead. Chelsea vainly attempted to draw level, but none of their first half chances were able to find the target to trouble keeper da Helton. Chelsea had a claim for a penalty nearing 35 minutes when Arjen Robben after he was apparently tripped up by Raul Moreiles, but the Dutch midfielded was awarded a yellow card instead for his theatrical dive. Chelsea’s defence supplied the most attack for the English Champions, as Ashley Cole made a fine cross into the box which was poorly cleared by Ricardo Costa, and the Ball broke for Michael Ballack. Costa was quick to justify his mistake and he poked the ball away from Ballack before he could get a shot away. The biggest worry for Porto came when Jorge Fucile was struck in the face by the trailing arm off a teammate, and left the field with blood streaming from his nose.

The second half saw Fucile retake the pitch, his injury obviously not too serious. Chelsea made a change to start the second half, adding John Obi Mikel in place of Claude Makelele. It took Chelsea only 3 minutes after the restart to get back into the match, and the goal came through Arjen Robben. The Dutchman cleaved a shot from 25 yards, and even though it lack power, de Helton was not able to get a grip on it and the ball slipped past him into the net. The goal tied not only the game, but also the series, and the scoreline would force extra time. Chelsea wouldn’t allow the game to get that far though, and Ashley Cole, Andriy Shevchenko and Michael Ballack all contributed to the winning goal. A cross by Cole was headed down by Shevy, and neatly volleyed into the net by the German Ballack. Porto pressed, but the Chelsea defence easily coped, and Chelsea advanded to next round of the Champions League.

Friday, May 5, 2006

Australian Prime Minister John Howard and federal industry minister Ian MacDonald today announced that the federal government would be providing Ford Australia with a AU$52.5 million (US$40.4 million) “financial assistance package”. Additional assistance will also be provided by the Victorian state government.

According to Mr Howard, the injection will secure Ford’s manufacturing operations in Australia “for the long term”.

From the package, AU$40 million will be used for the design and manufacture of Ford’s next model Falcon and Territory vehicles, which will be built in Australia.

Despite being given a major facelift in 2002 and another in 2005, the Falcon’s bodyshell dates back to 1998. The current Falcon will need to serve the company until at least 2007 when the new model is anticipated. In the meantime, it will face stiff competition from the completely new Holden Commodore (the Falcon’s major competitor) which will be released in the second half of this year.

The additional AU$12.5 million will be spent on the development of a light commercial vehicle platform, which will be built overseas and marketed to around 80 countries. Mr Howard said that the light commercial project would involve construction of a research and development centre, which will become the base for R&D projects in the region.

Mr MacFarlane said that the research facility was exciting for Australia and that it would put the Australian automotive in the spotlight.

“The funding has helped Ford Australia secure the largest automotive R&D project ever undertaken in Australia which is equally exciting news for local Ford employees and Australian component producers” he said.

“The project will see Ford Australia become a centre for automotive design and engineering excellence in the Asia Pacific region which will bring spin-off benefits for the broader industry,”

“This opportunity will put both Ford Australia, and the Australian automotive and components sectors on the world map as far as our automotive design and engineering capabilities are concerned.” Mr MacFarlane said.

Mr Howard claims that the projects will create 273 jobs and secure the future of the “iconic” Ford Falcon, which has been built in Australia since 1960.

The financial package is conditional upon Ford Australia giving the Australian automotive component industry an opportunity to supply components for the vehicles produced by the two projects.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

With the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) having called off Monday’s demonstration and march on Bangkok‘s police headquarters, Thailand’s Queen Sirikit (Thai: ????????????????????????? ???????????????) and HRH Princess Chulabhorn Valayalaksana (Thai: ??????????????????? ???????????????????????? ?????????????) attended the cremation and funeral of Angkana Radubpanyawoot, one of the protesters killed in clashes between police and PAD protesters last Tuesday.

The queen, consort of the highly popular and revered eighty-year old Thai monarch Bhumibol Adulyadej (Thai: ??????????????), was joined by police chiefs, leaders of the PAD movement, and many protesters. Presiding over the ceremonies, the queen was accompanied by army chief Anupong Paojinda (Thai: ??????? ?????????), the opposition Democrat party leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva (Thai: ????????? ?????????), and newly elected Bangkok Governor, Apirak Kosayodhin (Thai: ???????? ?????????). Founder and de-facto head of the People’s Alliance for Democracy movement, Sondhi Limthongkul (Thai: ???? ??????????) attended as the protest group’s representative, along with thousands of others mainly from the PAD.

Queen Sirikit spoke with Angkhana’s father, Jinda Radappanyawut during the Buddhist cremation ceremony. He later discussed their conversation, detailing that the queen had given moral support and said that his daughter was a decent person who had been helping the King and working for the good of the nation. Jinda’s wife, Angkhana’s mother, was not present at the funeral; she continues to be treated for injuries sustained during the protest outside parliament. The Bangkok Post report detailing this meeting mentions that the king has donated funds to help those injured in the police clampdown.

At the closing of the funeral services there were scuffles between PAD protesters and the Army’s Commander-in-Chief, Anupong Paojinda, as he attempted to leave. Security guards had to assist him in reaching his car and protesters banged on the car as it drove away.

With a sub-committee appointed by the country’s Human Rights Commission due to report within the week, details are beginning to emerge accounting for the number of injuries and severity of some in last Tuesday’s clashes outside parliament. Nearly 500 were injured as police employed tear gas to try and disperse the crowd of PAD protesters blockading parliament. The group, originally formed seeking to topple deposed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his Thai Rak Thai party, had disbanded in September 2006 following Thaksin being removed by a coup. The 2007 general election saw them reform to oppose the new government formed by the People’s Power Party (PPP) who are widely regarded as a proxy for the ex-PM living in exile in the UK. The PAD protest aimed to stop the PPP government from announcing their legislative programme which included measures to amend the constitution and rehabilitate Thaksin and others from the now-outlawed Thai Rak Thai party. Investigations started during the coup period leave Thaksin and others accused of vote buying and electoral fraud.

Porntip Rojanasunan, the director of Thailand’s Central Institute of Forensic Science has indicated that the tear gas employed was likely responsible for the many injuries during the October 7 crackdown. A number of the canisters were found to contain RDX, a militarily employed explosive. RDX is considered a powerful explosive and the quantities likely involved would have left craters. Other types of tear gas were employed, manufactured in the United States and Spain, but during the protest it was the RDX-laced variety which originated in China that had been favoured. Porntip’s agency demonstrated the firing of these tear gas canisters from a shotgun to the Human Rights Commission committee on Sunday, noting that one exploded canister “left a hole in a metal pipe”. It is claimed that the lethal tear gas was sourced from a third party and not directly from China.

Along with the two fatalities, fifteen people remain hospitalised from last week’s police action, with one critically injured having lost his right arm.

Monday’s planned PAD protest and march on Bangkok police HQ was cancelled to allow people to attend the cremation and funeral services for the two dead. No new date for the protest has been announced.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Anti-virus software publisher Symantec has reported that outbreaks of two varieties of worm are imminent following system failures on two unnamed major corporate networks in the United Kingdom. After receiving several eyewitness accounts from on-site personnel this reporter noted similarities to the MSBlast worm which made headline news two years ago (on the 16th of July 2003) after causing massive outages.

The worms are limited to Microsoft Windows products based on the NT architecture such as Windows 2000 or Windows XP, exploiting administrator services applets which shut a computer down when a certain service fails. The worms cause these “administrator services” to fail, provoking the computer into shutting down immediately.

Microsoft has announced that a critical update is available for all users, evenfor those who use pirated versions of Windows.

Chrysler, Kraft Foods and many other US corporations are feeling the brunt of the attack as the US was in the middle of the work day when new more virulent variants emerged.

Friday, October 10, 2008

In Wikinews’ attempt to speak with as many candidates as possible during the 2008 Canadian federal election, Wikinews has talked via email with Jo-Anne Boulding. Jo-Anne is a candidate in Ontario’s Parry Sound—Muskoka riding, running under the New Democratic Party (NDP) banner.

The riding’s Conservative incumbent is Tony Clement, Minister of Health and Minister for FedNor. Other candidates in the riding are Liberal Jamie McGarvey, Green Glen Hodgson, and independent David Rowland.

The following is an interview with Ms. Boulding, conducted via email, over a week ago.

She did not respond to two of the main questions: “Previous to this campaign, have you been politically involved? How will you apply your previous work/volunteer/life experience to serving your constituents?” and “What would you say are the three hottest topics this election, in your riding? What would you and your party do to address these issues?” Being unanswered, these questions were edited out of the interview, which otherwise is published as received.

On October 14, 2008, Canadians will be heading to the polls for the federal election. Liberal candidate Dr. Eric Hoskins is standing for election in the riding of Haldimand—Norfolk.

Wikinews contacted Dr. Eric Hoskins, 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.

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